Gallery 1: In the beginning, there were Pedigrees...

[BradleyX2]

Since we're about halfway between newsletters, I'm going to re-present the 1st "Glance At The Gallery" by CGC's Quality Control manager/mega comic fan Michael McFadden from December 2007 since a lot of chatboarders here probably never had a chance to read these articles. Which is a shame as there's some real cool comics that are pictured and discussed. I figure I'll post all 22 columns, about 1 a month or so. Again- some cool stuff here!

 

Greetings, fellow fans! I’m Michael McFadden. I earn my bones editing our labels and making sure that we haven’t heat-sealed your treasured Ziggy Pig-Silly Seal #1 between the staples. But that’s my day laborer position at CGC. What really excites me is my other duty. I’m privileged to choose most of the high-grade rarities, the obscure gems, the stunningly cool comics that you find on the CGC Gallery . If I’m sizzled by a nifty Centaur the Arrow #2 in 7.0 from November 1940 or Marvel’s red-hot Dark Tower #7 Variant in 10.0 from, uh, yesterday afternoon (both highest-graded copies), I try to place these beauties in our gallery. Selecting and sharing my excitement with you about the books I see everyday at CGC is a major job perk for me!

 

 

Gosh, boys and girls, this November has seen over 500 books added to our digital display. For CGC, that’s record-breaking. For Gemma Adel, our magnificent maven of the Registry, that’s back-breaking! Gemma scans and edits the covers and once a month, one by one, uploads them to the Gallery for your enjoyment. Her desk is often littered with comics that I have some wild idea of having on permanent exhibit. Without Gemma doing the heavy lifting, the Gallery doesn’t happen!

 

So what cool stuff did happen this month?

 

When you’re talking Silver Age DCs, I think Pacific Coast pedigree books are right at the apex. These comics are a joy to see. Back in the Sixties, when magazine distributors sent comics mainly to drugstores and confectionaries in unforgiving wire or plastic strip-tethered bundles, they often arrived already cut or dented. Then some minimum wage simian would stuff them into wire pockets on rotating comic racks. Next, some pimple-faced sweathog would brusquely fan the books from back to front to see what was in the pocket, creating spine stress and lovely color breaks in brand new comics. So even when I got to the comics on the day they came out, I was too late.

 

But these Pacific Coast books are smooth as a mountain lake. They have a crispness to hold, a sharpness of edge, a lustrous gloss more reminiscent of modern books than those of forty years ago. We’ve added over 50 Pacific Coast books, mostly from the late Sixties. A number of them are Superman family titles. Check out Adventure Comics ranging from #375 to #391, Jimmy Olsen #107 to #118, World’s Finest #172 to #177, and Superman #221 to #230 for a number of these. There’s a nifty run of Detective Comics from #372 to #399 and a handful of Aquaman from the Giordano-edited era, between #41 and #49 sporting those dynamite Nick Cardy covers.

 

 

Or you could look at every Pacific Coast book on the Web site! Did you know that our gallery search engine would take pedigrees now? That’s a useful new feature we’ve added recently. There are over 40 pedigrees that we at CGC recognize for inclusion on our labels. Type, for example, Don Rosa, Boston, Gaines File Copy, or Pacific and all the books we‘ve certified and subsequently imaged will appear. Isn’t technology fun? Sure beats the hell out of your well-thumbed Gerber!

 

On the pedigree menu this month are superb examples of the Oakland Collection: Metal Men #29 and #33, Wonder Woman #175 and #186, all 9.4. Hawkman #24 and #27 come in at 9.6, and Adventure Comics #387 at 9.8. Hmm… never thought I’d have anything nice to say about those post-Julie Schwartz edited issues of Pinioned Protector!

 

 

New Mile High entries include Big 3 #6 (9.2), Big Shot Comics #32 (9.2), and a trio of Wonder Woman, #18 (6.0), #28 (8.0), and #40 (6.0).

 

 

Golden Age highlights also include Terrors of the Jungle #20 (Cosmic Aeroplane, 9.4), Black Terror #10 (what dynamite threads he wears!) (Oh, I almost forgot, Big Apple, 8.0), Kid Colt Outlaw #3 (Hawkeye, 9.0), Marvel Mystery #23 (Macon 9.0) and #36 (Pennsylvania, 9.0).

 

 

 

Pedigree Silver? Search Journey Into Mystery #88 (Northland, 9.6), Fantastic Four #13 (9.2), #26 (9.4), and Doom Patrol #91 (9.2), all White Mountain.

