Neo "The One"

On 5/9/2024 at 11:29 AM, Mgc015 said:

Grading the signatures is idiotic for comics. Will it be a better grade and more expensive if McFarlane uses the whole Todd and not just the letter T in his signature? I can’t control how someone signs. What if someone just has a messy and unpleasant signature, but thats their signature. Are there some signers who can’t get more than a 7.0 because the grader thinks the signature is too sloppy? Do we really trust the graders to give consistent grades for signatures? They can’t be consistent with the books themselves. Hopefully no one falls for this money grab and it just goes away. Remember that the consumers are the ones who drive the hobby. Consumers are the ones who wanted “authenticated” signatures as well as the previous “witnessed” ones. They let it be known by submitting to the other company for this kind of service. Consumers can get rid of grading the actual signatures by not paying for this stupid service. Wait until your signature comes back with a disappointing signature grade and you decide to crack it and resubmit without the signature grade. They will just keep collecting money from all of the resubmits they will get. When does it end?

I give this a 10 for content, a 10 for consistency and a 10 for clarity.  Overall a 9.8 since 10's are unicorns in comics.  (ok 10)

On 5/8/2024 at 8:58 PM, CHWL said:

Thinking of sending this in but awaiting clarification on whether such remark would be deemed to "negatively impact the grade of the comic"...

POSITIVELY IMPACTS THE GRADE - She's Gorgeous!

I have a good one.  How would this be handled?  

On 5/8/2024 at 4:18 PM, jcjames said:

Wait, so are they really grading the quality/placement of the signature in UNverfied signatures only... so wouldn't that make a "5.0" or "6.0" signature more of a "nudge-nudge,wink-wink" as to whether it's actually authentic compared to a "8.0" or "9.0" signature??? 

Meanwhile verified signatures completely obliterating the only face on the cover would still have no such quality/placement grade for the signature???

This sounds so very confusing!

 

ETA: Why would the quality/placement of the signature of an UNverified signature need to be graded anyway??? It's either authentic or not - and it's obvious if it looks bad, sloppy, smeared or terribly-placed. Much more obvious than whether it's authentic.

So again, WHY grade the "quality/placement" of only UNverified signatures now??

This is so true.  I sent in 2 "New Avengers 7" and on one of them Bendis signed RIGHT OVER Spiderwoman's face.  She was really pissed.  And so was I.   (I'm not kidding - well maybe a little)

Not sure applicability in the States, but interesting none the less...  https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/may/08/no-refund-after-i-was-sold-a-stolen-3300-bike-on-ebay

On 5/8/2024 at 9:52 AM, Bakerbr13 said:

I just find this whole thing disgusting. This is clearly a money grab by creating a service that didn't need to exist. I'll never buy anything that is verified by jsa. Autograph grading...... come on now......

I disagree with the verification part, but agree about 'grading a signature'.  I have signed books I'd like to get graded from the 80's when I was a kid.  I witnessed it, but no one that could verify did!  Been sitting on the fence about grading elsewhere.  I have what I believe to be a 9.8 Punisher 1 Limited Series signed by Carl Potts.  I always wanted it to be graded, but don't like Green labels.  I have Sketched books I'd like to get graded / verified.  My LCS does several signings a year which I've been on the fence about due to grading issues.  I'm happy CGC / JSA is doing this.

@MattM CS Sorry - new to this, but in what cases would art negatively effect the grade of the book?  If you have a link that's fine.  Thanks!

On 5/8/2024 at 2:38 AM, DougC said:

Yes, and you have the opportunity for a grade drop as well due to handling...

I'm always going for grade drops when re-submitting.  And with a CGC press it happens quite often!  yay me.

On 5/7/2024 at 10:35 PM, Flanders82 said:

Can I resubmit comics with a CGC Qualified green label for JSA autograph authentication?

Yes. Autographed comics with a CGC Qualified green label are eligible for CGC x JSA certification. Submit these books under an applicable grading tier and select “JSA Autograph Authentication” as an add-on service. JSA will determine if the autograph is genuine, and CGC will regrade and encapsulate the comic.

