Philflound

That's right. I can't tell you how many times people price at flea markets and yard sales full book, yet their copies are absolutely in horrible condition. I think you overpaid for the book, but you take your chances when putting out bigger money. I would have haggled much more due to the damage. I hope there isn't mold on the inside back cover where the water stain is. Looks sort of like mold from here.

Think the most tape I've ever seen is when I had my store over 20 years ago. Someone came in with an Avengers #1. The entire front was covered with strip after strip of scotch tape going from top to bottom. Not one spot was uncovered. Guy said he wanted to preserve it. Well, he did for a time. At least until it dries up and falls off.

The graders are the ones who usually catches most of the mistakes. Unless like I said, they are very slight differences that may squeak by.

That's 1st print I believe and is the one I see the most on Ebay for under $5. The problem is that people aren't looking at the indicia most of the time and dont' know they are selling later printings. I'm working on a list right now to determine exactly how to spot later printings. Not all of the multi-pack versions have anything in the indicia to tell otherwise. They usually all have the same ads, usually a year or two after the book came out. Sort of like many of the Marvel 80s titles, which I was working on that list a year ago and never got around to finishing it. Batman #397 multi-pack doesn't state anything and 430-432 doesn't either. I know because I opened the packs 2 weeks ago and looked. I've been working on this list about 10 hours at least so far and haven't put a dent in what I want info on. Oh, and I'm finding that certain issues have 6th or higher printings, but I can't seem to find any evidence of say 3rd or 4th printing. I'm leaving those with question marks.

Yeah, I agree. I was wrong a little. Coverless go between $3-4k and get a no grade. 0.5 incomplete last 3 sales averaged over $7500.

Dunno. Probably the later ones, but don't quote me on that. Pretty hard to find any of them.

Fantasy 15 is now a walk thru, even if it's coverless. Sales are over $5k for 0.5 copies now.

One photo to make you happy. Though the UPC isn't showing on the Spawn #3. you'll have to take my word.

Just picked up a bunch of nice books, most were $1 or $1.25. Batman later prints were $2 except for #397, which was 3. Web of Spidey #36, 3 copies #97, 2 copies #99. JLA #90 DCU, Batman #520-522 DCU. Spawn #3 NS, Batman #397 2nd print (not collectors pack), #398 4th print, #414 2nd print multi-pack, #414 7th print, #415 6th print, #416 6th print and #422 2nd print

My guess is that it was probably McFarlane and Liefeld.

English?

Books with interior signatures don't get qualified. As for names written, if they are readable or popular such as Stan Lee or Jack Kirby, those names would be put on the label in quotes. Not verifying they are real, but just noting for those collectors out there who would think it worth the risk to possibly pay more. Joe Shmoe written on page 1 would not get any acknowledgement on the label at all as he didn't work on the book. Only people credited having something to do with the book would be recognized as either "Name" or the actual name in quotes. Sometimes sigs aren't legible enough to say for sure who the artist is, but it's more than likely that person.

The problem with covers that overhang is that if there is too much overhang, the cover will bend and get damaged in the holder when the comic shifts inside. Those are books that would get rejected. Probably talking 1/4" or more. Your copy may have little enough overhang that it's fine. I'd ask. You may have to send the book in to get looked at though.

Most of the ink smears I've ever encountered are from the stamping and not letting the stamp dry before putting another copy on top. I can't tell you how many copies of comics I see with smeared date stamps transferred onto back covers. As for the newton ring question, not sure if you understood it clearly. The ring is formed between the shell and the soft plastic below it. There is no actual ring on the comic and has no effect on its condition. Thus the suggestion of sliding a piece of paper between shell and plastic. As for reholdering, it's called expense. The holders themselves are rather expensive and each "crackout" costs money. Unless there is something major like a piece of plastic, hair, crack, or something else really wrong, it's not being cracked out and reholdered.

Are you referring to the whole "Ivory logo"? That debate is still up in the air as to whether or not these are real errors. There was a theory that the way the book was stored could change the white color. As in, possibly being stored in a hotter than usual environment. I don't think it was ever resolved.

If the label incorrectly states credits and were changed, the label would be replaced and shouldn't cost you anything. Call customer service and explain that the credits pertaining to your variant copy are incorrect and copies of the same book you own are correct. This should be fixed.

Looks better than a 5.0 to me. I'd be more concerned with popped staples or spine splits. Defects you can't see from the photos. Also looks like if that area was pressed, it may have better eye appeal, though will probably not improve whatever grade it is. If you read the definition under the 5.0 that Marvelmaniac posted, up to 1/2" spine split is acceptable. Tears on the cover are less detrimental than spine splits. And the combined size of the 2 very small tears to me don't even equal 1/2".

Nope. Crm/OW would not have any affect on a grade of 8.0. Check notes on the book. An 8.0 should have some notes. This book is known for a tear at the top staple. My guess is either a crease or stain put it at 8.0. If there is moderate tanning on interior cover, that may also knock it down.

If you only had tear seals and they were small, they could easily be opened and be given a blue label. It may even hold the same grade or possibly just drop a point. C1 means there shouldn't be much resto at all. The glue on the other hand may be very minor or something where you lose a chunk of spine in the process. That can drop your grade dramatically. The only way to know would be to open it up and look.

So you're saying that Marvel went back to print (reprint) the same comics without a UPC box. Thus the book is technically a reprint. They would not have printed say Battlestar Galactica #1 with a blank box the same time they printed Battlestar Galactica #1 with a UPC code. They probably waited until after #3 to make all 3 issues with the blank box. Thus these copies are not part of the initial print run. I don't know whether or not to actually call these reprints or Whitman collector pack variants or something else, but they should be noted as something. And it seems over the years Whitman reprints have been the name stuck with. If you can come up with something more accurate to your liking, then maybe you should make the suggestion to CGC and see what they think about your proposal.

That's not true. There are plenty of books submitted not pressed. Also, I have a friend who deals at some of the major shows. He has lots of high grade silver not slabbed. I asked him why he wouldn't submit them to get more money. He told me there are customers that request raw high grade books all the time and he wants to provide them with those raw books. There are tons of books that would not benefit from pressing. Though I do agree with you that I know of some dealers that always have a book pressed before grading. Some press themselves, others rely on a pressing company. Some press themselves and don't get the results and then try and rely on the pressing company.

But pressing should not affect the gloss. Let me edit this. PROPER pressing should not affect the gloss. There are many instances I've seen where improper or way too strong pressing will cause the staple areas on square bound books to have a sheen to them, where that area is shiny but the rest of the book looks normal.

The comics go from the printer to Diamond. From Diamond to the comic store. From the comic store to the customer. From the customer to another customer, or stored in your box. There are several hands on the book. Spine dings are common. What I find is that WD issues, especially early ones have scuffs on the back covers from being stacked. My suggestion is when you go to the store, look through all the copies and try and choose the best one without spine dings.

It'll be fixed without you calling. I guess if you want to call just in case, that's up to you. If verifying doesn't fix it, the grader will. If the grader doesn't fix it, QC will. If QC doesn't fix it, then you'll get a book with an incorrect label, which is very, very unlikely to happen, but will on occasion. If your book was 2nd print versus 1st print, then the mistake would more likely happen. But the people who work at CGC aren't amateurs. Marvel vs IDW is obvious.