marvelmaniac

Very Happy/Glad to see you gave a Well Loved book a nice home, even Well Loved books need Love and Attention. I have a lot of "Well Loved" books, when you are collecting on a budget you treasure low grade issues just because you actually have a copy and I agree 100% that those books have "class and a history" to them. I would not know where to start with pics, too many in PR 0.5 - FR 1.0 just in Super Hero titles such as... ASM 2, 3, 4, Avengers 2, 6, 7, 8, DD 1, 7, F.F. 2, 3, 4, JIM 84, 88, Silver Surfer 1, TTA 44, 45, X-Men 2 There are many more in the FR/GD 1.5 - GD 2.0 range. Here are a couple...

I have Silver Age books that have been in the same 1 Mil Mylite (that is all that was available in the early 80's) with the same board for 30 + years. I regraded all of my books (2000 +) in 2015 and none of the boards were yellowing or showing any signs of deterioration and none of the comics showed any damage (other than their normal wear and tear) from old boards. You have to realize that the comic books degrade on their own as they age, the paper that was used was poor quality, the inks used contain damaging acids, As stated earlier, everything depends on proper storage conditions, the more a books environment is changed the more/faster it degrades so you want Mylites, Acid Free Boards, Storage Boxes, Controlled Temp/Humidity and books should be kept away from all Light/Heat sources especially UV Light and Heater/AC Vents, do not store in unfinished, non-temp controlled garages/sheds/attics/basements.

When you say "Plastic"... Just a little clarification... Poly Bags are fine for short term storage and are not expensive, however, they break down over time and produce acids that will/may damage the books over time, it is recommended to replace Poly Bags every 5 years. Mylar is an Inert Archival Safe material that does not break down and contains no acids, Mylar is more expensive than Poly but will last a lifetime. With both you should be using an Acid Free or Buffered Backing Board. https://www.egerber.com/

I also said I would never be on Facebook, however... My Son decided to sell his collection and I offered to help, I started by contacting LCS's in the area, the problem... Nobody lists a contact by e-mail anymore, the only way to contact an LCS other than a phone call is Facebook or Twitter, so here I am on Facebook. When I signed up I told my family they were now in trouble, they never should have let me find this and this is what I posted... "You are now in trouble, you tried to hide your puny/insignificant world from me but you have been found."

What are your plans for these books?, Are you planning on keeping them or selling them. If you plan to keep them, do you plan on reading them, if so you do not want to have them graded, if you are selling then Yes, a CGC graded book will probably bring you more $ than a Non Graded (Raw) book. If you are keeping them whether graded or Raw they will need to be stored properly, a CGC case does not offer any more protection for a book than a Mylite and Acid Free Board. Both need to be stored in the proper conditions, away from ALL Light/Heat Sources, Controlled Temp/Humidity (no attics/outdoor sheds/garages or unfinished basements)in Storage Boxes, Raw books need to be placed in Mylites with Acid Free Backing Boards, if you want to display any books, even CGC graded books, they need to be placed in frames that offer UV protection. Just as an example of value, just for example purposes we will hypothetically say your Green Lantern 40 is a FN 6.0, Raw GL 40 in FN 6.0 have sold on eBay auctions for $50.00 - $60.00 while a CGC FN 6.0 sold for $134.00, your experience may differ. To answer one of your other questions, as far as I know Restoration is never a good idea,(would really depend on the book) it will get you a "Purple Restored Label" from CGC and folks refer to that as (Purple Label Of Death because it drastically affects its value). CGC Label Designations https://www.cgccomics.com/comic-grading/labels/

I can shed some light on what posts I will give a "Like" to. I am a member of six comic book groups on Facebook, however I am not a CGC fan, this does not mean I think you are wrong or CGC is not needed, it only means that I prefer to be able to touch/smell/read my books so when someone posts a CGC graded book regardless of what it is I scroll right past it, depending on the group(s) you belong to there are a lot of folks that feel the same way. I react with "Like/Love" to "Raw" books/covers/panels/pages/ads that I grew up with in the 60's or newer (70's/80's/90's books) that may have a special meaning to me and I prefer low grade readers over high grade issues (I would rather see an Early Silver Age Book in Lower Grade (Well Loved, Coverless/Remaindered Copy PR 0.5 - VG 4.0) than in NM 9.0 or higher only because when I was a ten year old in 65 it was not about money or grade, it was about reading/collecting and sharing with your friends. I am sure there are groups on Facebook just for High Grade and CGC Comic Book Collectors if that is what you own/collect and would like to share and get positive responses from.

