Grading Annuals or Giants

[Robot Man]

Being a guy that loves these books and one that works in the graphics industry, I have never understood why these are graded the same as regular comic books. Sure they are printed and trimmed the same way but the binding is totally different.

 

A regular comic is generally printed in signatures (incriments of 4 pages) and saddle stitched (stapled). An annual can have as many pages as they want but must just be an even amount of pages. They can also be stapled but not through the spine of the book and have a glued on cover (called perfect binding)

 

Some of the criteria for grading a regular comic simply does not pertain to annuals. I think sometimes annuals get a little hammered simply because of the way they are produced. They also split easier, roll easier and can have paper torn from the spine easier. There is often staple "pop through" because of stacking or pressure.

 

Should there be different criteria for annuals or is there already and I don't know about it?

[howlingdog]

good points! I have thought the same thing my self. Lower spine splits are really common if that is the proper term.

[Marty Mann]

Not too many of these.

 

 

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[BB-Gun]

Not too many of these.

 

 

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I liked that cover so much, I had to buy two.

I purchased an extra copy of CC5 and added 2, 4, 9 and 13 to my real issues. The cardboard covers are very similar to the facsimiles. I think they hold up better than the interiors. Scratches and blunted edges are common but the colors are bright. Similar editions are the early World's Finest. Judge the age by the interior and grade the covers liberally at the edges. No gloss is possible and damaged spines are common too.

[Robot Man]

That is also annother point to ponder. The DC giants started out having "cardboard" covers which is completely different than standard comics or even covers on the later issues. So my question remains. Should giants and annuals be graded to a slightly different standard???

[rjpb]

Not too many of these.

 

 

mm

 

 

I generally not that big a fan of DC's "fun" superhero covers, but this one has always charmed me.

[Marty Mann]

Not too many of these.

 

 

mm

 

 

I generally not that big a fan of DC's "fun" superhero covers, but this one has always charmed me.

 

For a kid the same age as those on the cover...it had a true fantasy appeal.

 

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