Bmattioli86

Hello all,

pretty rough example here. There is significant water damage throughout most of the book (bottom left to right) and top staple is detached from center fold.

book has not had a c/p but will be sent in soon. 
thanks to all in advance! 

On 5/26/2023 at 1:48 AM, SolidShredder said:

Yes, I pretty much agree with everyone on this. The book might be slightly overgraded. Maybe a 5.0 as is, but 5.5 is not unreasonable. I also think this has a ceiling of 6.0.

So with a good c/p this book has no shot at higher than a 6.0?

On 5/25/2023 at 3:24 PM, scburdet said:

In my amateur opinion, no. You have a long color breaking crease through the Lizard's legs, more elsewhere especially the BRFC & the color-breaking spine stress lines. The cumulative length is really close to what would cap this at 6.0 just on creasing. You can certainly press out some of the indentions and spine curl, which might make it look better, but it isn't going to impact the grade that much, if at all. If you read the CGC grading book, a moderate to major defect like a long crease sets the grade. Often minor defects won't impact the grade b/c they are "allowable" at the current ceiling. I believe this is how CGC is somewhat different from other standards that may deduct for every single defect.

There is at least 1 brown blotch of some sort on the BRBC that might be a stain, so I think 5.0/5.5 with 5.5 being the max. The back could use cleaning if some of the darkness is surface soiling. 

Second glance I noticed the stain. Thanks for pointing this out. I think it will look fine raw in a Mylar for PC but won’t send to presser due to the color breaking lines and other things that won’t press out. 

On 5/25/2023 at 3:24 PM, scburdet said:

 

There is at least 1 brown blotch of some sort on the BRBC that might be a stain, so I think 5.0/5.5 with 5.5 being the max. The back could use cleaning if some of the darkness is surface soiling. 

I don’t know what brown blotch you are referring to.. but thanks for pointing everything else out. I was going to send this to a presser I am in line with but if it won’t get higher than a 6.0 it won’t be worth it and both ends of the spectrum cost wise. 

C/p get this book higher than 6.0?

Hello all,

purchased this book at a 5.5 interested to see some further opinions.

thanks in advance! 

Thanks everyone. I don’t plan to grade this one but was able to pick it up for $4 so really just inquiring for raw grade 

On 5/24/2023 at 9:33 AM, AhsokaTano Jedi Apprentice said:

It's a very nice book but that corner is kind of a big deal....I will guess and say 9.0

When I purchased this book and a few other x-men at a swap and sell this spring, I had a backpack I put them in while I was walking around. Big mistake. Pretty sure that’s what caused the damage but can’t be certain. Thanks for your input! 

Hello all,

aside from slight soft corner on bottom left front cover and again on the back left, I couldn’t  find too much else wrong with this book.

thanks in advance! 

On 5/22/2023 at 10:49 PM, scburdet said:

9.2-9.6. Hard to grade higher NM grade books from just photos. That one corner on the back will mostly likely preclude a 9.8. Pinned down, I'd say 9.4

If I do end up subbing (I’m more of a raw book collector) I really hope the grader is having a good day 😛✌️

Hello to all,

Couldn’t find too much wrong with this book. Nice gloss, some minor surface scratching. No tics, some corner damage on upper left corner of front cover. Interior is perfect with white pages so did not bother adding pics.

thanks in advance! 

On 5/22/2023 at 12:17 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

They need to be wide enough with boards to suit and I tend to use a sandwich of two boards with a comic 'filling' when getting the book back into the mylar. Mylars are much less forgiving if they catch the edge of the book as you slide it in and damage can result. 

Yeah, exactly. I have a Wolverine #1 I’m posting here now that is in a Mylar with the 2 board sandwich. Had a hard time to get the book out. It’s a good thing it’s a very crisp copy. 

