Eponymous

Last of the series.

Thanks!

On 7/25/2022 at 6:50 PM, evilskip said:

I'm going 4.0 due to whatever the $#@$ that is going on with the pages on the right side.

You mean in the second-to-last image? Yeah, it looks like the printer was not having a good day. You can see on that page how the cut is not squared with the art as well as how the rollers(?) left marks on some pages.

That's part of why I posted this one. I'm curious about the impact of manufacturing mistakes. Reverse stamps are worth more!

Starring Batman and, uh, Batman (Earths 1 and 2, of course). The Outsiders also get a preview. There's some staining on the cover, but it also looks like the top was not well cut at the printer. You can see the ugly edges on the too-long pages. It's also glued (I think) and not stapled.

Another toy tie-in from Marvel. They did get the FF appearance in #15 & 16.

On 7/24/2022 at 4:22 PM, zzutak said:

It may have been the Marie Severin (pencils) / Bill Everett (inks) cover, or perhaps the Jack Kirby and Barry Windsor-Smith stories.    If so, your younger self had extremely good taste!  

Ah, there's also a little Conan trial story at the end, though it's Starr the Slayer, not the Barbarian. That could have been it, too.

Re-publishing the origin story in this series. I'm sure there's a term for this (which I don't know), but the staples are not on the spine and apparently not through the cover either. They're the source of those marks on the back near the spine.

Not at all sure why this appealed to my teenage self.

First appearance of the Black Mask, sporting a stylish fedora.

On 7/17/2022 at 4:26 PM, Blobber said:

Jack drew The Challengers in the 50s before joining Marvel (Atlas).

Interesting. I guess he was able to revive that during his stint at DC.

On 7/15/2022 at 12:21 PM, marvelmaniac said:

Blunted corners w/small color breaking creases, minor spine stress with a few color breaking spine ticks.

IMO...

7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-):  Back to Top
Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF):  Back to Top
An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Curious here: would the "minor creases" of the definition be the "color breaking creases"? I see a lot of reference in people's comments to the latter along the spine, but nothing specifically mentioning them in the grade definitions. TIA.

I guess Jack and Stan were feuding.

Hollywood's favorite Batman villain gets his own comic. I like the self-referential cover dialog.

Thanks, everybody, for the interesting comments.

My own sense of the grading that I see here is that there's a steep drop-off from 8 to 5. That is, what I'd have said were relatively minor things cause a quick fall in grade.

On 7/14/2022 at 8:47 PM, scburdet said:

On my list:

1) Color breaking creases bottom right (2, which are long); 2) hard crease top left back cover; 3) bottom right back cover, there's something. Looks like a tear, but I'll take your word that there aren't any, but it's something; 4) 1/2 dozen give or take color-breaking stress lines alone the spine, a couple are above average in length; 5) corners are rounded and have some wear; 6) top edge of the front cover has some non-color-breaking lines, this seems like the area where pressing would offer the greatest improvement; 7) the white on the back cover is a little dirty; 8) photos maybe make it look less so, but the cover is just a tad dull.

IMO the longer stress lines on the spine and the 2 creases at the bottom are the different between 5.0/5.5 and maybe a 7.0. Long story short, I have an Astonishing Tales 25 that has similar spine wear (I sent if for the canceled Pérez signing since it had his first Marvel work & I had another CGC copy) and it came back as a 7.0 even with the rest of the book looking pretty sharp (i.e. no color breaking creases). The black on this book really highlight the color breaking defects whereas the AT25 has a yellow background that can hide things a bit.

Thanks for the detail.

You’re right that that looks like a tear on the back, but it isn’t. Some kind of pressure resulting in a dark colored artifact?

I’ve been looking around at various on line guides to grading and it seems to me that books like this one qualify for something in the 6 range, though again I’m inexperienced with this, so the notes are helpful. 

On 7/14/2022 at 4:30 PM, scburdet said:

5-5.5

Thanks for this. I'm trying to get better at grading and am curious about just which defects draw this to ~5.5. I see the creases and stress lines on the fold. But no tears and pretty good gloss on a clean cover. I'd have put it a little higher.

While I'm at it with S-W, here's her first appearance before they figured out big hair was a better look. Nice color choice on Nick's shooter.

A bit more distressed than the SW #1.

First issue of her own book.

TIA.

Thanks, all. 

Supes introduces the new kid.