lowball

On 4/5/2023 at 12:55 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

Definitely a modern comics thing. If you collect silver or bronze you are safe from this ridiculous phenomenon. Retailers are encouraged to buy in more copies of issues with a variant in order to receive those variant cover copies. In varying ratios, sometimes 1 to 25 (ie 1 variant for every 25 regular copies.) 

That's an interesting marketing trick!

On 4/5/2023 at 12:52 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

It's a very big subject this, lowball. Very big, and not easy to capture in a single post. I'll give it a go though.

A variant of a comic, is generally accepted to be a book that differs in one or more ways from the 'main' book but which came from the same print run as it. I'll use Spidey as an example.

Way back in 1963, Marvel produced The Amazing Spider-Man #6. It produced a cents copy for the main USA audience and a smaller run of pence copies for the UK. Both books came from the same print run so the junior book - in this case the pence copy - is considered a variant of the main book, the cents copy. Both books were produced at the same time, in the same location, on the same printing presses. In the case I've just illustrated, the main difference is the price:

As you can see, the pence copy has a 9d cover price so it varies in appearance to the cents copy which has a 12c price. This makes it a variant in the majority of collectors eyes and the term 'Price Variant' is now an accepted thing in the hobby. For US produced comics, there are four types of first printing price variants - pence (UK), Canadian, Australian and US (e.g. those 30/35c variants that you may have heard of).  Even CGC recognise them now, and notes it on their slab labels. One word of caution - books that were printed in different locations, often long after the original US production run are not variants if they share the same cover images / content. They are reprints. 

There are other ways for a book to be considered a variant. In later years Marvel got into the habit of printing variant covers for many of its titles. So, using Spidey again, they would produce a 'regular' issue in large numbers and then a variant issue in lower numbers. Here is an example:

Above you can see three copies of Amazing Spider-Man #539. The first one is the regular, standard edition which was made in the greatest numbers. The other two are variant covers, produced in smaller numbers as a way to extract more money out of buyers. All three are the same issue, with the same contents, but two of them feature a variant cover. The second printing even has the words "2nd Printing Variant" on it as you can see (click on the images to enlarge) and is still considered a variant even though it was likely produced shortly after the first printing. You'll be thinking "didn't he just say earlier that after the event productions are reprints, not variants?" and you'd be right, I did. I'll explain that quirk another time, if you're still awake after reading this  The book in the middle is the 'Medina' variant of ASM #539, as it has a variant cover by the artist Angel Medina. No, I don't know who he is either.

So we have 'cover variants' and 'price variants'. There are other types of variant - many in fact - but the above two types are the main ones which get everyone excited. There can be disagreements in this area, among collectors, as to precise definitions, but this is sort of it in a nut shell for me. One example of that is the term "newsstand variant". I don't use that myself, as for me each book is equal - they just have different delivery channels (Direct Editions go to comic shops, Newsstand Editions go to the newsstand). So the two books below, for me, have equal status - one is not a 'variant' of the other:

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Anyway, that's my brief take on it all - hope it helped. Any questions, give me a shout and I'll do my best to answer them. 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for the thorough response! That helped a lot. Going to re-read it a couple of times 

Quick followup question that may be a bit off topic now: How do I tell if a book is the "US" version? Is any book that is in cents a US/US-printed version? Sorry if that's a stupid question.

Total newbie here. Have done a little research but trying to wrap my head around "variant" books. 

Is this something that is only done with newer books? Is there some kind of main resource to research these or is it on a book by book basis? 

Appreciate any other general info on this. Thanks!

On 4/1/2023 at 12:50 PM, JollyComics said:

Hey Lowball.....Take a deeeeeeeeeeeeeęEèeéêeeëeeēeėEEEEEEEP breath!

Welcome to the boards!

Haha thanks! 

On 4/1/2023 at 10:45 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

A bit of over reaction, sure  as your "1st experience?" it could be discouraging.

Just thought I'd post, that rest assured, this isn't a common occurrence  

Good to know 

Also just want to add that this seller was very understanding, apologized, and immediately offered a return if I wanted it. 

On 4/1/2023 at 12:45 AM, ExNihilo said:

When people complain about light scuffing, I'm like 'I don't get, but ok, whatever.'  The book is undamaged, the case has done it's job.  It's not something I fuss about.  When people complain about Newton Rings, I'm like 'yeah, I wish CGC would do something to fix it.'  But ink rub off an invoice is a new one.  Especially when it seems like an easily fixed solution.  And returning the book to top it off.  I imagine there are a few sellers in the ebay blocked list thread that would block you instantly just to avoid future issues.

Most times I side with doing whatever makes a person happiest.  I get there are some flaws that people can't overlook and that they demand perfection.  But this feels a bit much.

I wish there was a list of sellers who think ink on a slab was ok so I could avoid them too 

But in all seriousness, admittedly I am probably overreacting. This was my first comic purchase and I just thought it was a weird way to receive a book.

