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How on earth do comics stay in pristine condition?

Started by the blob,

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the blob

the blob

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Posted

So I hit a shop i frequent every 3 or 4 months and bought some $1 books, among them some Fragglerock comics. I get home and realize that while some were the first printing 65 cent cover, others were $1.00 cover price reprints from 1988.....Anyway, my son (the 6 year old) spots them and he likes Fragglerock, so the reprint issues are now his. Before I handed them over I examined them and these were absolutely perfect copies, easily 9.8 - 10.0, now almost 25 years old, sitting in that box unboarded. Not a single spine tick, absolutely pristine. I have no idea how that happened, maybe they had been sitting in inventory in storage and the shop owner had just put them in, I dunno. while it doesn't shock me to see stuff in perfect shape from 1988, I was surprised these were because the boxes were packed tight, etc.

 

After my son handled them for literally 10 seconds not one of them was better than a VF.

 

while I understand how stuff that was boarded up right away can survive pristine, I just don't get how this kind of kids stuff survives, particularly if it has ever been read by an actual kid!

 

(the ultimate spiderman 4 (new series) the store owner gave me for free in disgust re: her inability to sell any of them also suffered a similar fate after I gave it to the mini-manhandler)

 

My son should probably work at a comic shop, it sounds like he's as rough with comics as most comic shop cashiers are.

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the blob

the blob

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And somewhere, someone looking for 9.8 Fraggle Rock comics is crying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

I was half thinking I should probably make sure this was worthless (i think the 1st prints might be worth something in tip top shape), but he seemed really excited to have the opportunity to damage a fraggle rock comic so I couldn't deny him the pleasure. I would be mean of me to keep all of them for myself (not that this kid is exactly an angel).

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Cyo-migration

Cyo-migration

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I really prefer early bronze books and before to have some signs of reading. When I see a well loved old book, it reminds me when comics were about great stories and adventures. Now, unfortunately, I've become a bit more of an old fussy pants and can't help but see some dollar signs when I see a rare book. Seeing them worn, reminds me that the reason I like comics is not because someone will pay me money for them, but because of the stories that got me hooked when I was a kid.

 

When cleaning out some old comic boxes the other day, I found my original X-Men 99 and 100 that I bought at the 7-11 with my milk money. In that same box I found my Defenders 34, Luke Cage 33 and 34, and Marvel Premiere 31 "Featuring the Man-Brute called Woodgod."

 

That last one, with a title of Woodgod and an action packed cover was one of the biggest comic disappointments of my comic reading childhood. Gods, it was a boring and horrid comic book for a child.

 

All of those are certainly no in no better than good condition. However, they really mean a lot to me since I know how many times I dragged them to school, read them at night in bed, and traded them with friends. If they were still in mint condition, I'm not sure they would seem as special.

 

But now that I think about it, I might get a kick out of having a slabbed 9.8 Marvel Premiere 31 as a wall hanger... :headbang:

 

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DiceX

DiceX

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Dude. The Fraggle Rock reprints are impossible to find, much less in high grade.

You just lost out on about $1500 per book if they slabbed at 9.8. :eek:

 

 

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tth2

tth2

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Posted
So I hit a shop i frequent every 3 or 4 months and bought some $1 books, among them some Fragglerock comics. I get home and realize that while some were the first printing 65 cent cover, others were $1.00 cover price reprints from 1988.....Anyway, my son (the 6 year old) spots them and he likes Fragglerock, so the reprint issues are now his. Before I handed them over I examined them and these were absolutely perfect copies, easily 9.8 - 10.0, now almost 25 years old, sitting in that box unboarded. Not a single spine tick, absolutely pristine. I have no idea how that happened, maybe they had been sitting in inventory in storage and the shop owner had just put them in, I dunno. while it doesn't shock me to see stuff in perfect shape from 1988, I was surprised these were because the boxes were packed tight, etc.

 

After my son handled them for literally 10 seconds not one of them was better than a VF.

 

while I understand how stuff that was boarded up right away can survive pristine, I just don't get how this kind of kids stuff survives, particularly if it has ever been read by an actual kid!

 

(the ultimate spiderman 4 (new series) the store owner gave me for free in disgust re: her inability to sell any of them also suffered a similar fate after I gave it to the mini-manhandler)

 

My son should probably work at a comic shop, it sounds like he's as rough with comics as most comic shop cashiers are.

The answer is that NO comics that go through a 6 year old remain pristine, even if it`s a 6 year old Niles Crane.

 

Almost all of the great pristine GA and SA collections were accumulated by adults or teenagers, not little kids, and even among the adult or teenage buyers only a very small minority took great care of their comics. Or you have collections like the SF/Reilly books that were accumulated and maintained in pristine condition because of unique circumstances.

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namisgr

namisgr

Posted
Posted
So I hit a shop i frequent every 3 or 4 months and bought some $1 books, among them some Fragglerock comics. I get home and realize that while some were the first printing 65 cent cover, others were $1.00 cover price reprints from 1988.....Anyway, my son (the 6 year old) spots them and he likes Fragglerock, so the reprint issues are now his. Before I handed them over I examined them and these were absolutely perfect copies, easily 9.8 - 10.0, now almost 25 years old, sitting in that box unboarded. Not a single spine tick, absolutely pristine. I have no idea how that happened, maybe they had been sitting in inventory in storage and the shop owner had just put them in, I dunno. while it doesn't shock me to see stuff in perfect shape from 1988, I was surprised these were because the boxes were packed tight, etc.

