Bomber-Bob

The book is currently in a much more reasonable price range.

It looks like there are some tears on the bottom of the BC ? There also appears to be a bottom right corner chip. It looks like a very nice book but I would be in the 7.0ish range.

There is no published reference to CGC grading.

Yes, back in 2005 the high grade books were just so easily available, that must explain it. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, he probably had a really good eye. Maybe he had Greggy buying for him back in the day ! 1-Jun-05 … 6539852696 … Amazing Spider-Man … 121 … 9.6 … … W … $1,252.56 … 0703021004 02-Mar-05 … 6514359447 … Amazing Spider-Man … 121 … 9.6 … … W … $1,300.00 … 22-Aug-05 … 6553860499 … Amazing Spider-Man … 121 … 9.4 … … … $570.00 … 0708991012 21-Jun-05 … 6539853655 … Amazing Spider-Man … 121 … 8.0 … … W … $152.73 … 0708990001

Bronze but for this era, the abundance of uber grades were unheard of at the time...... 30-Jun-05 … 6541669111 … X-Men … 94 … 9.6 … … W … $5,850.07 … 0703059002 17-Aug-05 … 6552723601 … X-Men … 94 … 9.4 … … W … $1,875.00 … 0703067001 22-May-05 … 6531828292 … X-Men … 94 … 9.4 … … W … $1,802.00 … 0705533001 17-Aug-05 … 6552714316 … X-Men … 95 … 9.8 … … OW … $1,475.00 … 0002053004 30-Jun-05 … 6541775000 … X-Men … 95 … 9.8 … … W … $1,580.00 … 0002053003 30-Jun-05 … 6541776566 … X-Men … 96 … 9.8 … … W … $2,026.26 … 0002053008 17-Aug-05 … 6552724413 … X-Men … 96 … 9.6 … … W … $362.57 … 0002053007

Not all Bronze, lots of Silver. I didn't know uber high grade ASM 21's were this easy to find . .... 22-Sep-05 … 6561872362 … Amazing Spider-Man … 21 … 9.4 … … OW … $2,075.99 … 0069977001 22-Aug-05 … 6553842144 … Amazing Spider-Man … 21 … 9.4 … … … $2,052.57 … 0703096002 09-Jun-05 … 6536909094 … Amazing Spider-Man … 21 … 9.4 … … OWW … $1,930.00 … 0703021003 09-Jun-05 … 6536909386 … Amazing Spider-Man … 21 … 8.5 … … OW … $308.00 … 0709125007

I specifically remember buying a raw, high grade ASM 11 from Ewert/Brulato, one of the last books I needed to complete the run. Later, during the con, I showed it to a prominent dealer. He said what's wrong with it ? I asked, what do you mean ? He said if you got it from those guys, trust me, something was wrong with it. Many years later, when I submitted the book to CGC, color touch and trimming. I also heard they invented the fingernail clipper 'trick' for those corners. My point, their reputation was widespread and legendary. @jimjum12 I only listed the IH181's to show the quantity these guys were dealing. They never had drek, only very high grade stuff, Silver and Bronze. Were they all worked on? I hope not . I did not buy a lot of books from them, they were very pricey, and I only saw them a couple times at a con. The memory is vague but I think 3 of 5 books I submitted were Purple. BTW, years ago I contacted Brulato about some of my purple books. He said he had nothing to do with it, all Ewert. So, in all fairness(your term), do you think I am the only one they screwed ?

A couple of the 'worked on' books I bought, at a convention , raw from Ewert and Brulato, were from circa 1999, maybe 2000 ish. They were active for years before getting 'caught'. It was amazing at the inventory these guys had, in uber high grades no less.

But Ewert was putting many micro trimmed books into the marketplace for a long time before getting caught. Somebody compiled a list of the books he sold in just a short, maybe 6 month period, in 2005 alone and there were 5 Hulk 181's listed...... He was literally pumping these books into the marketplace, massive quantities. He had teamed up with Brulato, at one time they were called V.I.A. I think. Brulato was the financial backer and Jason did the 'work' I got stuck with a few of these. One was a blue label that CGC missed. A couple more CGC caught. The scary part is I'm sure many of these books are still out there. 23-Jun-05 … 6540362607 … Incredible Hulk … 181 … 9.6 … … W … $4,051.51 … 0703021007 28-Aug-05 … 6555342301 … Incredible Hulk … 181 … 9.4 … … W … $2,050.24 … 0703021008 14-Apr-05 … 6524294336 … Incredible Hulk … 181 … 9.4 … … … $2,135.65 … 0098365009 28-Mar-05 … 6520684024 … Incredible Hulk … 181 … 9.4 … … … $2,175.00 … 0098482001 28-Jul-05 … 6548051506 … Incredible Hulk … 181 … 9.2 … … … $1,125.00 … 0708994002