Wait, What???!!! You can make money with Comic Books? I just sit outside the 7-11 with a Slurpee and read them, who would pay more than 12 cents for a comic book??? Thats Just Crazy!!!

Distributor Stripes - Color brushed or sprayed on the edges of comic book stacks by the distributor/wholesaler to code them for expedient exchange at the sales racks. Typical colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Distributor Stripes are not a defect.

I have 2 -66 and he has 94 - 151 plus about 75 other issues (not complete runs) between issues 158 - 459. When he decided to start collecting, to get him started I gave him books that I had bought new off the newsstand/LCS when I got back into collecting in the 79 -85 era (including X-Men 126 -150, Miller DD issues, Secret Wars) I had that fell into the category of books he was collecting. With my OCD and and all of his books being stored at my place I did help to fill some of his runs, especially Transformers, he also completed his own run of ROM.

Welcome To The Boards!!! You should post this in the "Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Grade" section, with clear pictures of the front and back covers, spine and interior pages, especially the first, last pages and the centerfold. You should know that nobody can "guarantee" what grade you will get from CGC but folks can give you an estimate on grade. From what the pics you posted the front cover presents nicely with no visible major defects, however with the White Cover I would need clearer pics to see any creases/spine ticks/staining/discoloration, etc., the damage on the spine appears to be severe, need to see the damage from other angles and the inside cover, pages.

Thanks, You have a GREAT collection also, Congrats on the Avengers 1 and Hulk #1!!! Keep collecting, filling those runs and ENJOY!!! I have smaller runs that I did not include such as the Sad Sack Spinoff Titles of the 50's (all 10 cent covers), Amazing Adventures/Amazing Adult Fantasy (no, I do not own AF 15) and books like Beany and Cecil, Tom Terrific, books about characters I watched on TV from my childhood. If you include my Son's books, he started with the issues I ended with on the main titles and then added his own, so he has runs of ... ASM 201 - 441 Annuals 6 - 28, 96,97 (He no longer has all of the Annuals or ASM 361, he sold them) DD 133 - 211 F.F. 201 - 416 Annuals 9-27, 98 Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars (Vol 1) 1-12 Sensational Spider-Man 1 - 33 Silver Surfer (Vol 2) 1 - 146 Annuals 1 - 7, 97, 98 Spectacular Spider-Man 1 - 263 Annuals 1 - 7 Spider-Man 1 - 98 Annuals 97, 98 Transformers (1984 Vol 1, 1st Prints) 1 - 80 Uncanny X-Men 94 - 150 Web Of Spider-Man 1 - 129 Annuals 1 - 10 X-Men (1990) 1 - 91 (all 5 variant covers of #1)

Thank You!!! I will never own the grails such as AF 15/ASM 1/Avengers 1/F.F 1/IH 1/JIM 83/X-Men 1, those runs are completed with Marvel Milestone Editions and Marvel Tales 137/138 for ASM. Books such as ASM 14, Avengers 4, IH 181, ST 110, TOS 52, etc were all obtained in the 80's early 90's, if I had to start collecting today I could never complete runs, prices are out of reach for the average collector. The other books I need to complete runs of JIM/ST Pre-Hero and the Westerns, Kid Colt Outlaw (need 4 books to complete 1 - 101, all 10 cent covers) and Rawhide Kid (need 2 books to complete 1 - 25, all 10 cent covers) have just gotten out of hand price wise.

Complete runs of... (As complete as they are going to get) ASM 2 - 200 Annuals 1-5 Avengers 2 - 130 Annuals 1 -3 Daredevil 1 - 132 Fantastic Four 2 - 200 Annuals 1 - 8 Incredible Hulk 2 - 6, 102 - 200 Annuals 1, 2 Journey Into Mystery/Thor 34 - 265 Annual 1 (83 is a GRR) ROM Spaceknight 1 - 75 Annuals 1 - 4 Sad Sack Comics 1 - 124 (All 10 cent covers) Silver Surfer (Vol 1) 1 - 18 Strange Tales 43 - 134 Annuals 1, 2 Tales Of Suspense 1 - 99 Tales To Astonish 1 - 101 Two Gun Kid 1 - 60 (10 cent covers, except 60, New Origin by Kirby) X-Men 2 - 66, 94 - 150 (did not collect the reprints in issues 67 - 93)

The only CGC book I own, needed this issue to complete the run and the price was right.

