scburdet

Pretty book. Obviously a little discoloration along the top edge of the BC, but I'd bet that gets a light touch given its age. 9.0 or better

I'll defer to others who think this is distributor ink. It definitely has that look. FWIW the CGC book says 1" wide and 0.25" is not penalized. Beyond that they are ambiguous about what does to the grade considering the aesthetics. 6.0–9.8 is what the book says. I don't think this is terrible distribution ink, it's on the back and not excessive. Given the front of the book has some spine stress, edge wear and a tear/crease at the center of the bottom edge of the front cover as well as what looks like a light stain on the TRBC, I wouldn't worry about the ink. All these other defects put the ceiling around 5.0/5.5 & that's what I'd guess for a grade

I might guess 6.0 based on the front, but the back looks pretty discolored. I'm not sure all the back issues can be removed, so 5.0±0.5

Can't tell if there's a small amount of color rub in the blue inside the HULK U, and just after the K, or just some glare. The bottom corners front and back are a tad rough. Might have some impact if it was pressed & maybe tightened up the appearance a little. 8.0/8.5. Without the corners, my guess would be much higher.

8.5±0.5. Seems like some creasing on both corners

+1 even more than inside, like a missing MVS. I just found one of these I never noticed before

with the barely visible crease on the back cover? IDK how pressing would fix this completely @LowGradeBronze the tiniest of nicks

Any idea if this book was pressed? The CGC book lists some defect from improper pressing. I can't tell if the blue spots on the back are some kind of distributor's ink or ink transfer. A hard one to judge from photos.

5.5±0.5 depends on how much allowance for foxing of a 70 year old book

2.5

3.0/3.5

4.0/4.5 mostly for the crease along the spine.

Got one of my copies signed by Roy Thomas & it came back a couple of grades higher than I though. Might be some grader bias in liking this one. I'll say 4.0, but kind feels 3.5 b/c of the missing corner piece

6.0/6.5. I can't quite see this one at 7.0 in doing a comparison with my 7.5, but I love this book in any grade

despite the barely visible (but definitely there) crease on the back cover?

Mostly happy with this one. Missed the Claremont signing cut last year though.

≥9.2. Could there be some slight discoloration along the top edge of the back cover? Could also be my crappy laptop. This is a weird Adam West Batman-esque cover

≥9.0. I see some small amount of grim on the TLBC that if not cleaned could get a minor deduction. Removed, >9.2.

≥9.2. I see some small white spots in the close-up of the TRFC, a darkish line that starts in Hyde's crotch & extends down through Spidey's eye to the bottom of the page (IDK what that is), maybe a tad of a spine roll or just some light reflection that looks like it, and minor edge wear on the BLFC.

≥9.4

from what might be bleed through around the center inside? I can at different times convince myself I see & don't see it. I live in fear of paying too much for something that has been touched up in a way that's not totally obvious, given what it does to the resell value if you grade or are honest in advertising.

Having posted a book with a subscription crease recently, I am familiar with trying to visualize the severity of the crease in photos. The back is obviously a pronounced crease, the front at first glance looks to be minimally color breaking. That's said, there are spots of white in front of Blade's glasses & knee and on his hand. These appear to coincide with where the crease is. The CGC books says subscription creases alone put a comic in the 4.5–7.0 range. Without those white spots, I think you could argue toward the higher end of the spectrum, but with them, 4.5/5.0 seems to be a much more reasonable expectation.

Is that a tear going into the red from the outer edge on the back cover, or just a crease? If it's a tear, I'd drop the grade down to 5.0. If it's a crease, the 6.0/6.5 suggested above seems about right. The tape seems to be small enough & not discolored from age, so not a huge contributor to the overall grade given the rest of the condition.

5.0±0.5. Looks pretty nice, I just can kick it up any higher with the spine stress & edge/corner wear. I don't think the internal defects detract much at this grade range. I am a big fan of Kirby, but the eyes on the Inhumans on this cover are....inhuman.

You might get this to 5.5 with a very successful C/P. My read is that if you stalked online sales for long enough, you could get a copy of this graded for 2-3× the cost of getting it graded, or find another raw copy that would grade higher for about the same range of prices w/post-purchase grading. IMO grading is reserved for key issues (this isn't one), or particularly high grade older comics to guarantee preservation (also not one). Beyond that, it's a personal choice. You can't really advise someone about grading a book that has personal or sentimental value using the same metrics though.