marvelmaniac

I do not know if that is a bindery defect or a severe spine roll/fanned pages, either way it dramatically affects the aesthetic appeal of the book, along with moderate edge/corner wear with color breaking creases, minor to moderate spine stress w/color breaking spine ticks, moderate color rub on front cover under the "EN" in "X Men". IMO... 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to Top An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present.

Those do not appear to be Perforations (Gripper Holes), gripper holes would go through the interior pages as well, can we get pics of the inside cover and interior pages? I have two other questions, what are these?

Dinged bottom left corner, slight color rub on bottom edge, minor spine stress with a couple of color breaking spine ticks, minor staple tears at lower staple, slight spine roll/fanned pages, slight color rub/staining and sun shadow on rear cover. IMO... 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to Top Nearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present. 8.5 VERY FINE+ (VF+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

Slight corner/edge wear, dinged/folded top left corner on rear cover, very minor spine stress but has a 2-3 color breaking spine ticks, slight spine roll, top staple slightly discolored, slight color rub on spine of rear cover. IMO... 8.5 VERY FINE+ (VF+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 8.0 VERY FINE (VF): Back to Top An excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. A limited accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Cover is relatively flat with minimal surface wear beginning to show, possibly including some minute wear at corners. Inks are generally bright with moderate to high reflectivity. An unnoticeable 1/4" crease is acceptable if color is not broken. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. Spine is almost completely flat with a possible minor color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Very slight staple tears and a few almost insignificant stress lines may be present. Paper is cream to tan and supple. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Slight edge wear with color rub, slight corner wear with small creases, staples are discolored and off center, slight spine roll, moderate foxing/staining on front and rear covers, minor spine stress with a few spine ticks. Overall the book is not that bad, the foxing/staining makes it look worse than it is, keeping that in mind... IMO...FN+ 6.5 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. 6.5 FINE+ (FN+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 6.0 FINE (FN): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other serious defects. Some accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases. Inks show a significant reduction in reflectivity. Blunted corners are more common, as is minor staining, soiling, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor spine roll is allowed. There can also be a 1/4" spine split or severe color break. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and a few slight stress lines may be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown and fairly supple with no signs of brittleness. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. Centerfold may be loose.

Rounded corners, corner/edge wear with color breaking creases, minor to moderate spine stress with a few color breaking spine ticks, discolored staples, moderate foxing/staining on front and rear covers, vertical ink mark under the "N" in "X-Men", slight spine roll. IMO... 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to TopFits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to TopAn above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present.

The book is very nice. Other than what appears to be a subscription crease with slight color breaks all I see is... The book does not lay flat, a couple of minute ticks on the outer edge that break color, minute wear at corners and few non color breaking spine ticks, slight color rub. IMO, without taking the subscription crease into consideration I feel the book would be a VF/NM 9.0 - NM- 9.2, with the crease, that can barely be seen in your pics I would say you will not see a grade higher than FN/VF 7.0, all depends how CGC feels on that particular day. FN/VF 7.0 (max)

Not sure how it works on paper but 91% Isopropyl Alcohol is not only used on cuts/scrapes but is designed to clean things that cannot get wet such as printed circuit boards and other electronic devices, it dries very quickly, 70% does not dry as quickly, has more water.

Mold...

We need more pics of the book out of the bag, close ups of the spine/corners/edges, inside front and rear covers and centerfold.

That is a staple tear and it will affect the grade, even if it were a bindery defect. We need to see the entire book to determine if or how much it will affect the grade. If you want to know what grade this book may receive post picks in the https://boards.cgccomics.com/forum/42-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-a-grade/ Post clear picks of the front and rear covers (inside and out) with closeups of the spine/corners and the centerfold.

