Is this yet another constanza ?

[Gotham Kid]

 

most of the defects pushed to the back...

 

Just listed on ComicLink

 

 

 

 

 

[drbanner]

Not sure whether it is or isn't a victim of one of the manipulation techniques, but this is a "Facejob" or "Reverse Spine Roll", not a "Costanza". The Costanzas were books with covers shrunken by in-house pressing at CGC yet given higher grades (Cole Schave collection), the Facejobs/RSR were done by Wilson, et al. as in the infamous Avengers 1.

 

But yeah, this certainly looks like a RSR victim.

[buttock]

I'm not convinced. I've seen plenty of Supe 14s with a similar cut. One that was solid NM & untouched. And the bindery chips would be rolled back more if this were a cole schave-type book, no?

[markseifert]

Playing devil's advocate here, there appears to be more spine dings and wear on or very near the spine as placed than there is on the back nearer the staple line, no? In particular, look at the bottom corner ding. That would seem to indicate the spine hasn't been realigned.

 

Also... it's harder to tell from the scan, but I think maybe what we're seeing here is a miscut cover as well, rather than a placement shift. Look at the lower right corner, and how the black bleeds into the white area a bit. Is that just a white strip on the cover beyond the black, indicating a miscut (rather than indicating a shift revealing interior pages)? I think it might be.

[batman_fan]

To me it looks like production defect. I have always avoided books that look like this because I think they are fugly.

[nearmint]

Is that just a white strip on the cover beyond the black, indicating a miscut (rather than indicating a shift revealing interior pages)? I think it might be.

 

I think it is, yes.

[Timely]

Superman #14 is NOTORIOUS for having bad staple placement, miscuts & off-center covers. I saw a copy that had the staples a full inch away from the spine on the front cover, to the point where you could not open the book far enough to read it.

[VintageComics]

There is obviously more roll to the back than to the front but it's going to be hard to tell if it was done on purpose or by accident.

 

A book with a slight spine roll would look exactly like this.

[rjpb]

Whatever the reason it's a very loose 8.5.

[Sqeggs]

Playing devil's advocate here, there appears to be more spine dings and wear on or very near the spine as placed than there is on the back nearer the staple line, no? In particular, look at the bottom corner ding. That would seem to indicate the spine hasn't been realigned.

 

Also... it's harder to tell from the scan, but I think maybe what we're seeing here is a miscut cover as well, rather than a placement shift. Look at the lower right corner, and how the black bleeds into the white area a bit. Is that just a white strip on the cover beyond the black, indicating a miscut (rather than indicating a shift revealing interior pages)? I think it might be.

 

I think this is right -- probably a miscut rather than a manipulated spine. The book also seems a little too tight for comfort in the inner well; I think it might be better in a magazine holder.

 

Overall, though, a nice looking copy of an iconic cover.

[batman_fan]

Superman #14 is NOTORIOUS for having bad staple placement, miscuts & off-center covers. I saw a copy that had the staples a full inch away from the spine on the front cover, to the point where you could not open the book far enough to read it.

 

There is actually a 6.0 Batman 19 on eBay right now that has some really offset staples. Probably close to that 1 inch mark. I was interested in it until I saw that defect as the price is pretty decent on it.

[originalisbest]

Whatever the reason it's a very loose 8.5.

 

In your opinion. Looks fine to me as an 8.5.

[Silver Surfer]

Every time I see one of these it reminds me of the Pet Detective movie when Marino and Ace find Mr. Winky on Lois Einhorn. Queue the crying game song.

[jimbo_707]

Whatever the reason it's a very loose 8.5.

 

In your opinion. Looks fine to me as an 8.5.

If that's a tear on Supe's right foot (which it appears to be), I'd have to agree that the grade is on the loose side. I've had books knocked down to 8.0 for smaller edge tears, so I don't think I'd have gone higher than 7.5 on it.

[originalisbest]

Whatever the reason it's a very loose 8.5.

 

In your opinion. Looks fine to me as an 8.5.

If that's a tear on Supe's right foot (which it appears to be), I'd have to agree that the grade is on the loose side. I've had books knocked down to 8.0 for smaller edge tears, so I don't think I'd have gone higher than 7.5 on it.

 

I see the tear you mention, but in the overall front cover visual appeal (judging from the scan) I don't think it alone knocks the book out of 8.5 contention.