This is a fine idea if there were only 5 flaws, like you listed. However, in reality, there are multitudes of flaws, 6 = other just wouldn't cut it. Color fade, stain, thumbprint, substance on book, writing, staple tear, spine roll, indentation, scratch, crease, dirt, chips, dangling chips, waviness, stress, bends, spine split, tape, detached at centerfold, detached on cover, scrape, general wear, pieces missing, etc, etc, etc. I think the only way to get comprehensive notes would be to pay more for the service and perhaps only in certain tiers. Maybe there needs to be a new 'Full Service' tier. This could include, before and after pics, comprehensive notes, extra padding in shipping, etc. Hey CGC, you listening, a Full Service tier option !

Roughly about 2 and a half hours south of Chicago.

I agree, this sounds like a 'team effort', like the thief knew it was there. I wonder if there is some technicality if the package was opened instead of taken. Analogous to the old 'it's not hot, it fell of the truck'. Sorry to hear this. I hate these kind of stories.

This book was later morphed into a 9.2. Don't get me wrong, I like the Winnipeg pedigree, but with that top edge, 9.2 ? I don't think so.

Yes, but you have to pay for them.

I actually agree with you but I just don't think it's in CGC's business model to give consistently clear and comprehensive notes. First off, I think the turnaround time would suffer if they stressed better notes. I also suspect people are calling in all the time, challenging the notes. 'I don't see the stain you are referring to', 'what spine crease?' , etc. The notes are a lot better than it used to be. It's just not a high priority. Kind of like the registry.

This has been discussed before but I don't think they necessarily start the flaw reduction at 10. I think they start at 9.8 and if the book has perfect centering, coloring, staple placement, razor sharp corners, no flaws that would otherwise be ignored (like printer's creases or corner chips), it may get a higher grade. Imagine if they stated in their notes that the spine shows a slight white stripe or some other flaw that is normally ignored. Everyone here would be crying foul. Because they now sell the notes, everyone expects the notes to be comprehensive, complete, all inclusive. I think that is an unfair expectation, sorry.

At least the ink didn't smear.

Thanks. Did you once own it ? Interesting that it was resubmitted (not me) and the grade stayed the same. I bought it from Dave Kapelka, who won it in auction, so I never knew the history.

That is a really tough book to get a 9.8. I believe that tough books like Solar 10 are better suited for a prescreen, especially with multiple copies. The prescreener may pass one that the regular graders would be tougher on. I realize the regular graders can override the prescreen but once they bill your Credit card, they are less likely to do so. There is some psychology to submitting.

My bad. Just curious but are we talking about Spawn #1 here ? I've always heard it was tough to get a 9.8 on that book. I was one for one on submitting so I quit while I was ahead and never submitted another !

I think you are spot on here. When dealing with multiple copies, some copies just look and 'feel'superior, so the grader probably wants to distinguish the better copy from the others, hence your 9.6's. Maybe the 9.6 has a 'flaw' that CGC normally doesn't downgrade for while the 9.8 does not have this flaw. Printer's crease, indention, color rub, etc. So nothing in the notes for the 9.6, other than the 9.8 looked better. Part of the downside to submitting multiple copies at once. It really is a crapshoot.

What is this 'common knowledge' that the resto removal would not affect the grade ? Was it a wink-wink, nudge-nudge type of arrangement ? And what if this book is resubmitted with resto removal and does not get the same grade. Who would you complain to, Borock ? I think whatever pass Borock gave during the CGC launch would probably not hold true today. I stand by my statement, I would not resub this book, not even for a reholder ! I don't want to comment on the current appearance of this book but anybody that buys it hoping for an upgrade is taking a longshot.

I don't understand 'minor amount' to mean a minute dot. I also don't think it means it is easily removable/not affect the grade. Where on earth did you hear that ? If anything, I think 'minor amount' is larger/more than a 'small amount'. Personally, I have seen 'small amount' equate to lots of numerous spots. Also, if there is glue, it may be holding something together, like a chip or staple. If removed, the grade may go down, maybe a lot. This is resto that got a pass from Borock. He caved to some big money collectors. I would not chance a resubmission for any reason.

Why are my pics so 'fuzzy' on the Boards ? On my desktop, they are crisp and clear.

I agree. Good stuff. WIsh I would have stayed up later last night !