On 4/1/2023 at 12:32 AM, Lightning55 said:

Rookie move on the seller's part, clueless. But returning it sounds like an overreaction. I would think the printer ink is water soluble, don't know of any that aren't. Spraying with window cleaner should handle it. 

Is cleaning slabs with window cleaner a normal practice? Never really thought about it

On 3/31/2023 at 11:55 PM, steveinthecity said:

Any pics of what the slab looked like before or after?

Will try to post some

On 3/31/2023 at 8:25 PM, fastballspecial said:

Really thats an oddball. Ive never heard that one before, but I always put the slab in 
some plastic of some sort to help seal it. I would not put the invoice in with it.

 

 

That's what I would have thought too. It's probably just a fluke

Just a bit of a rant:

Bought my first ever comic book (cgc slabbed) on ebay this week. It arrived today and the seller put an invoice inside the protective sleeve that the slab was in. The ink from the invoice ran all over the slab and it was covered in ink.

Was so excited to get my first book. Has anyone else had this happen?

It seemed to mostly wipe off, and maybe I'm being too precious, but decided to return it.

Rant over. Hoping my collecting experience goes up from here!

* Want to add that this seller was very understanding, apologized, and immediately offered a return if I wanted it. 

Thanks for the input!

On 3/30/2023 at 10:54 PM, revat said:

It is also possible that certain content might prohibit grading.

if you think it might be questionable, check first

Thanks. I'm mostly wondering what is out there that is graded form a collecting standpoint. I probably won't personally get any magazines graded. I only just realized that CGC grades some full sized magazines 

Thanks. I'm actually thinking about humidity in the books, inside of the sealed part of the case. Has that been known to cause any issues (regardless of where it is stored?)

I've had air tight boxes and safes have extremely high humidity inside when the humidity outside of them was very low. 

On 3/30/2023 at 7:28 PM, Dave2739 said:

https://www.comiccubes.com/

Cool thanks

Couldn't find anything made in the USA in that thread so if anybody has any specific suggestions that would be great!

Are there any issues with moisture and CGC slabs? Seems that something sealed like that could have humidity issues. Are the slabs air tight? Curious how CGC handles this.

On 3/30/2023 at 2:02 PM, thehumantorch said:

Perhaps you'll find something you like in this thread

 

I'll check it out, thanks!

On 3/30/2023 at 1:57 PM, CGC Mike said:

This might be of some help.

CGC Magazines Dimension Requirements

CGC grades most magazines that fit within the following dimensions: 11-1/2” tall x 8-7/8” wide x 1/2” thick. Magazines that are larger than these dimensions cannot be certified, as they will not fit in the CGC Magazines holder. In addition, magazines with severe overhangs, hard covers or jeweled covers cannot be encapsulated.

Thanks! Somehow I missed that on their magazine grading page. 

Curious if there are any US manufacturers that make storage for CGC slabs. Open to anything really from box storage to display cases.

Thanks!

Newbie here and just curious if there is a complete list of full size magazines that CGC will grade? Their site lists a few titles but doesn't say if there are any restrictions. Just curious if any magazine can be sent in.
Thanks!

On 3/29/2023 at 8:06 PM, Cat-Man_America said:

Here's a link to Comic Book pedigrees; this site was developed by Matt Nelson, CGC's President and provides brief synopsis of stories associated with recognized pedigrees...

http://www.comicpedigrees.com 

PS: The two volume coffee table sized Gerber Photo Journals that Primetime mentioned are an excellent GA reference!

Good hunting! 

Great resource, thanks again

On 3/29/2023 at 5:56 PM, Primetime said:

If you are into paper resources, the Gerber Photo journals have been a long time resource to study tons of golden age covers listed A-Z in two big, glossy paged, color volumes 

I'll check those out. Thanks!

On 3/29/2023 at 5:42 PM, Cat-Man_America said:

There actually might've been some books kept in footlockers and brought back from overseas, but they'd be difficult to identify without a stamp of some kind. It would be unlikely that they'd fall under pedigree status because of the conditions under which they were kept, but they'd be noteworthy nonetheless.

There are examples of pedigreed books that parents keep for sons who collected them before serving overseas, in at least one case (If memory serves) ...the San Francisco pedigree... a serviceman's parents kept buying the books he liked and set them aside in his room so they'd be there for him when he returned home from the war. According to the story, when notified he'd died in the pacific, the parents closed off the room and that's where his collection remained until broken up between family members at some point after the parents passed away. The never opened books were sold in the early 70's in varying lots to a collector's book store in San Francisco.

Note: Pedigree stories can be looked up on-line for more specifics.

 

That's a great story!

On 3/29/2023 at 4:46 PM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

Better be agnostic about what a "reasonable price" is, because even low grade copies of these kinds of comics demand several hundred. They're probably the most fun comics in the history of the medium, and the demand reflects that. Imagine if these went for Silver Age Marvel prices. I'd collect the entire Marvel Mystery run so fast!!

Yeah, I'm very quickly realizing that! 

It's fun to have an idea of what to keep an eye out for in the wild. Would love to find one of these someday and have it graded, even in terrible condition.