 

After my son handled them for literally 10 seconds not one of them was better than a VF.

 

while I understand how stuff that was boarded up right away can survive pristine, I just don't get how this kind of kids stuff survives, particularly if it has ever been read by an actual kid!

 

(the ultimate spiderman 4 (new series) the store owner gave me for free in disgust re: her inability to sell any of them also suffered a similar fate after I gave it to the mini-manhandler)

 

My son should probably work at a comic shop, it sounds like he's as rough with comics as most comic shop cashiers are.

The answer is that NO comics that go through a 6 year old remain pristine, even if it`s a 6 year old Niles Crane.

 

Almost all of the great pristine GA and SA collections were accumulated by adults or teenagers, not little kids, and even among the adult or teenage buyers only a very small minority took great care of their comics. Or you have collections like the SF/Reilly books that were accumulated and maintained in pristine condition because of unique circumstances.

 

+1

 

A comic can still be in NM/M condition after reading, but the reader has to be old enough to know what they're doing.

 

The other factor is lack of movement. The best collections have sat untouched in one place for decades.

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ComicConnoisseur

ComicConnoisseur

Posted
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So I hit a shop i frequent every 3 or 4 months and bought some $1 books, among them some Fragglerock comics. I get home and realize that while some were the first printing 65 cent cover, others were $1.00 cover price reprints from 1988.....Anyway, my son (the 6 year old) spots them and he likes Fragglerock, so the reprint issues are now his. Before I handed them over I examined them and these were absolutely perfect copies, easily 9.8 - 10.0, now almost 25 years old, sitting in that box unboarded. Not a single spine tick, absolutely pristine. I have no idea how that happened, maybe they had been sitting in inventory in storage and the shop owner had just put them in, I dunno. while it doesn't shock me to see stuff in perfect shape from 1988, I was surprised these were because the boxes were packed tight, etc.

 

After my son handled them for literally 10 seconds not one of them was better than a VF.

 

while I understand how stuff that was boarded up right away can survive pristine, I just don't get how this kind of kids stuff survives, particularly if it has ever been read by an actual kid!

 

(the ultimate spiderman 4 (new series) the store owner gave me for free in disgust re: her inability to sell any of them also suffered a similar fate after I gave it to the mini-manhandler)

 

My son should probably work at a comic shop, it sounds like he's as rough with comics as most comic shop cashiers are.

That might have been the problem as to why comic book sales have been dreadful these last two decades. People just bagged and boarded them without reading them. A lot different from the book readers. who opened up their books like Twilight,Harry Potter and Hunger Games and read them. Books still sell in the millions,while comics continue to get the new DC 52 mentality reboot.

Maybe it`s time for some people to realize that its better to actually read the comics to see if there any good then to just bag and board 10 copies of the latest Marvel and DC offerings. ;)

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rjpb

rjpb

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If your six year old leaves a book in VF after handling, he probably hasn't read it yet.

 

My daughters have a stack of comics from when they were around that age and I think maybe 10% of them still had the covers after a couple readings. I came to see the appeal of Archie digests, as they handle a lot more abuse than regular comics.

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inconceivable

inconceivable

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If your six year old leaves a book in VF after handling, he probably hasn't read it yet.

 

My daughters have a stack of comics from when they were around that age and I think maybe 10% of them still had the covers after a couple readings. I came to see the appeal of Archie digests, as they handle a lot more abuse than regular comics.

 

lol I have been putting tape of all things on the books that have been separated from covers, massive tears, etc. Added new staples. That sort of thing. Hope these aren't worth something someday.

 

Dan

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excelsior1986

excelsior1986

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That is a question I find myself asking every time I see an old book in prestine condition. If anyone hasn't seen this yet, I found this book at an estate sale last weekend. It wasn't at a house but in a warehouse. It looked like the people just buy up estates, move everything into their warehouse and have a sale once a month. This book was unbagged and unboarded with about 30 other comics that looked like they were just thrown in the box, and the box thrown on top of a sstack of other rickety boxes.

 

IMG_4566.jpg

 

The book is from 1955, and while it probably sat untouched in someones house for 57 years, its still pretty remarkable it made it out OK from the move to the warehouse. It is now safe in a Mylar in my collection where it will stay in this condition for many more years to come.

 

I just find it better to not worry how they stay in this good of condition over that long period of time, but just thank the comic gods for preserving it for me to come find it in all its beauty.

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burntboy

burntboy

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Posted
That is a question I find myself asking every time I see an old book in prestine condition. If anyone hasn't seen this yet, I found this book at an estate sale last weekend. It wasn't at a house but in a warehouse. It looked like the people just buy up estates, move everything into their warehouse and have a sale once a month. This book was unbagged and unboarded with about 30 other comics that looked like they were just thrown in the box, and the box thrown on top of a sstack of other rickety boxes.

 

IMG_4566.jpg

 

The book is from 1955, and while it probably sat untouched in someones house for 57 years, its still pretty remarkable it made it out OK from the move to the warehouse. It is now safe in a Mylar in my collection where it will stay in this condition for many more years to come.

 

I just find it better to not worry how they stay in this good of condition over that long period of time, but just thank the comic gods for preserving it for me to come find it in all its beauty.

 

Wow - never saw that one before - sweet... (thumbs u

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