Qalyar

In general, one of the early anthropomorphic animal (that is, "furry") comics. But as far as the sky-high prices go? First appearance of Usagi Yojimbo.

Well, you're my hero. It's... weird that the only privately sponsored versions recorded are from three newspapers in Texas. I really do wonder if there's undiscovered stuff out there somewhere. And I'm guessing that some of those later printings are distinguished only by the indicia because I don't see any cover differences between the 92/94/95 printings or between the 99/00 ones. Still, that's a pretty solid list of things to hunt for. Short answer: mostly, no. There is very little market history on these, because absolutely no one cares. The direct market version, when it has sold at all, looks to go for about the cost of slabbing, even in 9.8. There have been a couple higher dollar value sales for the mail-away variant (including a $200+ sale that I'm pretty sure must have been on crack), but I honestly wouldn't consider it to be worth that consistently. None of the rest have any real market history. Some of these are probably extremely hard to track down in high grade (and some of my reference pieces are, um, not high-grade books).

No, but pre-Spiderman Peter Parker was molested by his skeevy neighbor. Bet you didn't know that was part of the Marvel canon! And, no, still hunting for that Babylon 5 DVD pack-in. Did finally snag myself a copy of Echo Echo, though, so making progress on weird niche items that no one else wants!

Honestly -- and regrettably -- Stan Lee's signature was so variable, and there is so much volume, both real and fake, that determining the authenticity of any given instance, especially without provenance, is basically the same as reading tea leaves for divination.

"Echo Echo: Cut-Up Drawings from Black Hole" (Pigeon Press, 2012) is essentially the sketchbook companion to Black Hole. This is the standard edition, a limited run of 400 copies, as opposed to the deluxe edition of 100, each with an original sketch by Burns tipped in (I don't collect original art, so I'm quite happy with this one).

The cost of print comics is a problem for the industry, no question. It has, to be fair, probably only kept pace with all printing costs. MSRP for paperback novels are averaging in the $15 range these days... so in comparison, a $4 comic seems reasonable. But it isn't reasonable. Kids trying to buy into comics-for-kids don't have the cash flow that paperback readers might be expected to have. But more critically, books are easy to get for well under MSRP. Sure, maybe they're used, but they're readable. A paperback can take a lot more abuse than a comic book. And those used paperbacks are often $3... 4... 5 dollars. Now, a paperback doesn't have the rich illustrations of the comic book page, but it's also a lot more entertainment time for the money. I'm sure that comics are priced like they are because of the rising costs of printing, but it's still a challenge. And I don't know that it's one with a quick or easy answer; it certainly is one reason why digital releases must seem awfully tempting.

I may shortly acquire a slab whose label is not strictly correct, but that isn't actually an error on CGC's part. Specifically, it notes that "two covers exist"; subsequently, CGC has agreed that those covers should be identified separately for census/registry purposes. What process should be used to correct this? Would I submit it for a standard reholder (presumably including a note about the update required)? Is the cost the same as a reholder requested for other reasons? Can this be submitted along with other, more normal reholder requests without incurring any problems?

In 1984, Marvel printed a free giveaway comic, Spider-Man and Power Pack, as an attempt to educate children about child sexual abuse and how to report it. CGC lists this as "Spider-Man & Power Pack", despite "and" being spelled out on the actual cover. Whatever floats their boat. Marvel reprinted the comic repeatedly, and there are a ton of variants. I'm curious how many. Because ... I am curious about things no one else is, I guess. To avoid confusion, there's at least one totally different (1987+) Spider-Man anti-child abuse giveaway that doesn't include Power Pack (that one was sponsored by 7-Eleven). And the giveaway comic was of course entirely unrelated to the Spider-Man / Power Pack 4-issue limited series in the mid-2000s (which, as an aside, CGC does call "Spider-Man and Power Pack"; thanks, guys). There are four features of the cover of this comic that vary between printings: The top banner, above even the Marvel logo. This is not present in all versions. The "in cooperation" text, below the top banner (if present) but above the title. The presence or absence of a large black and white FREE at right. A rectangular box in the bottom right corner. This is also not present in all versions. So, versions I am aware of... Top banner: "Sponsored by the International Association of Direct Distributions and your local comic retailer"; Cooperation: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse; FREE; Box: National Education Association message. This is almost universally considered the first printing, and regardless is probably the most common of them. I believe this version was distributed via comic retailers. CGC lists 41 slabbed copies of this one... assuming that they broke out other variants correctly. Top banner: none; Cooperation: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse; no FREE; Box: none. I believe this version was the mail-away, as seen on the back cover of several comics (for example: X-Factor #6). CGC lists 3 slabs of the "mail-order edition", which I believe to be this one. Top banner: none; Cooperation: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse; no FREE; Box: Special Citation by President Ronald Reagan. CGC lists this as the "We Care edition", and has graded 3 of them. Specific sponsor editions: Top banner: "A public service sponsored by Foley's / Austin American-Statesman / Pebble Project"; Cooperation: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse; no FREE; Box: National Education Association message. Zero on census. Top banner: "A public service sponsored by Express-News / Foley's"; Cooperation: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse; no FREE; Box: National Education Association message. The "Express-News" here is the San Antonio Express-News. CGC has graded two of these. Top banner: "A public service sponsored by Houston Chronicle / Foley's"; Cooperation: National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse; no FREE; Box: National Education Association message. Zero on census. Top banner: none; Cooperation: Prevent Child Abuse America; no FREE; Box: National Education Association message. To my knowledge, this is the most recent version, printed circa 2000. Zero on census. One of the stories in here ("Secrets") also appears in a coverless, newspaper-sized version printed on newsprint and apparently distributed as a newspaper fold-in by a great many newspapers. While interesting, I'm not really concerned with those; they're not comic books, and I collect comic books. I know there are more versions than I've listed above. Depending on how many newspapers were involved in this, potentially a lot more. I know that, at a minimum, the Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Enquirer, and Kansas City Star were all involved in the project... but I don't know whether they had unique "sponsored by" top banners (or, indeed, whether they only produced the fold-in newsprint versions). I have some circumstantial evidence that the Dallas Morning News distributed copies but did not have a unique printing (although I'm welcome to be proven wrong). I know that this comic isn't very fun, and it isn't going to be interesting to most folks here, but I'd sure appreciate some crowdsourced help with what exists (and so what I might be looking to acquire depending on the circumstances).

