RockMyAmadeus

I'd like to find out what "EN" means. Anybody know?

The best advice anyone can give about pressing is to stop looking for a press, stop pressing your own books, and send to the tiny handful of pressers that know what they're doing. I can only recommend Susan Cicconi (and she won't do pressing by itself anymore) and CCS. Proper pressing has little to do with owning a press and learning "techniques." Proper pressing requires a temperament, a mindset, that most people simply do not have. It's why 98% of the people who sub for the first time...if they're being honest...say "man, I totally thought that was going to be a 9.8, but it can back 8.5." There's a reason for that, and that reason is that those people...as with most people...simply do not look at a comic book the way someone who would be good at pressing does. They completely gloss over some pretty serious flaws, because they don't see those flaws in the first place. Would anyone here recommend that they buy an auto-lift and start doing home repairs on their vehicles? Of course not. Can SOME people do that, and have success? Sure. But most people are going to make things worse, which is why you pay a professional to do it.

So now we DO KNOW print runs, gotcha. Don't be disingenuous. Nobody said anything remotely like that. Read the posts again.

Right here. Lazyboy's completely right. See my post above.

Wrong. DC has made many issues with alternate covers that they have said were equal. Most of the Marvel "2nd issue variants" of the late 90s/early 00s were also produced in 50/50 splits. There would have been zero incentive for Marvel to make that not true by any statistically relevant numbers (that is, more than necessary for damages, for example, though likely not even then.) If they printed 80,000 copies of Captain Marvel (1999) #2, they almost certainly printed 80,000 copies of the variant #2. The only reason we can identify one as a variant over the other is because of UPC box coding, but otherwise, there's no way to know which is the "regular" and which is the "variant." And, when the code wasn't properly input, there's no way to know.

That's TOTAL.

I sold a couple of complete sets of IG, IW, and IC for $50.

Your statement here isn't quite clear...are you referring to the non-variants...? If that's the case, it's because they printed 10 billion of them.

He’s the same guy who said he would sell to anyone regardless of being on any list and he would judge it on a case by case basis. So there is that. OK - so who was that? "Logan510" is referring to me to provoke conflict. The "he" that spreads is talking about is the mystery buyer, but "Logan510" changed it to mean me, in the process inventing more fiction. The first part of his statement contradicts the second. Judging on a case by case basis means you DON'T sell to "anyone." In any event, it's not me.

I think we need to define what "J. Scott Campbell" means.

I wouldn't go that far, but the truth is, no one anywhere...including the graders...can say that.

If the names of these people aren't eventually made public, it would be a substantial disservice to these boards. Not because of the prurient factor, but because not doing so exposes others to this type of game playing from these people in the future.

Agreed.

As in all things, you get what you pay for (and no, that doesn't mean in a positive way.) You pay cheap, you're virtually guaranteed to get cheap. I'm not aware of any top tier pressers who have a tiered pricing structure other than one, but whether it's $8, $12, or anything in that ballpark, you're not going to get anything but a single pass through the process, and very little in the way of analysis. What comes out, in that case, is what comes out, and what remains doesn't get addressed at that price point, because it can't be. While I am of the opinion that every book stands to benefit from a proper press, I am also of the opinion that not every book needs one, as mentioned above. I'm essentially telling you that there really isn't *much* distinction between your "quick press" and "full service." Since every book is unique, a "one size fits all" pressing policy doesn't work. If I have a badly wrinkled, dirty book that could respond well to pressing and dry cleaning, that's different from a book with a couple of NCB spine tics that can be worked out. The latter will probably be fine with a "Quick Press." The former....not so much. You take your car in for repairs, they don't charge you the same for an oil change as they do an overhaul. The answer is for the consumer to start taking a serious look at who is pressing, how they press (yes, you have the right to ask...those who balk? Don't do business with them. It's YOUR property, and all the "proprietary secrets" are for people who don't have the temperament to do it properly. It's not difficult, technically...it's very difficult if you don't have the right temperament, regardless of your "process") and why they charge what they charge. Do they get out every pressable defect? How do they examine a book? Are they willing to give you an analysis of the book, before AND after? What temperatures do they subject your book to? What type of moisture do they subject your book to? Do they practice disassembly? Do they have a damage policy? Do they TELL YOU when they've damaged your property? These are all questions all pressers should be asked, and should be made to answer. Until and if that happens, crummy pressers will continue to smush books, and there will be no change. Pressing is an artform, and should be practiced by artists...not hacks.

