Your worst comicbook accident / mistake?

[budsbundy]

Tape pull on FF #7 shortly after returning to collecting after stopping in my childhood.

The second that tape stuck to the cover, the memory from my childhood about the importance of taking the tape off first before removing the book came racing back to me.

 

[chromium]

when I got my first Amazing Fantasy #15 back in 2007I carefully opened the Fortress it came in, read it (well only the Spider-man story) smiled and carefully put the book back.

A few weeks later I thought I would better change the fortress for a Mylar + fullback and got the AF15 out again, not only had the cover separated but the front cover had also torn away from the back cover. It was a pretty book and all, no Marvel chipping and still deep colour gloss

 

It already had a spine split (but both staples were still attached) but the paper was brittle and by opening the book (first time in god knows how long) the stress was prolly too much and the spine just was torn in two.

 

[jaxcomics]

when I got my first Amazing Fantasy #15 back in 2007I carefully opened the Fortress it came in, read it (well only the Spider-man story) smiled and carefully put the book back.

A few weeks later I thought I would better change the fortress for a Mylar + fullback and got the AF15 out again, not only had the cover separated but the front cover had also torn away from the back cover. It was a pretty book and all, no Marvel chipping and still deep colour gloss

 

It already had a spine split (but both staples were still attached) but the paper was brittle and by opening the book (first time in god knows how long) the stress was prolly too much and the spine just was torn in two.

 

 

Ugh, that's pain of the type that I don't even want to imagine. I get upset enough if I accidentally ding or stress a $50 book, that kind of "accident" might require medication.

[Drummy]

These are great stories.

 

Mine comes from the fall, when I decided I would take some of my high-grade FF's to the New York Con in case I wanted to work out a trade for an FF #1 with a dealer.

 

In my bag I had my FF #12 (9.4 white), my FF #7 (9.2 white), an FF #15 (9.2 white, White Mountain copy), and an FF #23 (9.4 oww). Roughly $35,000 in books.

 

So...they're safely encased in a sturdy waterproof bag that never leaves my side. Somewhere on the bus ride down, however, I *smartly* put my water bottle, which has never leaked, inside a plastic bag inside a separate compartment within the bag.

 

When I got to the Con, I reached into the bag for the bottle and discovered water all along the bottom of the pocket. I then discovered that all my FF's had water leaking into the outer wells, staining the labels, etc.

 

You can imagine my freak-out. I went straight to CGC, had them open up all the books and submitted them for re-grading (even though it was pretty clear the inner well protected them from the water).

 

Here's how the came back:

 

FF #12 9.4 white (no change)

FF #7 8.5 white (I knew that book was severely overgraded already...a real hatchet job by CGC as a 9.2)

FF #15 9.4 white (notch higher)

FF #23 9.6 oww (notch higher)

 

Moral of the story? Don't drink water.

 

And CGC's inner well is pretty sweet.

 

Dan

[mackenzie999]

Here's how the came back:

 

FF #12 9.4 white (no change)

FF #7 8.5 white (I knew that book was severely overgraded already...a real hatchet job by CGC as a 9.2)

FF #15 9.4 white (notch higher)

FF #23 9.6 oww (notch higher)

 

Moral of the story? Don't drink water.

 

Maybe, maybe not...8.5 to 9.2 probably kills the deal, but with the other two upgrades maybe you made out on this accident? Someone with GPA could tell.

[MK Ultra]

With all these comics being destroyed what's this I hear about print runs being too high to be collectible?

[B-Smooth]

These are great stories.

 

Mine comes from the fall, when I decided I would take some of my high-grade FF's to the New York Con in case I wanted to work out a trade for an FF #1 with a dealer.

 

In my bag I had my FF #12 (9.4 white), my FF #7 (9.2 white), an FF #15 (9.2 white, White Mountain copy), and an FF #23 (9.4 oww). Roughly $35,000 in books.

 

So...they're safely encased in a sturdy waterproof bag that never leaves my side. Somewhere on the bus ride down, however, I *smartly* put my water bottle, which has never leaked, inside a plastic bag inside a separate compartment within the bag.

 

When I got to the Con, I reached into the bag for the bottle and discovered water all along the bottom of the pocket. I then discovered that all my FF's had water leaking into the outer wells, staining the labels, etc.

 

You can imagine my freak-out. I went straight to CGC, had them open up all the books and submitted them for re-grading (even though it was pretty clear the inner well protected them from the water).

 

Here's how the came back:

 

FF #12 9.4 white (no change)

FF #7 8.5 white (I knew that book was severely overgraded already...a real hatchet job by CGC as a 9.2)

FF #15 9.4 white (notch higher)

FF #23 9.6 oww (notch higher)

 

Moral of the story? Don't drink water.

 

And CGC's inner well is pretty sweet.

 

Dan

Moral of the story... bring water, place near expensive books.

[FlyingDonut]

In sixth grade I made a Marvel comics scrap book.

 

Still have it. Covers like Cap 100, Avengers annual 2, and all the interiors I cut up still haunt me when I look at them. At least they were doubles.

 

+1 My grandfather made me a "comic box" when I was 12 or so. Very nice, wooden cedar box. I then decorated it.

 

With cut out covers. Amazing Spider-Man 121. Giant Size X-Men 1. X-Men 97. Conan King Size 1. I still have the box. Very pretty.

[VintageComics]

when I got my first Amazing Fantasy #15 back in 2007I carefully opened the Fortress it came in, read it (well only the Spider-man story) smiled and carefully put the book back.

A few weeks later I thought I would better change the fortress for a Mylar + fullback and got the AF15 out again, not only had the cover separated but the front cover had also torn away from the back cover. It was a pretty book and all, no Marvel chipping and still deep colour gloss

 

It already had a spine split (but both staples were still attached) but the paper was brittle and by opening the book (first time in god knows how long) the stress was prolly too much and the spine just was torn in two.