My concern from the corner picture in your first post was that there appeared to be a somewhat circular white (noticeably whiter than the surrounding paper) area with a powdery appearance in the center of the maybe-a-water-stain. It's ... less visible in the new set of pictures, but it's really hard to tell remotely. This type of surface mold sometimes has a slightly raised texture, which you can see with really low-angle lighting. For example, dim the ambient lights, and hold a flashlight nearly parallel to the book. If there's raised growth, you'll be able to see the shadows. Of course, not all molds develop in that manner, and honestly, if this was my book, what I'd want to do is get that corner under sufficient magnification to make sure that nothing is (or has been in the past) growing on it there.

Do you have that book in hand? In the picture, that corner stain looks to have a sort of white, powdery texture near its center. Not to put too fine a point on it, but my concern is that may be a white mold (if so, probably some Aspergillus species). You may be able to use a very low illumination angle to see whether there's actually a raised substance there; if so, you have a problem (and, needless to say, this isn't a 5.5 book at all).

I'm most concerned about that back cover UR corner, which looks like there may be a spot of... water damage, maybe? There's something going on with the paper texture there that puts me ill at ease. Tentative 5.5, but make sure there's not more wrong in that corner than the photo suggests.

I don't think both count. SotI references a singular book that was already released (or "got out" in Wertham's phrasing). That means Magic Dollar. Saves the Day was coming soon as of the Porter article.

CGC would generally decline to grade any comic that's so fragile as to render page checks unsafe.

Printing defect. Specifically, poor color registration. That shouldn't affect the numerical grade, unlike, say, that LR corner. Opinions probably vary as to whether this hurts its overall appeal.

And yet, stamps are an established collectible hobby where pieces of value have retained that value over a considerable period of time. Sure, there aren't (usually) boom/bust cycles like with modern spec covers. But that's probably for the best. Philately is a "healthy" hobby market in part because there is active trade not just in the four, five, six figure items ... but in five, ten, and twenty dollar pieces that aren't likely to turn around and suddenly be worth half that much by this time next year.

Honestly, there are two paths for the future of comic collecting, and each one has a different paper collectible as the benchmark. It is literally impossible to know which one the world will follow. Organized comic collecting isn't fad-level new, like Beanie Babies or what-have-you. It's established enough that it won't die out completely, but it's still new enough that trends are hard to predict. And the publisher shenanigans don't help with that. Comic collecting could play out like philately. "Key" issues and high-grade copies of mid-demand items shoot up out of reach of normal collectors, but a robust trade in somewhat lesser books keeps the hobby relatively strong. In its favor, comic books, like stamps, have an endless array of "sub-collection" options. You can chase variants (either the new shiny ones, or old-school things like the Marvel price variants, Canadians, etc.). You can collect by title run, by character, by cover artist, by writer, by genre... That's good for the health of the hobby. On the other hand, philately is organized. There are standard catalogues (Scott, mostly, but for some purposes Gibbons or Yvert or specialist publications) that have been established for decades, are viewed and comprehensive and authoritative. Does anyone thing Overstreet is a comprehensive guide to collectible comics, even from the big houses? It is not. So the other option is that comics end up like 20th century books. A handful of the highest prestige works remain really expensive, but everything else, sooner or later, craters. Sure, first-printing, first-state copies of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot are worth tens of thousands or more. But even most King first editions are readily available for fractions of cover price. Step away from the big name authors, and most books published in the last 100 years are essentially worthless. Now, comics are an easier collection to maintain than books in terms of volume and weight for storage, and that's always been a mark against modern book collecting. Also, even mediocre comics are often printed in much smaller numbers than major books, and are less likely to be conserved in high-grade condition by their nature. That's good... but there is some reason to believe that people do collect comics like they do books. Poor catalogue standards, a focus on cover and cover quality over interiors, and the evil flipside of the "sub-collection" thing: people buy a niche and often nothing else. Currently, comics are sort of hewing a middle road, but that's probably not sustainable, and 25 years ought to be enough market and social distance that it'll shake out. One way or the other.

