Adulwulf

I submitted an X-Force #1, that was originally in its polybag, for a Signature Series of Rob Liefeld and did not have it pressed. I did this before I really knew about pressing and what it can do for the value and look of the book. I got it back with an 8.5 rating with the following grader notes: polybag crease/bend back cover and spine stress lines cover. I feel that if I resubmit, with a press, that it should easily get a 9.4 or higher. Is it worth it to resubmit?

On 9/1/2024 at 10:29 AM, LowGradeBronze said:

It's an arrival date from a newsstand. Leave it as is, since it's part of the comic's history and wont affect grade. If you remove it you'll still have the indent from the pencil plus the likely rub marks left by attempting its removal and you'll be left wishing you'd left well alone and maybe start to dislike this particular comic. Right now it's original including evidence of its distribution history. Arrival dates in grease or other pencil become part of the comic and should in all cases be left alone. 

Whatever the grade would be, it will be less once cgc see that someone has been meddling with the book! 

Thank you. I did not know about newsstands writing the date on the cover. That is good to know because I have another comic, Detective Comics #375, that has the same thing very small but in pen. Knowing some of this history is great knowledge. Thank you again for sharing. I'm glad I asked before trying to do anything.

I have a World's Finest #156, first appearance of Bizarro Batman, that I think can get a 6.5 or 7.0. But, there is pencil writing on the cover on top of the yellow ink in the "W" of the word "World's". Is there a way to remove the pencil without removing ink from the cover? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

On 8/31/2024 at 12:58 PM, scburdet said:

Question about how CGC handles things like distributor ink are easily answered with the Guide book. Unobtrusive amounts of distribution ink do not do anything short of keeping a grade out of the highest grades. Since this book has some other minor defects, no impact with the distribution ink.

7.0/7.5 Perhaps the higher b/c the black covers are hard to keep nice. I'd say $200 is market value or close enough to it for this condition.

Thank you. What Guide Book are you referring to and where can I find it? Also, would you consider the "highest grades" 9.0 and above or include the 8's?

On 8/31/2024 at 10:55 AM, flying_bison said:

I’m not really that interested in commenting on anyone’s investment choices and whether they did poorly or well. In fact, I don’t think that’s consistent with what happens in this forum generally speaking.

But I am more than happy to tell you what I think the grade on this book is and then you can do with that what you will.

I think it’s a lovely book. And I think it’s a 7.0 as it stands now.  The ink doesn’t bother me so much, and I don’t think it will affect the grade in this condition. There are a number of other small imperfections such as the one you point out at Hulk’s knee that land it at 7.0 for me.

Totally understandable about the investment part. It was just a little frustrating to see the extent of the ink. It doesn't bother me that much either if keeping as a raw copy but my initial thought was to grade it. I have seen people say that sometimes the ink alone can downgrade it 1.5-2 points.

I found this FF #112 online and thought that it looked really good. I am relatively new to the "art" of collecting comics and their specifics. But, I had noticed some, what I now know as, distributor ink/markings on it but I believed it to be minor. I was initially going to send it in to be graded. After receiving the book I am not so sure. There is one small color breaking spine tick and I now notice a small color break on Hulk's knee. The distributor ink is much more than I thought but it does not really bleed into the pages of the book. I also just noticed a pink discoloration on the inside cover that matches up with the Hulk's pants. I am not sure what this is from. I have included pictures. Any help with this situation is much appreciated. I bought this comic for over $200, did I just waste money?

On 8/25/2024 at 6:57 PM, zzutak said:

CGC 4.5 sounds right to me.  This book has way too much edge wear and oxidation tanning to merit a grade in the FN range.  And yes, there is a long color-breaking crease on the back cover (that almost certainly extends beyond the green box shown below). 

Thank you, I did notice a small piece of that after looking for about three minutes, but wasn't sure if that was what they were talking in the grader notes since it didn't mention color breaking. Because of that I just thought it was part of the picture. I just got into grading a few months ago and some of the criteria is definitely still new.

On 8/25/2024 at 5:45 PM, dbcn said:

Having received a few and complaining about it, CGC told me that a ‘crease’ can be broken fibers of the paper, and may not be visible to the eye. Maybe there’s something there if you look with a magnifier? Fwiw, they also told me broken fibers would not be fixed with additional pressings, but YMMV.

It is "funny" to me that something which is not visible to the eye can lower the grade. I guess we just have to take their word for it.🤷‍♂️

I just got back an ASM 50 that was graded out as a 4.5. In my opinion it should have been a 5.5-6.0, if not higher. There is a specific grader note that I am having a time with and seeing in the book. It says "large crease full center of back cover". I originally submitted the book with a pressing. Can anyone else see a crease on the back cover going through the full center that should be knocking the grade down by at least a point? I am truly thinking that I need to resubmit this for another grading. Should I resubmit with a second pressing? Your help is truly appreciated. The FMV difference of a 4.5 to a 5.5 seems to be about $200-$250. I have attached the pictures provided by CGC as well as a couple of my own. The full grader notes are below. The certification # is 4465456001 is anyone wants to look it up that way. Thanks again.

Grader Notes

• tear with crease right bottom of front cover
• large crease full center of back cover
• moderate cover tanning
• moderate creasing to cover
• moderate wear all corners of cover