VegasJeff

I think this staining (or browning) is caused by long term storage in humid climates and/or cheap poly bags with boards.

I just noticed there is no price on the cover. Is that how you tell the difference?

I'd say 1.0. According to my grading notes on specific defects, a 1.0 can have an entire back cover missing or 1/4 of front cover missing. It would drop to 0.5 if there are large chunks missing on both covers or if there are also large chunks missing from interior pages.

This would be 9.6 tops. In my personal notes on grading comics, I have noted the flaw on a 9.8 should be almost invisible. A corner tear up to 1/16" would drop it to a 9.6. I think someone said it best earlier in this thread that if the flaw is visible in a scan it's probably 9.6 or less.

So I'm curious how this IG thing works. How do I search for a book on there?

Was the old well made from? I'm curious if the problem was the Mylar...

Wow! So how did they ship $80k worth of books to your friends house? Did he at least have to sign for them? I hope they weren't left out by UPS to get rained on. Also, I thought CGC had a limit to the value of books you can send in which is $3k right?

Time for a necrobump here! So according to Wikipedia, Lexan absorbs UV light so maybe a good use for this would be for those select comics that are put on display and then put a sheet in the front to absorb UV light and a sheet in the back.

And you lived?!?! Suprised you didn't get impaled by one of those pieces of metal. And how much does a long box weigh anyways? Surprised you didn't get crushed either. Well, it might explain a few things now.

Just to clarify, Manga means Japanese comics. Anime means Japanese cartoons. Japan is where it originated but it's possible you could see something made in the same style from another Asian country or even America here. Mange/Anime has been really popular here on the West Coast especially among the Asian community. Not to burst anyone's bubble, but Manga like Comics has also been experiencing a decrease in sales compared to years ago. ComicConnoisseur made some good reco's above. Lone Wolf & Cub and Akira are definitely classics. If you haven't seen the Anime for Akira put that on your list. Two more classics I can recommend that I have in my collection are Golgo 13 and Old Boy. I also picked up Star Trek which I think is cool to see in Manga form. I really like the Manga digest format, but I believe some of them are just reprints from magazines in Japan. The only Japanese Anime I've gotten into recently is One Punch Man. You can watch it on Netflix right now. Check it out.

Spooncomic I'm curious where this high humidity place is that you live. What city/country are you in? I grew up in ultra-humid Central Florida where it would reach 100% humidity and rain every day in the summer. I currently live in Las Vegas where it is ultra dry and it is usually around low 20% humidity. So I've seen both extremes and can offer a lot of insight in regards to preserving collectibles. I see you have done a lot to improve the situation which is really good. I think your biggest problem was keeping stuff on the floor. Many comics have been ruined by being stored directly on the floor. Getting the silica is a pro preservation technique for humid or closed environments. The only thing I might be leary of is the closed air tight plastic box. One one hand, they are good to protect stuff from bugs, dust, mold spores, etc. But on the other hand, they could cause an issue because of condensation in a humid environment. If your house is climate controlled and stays relatively cool I don't think it will be an issue. However, I think it will become an issue if you ever move this box into say a storage bin or somewhere that is not climate controlled. The silica will help in regards to that but I don't know what the limits of Silica are. Something to think about. I've never had an issue myself from humidity with comics being stored in poly bags. I still own Action Comics#600 which I bought as a kid nearly 30 years ago in Florida. It was one of the first comics that I bought in a comic store. It was kept in a poly bag with backing board for the first 5 years or so. Then I switched out the poly bags to mylar. So that comic is currently sitting in the same mylar I put it in 25 years ago. The mylar is still crystal clear and the comic still looks really good.

Spooncomic where were you storing your comics? I would also be concerned about potential health issues if mold spores are that big of an issue.

Does anyone have an idea when direct editions started to become more plentiful than newstand editions? Might be an opportunity in picking up early direct editions.

This is crazy! Makes me wonder what the best way to ship an item over $750 internationally is to avoid this signature problem with Paypal. Maybe we need to stick to using FedEx or UPS despite the crazy high cost?

I've bought and shipped all over the world. Probably most remote place for me would be the Canary Islands. I had to look them up to see if they were covered by Paypal and I learned they are since they are considered part of Spain. Furthest place would have to be Australia. One thing I also like to collect is Australian Lunar Coins.