Sauce Dog

There is a very real, non-zero chance that at some point a supporting character will look at his ancient rags costume and tell him "I like the look, those fabrics really scream 21st century...BCE. How about we bring you into the CE."* and then cue new outfit montage. * except this being a show for the plebs, they will use the long outdated terminology BC and AD. 'Cause people can't learn new things.

Which would be the case of any fabric that was around some 4,000+ years old

SUPER SPOILER - Don't open unless you like to ruin things for yourself. Leaked photo of the Moon Knight costume that has being doing the rounds today (note, this might be only one of several costumes. More info in spoiler with image). So far seems legit, but who knows with the internet these days so yeah...SPOILER

FYI CGC saying it doesn't make it an actual industry fact, just something they are using to better communicate their new offering (specifically because they had a Restored label first, so the introduction of Conservation is secondary in the grand scheme of their labels). If we are just going to use definitions as they apply to CGC only and only how they use them, sure that's fine since people use the terms preservation, conservation, and restoration interchangeably. However, these terms actually mean something quite different to professionals. It would be more accurate to say Conservation and Restoration are sub-categories of the umbrella Preservation category, though Conservation itself, as it relates to books/paper, was coined first and was described as "incorporating the fields of bookbinding, restoration, paper chemistry, and other material technologies including preservation and archival techniques."

Yes, which is the issue. CGC needs to set clear guidelines, especially for those doing this work for years and that are in communication with them, and be transparent if there are change to such standards (especially important if they are trying to set their own internal standards that differ from any external conservation standards)

Simply saying any work done to a comic is restoration would be incorrect (I think some of the confusion for collectors is that CGC used the word 'restored' from the start and utilizes the same scale for conservation now which you are mentioning, but that only indicates amount/quality and does not saying anything about what is being done), yes - saying its all 'restored / restoration' is a common colloquialism short hand with the layman, and we all know what it means - however when discussing the actual details and industry standards there is a major difference & impact. Thinking about this only from the comic book stand point might not make it clear how different things are, as the methods might not seem as varied as they might be in other industries: Is film conservation the same as film restoration? Is automotive conservation the same as automotive restoration? Is painting conservation the same as painting restoration? Is dental conservation the same as dental restoration? is ecological conservation the same as ecological restoration? is digital conservation the same as digital restoration? Nope across the board (my wife and I literally work with three of the above sectors). Words have meaning and expectations in use - especially when purchasing services to be done. Yes, there is some overlap between such conservation/restoration services in all these sectors, sure, but they are still totally separate things and expertises.

We get it, you don't like conservation/restoration at all, but there is an objective difference between the two in all fields of paper-based hobbies and the criteria behind each of them (in all hobbies even; Automotive restoration is not the same as automotive conservation and has clear guidelines!).

You know what - I'm feeling spicy today! So for the very first time ever, I will actually offer this up if it was something you would enjoy & appreciate. I will accept an offer for one of the remaining test prints of my WF3 cover.

I recently fell down a GIANT Hawkman rabbit hole and basically consumed it all until I was delirious from feathered comics. The SA stuff was pretty decent but after having tried to read all the version of him, it was really the recent 2018 series (at least the first 12 issues of it) which I enjoyed the most since it basically wrapped up ALL the origins and versions of Hawkman into one series.

I grew up basically 99% collecting Marvel books and being into their characters, with the exceptions being Spectre (1992 series) and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight due to it not having to connect with canon, and offering great variety in one-off stories (as well as just loving Swamp Thing based on pop culture, though I never actively collected his series but did read a few things here and there during the Alan Moore run that became nostalgic for me). However, over time I started loosing interest in modern comics and as a result begun to look backwards. When I began to explore things outside of the Bronze Age I found it was DC that really hooked me, especially with the legacy characters that I was introduced in some small way through those original series I read. It felt like unearthing buried treasure with these old books, and reading these characters over the course of the better part of the century was fascinating. At this point I think my main collecting focus is all DC based (golden age stuff involving Doctor Fate, Hourman, and Sandman. Anything with Swamp Thing). I still have my main Marvel character keys that are important to me (Iron Man, Moon Knight, Mysterio, Blazing Skull) and the lone other 'indy' stuff I love (Hellboy, Ninja Turtles) but the rest from that company or others I've found pretty easy to let go and sell as funds to fuel my growing love of old DC stuff (I have gotten back into modern stuff though, and now read new Swamp Thing, Nightwing, most Batgirl stuff, IDW TMNT, and occasionally peek into what's going on with the X-Men - if only to be reminded that I don't enjoy the multitude ongoing crazier-than-the-last story arc events they keep pushing out).

I've had a few books both outright Restored and others just Conserved by several pros over the years, and one thing that came up a few times was the issue that the notes would not be passed along to the graders (and it wasn't clear exactly who they were being seen by). Including notes is nice (but shouldn't be required, as if CGC is parsing every issue and can detect restoration/conservation it won't matter) but does not guarantee anything (hell, won't even guarantee they note the correct work done. I had an original owner book I had a tear seal added to the cover and one of the inner pages as well as dry cleaning, submitted with a checklist of work done on it, and it came back Restored: Staples Replaced & Cover/Centrefold reinforced )

While we wait for this new Batman, how about some old. Just posted today online is the final video of the complete remaster of the 1949 Batman & Robin movie. Footage is looking pretty good having been cleaned up for 1080p by a single fan.