I doubt there's more than 5-10 people doing pressing today that are proficient pressers. Lotsa chop shops, though.

Couple of observations. Disclosure: I have pressed for many clients over the last 8 years, and pressed somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000-8,000 comics of all eras. 1. Pressing isn't magic. While I am of the opinion that EVERY book can be improved from pressing, not all improvement will result in a grade increase. And, due to the subjective nature of grading, yes, some books go DOWN in grade. I underestimated the tanning on a major Bronze key, graded when tanning wasn't treated as severely, and, despite the book looking markedly better than before, it went from a 9.0 to an 8.0. Should have left it in the 9.0 slab. That's one of two books that I have had go down in grade (the other being a Marvel Premiere #1 that went from 8.5 to 8.0. Sigh.) 2. Pressing is, like all art forms, not something that can be taught. You either have the temperament and personality to be a good presser, or you do not. Owning a press doesn't make someone a presser, any more than owning a drafting table makes one a penciler or owning an easel makes one a painter. 3. Notes are notoriously inadequate. What may seem like "pressable defects" in notes may not...and frequently ARE not...actually so. 4. Proper pressing...that is, removing all pressable defects without introducing NEW defects to the book...is worth far, far, farrrrr more than the pittance that the market is paying right now. $8 for a "quick press"? $12 for a "standard" press? You're getting what you pay for. If your book has more than just the most subtle of defects, those charging you this pittance aren't doing what needs to be done to the book: and I don't blame them. The time, effort, talent, patience, and ability it takes to work real magic is worth much more than $12/book, but very few people want to pay that. I don't press for others any more because of that, except on a very limited basis, and only because I enjoy it. Once I stop enjoying it, I don't do it. 5. Every book...every single copy...is unique. While there are obviously techniques one can develop, the fact is, every book has to be approached on its own terms, to get the best possible results. 6. A hint for wannabe pressers: the actual press should be the "top coat", the "sealer", the "finishing touch" on a properly processed book. Overheating, overwatering, oversquishing...these do not make for a proper press job. Gentleness, patience, perseverance, gentleness, and above all, gentleness is the key. If an educated observer can tell the book has been pressed, you're not doing it correctly.

This times 54,918. Damn it.

I agree, for the most part. I think it's pretty well accepted that the Superman #75 2nd print "newsstands" were an effort by DC, and that most (I won't say all; who knows what all is out there) of those were publisher stickers. I'm sure there are instances of a company like Waldenbooks stickering Direct 2nd prints, too, we just haven't seen them, or they don't exist anymore. And publishers have "stickered" books before when they've made mistakes..the wrong month code in the Action #759 you point out above is a good example. Same with the Eternal Warriors #1 with the "Oops" price sticker. My conclusion about the #75th 4th print "stickers" is just based on logic: DC had "rediscovered" how to print newsstand reprints (which they had forgotten to do for the 2nd print), and had printed newsstand 3rds and 4ths. So, as someone else mentioned earlier, it doesn't make too much sense that they would then do the stickers again when they were perfectly capable of printing UPC codes on the books directly. BUT...I have no statement from the publisher on this, so it's entirely possible that DC printed newsstand 4ths AND stickered some direct 4ths. I don't think it's at all likely, but it's certainly possible. It was a wacky, undocumented time.

