zzutak

Understandable. The difference (from a standpoint of grade category) is that your MP-15 is 5.0 aside from the missing piece, whereas this FF-52 is only about 2.0 aside from the missing piece. Check out the census snapshot shown below. There are nearly 200 Green Label copies of MP-15, but only one has a grade less than 3.5 (and that's almost certainly because it had a married component). Yes, a submitter can specifically request that his/her book be awarded a Universal (rather than Qualified) Grade. However, it's unlikely this was done with your FF-52, as it simply does not meet the minimum condition grade threshold for the Qualified category.

Sounds about right -- unless the reason for the book being Qualified was it having either a married component or cleaned/replaced staples (which always results in a Green Label, regardless of the book's condition grade).

I think this is essentially correct. Most of the Vancouvers shown here and/or on Heritage have a CGC certification/serial number that begins with either 00785 (which dates to 2003), 07799 (which dates to 2007), or 09198 (which dates to 2014). The only CGC-certified copy of Scream Comics from the Vancouver Collection (Scream #7, shown below) has S/N 0779974016. It's interesting that the immediately preceding book from that invoice (S/N 0779974015) is now MIA -- which may indicate that it either could not be slabbed or was removed from its holder (with the label returned to CGC for deletion from the census). And then there's this description that Heritage included in their Nov 20, 2014 auction listing for Ellery Queen #1 ("From the newly discovered batch ..."): All very curious. Unfortunately, my detective skills are probably not strong enough to uncover the full backstory.

I recently had my raw copy of Scream Comics #3 certified. The inside covers and interior pages are snow white, and other features like era (1945), genre (humor), and cover markings (none) raise the possibility that it's a "lost" issue from the Vancouver Pedigree. I know there was at least one other issue from this title in the collection (Scream Comics #7 in CGC 7.5 white). Does anyone know who the original buyer was and/or whether he/she documented the collection with a list of the issues found?

Nope. In the company's early years, a detached cover on an otherwise pristine book could be awarded a CGC Universal (Blue Label) Grade as high as 4.0. When the demand for CGC certification exploded, the company began to add more (and often less experienced graders). As a result, there began to be more certifications/encapsulations that deviated from the company's original grading standards. I've actually seen books with fully detached covers graded as high as CGC 6.5. However, I'm inclined to think of these anomalies as errors (or misapplications of CGC's grading standards that were not caught by Quality Control before going out). Unfortunately, your book's cover is not just detached -- it's detached and completely split along the spine, with large chunks out of both the front cover (3% MIA), the back cover (15% MIA), and the spine. It also has an interior cut-out (the missing coupon). On the plus side, the cover inks are still bright and the paper is still fresh, with no oxidation-related tanning. Are all 12 interior wraps still present (24 two-sided interior leaves or 48 interior pages)? If so, I'd guess there's a 75% chance the book gets certified as a CGC 0.5 PR and a 25% chance it gets certified as a CGC 1.0 FR (CGC has been known to sometimes be a bit more lenient with very valuable Golden Age mega-keys).

I wouldn't worry about handling it. The paper looks plenty supple. Yeah, the cover is missing some pretty large chunks, but those pieces did not come off as a result of brittle chipping/splitting. If you do decide to send it to CGC for certification, make certain to first take clear photos of the inside covers, the centerfold, both sides of the leaf with the missing coupon, etc. Those pics will allow potential bidders/buyers to better assess what's "hidden" within the CGC holder.

You can blame this one on Davis Crippen.

This race is gonna be all peloton, no breakaway unless we see some low/mid-grade specimens.

According to Mike's grade distribution table, 113 players completed Round 1 (down from 125 at sign-up). Here are the key measures of central tendency for this round (Mean = the average grade; Median = the middle grade in a numerically rank-ordered list; Mode = the most common grade): Book CGC Grade Distribution Statistics # Grade Mean Median Mode 1 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 2 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.4 3 9.6 9.1 9.2 9.2 4 8.5 8.2 8.5 8.5 5 9.4 9.0 9.2 9.2 The Board scored 137 bulls-eyes in Round 1 (24% of all grades submitted, compared to an average of 21% in CGC Grading Contests #1 thru 9). Here are a few other notable observations based on the data reported above: Book #01 (Avengers #10): An average-difficulty book for the Board as a whole, with 26% at the same grade as CGC and 67% within one grade increment of CGC. Collectively, the Board matched CGC (8.0 vs 8.0). Book #02 (Frankenstein #13): The easiest book for the Board as a whole, with 33% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC and 81% ( ) within one grade increment of CGC. Collectively, the Board matched CGC (9.2 vs 9.2). Book #03 (Showcase #97): The toughest book for the Board as a whole, with only 15% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC and only 41% within one grade increment of CGC. Collectively, the Board was two and one-half grade increments more critical than CGC (9.1 vs 9.6). Book #04 (ASM #252): Another average-difficulty book for the Board as a whole, with 29% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC and 65% within one grade increment of CGC. Collectively, the Board was about one-half grade increment more critical than CGC (8.2 vs 8.5). Book #05 (Superman #75): The second-toughest book for the Board as a whole, with only 19% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC and 62% within one grade increment of CGC. Collectively, the Board was two grade increments more critical than CGC (9.0 vs 9.4). A strong start for the Board as a whole!

No -- the assigned grade category (Universal) and grade (0.5 PR) are both correct. Qualified Grades are typically NOT awarded to copies that would be considered low grade even if the qualifying flaw was overlooked. This copy appears to be about 2.0 GD (based on the front cover image alone), so most CGC graders would judge it to be far too beat to be eligible for Green Label certification.

A great issue, for sure! But this copy is a beater. Books with heavy wear and multiple blemishes/defects are typically NOT awarded Qualified Grades, so don't be surprised if the grade category changes. Also, tape is not one of the features/flaws that makes a book eligible to be awarded a Qualified Grade. Missing pages/panels/pieces? Yes. Detached covers and/or centerfolds? Yes. Married parts? Yes. Unwitnessed creator signatures on the cover? Yes. Tape? No.

Page counts via the Grand Comics Database and MCS include both the cover and the interior. For example, a 68-pg issue consists of a 4-pg cover plus 64 interior pages (aka 16 wraps or 32 leaves). A 52-pg issue consists of a 4-pg cover plus 48 interior pages (aka 12 wraps or 24 leaves). Some publishers (like DC) also had brief periods of 60-pg issues (in-between the 68-pg and 52-pg eras) and 44-pg issues (in between the 52-pg and 36-pg eras). A DC 60-pager consists of a 4-pg cover plus a 56-pg interior; however, the interior consists of 12 wraps plus another 4 "tipped-in" individual leaves, and a complete interior would have 16 leaves before the center staple but only 12 after. Not all publishers manufactured their 60-pagers this way; for example, I believe Quality Comics just used 14 wraps to form their 56-pg interiors. My go-to source for GA page counts is Howard Keltner's Golden Age Index (aka The Keltner Index) which is available, for free, in pdf form).

That's a nasty stain (as opposed to simple soiling). Probably oil based (as it's caused the paper to become transparent in places, which is generally not the case with foxing). Probably unique to your copy. In any event, not "fixable" or improvable via non-restorative dry cleaning.

Great inside cover images! No glue, no tape, just the early stages of blown/detached production staples. It looks like the added staples were a skillfully performed preventative/prophylactic repair. An awesome $10 snag!