Paul Kosnik

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!

Wow what a frustrating turn of events, but i'm really happy to hear in the end you got your book, signed, pressed, and it was free. I'm sure you'd rather have your time and frustration back than the free service, but at least you got your book back, and signed! After reading all of the drama, i for one want to see the final result!

Congratulations on an awesome book! For the record, completely split spine starts at 1.8. That is the highest grade you can achieve with a split spine, if the book is in otherwise OK shape and complete. This one has quite a few defects so i think you are looking at 1.5 or perhaps 1.0, but i don't think it's lower than that as long as the back cover is complete. While i agree with @joeypost that restoration is unlikely to increase the value, there is another alternative that is likely to increase the value, and that is going the conservation route. If properly conserved with archival material and techniques, the spine split and little edge tears can be repaired, preserving the book and making it readable and handleable. The grade will be elevated to at least a 2.0 and possibly higher in my opinion, and the discount of a conserved comic to a universal is not nearly as severe as the discount placed on a restored comic.

Objectively it's better, yes, but this presser left a lot on the table. The spine roll should be fixed, and the creasing can be improved further. That said, i would not do all of the work this book needs for $15. It takes a lot of time, care, and experience to do this properly, so i think you got what you paid for.

I don't have an opinion on your original question--but wonder if you got it graded because i'd love to know the answer? Also i think it looks stunning regardless--the fading in this instance creates a very pleasing color gradient that compliments the cover in an odd way. I'd be happy to have this in my collection!

The answer ought to be: when the small amount of glue was not used to attempt to fix a defect, then the small amount of glue is just a defect, not an actual restoration attempt, and should not be labeled as restoration. Just like doodling on a comic book or an incidental pen mark is not color touch and is graded as a defect rather than restoration.

Unless all of the copies of this book have this flaw (which they don't), this seems fair/correct to me. CGC is trying to give a prospective buyer confidence in the item. As there are copies of this book that are just as nice without the red ink, this one should not be graded as if the red ink were not there. Also for what it's worth, if the ink is not known for all examples, then it's impossible to say the ink didn't happen later, after production, or during poor storage when this comic was stacked against another with a red ink cover that transferred or some other event. Given these two issues, i think they did the correct thing here.

Wow that's a stunner! I'd love to have an oddity like that in my collection and would definitely pay the high end of the fair market value range for one without a staple, which is to say i would pay more than for a copy with both staples, but only by a bit.

Your best bet is to check one of the large facebook groups for comic book cleaning and pressing. Post what you are looking for there and you are likely to find someone close to you.

Josh a word of caution--with the popularity of Blue LED photobleaching and H2O2 bleaching in recent years, CGC is working overtime in an attempt to make sure comic books are appropriately labeled so prospective buyers can reasonably expect that any work done to a book is disclosed to them prior to any purchase. The problem is that there are not definitive non-destructive tests for detecting either of these methods. So CGC uses a number of clues to infer if one of these procedures has been used and then grades the comic accordingly, which can include Universal, Conserved, and Restored labels. This leaves room for interpretation which of course is subjective and sometimes incorrect. They are doing an admirable job sorting out many books that have been bleached, but it's possible that comics with exceptionally white pages would be flagged for possible restoration. If you do decide to send it for cross-grading, good luck and please share the restyle with us!

Is it possible that if you pressed the book there was some reversion after it left your hands--that it was dead straight when you mailed it off, but it had waviness by the time it was graded? I make a habit of cold pressing post-heat press as well as preparing my CGC submission in bags and boards and leaving it for a few weeks and then double-checking it before sending it off, because i had similar issues in which comics were perfect immediately after pressing but over a few days or weeks defects would creep back into the paper, a process known as reversion. For what it's worth i agree with you, big difference between wave and crease.

I personally think you are being too picky (and only offer this opinion because you specifically asked for our opinions!) A 9.8 is not a 10 (or even a 9.9). It has flaws that keep it from being a 9.9 or 10. You can see the flaws. That ought to be normal. While some comic books look flawless in 9.8, i actually think these should be have 9.9s or 10s. Nine point eight should be for books exactly like this one in my opinion. CGC's description specifically states that in 9.8, a small color-breaking spine tick is allowed, as are other handling defects. Congratulations on a beautiful acquisition! I'd just enjoy it and stop scrutinizing it for defects.

He shared a pic elsewhere. You can see what looks like rippling in the book, even in a straight-on view of the comic in the slab. Looks like too much humidity was used without properly adjusting the pressing parameters.

All, I don't think i'm speaking out of line to say the OP pressed the books himself (he posted this info elsewhere). He also shared elsewhere that he's been pressing for some time, and submitted many books previously with high grades and never before seen this grader's note. I do think he has a good point that no one here is addressing--"poor pressing" itself is not a defect. It may be the root cause of a defect, but it's not a defect. A defect would be "canvassing", "sunken staples", "pebbling", "cockling", etc. I agree with the OP/presser/submitter of these books--he paid CGC for a grade and assessment of the defects. For the money paid, he deserves an explanation of the grade with an assessment of defects, in this case so that he can improve his pressing technique. To our knowledge no one has ever received "poor pressing" before as a defect. It's not listed in The Official CGC Guide to Grading Comics as a defect, nor can i find mention of it on the website. All of the other possible defects are listed on the website and in the Guide. Shouldn't "poor pressing" be? Better yet, i believe they shouldn't use the term "poor pressing", because it's not a defect, and they should use the list of actual defects, and/or create new defects if they need to.

Heritage says the restored Action #1 was indeed a record for a restored comic book: https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/-action-comics-no.-1-which-introduced-superman-in-1938-sells-for-6-million-at-heritage-auctions-to-become-world-s-most-valuable-comic-book.s?releaseId=4943

Do you know where it sold? GoCollect has no record of it selling.

No. Traditional glue not allowed in any conservation work.