 

I don't think those fortresses were good for comics.

 

I went to see a collection of early Marvels last year and a large number of them were in fortresses.

 

It seemed to me that almost every single early Marvel in a fortresses was either tanning or brittle. I didn't remove any of the books from their fortresses but they just seemed to have that "look" to them.

 

I assumed it was because there was no alkalizing buffer like a backing board or interleaving paper to slow down the degradation process.

[VintageComics]

Sold My X-men 1 to soon

Sold my ASM 129 to soon

Sold my Action Comics 29 to soon

 

I see a pattern

 

Yup. Those aren't really mistakes.

 

 

[mackenzie999]

In sixth grade I made a Marvel comics scrap book.

 

Still have it. Covers like Cap 100, Avengers annual 2, and all the interiors I cut up still haunt me when I look at them. At least they were doubles.

 

+1 My grandfather made me a "comic box" when I was 12 or so. Very nice, wooden cedar box. I then decorated it.

 

With cut out covers. Amazing Spider-Man 121. Giant Size X-Men 1. X-Men 97. Conan King Size 1. I still have the box. Very pretty.

 

A comic box made by grandpa could be worth the price of those books, easily.

[ivegotneatstuff]

Tearing the back corner (about 1/2 to 1 inch) off a copy of All American #16

[shadroch]

This isn't comic related nor really my own mistake but I believe its worth sharing.

Its 1987 or 1988 and I'm at a comic/card show where former MLB player Bobby Valentine is signing autographs at the table next to mine. Its not that busy a show and we get to talking about various things. I was just starting to get more involved in the family bar and it turns out he is going to be opening his own sports bar in a few months. He tells me of a plan he has to cover his bar top with baseball cards and laminate it. I say thats great but I wouldn't use baseball cards as they might increase in value. I suggest he use mostly basketball and football cards instead.

A couple of years later, I'm up in Stamford and stop by his bar. He's not around but asIi'm drinking I see not one, nor two , but three Micheal Jordan rookie cards laminated into the bartop.

[Artboy99]

In sixth grade I made a Marvel comics scrap book.

 

Still have it. Covers like Cap 100, Avengers annual 2, and all the interiors I cut up still haunt me when I look at them. At least they were doubles.

 

+1 My grandfather made me a "comic box" when I was 12 or so. Very nice, wooden cedar box. I then decorated it.

 

With cut out covers. Amazing Spider-Man 121. Giant Size X-Men 1. X-Men 97. Conan King Size 1. I still have the box. Very pretty.

 

post pics, my Father was a carpenter and I would be interested to see your comic chest.

[jaxcomics]

In sixth grade I made a Marvel comics scrap book.

 

Still have it. Covers like Cap 100, Avengers annual 2, and all the interiors I cut up still haunt me when I look at them. At least they were doubles.

 

+1 My grandfather made me a "comic box" when I was 12 or so. Very nice, wooden cedar box. I then decorated it.

 

With cut out covers. Amazing Spider-Man 121. Giant Size X-Men 1. X-Men 97. Conan King Size 1. I still have the box. Very pretty.

 

I would personally consider it more than worth losing those books to have something like this made by my grandfather, who passed away about a decade ago. Sounds like a pretty awesome thing to have to remember him by!

[miraclemet]

In sixth grade I made a Marvel comics scrap book.

 

Still have it. Covers like Cap 100, Avengers annual 2, and all the interiors I cut up still haunt me when I look at them. At least they were doubles.

 

+1 My grandfather made me a "comic box" when I was 12 or so. Very nice, wooden cedar box. I then decorated it.

 

With cut out covers. Amazing Spider-Man 121. Giant Size X-Men 1. X-Men 97. Conan King Size 1. I still have the box. Very pretty.

 

I would personally consider it more than worth losing those books to have something like this made by my grandfather, who passed away about a decade ago. Sounds like a pretty awesome thing to have to remember him by!

 

dang allergies.. making my eyes water...

[Boboset]

This isn't comic related nor really my own mistake but I believe its worth sharing.

Its 1987 or 1988 and I'm at a comic/card show where former MLB player Bobby Valentine is signing autographs at the table next to mine. Its not that busy a show and we get to talking about various things. I was just starting to get more involved in the family bar and it turns out he is going to be opening his own sports bar in a few months. He tells me of a plan he has to cover his bar top with baseball cards and laminate it. I say thats great but I wouldn't use baseball cards as they might increase in value. I suggest he use mostly basketball and football cards instead.

A couple of years later, I'm up in Stamford and stop by his bar. He's not around but asIi'm drinking I see not one, nor two , but three Micheal Jordan rookie cards laminated into the bartop.

 

Great story! I would love to see that bartop.

[Kevin76]

After selling multiple comics on ebay I accidently mailed the wrong book to the wrong person, just glad he was honest and returned it.

 

Dealing with Bechara, that was a mistake.

[Wall-Crawler]

When I was a kid (about 12 or so) I ended up trading my copy of Giant Size X-Men #1 to an older kid for a bunch of mess.

 

THAT bothers me to this day.

[mystrymachine]

Way back around 1980, I took my birthday money and bought two cans of de-acidificaton spray for twenty bucks a pop.

I probably could have spent that on an x-men 94, but I thought it would be better to spray some of my books to improve their shelf life.

I had an old FF #9 that I coated pretty good. I sprayed so much on it that the paper felt like a limp cloth.

Years later I sold it to my local comic shop and even he noticed it's strange feel (and smell).

Yeah, so if anyone here has a FF 9 that feels and smells funny it just might be my old, umm experiment....