Portacio was absolutely one of the top artists to shape my young comic collecting brain. Just how much I loved his X-Factor run (#63-69) cannot be put into words (I think I've only read it word for word three times maybe, but have flipped through the run just to follow the art countless times), however I can say his rendition of Archangel is the standard to which I measure all artists who draw the character. He nailed those wings perfectly; alien yet familiar, metal yet feathery organic, sharp yet...umm..even sharper. oh, and sparks...lots of sparks...he made sparks and other energy effects so great!

Same here. Pretty sure it will be growth, maybe not as extreme, but growth nonetheless. It is a solid fact that the majority of collectors are fully priced out of ever owning a first print, so I fully expect the second to see a good boost again in the future once another wave of nostalgia whips everyone into another frenzy My real interest is seeing what happens with the fifth print. Maybe one day we will get an actual answer to the print run.

I couldn't resist. This book is one of those keys that I feel are only now being really appreciated. Really think it's been unvalued, especially in higher grades. Also the price was just too good to pass up so pulled the trigger. I really feel that 9.6 is the sweet spot for this issue if you go by the census. Not as hard to get 9.8, but also not as common as 9.4 and lower (I also own an 8.5 I bought years ago) Sure HOS92 is a first Swamp Thing, but overall most seem to forget this is the first Swamp Thing we all grew up with and know - at least the one that has been in DC continuity all this time (and the movies). Lots of attention as of late towards #1 issues for lots of other characters even though they are not firsts (Iron Man, Sub-Mariner, Moon Knight for example) and since this one is a true first I can see it growing (A good comparison are fans of Green Lantern - who are fans of specific lanterns, so not everyone is trying to get the 1st Alan Scott but rather their characters 1st...likewise I can see people wising up and not hunting HOS92 since the character they love is from ST1). Also...I promised myself I would stop buying copies of House of Secrets 92. I have enough of those and need to curb that habit.

Yeah, this could have been a very clear and cut easy renegotiation with her, but they opted to just ignore her outright. I hope this goes forward and it does also have implications with other areas that have people concerned (such as existing contracts for access rights for older movies they own now. They need to be renegotiated and addressed. This might lead to settling precedence for when requests are made to them in good will but ignored)

That is in no way comparable. Grading can be subjective which I agree, but the presence of restoration isn't subjective - it is either there or it isn't (especially if it is explicitly disclosed to the graders with documentation).

Yeah, we all get that. Nobody is arguing that exact requirement. If the work done was A-1, following all previously assigned A-1 work as agreed by CGC themselves, but then comes back B-2 and on a regrade gets back to A-1 and then Conserved label on another regrade, that is solely CGCs issue - not the original work of the professional. Why is this so hard to understand the frustration of industry professionals trying to 'guess' what the standards of CGC are from day to day?

So that shows it is in fact a CGC grading issue and not a quality of work, if the SAME book that was marked restored was then re-evaluated again and found to be Conserved by CGC. Professionals work with established industry standards, for materials and techniques, so the same Conservation technique that was used for years is now being regarded as Restoration is a surprise and call for clarification. If CGC has changed their guidelines then they should specify this clearly and explicitly. I've used several restoration/conservationists over the years and have personally found that when something comes back from CGC restored it was due to them suddenly changing things even after the professional looped in CGC for every step of the process (in one early case the pro was in direct discussion with Matt about a book he was working on for me, Matt did look over the work being done, the amount of work, and methods used and agreed it wasn't restoration...but that wasn't the case when it came back months later). How do you explain this book having conservation work done on it but ending up at a restored B-2 when first graded coming directly from the pro doing the work, but then regraded as A-1 after a re-grade, and then again regraded as Conserved with zero changes to the book between each submission and the same work docs provided each step of the way? That isn't about the person who did the work (especially with consultation with Matt) but the graders on the CGC side.

Awesome! Thanks so much - this does explain a few things. Basically a great award category for someone with a unique collecting history / story to tell. I'm happy to have won a Best in Set this year, but was very curious on what I could do to bring my Moon Knight set to the next level in future years, and it sounds like perhaps my story was more that of just recalling pleasant nostalgia, and not necessarily sharing some new information https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=137866

First off, congrats to all the winners of this years registry awards! There are some very epic sets that have been fun to explore and gawk at (though obviously not as much fun as it must of been to actually build them). Can anyone shine a light on what the expectations or guidelines are that might determine the winners of a "Best Presented Sets" award? I've scoured a few years worth of these and I'm at a loss on what is the unifying quality between the winners - only a few have additional HTML support, many have text descriptions - however many are walls of unformatted paragraph-less text (which in my eyes as a web designer is a strike against good presentation and readability), most have gallery images for some of the books (with a mix of those having both front & back covers and others lacking a back cover scan), while others just leave me scratching my head Is this award something that requires more 'campaigning' of the set on the boards (or submitted elsewhere) in order to ensure it is looked at and considered by CGC? I would really love to have a better idea of what I can do to better craft my sets for any future awards.

Have Kingpin show up and kill the OG Hawkeye - just break him. It would make Kingpin establish himself as a serious threat to other heroes, and give the other Hawkeye someone to avenge (while also getting rid of that POS Renner). Everybody wins.

So good! The tech is bang on too, very happy to see the ornithopters looking like they do.

Looks like the role went to Leslie Grace https://www.thewrap.com/leslie-grace-barbara-gordon-batgirl-hbo-max-movie/

That sort of sorcery is beyond any mortals ability.