On 5/21/2023 at 8:58 PM, scburdet said:

more in the 6.0/6.5 camp & I'd lean lower b/c it comes from the eras where more books were taken care of. C/P might have some minor aesthetic improvements, but to be effective you either need visible surface soiling (don't see much here) and/or non-color breaking defects. All the little stress lines I see on the spine for example, are white. Pressing can't fix damaged paper or ink loss. 

Thank you for that. I was going to sub this one to a presser I want to use, but I might just get it graded as is and see what happens.

Would also like to know if this book would benefit from a c/p 

Just my opinion, but I don’t see this ever getting a 9.8 defintley worth a shot, and if you do sub it anytime soon I would absolutely love to see what it comes back as a grade 

Hello all,

this one I would like to send in to CGC just for personal reasons. I believe the seller had it at a 7.0. Notable issues that I can tell are:

-spine issues (color breaking ticks, damage by staple, what appears to be a slight spine roll)

-color rub of front cover (upper middle)

-slight veining to cover

-rip on top of splash page

-stain on back of book (upper middle)

thank you to all in advance for your advice on how to adequately grade this gem!

On 5/21/2023 at 2:37 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

I know that in many cases the page colour is the main giveaway, but sniffing can help determine whether they've been stored well. A quick sniff will tell you a lot, especially if the smell is acrid. 

 

Mylars work wonders for presentation, don't they! Like you, I note the grade it was sold as and my own estimate. In fact I write a whole mini data sheet for mine which I keep in the bag. Artist, inker, month & year, any interesting contributors to the letters page, and print run stats in the issues that have them. 

 

 

When I started collecting (a few months back) and a seller shipped some books in Mylar, I mistakingly threw them out and switched them for my silver age generic bags just because the book was so snug and tough to get out of the bag, I was worried that it would cause further damage to my 1960 book. Now that I have acquired a few more Mylar bags from other purchases, I’m switching over just because of how well they present. 

On 5/20/2023 at 12:15 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

I'm totally shameless. I buy stained and otherwise low grade to read and handle and smell. Nothing reminds me of 1970 better than sniffing a comic from 1970. It's a psychic time machine. This one is a favourite of mine for the intricate cover. I'd say it looks 5.0 because the stain and slight damage, which prevent me from going higher. Lovely book in hand I'm sure. 

Smack dab in the Kirby/Sinnott sweet spot!  Wonderful cover design. Look how 3D it seems just through placing the castle in front of the 'c' in Fantastic. 

I always almost immediately do the same thing with my books.. nostalgia at its finest. I’ve been after a lot of low grade silver keys or books with iconic art. I don’t intend on grading any of them, as I find they just look just as great sitting in a Mylar. But I do like to write the estimated grade of the book either by the seller or from other sources (such as this forum) for future reference. Appreciate your input! 

On 5/20/2023 at 12:18 AM, scburdet said:

4.5/5.0 Welcome to collecting! I am old to collecting, but newer to using 3rd party graders. If your intention is to buy books for CGC grading, I would avoid stained books like the plague. They treat stains rather harshly and if/when you resell, their would be a grade on the corner that might negatively impact what how much of your investment (in the book and grading fees) that you could recoup. On the other hand, if you're just collecting raw books and only care if the front cover presents nicely, buying slightly stained books would be a great way to acquire some comics that might otherwise be unaffordable. 

Thanks a lot for your input! I have plenty more books to post, was just using this one to test the waters. I have yet to get into CGC grading and don’t own any graded books. So this one was purely purchased to keep raw as I like to write a rough estimate of the grade on the back of the comic board for future reference. Cheers! 

Hello,

new to collecting and recently won this book in an auction. 
the noticeable defects I have found is the spine roll, as well as spine ticks and a stain on the back left bottom corner. 
 

thank you in advance! 

On 5/12/2023 at 6:25 PM, WestCoast Will said:

Thank you. I have no idea how to clean or press though😕

Check out comic spa if you are looking to clean/press. His Instagram account is:

https://instagram.com/comicspa?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==