scburdet

9.4, a shot at 9.6

I'm at 7.5 too. Seems pretty consistent with things in my collection from that ear with these kinds of defects

5.0/5.5. I guess this will get tagged as a spine split. The closet comp in my collection is a 4.5, but I'm boosting this one a grade or so b/c of age & overall eye appeal

8.5/9.0. Maybe a grade better pressed

7.0, maybe 7.5

Around 9.2. Pressing might make the corners appear more square. Not much to pick on that's visible in the photos. Some light spine stress lines, corners are slightly dinged & very light wear elsewhere. Ink from the inner ad starting to show through the back cover. Not a huge deal, but that would likely preclude consideration of 9.8 and maybe 9.6. I always recommend picking up the CGC book if you want insight into what CGC thinks compared to board members who might weight defects differently. There are a few like stains that CGC will really hammer and others like spine tics that appear to get a lighter touch. https://www.cgccomics.com/news/article/10586/cgc-guide-grading-comics-nelson/

8.0ish. Depending on how hard the foxing/tanning gets hammered.

1.5/1.8. I think it gets the higher mark. I think 2.0 is at least an outside shot the way I've seen some lower grade keys in slabs

9.4

4.0/4.5

>9.2

9.0/9.2

9.2/9.4. I might even see a black cover + Spider-Man bump

7.5 pressed, maybe a grade or so higher with some luck. I have a 7.0 with worse tape pulls on the back, and it's not as old or significant as an Avengers 2. The books says small tape pulls typically go 7.0-9.0. I think this is small & since it's on the back that works in your favor.

7.0/7.5. I've got a 7.5 with a corner like that

"Rare" may not be exactly right, but there are roughly 5× more 25¢ copies on the CGC census than the 30¢. Your story reminds me of when I started collecting riding my bike to the grocery store, which was the only place in biking distance with comics. I gave up after a few months b/c the selection was limited & inconsistent, and went to mail order from Mile High. Too bad 13/14-year-old me didn't know collectors would put a premium on those newsstand copies I was shunning. I actually split the difference between you & @morbius21 on my grade, but if I was going to lean it would be to the lower end b/c of how CGC treats stains/foxing/mold/discoloration defects. Without that, it would be a highish mid-grade copy.

Might be pressable to 9.0/9.2. I'd only pay 8.0/8.5 as FMV.

In all my years of collecting, I never accidentally or intentionally managed to acquire one of these variants. Perhaps b/c collectors were very aware to look for them. I was a little surprised I got this with a single bid of $4 b/c of the rarity. I think the water stains? along the top make this a bad grading option, but still curious where you'd come down on this.

I agree @LowGradeBronze & @Mars76. I only have one comp that came back an 8.0. I think this one is lower but . The grade on these is less important. If they're attractive & signed by a creator that's something for low print/distribution publications from +5 decades ago. I'm amazed someone saved these things.

Victimized again by finding something random I did not know existed. I hadn't seen this indexed before, but it came out a couple of years before other early WS fanzine work I found. He would have been 23/24 at the time. Drawings are dated from early 1970. Both front & back covers by Walt as well as 2 drawings inside (one is unsigned). It's a horror movie fanzine. One amusing editorial decries the death of the horror movie genre. I guess like comics people always predicting the end is near. TBF, this was mostly about Hammer Films which was coming to the end of a prolific run of movies through the 60s. Might get this signed if WS comes back to a local show this summer.

In the spirit of bringing things off the beaten path to this forum, give this one a shot. I became aware of its existence mindlessly scrolling on the interwebs. In typical UK fashion, the Warlock story is one of several and this is the last part of Marvel Premiere 1. I believe that book is split between issues 1-5, but this is the one with the iconic Gil Kane cover. It's all newsprint quality paper and magazine size. Shipping from the UK was more than the lot of books this is from. Most of the rest are lower grade.

6.0/6.5, I lean higher

7.0/7.5 cleaned well. The general wear & creases on the two corners will keep this closer to the FN than VF range. Lower if cleaning isn't successful

According to the Guide (recommended), the corner shows "wear", which is good for 8.0-9.6. Scuffs 6.0-9.6. Both depend on severity, so I'm just guestimating where in the range this degree of defect falls. IMO, the wear probably "doesn't matter" given the level of scuffing & stress lines. But, my read of the book is scuffing isn't considered as bad as creasing. My 7.0 is an absolute max. Probably a grade lower. Worse if they are a little hard on it b/c it's a modern book. I also noticed fingerprint(s) on Deadpool's leg on a second viewing. I wouldn't test the CGC waters with this copy. If I was selling it, I would grade it closer to what you said to be on the safe side