Cover me/I'm going in!!!

[Cat-Man_America]

I'm another collector with all books 100% raw. I think Sharon is right about the 2 different types of collectors, and although I loves me some classic covers, owning a book without being able to read it is just too frustrating for me.

 

I mean, it is AMAZING to see a 9.8 Golden Age book like that Contact. I think CGC is ideal for exactly these kinds of books. Pedigrees like Church books, high-grade high-dollar books, mega-keys etc. These books are really rare icons that make sense to slab both for protection as well as the benefit of third-party grading, not to mention the benefits Richard mentioned as a seller, removing 'handling' issues and pointless grading disputes.

 

I don't see the point in modern/new books being slabbed, but if people like 'em, that's their choice of course.

 

But as far as my collecting focus, Golden Age, I like attractive lower grade books that I can handle and read with impunity. The online digital sites are cool but they do lack Timely, DC, most Dell and other books, and even when they have a clear scan available (some of the scans are horrendous), I prefer a real comic whenever possible -- the experience of reading an original Golden Age book is not really replicated for me by the digital experience. I'm happy to leave the high grade/slabs to the collectors that love them, while I enjoy my well-loved low grade "readers".

 

We're on the same page here. I also appreciate Sharon's POV, but I think her description under-represents the range of collecting interest. Folks collect comics for many reasons, not just covers and/or reading. My

[sacentaur]

I crack my books, and even prefer purchasing a book (w/label) that's been freed from its tomb - that way I can evaluate the entire comic to ascertain if it meets my collecting criteria.

 

Needless to say, some books have been very disappointing upon being released from a slab.

[SuperBird]

I always ask the dealers to take the book out of the mylar...and put it back. I know how tricky it can be sometimes...

 

Me, too. I've always been paranoid about tape pulls or other damage taking the book out or putting it back in.

 

I usually ask the dealer to do it, but I ran into one guy who refused on a low grade GA batman- he made me do it, and the book lost a chunk that was half off already, when it caught the mylar.

 

He gave me a look, and I'm like "ummm.. sorry?"

 

 

[Point Five]

I always ask the dealers to take the book out of the mylar...and put it back. I know how tricky it can be sometimes...

 

Me, too. I've always been paranoid about tape pulls or other damage taking the book out or putting it back in.

 

I usually ask the dealer to do it, but I ran into one guy who refused on a low grade GA batman- he made me do it, and the book lost a chunk that was half off already, when it caught the mylar.

 

He gave me a look, and I'm like "ummm.. sorry?"

 

... And then he shrugged and proceeded to sell the book to me.

 

 

[SuperBird]

I always ask the dealers to take the book out of the mylar...and put it back. I know how tricky it can be sometimes...

 

Me, too. I've always been paranoid about tape pulls or other damage taking the book out or putting it back in.

 

I usually ask the dealer to do it, but I ran into one guy who refused on a low grade GA batman- he made me do it, and the book lost a chunk that was half off already, when it caught the mylar.

 

He gave me a look, and I'm like "ummm.. sorry?"

 

... And then he shrugged and proceeded to sell the book to me.

 

 

True dat, went from a 1.0 to a 0.5, just for you.

 

[SuperBird]

My $.02, I used to crack slabs, now I only buy slabbed, and slab the ones I have that are keepers. I find that I never enjoy reading them, and like the security of the slabs.

[MrBedrock]

[...]

There are many "collectors" I've met who never read the stories. I don't think it's horrible, I just see them more as art collectors.

[...]

It's funny to hear someone else use that term since it is exactly how I enjoy my own high grade comics. Merriam-Webster defines objet d'art like this: "a small object that is valued because it is beautiful or interesting : an object that has artistic value". I have no desire to open or read a CGC 9.4-9.6 comic from the last half of the 1930s. But I like the feeling of seeing an beautiful high grade comic from that era, just like I like to visit art museums and view paintings and sculptures there.

 

Then there's an entirely different side of me that enjoys opening and reading nice, but lower grade, comics with interesting content, not necessarily of the same issues that I like to hunt in high grade.

 

I almost always hear collectors describing themselves as somewhere on a spectrum, but I feel more like I have two different interests. They don't overlap a whole lot and there is absolutely no conflict between them.

