scburdet

The least amount of confidence I've had with any round of every contest I've participated in. Lots of questions

can't see all the top of the FC in the photos. You've got quite a bit of foxing though, so best case scenario is 4s

really hard to judge because the top edge is at an angle very far away

maybe a 9.0 with the light handling wear & some mild color rub along the spine. Is a book worth around $100 worth the grading investment, run the numbers on cost vs. any expected increase in FMV

Another fanzine off the beaten track with unclear grading standards to challenge (antagonize) my fellow boardies. I know CGC has graded at least 1 Texas Trio fanzine (Star-Studded Comics 1) that's a stapled stack instead of folded book. There aren't many though of these types of bindings in a CGC holder that I can find though, and none of this specific book in the census. Among the first few examples of published Jim Starlin art. Actually, it might be the first thing that someone "hired" him to do something. He had several submissions published by TT & this was the preview book for the omnibus Doctor Weird fanzine that aggregated all previous text-only stories & added art by Starlin. Unfortunately, not his cover art though.

I concur with the cleaning aspects. Not much will help here. Provided it's not a delicate book, a C&P might it present a little better, but is unlikely to result in a grade boost. 2.5±0.5. I think this is at least a 2.0 & 3.0 should be in the discussion b/c of the age of the book and how GA books are graded a little more leniently with regard to some age-related defects.

5.5/6.0. Lots of little additional defects. Love this book

6.0/6.5. I'd be a little more concerned about the darkened paper & seems like some foxing along the spine, which wouldn't be cleanable

4.5, maybe a 5.0 b/c these Strange Tales books are so hard to find in presentable condition.

4.5

Have to keep your eyes on their social feeds https://www.instagram.com/stories/cgccomics/3154965893268595873/

5.0/5.5, thinking 5.0

4.0, maybe 4.5

Nope, not from them. If it was advertised as NM, then I think that's not accurate. If they said VF/NM that might be correct.

Soiling has a lower limit of 8.0, foxing 4.0. My asserting is that a lot of effort/expense might not fix the issue that really sets the grade.

If it's ebay, there's really no such thing as a no returns policy within the the 30 day purchase window. Ebay will step in if you file and the seller won't help resolve.

I and the maniac both think that you have some foxing and soiling

Around 4.5. Maybe 5.0 if a pressing makes it look a little nicer. The darkening paper probably caps this at the midpoint of the scale.

The indention across the forehead looks like the biggest issue to me. Some of that little stuff might press, I think that indention is going to be hard to fix. I think that will make the other little defects less impactful. I'd max out at 9.0/9.2, but it could go lower. If you bought it, I'd probably try and return. I wouldn't invest the money in grading a book this new with those kind of defects.

3.0. Hard to tell by just photos, but that paper looks like it might be starting to get brittle. Awfully brown & flaky looking

4.5/5.0. Looks like a small piece out on the bottom edge near the foot/leg, which holds it down a grade for me.

4.0/4.5. I'll cover both previous suggestions to be sure to nail the guess.

7.0, maybe 7.5 pressed. On the list of high census books that are more likely to be graded more harshly.

The Grading and Restoration Issues forum is the probably the place to ask about how-tos. This is a grading forum. Foxing won't come off with dry methods, so trying to get that off will probably lead to a restored label. I don't think any amount of work with get this to 9.0 or above, so the ROI maximizing the grade on this will be limited.

mostly covered up a printing defect nicely