 

 

For those fanciers of the obscure and inane, how about two Curator copies: Tower’s seldom seen Teen Beat #1 (9.0)? Was there anybody on earth less hip, less switched in to youth culture than the guys who put this mess together? Oh yeah, DC’s entire staff in 1967. Then there’s Charlton’s Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #46 (9.6), featuring the first appearance of the shamefully awful Son of Vulcan. Gotta give him his props, though… he always wore a flattering skirt with his outfit.

 

 

 

Since I have no interest in our Senior Sultan of the Signature Series, Paul Litch, going Judo master on my derriere, I suppose we should address the 60-plus new images in that tier. Summer show season sees CGC at a brace of fanclaves, certifying the authenticity of the signatures and sketches of your favorite creators. Check our newsletter or Web site for our upcoming schedule, and then go to the show’s Web site to check out their guests.

 

What could make a con more memorable than a Stan Lee autograph on your 4.5 Avengers #13, John Cassaday’s on a 9.8 Lone Ranger #7, Jim Lee’s on a 9.8 Batman: Black and White #1, or Darick Robertson’s signed sketch on a 9.8 Wolverine V3 #1? Or better yet, Darwyn Cook and J. Bones’s signatures on a 9.9 DC Spirit #1 or a sweet Buffy sketch by Georges Jeanty on Buffy: Season Eight #1 variant (9.8). Recent signers include Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly (All-Star Superman #1, German variant), Herb Trimpe on Hulk #134 (8.5), and my fellow Missourians Gary Friedrich and Roy Thomas on Ghost Rider’s debut, Marvel Spotlight #5 (7.5). Media signees include Jamie Bamber on Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #1 (a frakken 9.6) and Jonathan Frakes on Star Trek: The Next Generation: Riker #1 (9.8).

 

 

 

Be sure to explore the six million Fallen Son#3’s we’ve added over the last month or two. Just about every pro in sight has graced these blank covers with their rendition of America’s favorite star-spangled Avenger. Or is that bullet-riddled Avenger these days? Whichever you prefer, the latest visual takes on Cap are from Michael Choi, David Finch, Turner and Steigerwald. And take a guess — just a wild guess — how Arthur Suydam portrays him!

 

Bureau of Statistical Inevitability on this month’s 9.9 and 10.0 watch: 30 days of Night: Beyond Barrow #1 and Sourcebook #1, Aspen Splash 2007 Swimsuit (U.S. and U.K. editions), Criminal Macabre #21, Generation X #1, Halo Uprising #1, Nick Cardy’s Mini Showcase #1, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For #1, Spike: Lost and Found #1 SigSeries, DC’s Spirit #1 SigSeries, Tank Girl: The Gifting #2 RRP, #3 RRP, Thor #1 Sketch, Watchmen #3, World War Hulk #1: Aspen variant, and World War Hulk #3, all 9.9.

 

So that’s about it for this prolific month. I’d like to recommend a few fun items, though. The All Star #9 is a fantastic 8.5, one of the top five copies we’ve certified. Great book, I owned one myself when I was a kid… well, most of one! Superman: Duel in Space #1A in 9.8 makes me long for the days when cereal was bought for the premium inside. Nutrition is overrated. And finally, Amazing Spider-Man #248 SigSeries 9.6 is a CGC office favorite because of “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man” short story. Don’t ask me why. It’s not even Ditko…

 

 

 

Comments and questions regarding the gallery? We’re fans, too. We enjoy hearing from you. You can contact me at mmcfadden@cgccomics.com . Thank you for your time and do remember — be good to yourself. Be CGC-ing you!

[greggy]

Drek except the sweet Teen Beat #1 Curator.

[icouldbe]

 

Theres a nifty run of Detective Comics from #372 to #399 and a handful of Aquaman from the Giordano-edited era, between #41 and #49 sporting those dynamite Nick Cardy covers.

 

 

Why hasn't CGC fixed this yet?

 

Giordano

 

Grayson

 

Dillon

 

Tracy

 

 

If I could expand my focus those Adventure Comics with Supergirl would be a nice set to collect.

[G.A.tor]

interesting...

[BradleyX2]

Drek except the sweet Teen Beat #1 Curator.

 

 

 

 

Is everything drek except DC romance & 100 pagers?

[Raphael]

cool! Very cool SS books!

[slym2none]

Why hasn't CGC fixed this yet?

 

Giordano

 

Grayson

 

Dillon

 

Tracy

 

Blame a childish few.

 

 

 

-slym ( )

[Transplant]

So where does someone give permission for CGC to image their books? Is it part of the submission form or is it just taken down if someone objects?

[Timmay]

Drek except the sweet Teen Beat #1 Curator.

 

 

 

 

Is everything drek except DC romance & 100 pagers?

 

only on Bizarro Greggy World