Exactly!

[Frisco Larson]

Some of us have always been high grade collectors (it's in our DNA), but as responsible collectors with a passion for GA who want to see these treasures stick around after us, there is a logic behind acquiring books we have no intention of handling.

.

 

Be responsible collectors people, slab all high grade books NOW!!! Do it for the children It's kind of strange to me in that nobody can be certain what type of change might happen to a book after it's been in a slab for thirty years. Cat, some of the books that you hold most dear (albeit through several layers of plastic), were once stored raw, in several foot high stacks ..... no slabs, mylars or bags to protect them. Most books from that collection are the finest known examples to exist. Why do you think slabs are the only .... um ... "responsible" way to store them?

[fifties]

I have a variety of comic books that I bought back in the '50's, never Mylar'd them until maybe a dozen years ago or so, and they show no sign of physical depreciation whatsoever, even though "unprotected" for most of a good half century.

[Robot Man]

A lot of these collections sat un-touched in great storage conditions for decades. They wern't handled, read, moved around or touched. I myself have a large pile of un-bagged ECs just sitting on a wooden shelf. I read them or refer to them from time to time. Nothing like just picking one up and very carefully thumbing through them.

 

Now these are just common reader ECs. I think to Cat's point, the level of books he collects need a greater degree of protection due to their price tags. They deserve to be protected for future generations and to preserve his investment.

 

I don't like the look of slabbed books and the fact that you can see only two sides just bores me. I rarely look at my few slabbed books. But that is me and I don't have a collection like a lot of you guys.

 

You own 'em, do what ever makes you happy!

[Flex Mentallo]

A lot of these collections sat un-touched in great storage conditions for decades. They wern't handled, read, moved around or touched. I myself have a large pile of un-bagged ECs just sitting on a wooden shelf. I read them or refer to them from time to time. Nothing like just picking one up and very carefully thumbing through them.

 

Now these are just common reader ECs. I think to Cat's point, the level of books he collects need a greater degree of protection due to their price tags. They deserve to be protected for future generations and to preserve his investment.

 

I don't like the look of slabbed books and the fact that you can see only two sides just bores me. I rarely look at my few slabbed books. But that is me and I don't have a collection like a lot of you guys.

 

You own 'em, do what ever makes you happy!

 

All CGC books will end up as a pile of brittle flakes in the bottom of the holder regardless. It's just a matter of time.

[Sqeggs]

A lot of these collections sat un-touched in great storage conditions for decades. They wern't handled, read, moved around or touched. I myself have a large pile of un-bagged ECs just sitting on a wooden shelf. I read them or refer to them from time to time. Nothing like just picking one up and very carefully thumbing through them.

 

Now these are just common reader ECs. I think to Cat's point, the level of books he collects need a greater degree of protection due to their price tags. They deserve to be protected for future generations and to preserve his investment.

 

I don't like the look of slabbed books and the fact that you can see only two sides just bores me. I rarely look at my few slabbed books. But that is me and I don't have a collection like a lot of you guys.

 

You own 'em, do what ever makes you happy!

 

All CGC books will end up as a pile of brittle flakes in the bottom of the holder regardless. It's just a matter of time.

 

Wait, not the books in your sales thread!

[Flex Mentallo]

A lot of these collections sat un-touched in great storage conditions for decades. They wern't handled, read, moved around or touched. I myself have a large pile of un-bagged ECs just sitting on a wooden shelf. I read them or refer to them from time to time. Nothing like just picking one up and very carefully thumbing through them.

 

Now these are just common reader ECs. I think to Cat's point, the level of books he collects need a greater degree of protection due to their price tags. They deserve to be protected for future generations and to preserve his investment.

 

I don't like the look of slabbed books and the fact that you can see only two sides just bores me. I rarely look at my few slabbed books. But that is me and I don't have a collection like a lot of you guys.

 

You own 'em, do what ever makes you happy!

 

All CGC books will end up as a pile of brittle flakes in the bottom of the holder regardless. It's just a matter of time.

 

Wait, not the books in your sales thread!

 

Yep, they're all brittle. If I were you I wouldn't buy them.

