bshowell

On 6/19/2023 at 6:26 PM, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Here's one I got back a few weeks ago. Not only is the cover artist wrong, but they got the variant of the issue wrong. 

Some random favorites from the 90s that I got back from CGC (and one I found on mycomicshop.com).

On 2/20/2023 at 10:40 AM, ThothAmon said:

Do any of you Mr. Wizards feel it’s worth getting most modern newsstands graded? Assuming potential NM+ grades of course. 
 

I do if it is a run I have fond memories for. I've been trying to put together Hickman's run on Fantastic Four (even though I'm almost positive #600 doesn't exist in newsstand). I know they're not the most collectible issues, but I like preserving them. 

A couple I just got.

A few I've found lately. The X-Men #88 I had graded at CGC, the rest came from various stores.

On 9/13/2022 at 10:33 PM, Corona smith said:

I forgot the specifics but it boiled down to saving a bit of money. It was explained earlier in this thread and I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in. 

Yeah, basically the distributor charged a fee when a company wanted to sell a new title so for a while Marvel would sell new titles under some of the cancelled titles name's to save that money. They would ring up under the old title at the register and I assume that made it very difficult to accurately track sales because they did end that practice after a while. I have a bunch of Fantastic Fours that all rang up as Astonishing X-men  because FF (during Hickman's run) replaced Fantastic Four, but when it came back FF kept the Fantastic Four title near the barcode.

Some more Fantastic Fours I just got back from CGC. I just missed the 9.8 on that issue 25 (9.6 is the most frustrating grade🤬😆).

I think CGC needs to be a bit more consistent on whether stickered newsstands are green or blue labeled. I just saw this copy below on ebay. The pics below that are my copy with the blue label.

Here's some 90s Fantastic Fours I just got back.

A couple of Ghost Riders:

On 4/15/2022 at 5:27 PM, paqart said:

I finally got a newsstand copy of ASM 611. I've seen a couple of them but only for very high prices, so I passed.

In other news, my last CGC submission just got sent back to me. I haven't got them yet but they've posted the grades. A couple of observations:

1) 1 comic is graded 9.0 but appears to have a detached cover. It wasn't detached when I sent it, making me think it was damaged after grading but before encapsulation.

2) 1 comic is graded 6.0 due to tears on cover. Again, pretty sure that wasn't true when I sent it. Damaged during grading?

3) Out of the first 55 submissions, 1x 9.8 (Hulk 1/2008 Direct). In the last 20 submissions, 5x 9.8's. As far as I can tell, many of the comics in the previous submissions were no different condition-wise from the last 20. Looks like inconsistent grading, though I'm happy to take the 9.8s.

I'm super picky when it comes to newsstands I buy and send in to CGC to be graded, which means I pass on a lot of newsstand issues I see out in the wild, even if it's an issue I want (I only read digital and collect graded, it's just how I like to do it). I don't know for sure but I think about 85-90% of the issues I get back are 9.8. The other 10-15% I get back I obviously thought were 9.8 candidates but they found something to knock the grade down. Most of those I never know what was wrong since cgc won't post notes for 9.x copies. I've seen a few 9.8s with minor spine creases and 9.6s that appear perfect (I understand there could be something on an interior page). Given that I'm sure I have missed some kind of damage on some I would say they are inconsistent 5-10% of the time, in my experience. That's just how I view them, I'm sure others have had different experiences.

By the way, I love that cover on 611. I've seen that issue once in person in newsstand but it was a f-vf copy so I passed.