Hello my name is Adam and I have been collecting comic books for many years since I was a kid but I still consider myself new to someone who quit collecting for many years and then got back into the hobby to try and finish an X-men grail run. So basically I am finally done with the grail run I mean I am missing some straggler books but have all the keys and many of them in high grade because I bought them 20 years ago when they weren't quite as expensive.
That said I have an X-men #1 that I just got which the cover is in reasonable shape but it is missing the splash page #1 and an advertisement page #12. And it has some structural issues like the centerfold is detached, page #16 and page #5 are not attached (the other sides of #1 and #12) so the cover looks a lot better than the interior but there is no tape or anything like that. So I am a stickler for not having comics with structural issues or missing pages or pieces. I have fixed up a number of comics by using mending tissue or even getting like a missing page so the comic is complete and by taking the comic apart and putting the staples back in. I guess since I am stickler having an incomplete book or a book with structural issues in the collection really bugs me. I would rather have a complete structurally sound comic with a bunch of dings to the cover than a higher grade comic but the cover is detached at the bottom staple. So I guess what I am asking is what is the best thing to do with this X-men #1? Should I get the missing page #1 and page #12 and try to attach those to the other pages using mending tissue and then try putting together a complete comic (which would result in a married grade but still have most of the original pages)? Or should I get a coverless copy and attach the decent condition cover to it (which would result in a married cover)? Or should I just leave it alone and go for the standard 0.5 cgc grade if it is missing two pages? But that is not really what I want to do because I do not like incomplete books either. All my other X-men from #2 to #543 are all complete I believe. I have a few with minor structural issues but not many (#46, #53, #63) all the other books are probably around 5.5 - 6.5 and higher it is a decent condition collection but another reason why I would like the books to be kind of similar too but no way can I afford an X-men #1 5.0 it is just way out of my budget. Then again if I can get a 2.0 qualified as two pages married or cover married that would be good enough for me.