scburdet

I'm at 5.0±0.5 depending on how much allowance there is for the edge issues that are problematic from a production standpoint for Marvels from this era.

Not sure I find the color touch, but my understanding is anything deemed restoration, professional or amateur, will earn you a purple label. Since the ceiling here is already low, 2ish, I also would leave it raw. Most collectors shy away from purple labels unless it's a really in demand issue and/or in really high grade otherwise. You're looking at $35 plus shipping costs both ways & a 6 month turnaround. It's more that I would invest in this particular copy if it was mine FWIW.

interesting yours has some ink transfer in the same place as one of my copies of this book (TRFC), yours is less severe IMO. On the other hand, you have some pretty long creases, some edge wear that's mild/medium & someone wrote a checkmark above the price (never seem something like this called a distributor's mark, but IDK). I'll guess a 4.5/5.0 mostly b/c of the creases along the spine that don't quite match the location of a reader's crease.

I don't think the missing corner is a big deal with the rest of the defects. This looks to me like a 4.5/5.0 that presents a little nicer b/c the defects (e.g. spine split) are strategically located in less noticeable places.

I'll be interested to see if stain removal is successful. That's a lot of staining, but you're right that the black cover does a decent job of hiding it. Looks like some staining of the inside pages, which I don't think is as cleanable. I'm going to say 3.5/4.0 with the staining & cross my fingers for you on getting the stains removed. In the absence of staining, I could see 5.5/6.0 with the color breaking defects, where the black definitely doesn't help.

Plenty of creasing, some paper oxidation on the front cover & two noticeable stains on the front& back cover. 2.5±0.5. I could see this getting a charity 3.0 if a seasoned pro cleaned it up to look it's absolute best.

pretty significant dust/sun shadow/paper oxidation around the back edges, also on the front outer edge. Light edge & corner wear. 6.5±0.5

The one I was actually going to post last night before I realized a back cover photo was missing. And I'm lazy. The last of my 1st Wolverine trifecta waiting in the queue

A fun one. Not as nice as the 158 I posted a while back. My finger shadow makes another cameo appearance on the back cover shot.

4.0/4.5. The one big corner crease is too much to let anything else slide & elevate this to any grade with a FN in it.

3.5/4.0

≥9.2

Half (or more) of the copper & bronze books (especially the Marvel horror books & Conan) I've posted over the last 6 months came from this seller. I just kept buying his full runs on ebay when I had the cash. I don't think "full runs" is even a sub-category on ebay anymore, but I would hit these listings hard. Guy's name was Stephen Ritter. IDK if he was a store owner, or just a collector liquidating a collection over a long period of time, either way I made him a few bucks back in the day on comics that were in medium, at best, demand most of the time.

You mean 5 panels across two books with no shots of his face, where 2 of those shots are feet don't count as a real first appearance?!?

One of many, many comics from several full runs I bought from a single seller on ebay circa 2000. Based on recent experience, whatever the little stain is on the BLC probably means this isn't a great grading candidate. Tell me what ya think. Notes from the seller hidden below.

My guy was telling me about getting the notification that more $ was needed to finish the grading (an Adam the Blue Marvel that got boosted to standard). It's one of those "nice problems to have".

I didn't do my usual listing of defects, but I think this could be a tape pull (or similar, i.e. paper lift), and there's another one on the reverse where the word "FREE" is 2/3 of the way down. Two tape pulls along with the accumulation of other small creases along the spine and tiny tears on the edges is how I came down where I did. I believe you've heard my disclaimer before about not being a great GA grader.

I agree. Try at Modern first. It's cheaper, and the 20ish-day turnaround they're reporting is fast enough that a higher tier doesn't really get you much. As always, CGC will automatically contact you for more $$$ if you're FMV bumps you out of a tier.

You are authorized by members of the board to buy a 1.0 sticker, or even a 1.5, to affix to the case to correct this injustice.

Easily could double your $, even raw, with a newsstand. FMV is all over the place on ebay. A good one to hold onto until the X-Men enter the MCU if not for your PC

Looks great. I went & checked mine after your original post. The sticker from the sale says 8.5/VF+ but I noticed one corner has a small stain, guaranteeing yours would be the higher grade at CGC. I might post mine later for kicks. Someone also needs to explain to me why this book's FMV (2nd GR appearance) is lower than GR 1 (8th GR appearance). I will not accept that GR 1 has the 1st cameo of Son of Satan since his first full appearance is lower than both 🤔

≥9.2. Not much to gripe about. Mine pulled a 9.8 at the last Claremont signing. I didn't expect it to go that high.

3.5±0.5. 4.0 is a longshot.

Looks like some mild color rub along the right edge. The black covers are tough. Seems like that one spine stress mark breaks color & is a little past minor. Maybe a little white mark below D'Spayre's pinky (not the one above Cyclops forearm that's part of the art). 9.2±0.2

2.5 seems like the consensus. I'd be curious if pressing wouldn't cause more damage since it seems like there's some tape holding the binding together? I'd definitely want someone to prep it to maximize the aesthetic appeal before it gets encapsulated.