[Sqeggs]

A lot of these collections sat un-touched in great storage conditions for decades. They wern't handled, read, moved around or touched. I myself have a large pile of un-bagged ECs just sitting on a wooden shelf. I read them or refer to them from time to time. Nothing like just picking one up and very carefully thumbing through them.

 

Now these are just common reader ECs. I think to Cat's point, the level of books he collects need a greater degree of protection due to their price tags. They deserve to be protected for future generations and to preserve his investment.

 

I don't like the look of slabbed books and the fact that you can see only two sides just bores me. I rarely look at my few slabbed books. But that is me and I don't have a collection like a lot of you guys.

 

You own 'em, do what ever makes you happy!

 

All CGC books will end up as a pile of brittle flakes in the bottom of the holder regardless. It's just a matter of time.

 

Wait, not the books in your sales thread!

 

Yep, they're all brittle. If I were you I wouldn't buy them.

 

Oh, yeah Buster?! I'm going to show you, I'm going to ... to ... Wait, is this another one of those ploys you use?

[Flex Mentallo]

A lot of these collections sat un-touched in great storage conditions for decades. They wern't handled, read, moved around or touched. I myself have a large pile of un-bagged ECs just sitting on a wooden shelf. I read them or refer to them from time to time. Nothing like just picking one up and very carefully thumbing through them.

 

Now these are just common reader ECs. I think to Cat's point, the level of books he collects need a greater degree of protection due to their price tags. They deserve to be protected for future generations and to preserve his investment.

 

I don't like the look of slabbed books and the fact that you can see only two sides just bores me. I rarely look at my few slabbed books. But that is me and I don't have a collection like a lot of you guys.

 

You own 'em, do what ever makes you happy!

 

All CGC books will end up as a pile of brittle flakes in the bottom of the holder regardless. It's just a matter of time.

 

Wait, not the books in your sales thread!

 

Yep, they're all brittle. If I were you I wouldn't buy them.

 

Oh, yeah Buster?! I'm going to show you, I'm going to ... to ... Wait, is this another one of those ploys you use?

 

Darn. my plouys - sorry, ploys - are becoming predictable.

[ciorac]

 

I think there are two distinctly different hobbies here...and maybe some of us are in-between.

 

Distinctly different hobbies? ... I'm not so sure about that.

 

Comics have always been about the art first. The scripting is important, but a secondary consideration (narration and dialogue provides a voice to give the visuals more personal connection with the reader, but it's the art that lures the collector). It's always been like that. Some folks collect comics for the covers, some folks like to read the stories while enjoying the interior art, some do both and then there are those who collect for other reasons altogether (nostalgia, etc.).

 

[...]

There are many "collectors" I've met who never read the stories. I don't think it's horrible, I just see them more as art collectors.

[...]

It's funny to hear someone else use that term since it is exactly how I enjoy my own high grade comics. Merriam-Webster defines objet d'art like this: "a small object that is valued because it is beautiful or interesting : an object that has artistic value". I have no desire to open or read a CGC 9.4-9.6 comic from the last half of the 1930s. But I like the feeling of seeing an beautiful high grade comic from that era, just like I like to visit art museums and view paintings and sculptures there.

 

Then there's an entirely different side of me that enjoys opening and reading nice, but lower grade, comics with interesting content, not necessarily of the same issues that I like to hunt in high grade.

 

I almost always hear collectors describing themselves as somewhere on a spectrum, but I feel more like I have two different interests. They don't overlap a whole lot and there is absolutely no conflict between them.

 

This is how I collect. I think Sharon is on the right track about folks collecting for different reasons, but I don't think it's that simple. Some of us have always been high grade collectors (it's in our DNA), but as responsible collectors with a passion for GA who want to see these treasures stick around after us, there is a logic behind acquiring books we have no intention of handling.

 

Slabbing provides the best means of collecting and preserving high grade comics. There are plenty of other sources available for reading interiors (low grade copies, downloads, archive editions, etc.). And if the pulp paper smell is missed by enough collectors, I'm sure some enterprising fan will make a fortune developing an aerosol spray that recreates the nostalgic atmosphere.