These last two books both look like abrasion damage, to be honest. Basically what I'd expect if the book shifted slightly while under pressure (or the machine shifted slightly against the book). That certainly doesn't excuse the damage, but I suspect that's what caused it. These don't really look like overheat/scorch injuries.

I don't have a good solution to bulk shipping... well, most things cheaply. But media mail is a terrible idea for comics for at least two reasons. First, most comics don't qualify. Media mail material cannot have more than incidental advertising, and definitely cannot have advertising for non-media-mail-eligible products. The vast majority of comic books have miscellaneous ad pages, which mean they're prohibited from going media mail. You can try, but if they detect the problem, they will charge your consignee postage due equal to the difference between what you paid and what you should have paid. This is usually a lot, and your consignee will be unhappy with you. And probably refuse delivery. Second, postal inspectors may examine media mail at will, in order to ensure compliance. They can and will open packages and remove individual books from packaging. Yes, that means they may opt to pull comics out of bags, tear open polybagged comics, and so forth. If you suspect that this process is likely to damage comic books, you are correct. There is no clause in the media mail regulations for shipping collectibles or condition-sensitive material either; if they damage your books -- especially if they were non-compliant in the first place -- that's your problem, not theirs. Yes, sometimes you can get lucky. That doesn't make it a good idea.

That character is even weirder in his comic strip appearances, where his face was regularly drawn so that he looked to be about 12 years old.

Protect against catastrophic damage by reducing the likelihood of it happening. Keep comics at least 3 feet above ground level, ideally, to limit the chances of damage from most flood situations. There's no way to protect property, realistically, from major river flooding or recent Michigan-style dam breeches, but in general, you'll have time to evacuate in advance of those conditions (or tropical storm systems, if you're on the Gulf or Atlantic coast). There is no realistic way to prevent the destruction of paper collectibles in case of fire on premises. Fireproof safes are not compatible with the archival storage of comics and aren't likely to prevent heat damage anyway. Prevent fire damage by taking smart actions to limit the risk of fire. Ensure your home's electrical system is to code. Replace cedar shake roofing and encourage your neighbors to do likewise. Don't smoke. Use things like space heaters with caution. Ultimately, the odds of your collection being destroyed by flood or fire, or by tornado or other natural disasters, are very low. If you're still concerned, that's what collectibles insurance is for.

There are a couple at Epcot Center, too. Most famously Mickey and Goofy Explore The Universe of Energy at Epcot Center. At the time, Exxon sponsored Epcot, and this promotional comic is straight-up the Disney characters shilling for the fossil fuel industry. And lamenting the fact that gas prices might be as high as $1.27 if we don't support Exxon! It didn't age well, is what I'm saying.

Comic books entirely aside, if you've got a working process to remove lignin non-destructively from mechanical pulp paper, you're going to have a lot of pretty interested conservation professionals. Have you tested this process on newsprint? Should be readily available in volume, and ought to make the artificial aging tests pretty conclusive. And, frankly, might be easier to use for destructive testing in lieu of finding beater bunny books to bisect.

Fantastic changes, and I strongly approve of anything that discourages people from just camping on collectibles, priced at large multiples of FMV. I've had one such seller (not via MCS) tell me that he even tries to get other holders of the same items to do the same because "if everyone prices everything at 10x the last sale, then anyone who wants it has to pay it". Besides failing economics forever, that's also just rude. These changes help MCS as a business, and combat that. Win. Win.

It's easy to imagine that a production flaw was involved in that defect. An insufficiently sharp blade may have left some extra material at the corner, which was at some subsequent point torn away, leaving it in its current state. But what I suspect you're really asking is "Is this going to be a defect that will count against the book's grade?", and I think that the answer is quite likely to be yes.

Not a printing error. Damaged by long-term exposure to heat and/or sunlight. In addition to the outline boxes F For Fake pointed out, take a look at the "Join Now!" and "Sales Leadership Club" text on BC UL, where traces of the red color remain. The interior page quality is also a big clue that this is heat-damaged (but the browning effect is visible at BC MR also). Sorry to burst hopes that this might be worth a few dollars to the error community. Nothing here but worthless, damaged paper.