So if I submit a qualified label slab, the book will be regraded and I'll be charged a grading fee in addition to the authentication fee? 

This is a good one.  Sounds more like a re-holder to me.  Why regrade?  Unless you think it will get a bump.

On 5/7/2024 at 9:24 PM, Hulksdaddy1 said:

So, for an example, how would this TMNT #1 3rd Print be treated? Verified sigs and sketch? Or just the sigs, not the sketches, which may or may not detract from the grade?

You are grading the book - not the quality of the artwork.  I would say something like "Verified Signature and Sketch"  Same ink, same style. Did it come with a COA?

On 5/7/2024 at 9:17 PM, trademarkcomics said:

I was assuming it's not grading the sig's authenticity, but its quality. Like Stan Lee's sigs would get worse and worse as the day went on(get this guy a new sharpie!) and as his age increased, but some of his sigs looked like he used a stamp, which would be "A" grade sigs to me. 

Yep - I agree.  And don't like that idea.  Still insulting. ;)  I mean, except for the stamp thing.  Stamps are not signatures, even if theoretically Stan himself stamped it.  In that case it should be 'Stamped by Stan Lee".  I don't need a company to tell me if it is a good or 'quality' signature or not - you can see that with the naked eye.  Authentic or not is a different ballgame (kind of like Babe Ruth).

On 5/7/2024 at 8:43 PM, MachoGrande said:

You can have as many signatures on the book verified as you want (at $25 per). It's only the optional signature grade itself that's limited to two per book. 

Thanks for the clarification. I’m not sure why someone would want to grade a signature. Seems insulting. Either it’s real (in their opinion) or it’s not. I guess where it gets wonky is if you try and authenticate some signatures but not others on the same book. Anything more than 3 signatures on a book and it gets to be a mess IMO. 

On 5/7/2024 at 6:00 PM, trademarkcomics said:

Red is too OG

Um, I like it?!  I was Never a fan of getting books signed by people that did not actually work on a book so 2 is fine. I’d prefer 3 for writer, penciler and inker but 2 is a good start. I have books I had signed (my own personal “witnessed” signings) including George Perez and Jim Lee. I’ve had them on the side to send to “another grading company” that ends inBS:: for over a year now and just could never pull the trigger on it. Now I get to find out if those “John Byrne” signatures I have are real! And no I won’t have the signature “graded” wtf is that?!

52 wow.  Spot on.

On 5/3/2024 at 11:04 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

@RockMyAmadeus - I mean does everyone even know?  HR could make all of the defects on that book (or any for that matter) DISAPPEAR, that is to say, disappear along with the book itself...

On 5/2/2024 at 8:16 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

www.herorestoration.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 5/2/2024 at 4:02 PM, Neo "The One" said:

Just like pressing does not improve a grade... Oh, who said that?!  I agree it is not a trimmed edge, but just a missing piece. I mean, CGC removing restoration (color touch) by cutting it out is more the definition of  trimming IMO!

Ok - so I just had a mental 'smoke' and am replying and quoting my own post.  Hypothetically if there was color touch on the edge of a comic and CGC cut it out - would that qualify as trimming!?  Now I really need to smoke.

On 5/1/2024 at 2:44 PM, Paul Kosnik said:

This isn't trimmed.  It meets neither the letter nor the spirit of the definition of trimmed.  Firstly, trimmed is entire side (or substantially so, perhaps in the case of a misscut comic).  And trimmed, by definition, improves the appearance and is intended to deceive.  This cut does not improve the appearance, cannot deceive, and is for one small section of the edge.  This is just a defect, and will be graded as such if they do their jobs correctly.  Here is CGC's definition of trimmed:

• TRIMMING – A technique that involves cutting off the edges of a comic book’s cover or pages to remove defects and sharpen edges. Unlike the other restoration techniques, trimming results in an improved appearance through destruction (loss of paper).