I certainly hope you do receive a higher grade. By no means am I saying CGC is not a good company and you should not have your books graded, however, as an outside observer, I cannot tell you what CGC will say, I do not use their services (all of my books are Raw) and from everything I have been reading lately, CGC is inconsistent at best on their grading, seems like they make things up as they go along and it is a "crapshoot" on what grade you will receive. According to the "Printed Grading Standards" (not CGC's secret grading standards) spine ticks with color break are not permitted in higher grades (even though it is not specifically mentioned), then again, it all depends on how you define the terms used to describe defects, I am strict with grading and I try to be as consistent as possible, when in doubt or on the fence about a grade I always go lower, if it were my book being graded and cataloged by me for inventory purposes in my collection it would receive the grade I posted. 9.2 NEAR MINT- (NM-): Almost no stress lines. 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. 8.0 VERY FINE (VF): Very slight staple tears and a few almost insignificant stress lines may be present. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. 6.0 FINE (FN): Minor staple tears and a few slight stress lines may be present. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present. How do you define "Almost NO", "very MINOR accumulation", "a few, almost INSIGNIFICANT", "a SMALL accumulation of light", "a few SLIGHT" and "MINOR", those descriptions are all open to interpretation and in some instances may mean the same thing.

Slight spine roll, a few spine ticks with a couple that break color (see price box). All three of your books have color breaking spine ticks and that is why I did not assign a higher grade, how does CGC view these? 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Blunted lower corners, slight edge wear, slight color rub, an accumulation of spine stress lines, some w/color break, 1/8" color breaking crease at top right corner/edge. IMO... 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Corner crease (lower right) w/color break, blunted lower corners, an accumulation of spine stress lines, a few w/color break. IMO... 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Blunted/Rounded corners w/edge wear, spine roll/fanned pages, slightly discolored upper staple, a couple of spine ticks that break color. IMO, the corners prevent this book from being a higher grade. VF- 7.5 8.0 VERY FINE (VF): Back to Top An excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. A limited accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Cover is relatively flat with minimal surface wear beginning to show, possibly including some minute wear at corners. Inks are generally bright with moderate to high reflectivity. An unnoticeable 1/4" crease is acceptable if color is not broken. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. Spine is almost completely flat with a possible minor color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Very slight staple tears and a few almost insignificant stress lines may be present. Paper is cream to tan and supple. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

As already stated, they are probably the older 1mil bags, they are not 1.4 Mil, I also used those and they are much sturdier than the 1's. I have numerous books in the old Mylites dating back to the late 80's when I first found out about Mylites for an LCS I frequented, he used to sell them for 10 cents each. They are still doing there job protecting the books inside, if you are going to constantly be removing the book(s) from these, be careful, they tend to tear easily.

I was way under, apparently CGC does not deduct for color breaking spine ticks, but I digress... Congrats on that 8.5!!!

It was 1994 and I paid $45.00.

https://www.comicconnect.com/browse/?filtertype=&search=Whiz+comics+19&save=submit https://www.comicconnect.com/browse/?filtertype=&search=Foxhole+1&save=submit Do not know if any LCS's still do this. Back in the early 90's long before the internet one of the LCS's I frequented had a "Search Service". You filled out a card with your name/address, the book you were looking for, grade range and price you were willing to spend. They would then contact all of their contacts in their inner circle and when they found the book they mailed the card to you and you went and picked up the book. When the new Iron Man cartoon was coming out and the Mandarin was mentioned as the main villain I wanted a copy of TOS 50, they found one in about 2 weeks time. There are a lot of online comic shops and auction sites, you may want to start going to local shows and cons that are more about comics than Pop Culture. There are also Facebook groups dedicated to Golden Age, not all allow sales but there are also Buy/Sell Groups. https://comics.ha.com/ https://www.comicconnect.com/ https://www.mycomicshop.com/?gclid=CLS_6I_Q8cUCFYYUHwodbhUAag https://www.metropoliscomics.com/?tzf=1 Have Fun and Good Luck Hunting!!!

