LowGradeBronze

Looking at this book had me down a rabbit hole on this series, starting with MCS who give detailed info on contents of each issue and ending up with Jay Scott Like, who drew stories in the 1950s that ended up being reprinted in Our Love Story. So thanks for posting! Issue 2 has by far the best cover in the series for my liking, in terms of design and colour.

You hit the nail on the head. Since slabbed, graded copies are now detailed in a census, they have become a specific commodity and have helped define the population of available books (to a degree at least,) and helped refine 'the chase' for many collectors. It's created a rarified atmosphere for those in the market for specific books.

As is, I won't go higher than 4.0 on a book with that spine roll, but if you can post a pic or two after pressing I may be persuaded to go higher. Sometimes you gotta just buy it when you see it or else live with the regret.

What's happening with the 'stain' on the top of BC which appears to line up with the slight loss of colour above E of Every on the front? Even so, I'm at 8.0

You're not paying for it to be graded again when you have a reholder, so no, it should remain the same.

6.0 even with what looks like the small crescent tear below the MMMS 'stamp'. Nice book

Makes 4.0, just.

Has someone's pen/pencil marks been removed from the yellow area on the cover? It has that rubbed look and some colour loss. Some marks remain on other parts of the cover and the back has some ink transfer I assume. But even with that, still a 4.0 I reckon.

Handsome, flat clean copy. I'm at 5.0

Hadn't realised how wavy the book is. And that's after pressing, right? I'm afraid my sharp eyed co-graders were right and I'm lowering my estimate to 7.0 / 7.5 However this is not a key so guessing you had no plans to retire fixed on this book

For once I weigh in higher than the pros! I'd call this an 8.0 and note the very slight bump/crunch at top of the spine as seen from the back view. I'll say it's good if we get at least a view of the centrefold, to see how the staples are positioned, as this has an impact on any damage that could occur from opening the book repeatedly, and let us see how sharp the page corners are and of course page colour/quality.

If your environment is also very humid that might not be ideal for storing comics, but others with better experience of challenging storage conditions will hopefully advise you.

6.5 or maybe a 7.0

Passes muster as a 4.0 but no higher. Those black covers show every last mark and crease.

If you have the misfortune for me to pass sentence on any of your other books, you'll realise I'm using a harsher grading scale closer to Overstreet. I can't help it, it's my age. I have tried/am trying to get closer to a CGC method which tends to be more lenient in certain areas and has itself changed over the years, with harsher and more lenient periods which were not applied universally across all eras of books. I'm not being malicious. I'm looking at people's books, comparing them with books in similar condition to my own and imagining them in hand as far as possible. If it feels like something I'd call a VG in my own collection, then I call it a VG. Take my grades with a pinch of salt and add generally 0.5 and you should end up with a CGC type grade. In fact maybe that's what I should do!

My instinct is 8.5 to 9.0 and I remember having the first few issues and making up the X fighter / tie fighter models.

Modern comics are printed on very thin stock and this is just how they look. The slab hasn't caused it, if that's what you were wondering.

With one of them in a slab, isn't a spare reader exactly what you need?

.......just read them?

Why not wait and see if your books become valuable in the years to come, and if they do, then you can dig them out and have them graded. Until then, all you'll be doing is spending money on grading that you could have spent on more comics.

(4) Anyone who's ever lit a fart would know that the button would melt.....

Maybe DC just weren't keen to have a B&W magazine line. They certainly let Marvel have the market. It's yet another example of just how fertile and prolific Jolly Jack was, and this early 1970s period exemplifies that. Perhaps he had free rein at DC given his track record. DC were at least a decade behind Marvel in the late 60s. Kirby modernised them and then some! Just look at the average late 60s DC and it was stuffy and dull in its editorial tone, the artists were pretty boring and it felt as though nothing had changed since the 1950s. (OK they had Neal Adams on Deadman.) By contrast, Marvel in the late 60s was bursting with new titles, great new artists and those are the books in demand now. To get Kirby onboard was a shot in the arm for DC, helped them catch up....a bit. https://www.cbr.com/jack-kirby-spirit-world-cancellation/

Wow, that looks like an 8.0 to me and more likely 8.5

Looking at the book overall, it looks like a 6.0 to me. It's a serious defect on an otherwise high grade book.

I'm on the 6.5 wagon too. Falls just shy of 7.0 due to the general but slight edge wear & those scratches. I don't see the top edge cuts along the back cover being too much of an issue as they are almost certainly production related.