(un)cooldude

I drop my thanks to DarthDiesel for working with me on some much-wanted Tomb Raider, Fathom, and Superman/Batman books. He was great to deal with, shipped faster than....well....The Flash....and the books were excellent! Thanks for hanging in there Darth!

I figured I would also toss up the front and back scans of the foil-cover edition of '303' that I recently removed from its bag as well. I've circled the minute 'dent' that I mentioned before, in the front cover; 303 #1 Platinum-Foil Edition (front cover) ~380Kb 303 #1 Platinum-Foil Edition (back cover) ~470Kb How badly would a dent like that affect a grade?

As an example, I scanned both the front and back covers of my 'Adventures Of Superman' #500, so you could see what it looked like, once released from its poly-prison; Adventures Of Superman #500 (front cover) ~340Kb Adventures Of Superman #500 (back cover) ~550Kb Think something in this condition is worth slabbing? By the way, any 'white' specks you may see on the scan of the front cover is just dust on the scanner glass. There's NOTHING on the front of this book.

Well, I did the deed and opened the long-sealed poly-bag that my Adventures of Superman #500 was in, and had a look at it. Turns out that it's in what looks to me like MINT condition. There's not a mark on it. Anywhere. So, I promptly put it into a fresh bag with board, and dropped the included trading card in with it. It actually felt liberating doing that...and then tossing away the old poly bag it was in. As for what I'll do with the comic now? Who knows? I doubt that it's worth sending in for CGG grading, as there's a TON of them out there for sale, and I have exactly ZERO other 'Superman' titles in my collection. I also freed my copy of the platinum-foil edition of '303' that I got last weekend, and I'm glad I did that as well. Turns out both the comic, and the included poster, have a VERY VERY minute 'dent' in the top edge. It's isolated to just the front cover of the comic, and the edge of the signed poster that was with it, but you couldn't see that when it was in the poly bag. Interesting. So, the comic, poster, and certificate also went into a fresh bag/board combo, and back into my box. Since I simply love this story thus far, I have no desire to sell it...but would possibly consider slabbing it at a later date just for posterity...who knows? I already have both regular and wrap-around covers of the same issue, on top of this platinum-foil edition, so it's not like I don't have reading copies available or anything My ultimate plan is to send in 3 comics to have CGC graded, just to satisfy my own curiosity about their processes, grading, and results. Just WHICH three will be an interesting question.

This is a good question, Ash. I'm actually rather curious to see what others say about it myself. I've got 2 comics that are still in the orignal poly bags they came in; 'Superman' #500, and a book I just got yesterday, '303' by Garth Ennis. I've heard people say that leaving them in the original poly will eventually hurt them, and that some have even pulled the books out, only to find that they were damaged (Superman #500). The copy of '303' that I have, is in a clear poly bag, so you can see everything inside. I'm going to pull this one out, because it's a 'retailer copy' that's got a platinum-foil cover, and a poster that's been signed by the entire creative team. All accompanied by a COA from the publisher. I have no plans to sell this, so for me, taking it out of what could be a destructive bag, and putting it into a fresh bag, for future inspection, makes more sense to me at this time. The 'Superman' #500 that I've got is probably one of the most MASS produced books ever, so as far as I know, there really isn't any HUGE collector value in this thing from an investment perspective. So, because of the stories I've heard about damage, I think I'll be opening this baby up, and seeing what's inside. In regards to the whole 'slabbing' issue; if you just want to keep a copy in as good a shape as possible, then yes, breaking it out of a potentially destructive poly bag, and having it 'slabbed' sounds like a good choice. You'll have a guaranteed grade, and you'll be able to store it away for future sale/trade if needed. Now, if it's your only copy of this particular comic, it becomes an issue of 'do you want to be able to READ it', versus, 'do you want to SELL it'? I view the CGC services twofold thus far; as a service to give a professional grade to a comic, and sealing it to protect it, as well as ensuring that a potential buyer will know EXACTLY what kind of comic he's buying. Would I slab a comic I wanted to read? No. Would I slab a comic I wanted to preserve for a long period of time, OR, possibly sell later on? Yes. Now, that's just my two cents...