FR 1.0 is the Goldilocks in this instance, with FR/GD 1.5 too high and PR 0.5 too low. 1.5 FAIR/GOOD (FR/GD): Back to TopShows substantial to heavy wear. Books in this grade are commonly creased, scuffed, abraded, soiled, and possibly unattractive, but still generally readable. Cover shows considerable wear and may be detached. Almost no cover reflectivity remaining. Book-length creases, tears and folds may be present. Rounded corners are increasingly common. Soiling, staining, discoloration and foxing is generally present. Up to 1/10 of the back cover may be missing. Tape and other forms of amateur repair are increasingly common in Silver Age and older books. Spine roll is common. May have a spine split between 2" and 2/3 the length of the book. Staples may be degraded, replaced or missing. Staple tears and stress lines are common, as well as rust migration. Paper is brown and may show brittleness around the edges. Acidic odor may be present. Centerfold may be loose or detached. Interior tears are common 1.0 FAIR (FR): Back to TopShows heavy wear. Some collectors consider this the lowest collectible grade because comic books in lesser condition are usually incomplete and/or brittle. Cover may be detached, and inks have lost all reflectivity. Creases, tears and/or folds are prevalent. Corners are commonly rounded or absent. Soiling and staining is present. Books in this condition generally have all pages and most of the covers, although there may be up to 1/4 of the front cover missing or no back cover, but not both. Tape and other forms of amateur repair are more common. Spine roll is more common; spine split can extend up to 2/3 the length of the book. Staples may be missing or show rust and discoloration. An accumulation of staple tears and stress lines may be present, as well as rust migration. Paper is brown and may show brittleness around the edges but not in the central portion of the pages. Acidic odor may be present. Accumulation of interior tears. Chunks may be missing. The centerfold may be missing if readability is generally preserved. Coupons may be cut. 0.5 POOR (PR): Back to TopSufficiently degraded to the point where there is little or no collector value; easily identified by a complete absence of eye appeal. Brittle almost to the point of turning to dust with a touch, and usually incomplete. Extreme fading may render the cover almost indiscernible. May have extremely severe stains, mildew or heavy cover abrasion to the point that some cover inks are indistinct/absent. Covers may be detached with large chunks missing. Can have extremely ragged edges and extensive creasing. Corners are rounded or virtually absent. Covers may have been defaced with paints, varnishes, glues, oil, indelible markers or dyes, and may have suffered heavy water damage. Can also have extensive amateur repairs such as laminated covers. Extreme spine roll present; can have extremely ragged spines or a complete, book-length split. Staples can be missing or show extreme rust and discoloration. Extensive staple tears and stress lines may be present, as well as extreme rust migration. Paper exhibits moderate to severe brittleness (where the comic book literally falls apart when examined). Extreme acidic odor may be present. Extensive interior tears. Multiple pages, including the centerfold, may be missing that affect readability. Coupons may be cut

Just to help us help you, what "Rare Golden Age" books are you looking for?

I would assume that this is color rub, I do not collect moderns so I am not familiar with ink/printing/bindery issues with modern techniques/comics. Assuming it is color rub, other than that all I see is a small, color breaking crease at the top right edge and the corners look very slightly dinged. The book overall is very nice and just going by the published "Grading Standards" (not CGC's unknown standards) and I may be way off base on this, IMO the color breaking crease is a killer, it may not be as bad as it looks in the blown up pics, however, only because the rest of the book looks good am I assigning this grade which also states..." An unnoticeable 1/4" crease is acceptable if color is not broken." 8.0 VERY FINE (VF): Back to Top An excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. A limited accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Cover is relatively flat with minimal surface wear beginning to show, possibly including some minute wear at corners. Inks are generally bright with moderate to high reflectivity. An unnoticeable 1/4" crease is acceptable if color is not broken. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. Spine is almost completely flat with a possible minor color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Very slight staple tears and a few almost insignificant stress lines may be present. Paper is cream to tan and supple. Centerfold is mostly secure. 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to TopFits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. If you look at the grading standards for a VF/NM 9.0, they state..."An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken."

You need one of these, I bought one when my Grandson's wanted me to sell their Pokémon/Sports Cards for them so I could grade properly, yes they all sold. https://www.amazon.com/Magnifier-AFUNTA-Magnifying-Diamonds-Antiques/dp/B0736XSM56?th=1