Paul Kosnik

I may be able to help on one front. Although i do not have personal experience, a few folks i trust have pressed the lenticular covers using normal heat for modern books and light pressure. So i have been told that in general they can be pressed. That said, i'm not sure if all manufacturers use the method of gluing the lenticular on. I share your concern that anything used to remove the glue may damage the cover. One thing i've had luck with removing adhesive from covers non-destructively is Absorene Putty: https://amzn.to/3VrLAKN It is slow going but the adhesive would rather this to the putty than the book and will eventually roll off the book and into the putty. It is non-destructive as long as you don't physically damage the comic with it. Please let us know if you figure it out!

@Rickycardo, can you provide some pictures that show the sticky substance?

As @zzutak pointed out, will not dramatically affect grade. I suspect this is because of the CGC policy of 80% of the grade being assigned to the condition of the cover and therefore the interior only being able to pull the grade down slightly due to the weight the cover carries in the grade. That said, if it's lightly done in pencil, it's very simple for an experienced cleaner/presser to remove the pencil marks on interior pages.

Agree with @Lightning55 that for grading these are largely ignored but wanted to add that technically, at the very high grades, they do matter. For example, presence of a Printer's Crease precludes the comic achieving 9.9 or 10, and large, obtrusive, or many printer's creases can drop an otherwise 9.8 comic to 9.6 or 9.4.

Super thoughtful assessment! Completely agree for what it's worth.

From the full definition in The Official CGC Guide to Grading Comics, it is pretty clear: "It (trimming) is accomplished by cutting off one, two, or all three edges of a comic to remove wear leaving sharp edges". It doesn't state "part of the edge", but rather the edge, which by any plain reading of English with respect to a book means the entire edge. Further, from the guide again: "It (trimming) is classified as restoration because it can enhance the appearance and grade of a comic". The slice (the official jargon CGC uses for such a defect) in question does not enhance the appearance, but rather detracts from it. From the definition of Slice, again from the guide: "A slice involves a cut into the paper with a sharp object". Further, "A slice is usually accidental, most often occurring while cutting open a shipping container..." Seems to fit the exact definition of what the OP did and the resultant defect to the book.

This isn't trimmed. It meets neither the letter nor the spirit of the definition of trimmed. Firstly, trimmed is entire side (or substantially so, perhaps in the case of a misscut comic). And trimmed, by definition, improves the appearance and is intended to deceive. This cut does not improve the appearance, cannot deceive, and is for one small section of the edge. This is just a defect, and will be graded as such if they do their jobs correctly. Here is CGC's definition of trimmed: TRIMMING – A technique that involves cutting off the edges of a comic book’s cover or pages to remove defects and sharpen edges. Unlike the other restoration techniques, trimming results in an improved appearance through destruction (loss of paper).

It's not the entire edge, just that short section by the end of the Surfer's board?

Looks like it's in pretty good shape. Are their pressable defects? Pressing works fine on this sort of paper, not that much different from comic book paper in terms of how it's pressed.

Looks to me like possibly water damage. From the shard to the edge looks blurred rather than smudged. Could be from a water droplet. What do the grader's notes have to say about this defect?

Agree with @zzutak these are probably not from factory, and thought it was worth elaborating that the way we know is the staples don't all match, you have two distinct pairs. Although stapling errors/extra staples can occur at the factory, the staples will tend to all match. At any rate, it was very nicely done and a nice comic book!

I don't know the answer to "do they prescreen before opening". I'm curious if anyone else knows? Seems unlikely, but if they offered that it might be worth it. Otherwise i would not crack it. CBCS 9.9 and highest graded--take the win!

For what it's worth, i second @Sauce Dog here--please don't put tape on the book--it really does destroy paper over time but a proper conservation will actually be an investment as it will conserve the paper and give you a grade bump that will make it a wise investment. Also seconding the endorsement of Phill over at Phantom Restoration.

Cool comic book! For what it's worth, i don't think this is water damage. If it was, you'd likely have color bleed and/or mold present, and tide lines in the paper, none of which you seem to have. I think the waves are created by the tape on the entirety of the spine. Paper moves, expands and contracts. Tape doesn't, or at least not as much as paper does. If the spine is fixed in place and the rest of the page expands, then these waves develop. Can happen even if the tape was applied perfectly, and chances are it wasn't. So i think the tape needs to be removed if you want the waves gone. Best option if you want to invest in this book is send it to a pro that does restoration removal, have them remove the tape and color touch, and conserve the book. If you aren't up for that investment, sell and use the proceeds toward a better book. Good luck and let us know what route you go!

Missing interior pages is automatically a Universal 0.5 unless more than half of the pages are missing, then it's a NG (No Grade). That said, if the grade would otherwise be a 4.0 or better, then CGC will assign a Qualified (Green Label) grade, assign the grade the book would receive had the interior page not been missing, and note the missing pages on the label. Unless you prefer the Universal Label 0.5, in which case you can request the Universal Label even if the comic would otherwise grade at 4.0 or higher, and get the blue label. Hope this helps!