A couple of observations: 1. Don't use Paypal unethically by accepting "Friends and Family" for transactions. That is stealing from Paypal by using their services but not paying for them. If you won't behave ethically, you lose the moral high ground in a dispute. 2. According to the Domestic Mail Manual...the ONLY word that matters where the USPS is concerned...the rules for refusing mail are as follows: Section 508: Recipient Services 1.1.3 Refusal After Delivery After delivery, an addressee may mark a mailpiece “Refused” and return it within a reasonable time, if the piece or any attachment is not opened. Mail that may not be refused and returned unopened under this provision may be returned to the sender only if it is enclosed in a new envelope or wrapper with a correct address and new postage. The following may not be refused and returned postage-free after delivery: Pieces sent as Registered Mail, insured, Certified Mail, collect on delivery (COD), Adult Signature and return receipt for merchandise Response mail to the addressee’s sales promotion, solicitation, announcement, or other advertisement that was not refused when offered to the addressee. (emphasis added.) subsections 1 and 2 don't apply, so items may be refused within a reasonable time (which is purposely vague), so long as the package is NOT OPENED. How can you tell if the package has been opened...? Gooood question. But the "buyer" can refuse it, unfortunately, if it has been unopened, even if they initially accepted it. I find it interesting that INSURED mail CANNOT be refused. Was your package insured...? If so, it cannot be refused. The answer is to accept the return, DO NOT REFUND until the books are in hand, OUT this board member, nominate for the PL, and be done with it.

2nd print directs are very common.

Finally for tonight... As I think many of us have discussed before, I am certain that DC kept, during these years, these books warehoused to fill collectors packs as needed, since CPs were all the rage in the mid 90s. I suspect that DC may have "gone back to the well" numerous times, for numerous random issues, which is why there are oddballs...and they didn't keep a strict accounting of any of it. I think that's why you see some strange book like MOS Annual #3 as both an unmarked (first printing) AND a second print, both DCUs. We KNOW that's exactly what happened with GL #36: there was a first printing that was published in Dec, 1992, with a Feb 1993 cover date, but, since they weren't doing specially marked CPs at that time, there is no corresponding "first printing DCU." But, in 1994, DC decided to do a GL collectors pack, so they reprinted #36, and now you have a reprint made specifically for collectors packs. ...and there was nothing preventing them from doing that again...and again...and again...so it would not surprise me at all to see 2 OR EVEN MORE "printings" of DCU (or bullet or zero hour) books made, to go with the original Direct/newsstand firsts. If this is redundant information, please skip over...I find the process to be the most fascinating part of the puzzle.

By the way....this is roughly how they figured out the Classic Comics/Classics Illustrated printings in the 70's...but without the internet. Nerd minutiae!

I am, too. I think GL #36 is a special case, as is MOS #19 third, Advent of Supes #499 third, etc. That is, books that were published long before the collector's pack program kicked into high gear, and GL #36 was chosen to "fill out the pack." Interesting that they didn't pick #46 instead.

They didn't. These would be Direct copies that were sold at book stores back in 1992, like Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks, who then added their UPC stickers to the books. They did this all the time. It's actually the reason why DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, and other publishers went to the "UPC code within the Direct market" format in 1993...their book store Direct market retail clients were tired of stickering their books. That's one of the reasons I don't recognize the 2nd print "newsstand" as a legitimate "variant." While, yes, DC did produce most of these copies, the fact is, it's not printed on the book, so has to be treated as a regular Direct version (which it is) with a sticker added. By the time the 4th print had come out, DC had "rediscovered" how to do later printing newsstands, and as we know, the 3rd and 4th printings both have UPC versions, which aren't terribly uncommon (unlike Bats #457 or Supes #50.) There wasn't a 5th printing, and, frankly, demand had been quite exhausted at that point. Superman #75, despite being the most demanded book in the story, was printed in enough numbers in those four printings to cover all the rest of the collector packs made later (which wasn't true for, say, MOS #18 or #19.) It's not like the Spidey #184 All variant, because, aside from the sticker, it's actually printed differently from the regular (no Curtis seal, for example.) So, unfortunately, this isn't an officially produced variant.

Thanks BJ...