I really cannot give a grade on this book. If only you had better pics, especially with the White Cover, it is hard to see if there are any creases/spine ticks/stress lines, also need pics of the back cover and pages, especially the centerfold. I do see slightly rounded/blunted corners, the rusty staple and the book appears to have been trimmed.

That's OK, my books have been stored Front to Back for a long time, some for 40 years.

DO NOT read this if you are prone to nightmares or are afraid of the END of the world as we know it. You do know that comic books are the "scourge of the earth" and the main cause of all Crime/War/Pestilence and Hatred, actually I think they are mentioned in "Revelations", all of this was recently brought to light by a noted psychiatrist who cannot be wrong, so we must destroy the comic books before they destroy us.

I do not remember the question of $$$ value ever coming up, he did ask about insurance, comic books can be valuable to someone for more than $$$ reasons...Enjoyment, Memories, Sentimental Value and if you have Time/Effort/Devotion invested in your collection and it is important to you then why not insure especially considering the small cost of premiums. He obviously enjoys Bronze Age books and that is why he collects them, all that was asked was, are his books going to be stored properly as to not sustain any damage with the space/environment he has available to him. There is NO WRONG WAY to collect.

My question would be whether having books cover to cover will create any other wear issues as opposed to having backing board to cover in the traditional way of storing in a comic box. Cover to cover IMO (unless I am not thinking this correctly) can cause issues with the two books not being aligned with each other thus creating other issues as they are pressed against each other from weight of the other books, how will cover to cover affect books near the back of the box with the weight of all of the books in front of them pushing on them over time?

Just one thing to remember... If you are buying the books to read as they are/were intended then they will probably sustain some sort of damage (although it may be minute) just from opening the book and turning the pages, a spine tick/crease here, a dimple there, etc. I have numerous books I bought new off the newsstand in the early 80's and they were read, these books were given to my Son when he became interested in collecting in the late 90's, now he is parting with his collection and I graded these books so he can sell them, even though I bought these new and they were stored in Mylites W/Acid Free Boards in Comic Storage Boxes in the Proper Environmental Conditions the majority of the books fell in the VF 8.0 - NM- 9.2 because they were read a few times. If you are doing this for fun and enjoyment... "Buy what you like and enjoy what you buy".

Pics of the room and even the dimensions of the room and the amount of boxes you have will certainly help folks to be able to help you.

Welcome To The Boards!!! Just a little advice since you stated you are new to all of this. I have no idea exactly what books you have or are collecting or their value however... The bags that you are using are polypropylene or polyethylene, neither of which are Archival Safe. Both of these materials breakdown over time and produce acids that over time will damage the book they are meant to protect. It is recommended to replace poly bags every 5 years. To protect your books for the long haul it is recommended to use Mylites (as was previously mentioned). Mylar is an Inert Material that does not contain any acids and does not breakdown over time, it is Archival Safe. Mylites along with an Acid Free Board stored in the proper conditions (controlled temp/away from light) will preserve your books for a lifetime. Yes Mylites do cost more in the short term but considering you never have to replace them they cost less in the long run and you know your books are properly protected. Most folks will use poly as a temporary solution until they can get/afford Mylites. I have numerous books that have been in the same 1 MIL Mylite since the 80's. If you have any questions/concerns Please feel free to ask. https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/comics.html

It appears the book has been trimmed on the top, not sure about the outer edge, if this is true the book would receive a Purple Restored Label from CGC. With the creasing on the lower edge and spine, the staple tear and tape on the interior page(s) IMO this book grades at... 4.0 VERY GOOD (VG): Back to TopThe average used comic book. Cover shows moderate to significant wear, and may be loose but not completely detached. Cover reflectivity is low. Can have moderate creases or dimples. Corners may be blunted. Store stamps, name stamps, arrival dates, initials, etc. have no effect on this grade. Some discoloration, fading, foxing, and even minor soiling is allowed. As much as a 1/4" triangle can be missing out of the corner or edge; a missing 1/8" square is also acceptable. Only minor unobtrusive tape and other amateur repair allowed on otherwise high grade copies. Moderate spine roll may be present and/or a 1" spine split. Staples may be discolored. Minor to moderate staple tears and stress lines may be present, as well as some rust migration. Paper is brown but not brittle. Minor to moderate interior tears may be present. Centerfold may be loose or detached at one staple.

Especially for a 9 year old that was reading Archie and Harvey.