Jeff, that book looks way better than a 5.0. What are we missing, is there a 2 inch spine split on it or has CGC dramatically tightened up its grading?
Nope, no spine splits, and the back cover is quite nice, but enough general wear front and back to keep it out of high grade. If you look carefully at the top right of the front cover, you can see that another comic or magazine had covered that corner for an extended period, and now that area is a bit brighter than the rest of the cover. A cleaning would make the entire cover that bright again, but that would lead to a PLOD.
I do think it's strictly graded though. A 5.5 or 6.0 would not have surprised me, especially with that page quality, but I'm still very pleased.
With no back cover or hidden issues, I would say with that page quality CGC was pretty tough on that book. Then again, who cares! Its awsome and one of the best copies I have seen. It certainly looks like a 6.0 or better at first glance! Great BOOK!!!! Congrats!
I'd be VERY happy with this book, but ultimately VERY disappointed by the grade -- certainly a modern-day grading travesty !!