kimik

Did you snag the other copy of #222? It was a bit rougher due to the right edge wear, but still was worth it. I left it since I have a few copies on hand already.

So they're all stashed in Canada! They are common drek for us. I snagged two of his copies - VG and VG+ that looks a bit nicer. Nothing high grade, unfortunately, but at the price he was asking it was worth it.

Batman #222 was a common book at today's Red & White show in Calgary - one dealer from Vancouver brought 3 copies with him.........

Resubmitting or pressing and submitting? I have several books in Matt Nelson's possession awaiting processing. In my opinion, I don't think there are time frames when CGC is more strict or more lax; it just depends on how they graded your particular book that an individual (meaning you or anyone) may not particularly agree with. By stating they have tightened up again in grading suggests that their grading standards are constantly changing. I do not believe this to be the case at all. I think they are fairly accurate in abiding by the standards they set forth. Individual results may vary. Certain situations may also affect grading; i.e. convention season, large amount of submissions, training new employees, etc. Kind Regards, 'mint' Mint, there have been numerous threads about this over time. Grading goes in cycles, which is why it is key to buy the book and not the label. (thumbs u

Based on my last few submissions, now is not the time to be resubbing books graded in 2010 or 2011 if that was when your book was graded. The standards have tightened up significantly again. FWIW, I wonder how the Savannahs would fare on a resub now with all of those fugly dust/sun shadows on the covers. CGC is hammering that again......

The slight miswrap bugs me more than the date stamp. I do not understand how misrapped books get graded 9.6+. At some point centering should count regardless of it being a production defect or not.

Remember when.................this book was hard to find in high grade......

The Batman run is definitely the cream of the Bat-titles crop as far as Adams collectors go. Maybe it has to do with the Ra's Al Ghul effect? Those stories are still classic 40 years later. (thumbs u The only TEC issues that tend to fetch consistent strong prices in grade are the "keys" - #395, #400, #405 and #411, and the two very HTF in high grade: #397 and #402. That being said, I have noticed that prices are sagging a bit on Tec #400 - too many HG copies now I guess?

Does Tec #385 pre-date WF #176?

One of those was my gift graded second copy of Tec #395 (9.2). I just find it interesting because a couple of years ago Tec #395 was easier to find in higher grades - even a number of dealers came across them - but now the supply seems to have dried up. It is also interesting to see how many of the Tec run books are harder to find in HG than the Batman run.

Is it just me, or has there been a dearth of 9.0+ copies of Tec #395 on the market for the past several months/year? It has been a while since I noticed any in the regular auctions, but maybe I just missed them.

It should run up at the end, but is this a new copy of #251 in 9.8 or a pressed upgrade?

Wow. Your 9.4 is on fire at Clink. Good luck with the sale. I hope it tops $2000. (thumbs u

Wow, that did go for a good price. That being said, as I painfully learned two years ago, August is not a good month to be selling things through any of the main auction sites. After the SDCC and WWC collectors seem to get tapped out. If the consignor had waited until October the price would likely have been higher.

Key bump is standard as well, I guess.

Not necessarily. They tend to be on time, or even ahead of schedule, at the end/beginning of the year for fast track submissions. If they set up for onsite grading at a show, that means Friday and the following Monday they will have a portion of their staff out of commission due to travel/set up/tear down/etc. Let's say they have one head/lead grader and two other graders at the show to get their three grades/book. That leaves one team basically out of commission for 40% of the business week for a couple of months (if not longer). On top of that, more people are buying books during the convention season which likely increases the volume of books they have to process. I don't know what the financial status of the company is, but adding more graders may not be feasible since they are still a business. In addition, I can't imagine that grading books pays as well as other jobs out there either (if it does, I stand corrected) so it is likely more difficult to attract people that know what they are doing. I agree with everyone that the slow turnaround on grading is an issue, as well as the looser grading during peak season, but I can see how it happens.

You raise an interesting point regarding the graders. It's true that they have transitioned to an almost completely new team of graders. It's a new generation, maybe without the complete set of legacy standards of the previous generation. I'm sure the new graders have been trained well but they don't have the experience to call upon. Not anybody's fault, it's old school vs new school. Buy old label books ! As far as I can tell, CGC`s current crop of graders grew up reading Wizard. If that is the case, then I want to request those graders for my submissions! Did Haspel come back at the beginning of the year? That was when I noticed a tightening of the grades. Maybe too many dealers/BSDs started to complain again so they had to ease off? That being said, I think the volume of books they need to churn through right now has a lot to do with it. This is the third year in a row that I have noticed the same trend - grading loosens up during the peak con season in the summer and tightens up in the at the end/beginning of the year. Unlesss you are Sparkle City, which means consistent overgrading on your books..............

Without a doubt and I am sure there are multiples nicer not even including the discussion of this book not being as nice as the 9.0s which I really don't think it is either. When the Western Penn finally comes out of hiding wake me up, a real reason to get excited as opposed to this "9.2". Hopefully it was stored well over the years, otherwise it may not live up to our expectations for it.

I have seen, and received, horrible overgrades on old label books as well. After the initial CGC "hammer" came down at the start dealers and collectors started complaining that CGC was being too tough on books. As a result, there are a lot of old label books that are overgraded as well. It goes in cycles - CGC tightens up, clients complain, they loosen up, clients complain, they tighten up again, etc. The key is to sub as many of your own books that you are looking to sell during the looser periods as possible! In addition, in fairness to the graders, during peak con season there appear to be more books slipping through that are overgraded than at other times. This is likely due to the increased volume of books. It must be difficult to do onsite grading and still try to maintain close to the stated turnarounds on fast track books at the shop while the volume basically doubles.

I bolded the most important part. While this is a nice copy, it is nowhere near the best copy they have "ever" seen. Maybe it is the best copy the current graders have ever seen, but take a look at the Clink 9.0 from a while back and you will see the difference. After pressing this copy is nice, but it is not the best copy that has gone through CGC's hands over the years.........

There is a 9.0 that has a better spine and corners IMHO. The funny thing is, you could tell right away that this book had likely been pressed based on the spine and corners........

I'd rather focus on the fact that CGC really thinks that book is a 9.2, if a book with a corner crease like that (the rest of the book doesn't look perfect either) can get a 9.2 now then people better start revving up their re-submissions. Like you say we're all used to the upgrade thing at this point. Exactly. Looks like the grading is weak again this summer just like the last few years. If this book is any indication, now is the time to start submitting books en masse! Based on the gift grade for this book and the scans of the old 9.0s, there is a potential 9.4 out there that has not been pressed yet if all things are equal.

9.2 with that top right corner and what appear to be top edge nicks?

I agree as well, the Dark Knight Batman “type” that was the impetus for all the movies, the early ones included, started around this time I think. The earlier into the 60’s you go the more sci fi, campy things seem to get for me. Even the flippers have to realize though that many of these Adams keys will be desirable long into the future. I actually hope prices do dip post movie hype so more of us can afford some of these bad-boys in better grades. I agree that long term they will do well. After my next group of books comes in I will post another group shot.

I agree with all of the points re: Adams Bats and Tecs, but looking at the recent run up in prices there appears to be movie hype frothiness to me. That being said, since I built up most of this stash at lower prices before the recent run up, I am more than happy to see it keep going.