Just like pressing does not improve a grade... Oh, who said that?!  I agree it is not a trimmed edge, but just a missing piece. I mean, CGC removing restoration (color touch) by cutting it out is more the definition of  trimming IMO!

On 4/30/2024 at 10:29 AM, DC# said:

Absolutely - my comments were not about letting him off the hook in any way.    More questioning if he ever had the business acumen to make this business work in the first place.    And creating necessary cash flow for such long-duration activities through advance payments can quickly turn into a sort of Ponzi scheme if you aren't actually making any money on completed items.    The next person's advance covering the losses for prior work.  

Man - Ponzi scheme is the best way to sum up this whole mess!  

On 4/30/2024 at 9:04 AM, DC# said:

I don't know how he could have ever accurately priced out his costs like this - dozens if not hundreds of books in various states over the course of months and years.   He could have been losing money on each and every book from the start

I mean, ok.  He could have ben losing money - and that is understandable - but honestly he should have just returned the books.  It seems he was a small operation (I hesitate to say 1 man since he had the NJ location) that got in way over his head.  That is understandable.  What is not ok is stealing - which is what this all boils down to.

On 4/29/2024 at 6:10 AM, KCOComics said:

If I'm reading it right, it seems like he only had 57 orders to ship back? 40 for pressing and 17 for resto... 

Since he has no intention to do the work he was paid to do, I feel like he could pack and ship 57 orders in a weekend.  

For all his exhaustion, it's amazing he found the time, energy and money to open a store front, list people's books on eBay and apparently buy an RV. 

Not only that, but I vaguely recall when he filed for bankruptcy didn't he say he had like 0 books (I mean a very low number)?!  I think he's again incriminating himself - basically lying either in the bankruptcy filing or to A.Romeo and everyone else.

On 4/28/2024 at 8:43 PM, revat said:

I was more alluding to the fact that he didn’t go to anyone’s home/property and steal comics.  Or make tangible, criminal threats of physical harm that would be viable in court.  I’m not sure internet rants would rise to the level.  At least to my limited knowledge.  It seems like all books were voluntary physically given to him.  
 

these are factors that would often more likely lead to incarceration, or longer terms of incarceration.  Of course it also depends on the jurisdiction and judge/jury/lawyers and the situation at large.  I just wouldn’t get my hopes up about significant jail/prison time.  

Agreed. My hopes are not extremely high. But who knows. Just to make a car analogy - if you hire someone to work on your car and instead they take the money and send your car to a chop shop and get paid for the stolen car is that not theft?  I’m not expert either but seems straightforward enough. Hero Restoration was a company, not just “some guy”. Mike and HR had a good reputation, references and other businesses promoting his company. Not just some random presser. (My opinion).  

On 4/27/2024 at 7:30 PM, revat said:

I hope everything goes right going forward for the victims, and that suspect faces justice with harsh punishment…

but I wouldn’t get my hopes up about a lot of jail time.  Nothing was taken by force or physically stolen, and the defendant doesn’t seem to have committed or threatened any violence.  

Hey @revat - as Sauce Dog alluded to, on the original thread Mike actually did threaten violence before that thread was locked. There were a lot of other things 'said'.  Books may have been stolen.  I mean, I sent him my book and he sold it on eBay without my authorization or knowledge.  No compensation was given to me.  I like many others were giving HR the benefit of the doubt, and they strung me along for months before ultimately closing shop.  I head 'rumors' of a robbery of his shop that may or may not have been staged as well as other 'interesting' things.  These things have all been mentioned either on the original thread or this one.  I also believe there is a third thread that goes waaaaay back to when Mike, 'introduced' himself to the community.  Kind of like that Seinfeld episode.  

On 4/25/2024 at 9:26 PM, KCOComics said:

As an aside, if the Detective's name is Flake Cantina and he only agrees to take the case if you video chat with him, there is nothing to be suspicious about! 

Just email his business associate who shares the same email address for references. 

Very funny.