Questions about defect

[-Joe-]

Hi!

 

I recently inherited a large number of Warren magazines - Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. In examining them to gauge their condition I’ve come across a very odd thing that I would like to ask your opinion/advice about.

 

With some of the books, the closer you get to the spine, the stiffer the paper becomes. A few have it to a minor degree while a couple are so stiff that if you open and read the book, it makes a sort of “crackling” sound as you turn the pages and if you hold it vertically with the spine at the bottom, the pages don’t fall over.

 

I thought it might be moisture, but there is no stain or discoloration of any kind. There is also a slight “waving” as you get closer to the spine, but when you look at the spine from the outside, it’s perfectly flat.

 

Other than that, the issues are in beautiful condition.

 

So my questions are:

 

Does anyone here know what this is or what causes it?

How come only some copies are affected when as far as I know, all of the issues have been stored all together, boarded and bagged, in comic boxes from day one?

Is it considered to be a major or minor defect? How would a grade be affected?

 

Any information that anyone can give would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

-Joe-

 

[the blob]

hmm, you must get them out of your home immediately. they are dangerous! please ship them to me so that i can properly dispose of them. i will pay for media mail shipping.

 

 

i have no idea what this problem is. a new one to me. good luck.

[-Joe-]

Oh No!!! Send me your address right away and I will mail them tomorrow! Never mind Media Mail, I'll ship them overnight!

 

Thanks for your reply. I was afraid your answer was what I was going to hear. Hopefully someone on this board has run into this before. The amazing thing is that otherwise, the books are in remarkable shape.

 

Thanks again,

 

-Joe-

[The Troll King]

Show us some scans or photos (seriously)

 

I'm not sure what to make of this. If the paper isn't brittle it might be old dried moisture.

[-Joe-]

Well I scanned one of the books but it didn't show anything. It simply looks like a scan of an average open book. It's also a bit blurry close to the center of the spine because the open book will not lay absolutely flat on the scanner.

 

I would have included a shot here but I don't know how to insert a picture into this post.

 

The paper is not brittle and there is no staining of any kind. The entire book is not affected, just 10 or 15 pages in the center of the book

 

But wait! There's more!

 

I took the books to a comic book shop and showed them to the owner and asked him about it. He was as mystified as I am. He did comment that there was no "smell" or discoloration and basically said, "I've never seen anything like this before."

 

The entire collection of Creepy's, Eerie's, and Vampirella's were bagged and boarded, stored in boxes, and kept in the same place. Yet only a handful of issues have this condition and they are in the middle of the box.

 

When I run my finger along the spine on the outside cover of the book, it feels perfectly flat. If I open the book to the center and run my finger near the spine, I can feel the paper "waving".

 

I do appreciate your comments and interest.

 

-Joe-

[HD]

I have seen the same thing with perhaps 5% of the issues in my Vampirella collection. I have always had suspicions that these particular issues are displaying the side-effects of the pressing process. (Yes—I used the "P" word and on my first post.) My reasons:

 

1.I have multiples of some issues and some apparently identical issues have this problem and some do not. Therefore, it does not seem to be the result of an entire printing being one way or the other.

2.Notice what happens if you get paper damp and let it dry—it becomes stiff or at least less flexible. (I know that a pressed comic is not supposed to display any side effects of the process—but that is for a pressing job that is done properly. What about an amateur one?)

3.I have only noticed this phenomenon (thus far anyway) on higher grade magazines (VF and up). To me, it seems that these would have been pressing candidates if they had no color breaks, etc.

4.Finally, I noticed that after reading such a magazine it goes from being very flat to having some ripples. I can read a high quality magazine or comic (one without the problem described in this thread) and cause zero damage—or at least none that I can detect. If reading causes damage that easily, I would have would have suspected it to be visible already from the previous owner.

 

Well, FWIW that is my theory. It would be great to know if there is a proven cause of this.

[the blob]

if the "inherited" part of the story is true, i have serious doubts these books were pressed. with a couple of exceptions they were $1 (or less) -$5 wholesale books up until the 2000's (and in some cases, still are) even in HG.

 

remember, there was simply no reason to press stuff like this until CGC 9.6/9.8s started creating price wackiness. people pressed out a wrinkle on the captain america 2 or FF 3 or whatever.