Paul_Maul

I did mean miswrapped. And I also remember that MTU issue with the white stripe on top from when I was a kid. Always puzzled me.

The top guy on the PSA Set Registry for the 1975 set (every card in PSA 10 Gem Mint!) has some interesting info on his page. It's all way above my head since I don't collect these.

https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/non-sports/company-sets/1975-topps-comic-book-heroes-stickers/alltimeset/27610

Here's his page for the 1976 set...

https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/non-sports/company-sets/1976-topps-marvel-super-heroes-stickers/alltimeset/166087

I found this image on the web suggesting that the later series was a 12x11 half sheet on each side rather than 7x11. This makes sense since the same is true of the later wacky series 14,15 and 16 which were all published in mid 1975 or 1976.

Sheet images are cool also because you can easily identify the double prints in a set like this.

Technically it is a half sheet, but the full double sheets are almost never found intact for some reason. Almost all uncut sheets that survived are like yours, so they are not usually called half sheets.

By the way, here's an example of a full double sheet. For this wacky packages sheet (which only has 30 stickers) the two sides have a different row repeated for the seventh row. Left side is * and right side is **.

Looking at the sheet, it seems like the copyright variations stem from four titles being double printed in the first four rows. Those rows contain 40 distinct images and four double prints, and I assume some or all of those are the copyright variations in each set. 

The final three rows repeat the first three.

The variations in the actual text don't appear on a single sheet, so they must be from changes made over time.

By the way, regarding asterisk variations, these only occur for every sticker when a given set had 77 cards or fewer, so that both sides of the sheet are identical. For larger sets (like the 1974 Monster Initial stickers, which had 132  distinct stickers), the titles on the left half have one asterisk and the titles on the right have two. There are some double prints that occur with both asterisk variations.

I've often wondered why certain comics almost always seem to be miscut.

Two that spring to mind (though I'm sure there are others):

X-Men 132 -- I've been looking for a 9.6 or 9.8 that's cut properly for several years. They all seem to be cut funny.

Same for Daredevil 158.

I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining this, why would it affect certain books so much more than others?

The one and two asterisk versions stem from which side of the double sheet the sticker was on. They did this so that if there were quality control problems they would know which side of the sheet the problem was on. I'm familiar with a lot of these issues from my wacky packages collecting.

Almost all of the covers from the Sand Superman story are by Adams and very good. Especially 233,234,237 and 240.

You can now upload the pics here directly without using a hosting site.

I can post without having cleared any cookies. So  I guess it was a temporary thing?

Mylar has been used exclusively to protect the finest comics for 30 plus years...if there were a problem, don't you think it would have become apparent by now?

...and, Mylar is one of the materials recommended in this video clip.

I haven't read every thread about this...but does anyone understand why this phenomenon happens sometimes, but not always?

Also, I have seen Newton rings on regular mylars. I sometimes put a comic size Mylar inside a magazine sized Mylar/fullback for added protection and I sometimes see some minor Newton effect there.

I've picked up about six new style slabs in the last few months and none have had Newton Rings. I just got one in the mail today that has a pretty serious case of them. Interestingly, all the previous ones were the "modern era" inner well (without "walls") and this one has the walls. Could that be relevant?

Fortunately the rings don't bother me much since I know the book is unharmed.

I'm sorry for your loss. Beyond that, when I hear something like this, it makes me reflect on the stress of having anything fragile in really nice condition. Every time I handle a really high grade book, or carry a box of high grade books, there's that sense of dread that something will go wrong. At times like this, it almost feels like it would be liberating to just sell it all.

Yeah, you're right. Here's their press release....

2017 MAGGIE AWARDS PRESS RELEASE

Western Publishing Association Recognizes Top Consumer, Trade, and Student Publications & Websites 

The Western Publishing Association (WPA) announced its 2017 MAGGIE® winners in 74 editorial and design categories at the 66th Annual MAGGIE® Awards, April 28th at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport.

Publishing professionals from all disciplines were on hand to honor the “West’s Best” in both print and electronic publishing. An enthusiastic audience cheered as winners accepted their awards and later watched the MAGGIE® trademark “Montage of Winners” video at the close of the banquet.

Considered to be the most prestigious award in the publishing industry, the 2017 MAGGIES draws entries from 24 states west of the Mississippi River.

“For the past 66 years the WPA’s Maggie Awards have honored the very best journalistic achievements West of the Mississippi, and this year’s honorees are adding to that proud tradition,” said Norb Garrett, President of the WPA and Executive Vice President at TEN: The Enthusiast Network. “We’re excited to have expanded our college and digital awards and entries this year in recognition of the excellent achievements of student journalists and digital media.”
Among this year’s top honors were VegNews for Best Overall Publication/Consumer, Exhibitor for Best Overall Publication/Trade, Territory for Best New Publication/Trade & Consumer, California Grocer for Most Improved Publication/Trade & Consumer, VegNews for Best Web Publication/Trade & Consumer, Smart Meetings for Best eNewsletter/Trade.

The top college MAGGIE Award went to El Sol, Southwestern College, for Best Student Publication, along with a $1,000 grant to its journalism/publishing department. Additional Student publication awards went to University of Arizona / El Independiente, for Best Print Article/Student, California State University, Long Beach / DIG, for Best Print Cover/Student, and Baylor University / Focus, for Best Web Publication/Student.

2 hours ago, gadzukes said:

Thanks for the link Paul.  Do you know if any other comics ever won the award?

Upon further research I don't think it's the same award. This one seems to have only started in 2009.

The Maggies still exist!!

http://wpa-online.org/maggie-awards/

Maybe when describing keys, we need to move away from the phrase "first appearance" toward something like "introductory story."

Oakland Copy...

Did the story explain how they got the IV in?

Silver wrote:

When I decided to focus on Bronze Age Superman books several years ago, I kept only the nicest Silver Age books I had picked up over the years. I especially like the Giants, so I kept all of those. I love looking at these even though it's only a handful. Wish I had done the same when I sold my Golden Age!