adams

Keep the Hitler..that was a Rockford copy ?

That'll always be sellable.

The cover art of the dwarves looks very "Fleischer-esque" wonder if

the cover artist also worked at the animation studio ?

..can't keep them being published in the States, that is.

as long as the US readers (ignorant masses) see these comics as being "infantile"

there will always be trouble promoting them.

The cost per issue is also a drawback.

Today's kids are just interested in being vidiots...plain and simple.

You just cannot beat Barks & Rosa stories.

too bad that it appears as if Rosa is slowing waaaaay down on his output.

...and, how many,many,many more times can you re-re-re-print them ?

That's a relief!

BTW: According to Gemstone and the Disney Comics Mailing List,

GEMSTONE is discontinuing 4 of its Disney titles

because (according to GEMSTONE) the high cost of paper.

My guess is that the sell-through numbers were poor.

Here's the PR blurb.

To be run in the November-shipped issues of Gemstone comics:

You’ve stuck with us through several years of good news, readers—news about exciting stories, modern and classic writers and artists, comics and specials we’ve been bringing to market. Unfortunately, now we’ve got some bad news to deliver. We’re hoping you’ll stick with us through this, too.

It all starts—like a lot of bad news—with the almighty dollar. Paper prices are going up... in fact, they’ve been going up for awhile. Until now we’ve dealt with the fallout as best we could, but at last it’s "put up or shut up" time: we must either take an unfeasible price hike on our $2.95 32-page comics and $7.95 Take-Along books, or else cease publishing Mickey Mouse and Friends, Donald Duck and Friends, Mickey Mouse Adventures and Donald Duck Adventures for right now.

After serious cogitating, we’ve decided to take the latter option. Should paper prices fall, or better marketing opportunities present themselves, we might return to some of the suspended series. In the meantime, though, be of good cheer. For we have good news, too.

Firstly, our prestige titles—Uncle Scrooge, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, and various specials—are as successful as ever, and the economics of publishing in this format are such that we can get away with a relatively small price hike: the first since 1997, and only a matter of fifty-five cents per book (from $6.95 to $7.50, starting in two months).

Secondly, we're moving full steam ahead with plans to make our Walt Disney Treasures TPBs an ongoing series; to introduce two new 80-page annuals; and to release several thick-but-inexpensive Shonen Jump-style black and white books per year—some specially targeted to collectors, others to all ages. Bringing these onto the schedule means that we’ll actually be publishing more Donald and Mickey in 2007 than we did in 2006!

Watch for news about our new titles in the coming months. And look forward to the future; we do, even when—as Carl Barks once put it—"Times are tough, huh, bud?"

- The Gemstone Staff

That's a 9.4 with the sun-bleached (?) blot in the upper right corner?

Or is that a reflection ?

Apparently "just a dust shadow" holds the same weight as tanning

with the CGC graders...

BTW: what causes a 'dust shadow' ?

the tanning on the edges is probably what led to the grade

Is it tanned on the interior?

I think Diamond Galleries has the #256 in the form of a proto-type ceramic piece that was never marketed by Another Rainbow/Hamilton

I'm not surprised with the confusion at Gemstone.

After the latest debacle with their less than helpful Grading Guide,

no wonder O'st was banished to Mississippi

to open up Gemstone's "new office"

Amen on the tears...

a Tear is a Tear is a Tear

how does CGC know that it happened at the bindery?

Consistency is all we want...

..but not consistently wrong in the evaluation of a tear

Overstreet is dead wrong on this issue...

just another way of the Gemstonians propping up those

with the most money invested in the hobby (dealers)

think I'll go snip a "bindery" tear in some of my high grade issues

to insure a 9.8

didn't mean to hijack any thread...

I'm a newbie at this forum stuff

just boils my blood that CGC hijacked the existing grading system

with their secret standards that no one is privy to....

so much for developing skills over many years of experience

Tim,

Good luck on finding the FC #9 in high grade (unrestored)

You should hear the story from Bill Cole on his uncovering

a major stack of these many years ago !

the point being..if there is a grading scale it should apply equally to all types and ages

of comics..a single unified method.

No arbitrary cut off dates for "minor restoration (CT) or GA tears..

all I am looking for is consistency

a tear is a tear..except if CGC doesn't think so.

is a tear better if it is a bindery tear or worse if it is

a result of mishandling ?

I can never understand O'st's grading definitions..maybe that's why he's been banished to Mississippi ! :

is that a tear in the upper left corner of your FC #178...9.6 ?