 

You had me until the last part Cat. Slabbing hasn't been around that long. Your high grade books survived decades in high grade before they were slabbed. I keep books slabbed I will likely sell. Whether they are high grade or not, if they are in my permanent collection they are raw. They will be just fine without a slab

[jimjum12]

 

I think there are two distinctly different hobbies here...and maybe some of us are in-between.

 

Distinctly different hobbies? ... I'm not so sure about that.

 

Comics have always been about the art first. The scripting is important, but a secondary consideration (narration and dialogue provides a voice to give the visuals more personal connection with the reader, but it's the art that lures the collector). It's always been like that. Some folks collect comics for the covers, some folks like to read the stories while enjoying the interior art, some do both and then there are those who collect for other reasons altogether (nostalgia, etc.).

 

[...]

There are many "collectors" I've met who never read the stories. I don't think it's horrible, I just see them more as art collectors.

[...]

It's funny to hear someone else use that term since it is exactly how I enjoy my own high grade comics. Merriam-Webster defines objet d'art like this: "a small object that is valued because it is beautiful or interesting : an object that has artistic value". I have no desire to open or read a CGC 9.4-9.6 comic from the last half of the 1930s. But I like the feeling of seeing an beautiful high grade comic from that era, just like I like to visit art museums and view paintings and sculptures there.

 

Then there's an entirely different side of me that enjoys opening and reading nice, but lower grade, comics with interesting content, not necessarily of the same issues that I like to hunt in high grade.

 

I almost always hear collectors describing themselves as somewhere on a spectrum, but I feel more like I have two different interests. They don't overlap a whole lot and there is absolutely no conflict between them.

 

This is how I collect. I think Sharon is on the right track about folks collecting for different reasons, but I don't think it's that simple. Some of us have always been high grade collectors (it's in our DNA), but as responsible collectors with a passion for GA who want to see these treasures stick around after us, there is a logic behind acquiring books we have no intention of handling.

 

Slabbing provides the best means of collecting and preserving high grade comics. There are plenty of other sources available for reading interiors (low grade copies, downloads, archive editions, etc.). And if the pulp paper smell is missed by enough collectors, I'm sure some enterprising fan will make a fortune developing an aerosol spray that recreates the nostalgic atmosphere.

 

You had me until the last part Cat. Slabbing hasn't been around that long. Your high grade books survived decades in high grade before they were slabbed. I keep books slabbed I will likely sell. Whether they are high grade or not, if they are in my permanent collection they are raw. They will be just fine without a slab

 

..... I think what it boils down to is that many collectors enjoy feeling the snap and slickness of the original book in their hands. Not everyone requires this, and for those who don't, the slab is just fine. I certainly wouldn't be presumptuous enough to try and convert someone..... but for a "raw" aficionado, that slab just doesn't do the trick. That being said, I still have several slabs that I've resigned myself to not violating.... for various reasons, many of which Bill touched upon. To each, his/her own...................GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

...... by the way, Bill...... Dave said he really enjoys your occasional visit..... that you're the kind of collector he just doesn't get to see as often anymore.

[Pat Calhoun]

Dear Cat,

 

I do not believe that story is secondary to art. The unique marriage is what makes a comic book a comic book. In the early 1950s when they sold a billion a year almost everyone in the country read them.

 

Yours, Pat

[Frisco Larson]

Some excellent points being brought up. I too have many books in slabs for several different reasons. I'm not against slabs, in fact, as touched on by Mr. Bedrock, I think they are great for dealers and collectors alike when it comes to buying & selling. It levels the playing field as far as grading & the restoration disclosure is of comfort.

 

Ultimately, buy what you like, buy it how you like it & collect your own way. Once purchased, the books are your property .... do with them whatever you choose. (thumbs u

[thunsicker]

Some excellent points being brought up. I too have many books in slabs for several different reasons. I'm not against slabs, in fact, as touched on by Mr. Bedrock, I think they are great for dealers and collectors alike when it comes to buying & selling. It levels the playing field as far as grading & the restoration disclosure is of comfort.

 

Ultimately, buy what you like, buy it how you like it & collect your own way. Once purchased, the books are your property .... do with them whatever you choose. (thumbs u

 

+1 Favoring slabs or raw is a personal thing. Neither group is doing it wrong.