Cover me/I'm going in!!!

[Bo_Hogg]

I wrote a very controversial report on here on how I feel about CGC years ago. The thread was called Anti cgc and I got a lot of insults and angry responses because everybody was slabbing back then. It was the new thing to do. I have always felt that slabbing comics is not like slabbing coins or baseball cards because comics has so much to offer inside. And the thing that irks me to no end is if you take a book out of the slab, it is worth like a bajillion times less. I mean are we paying for the plastic case or the book? Are we going to get a table at a convention and just put a bunch of blank slabs on our wall and sell those instead of comics. The 1st annual slab convention everyone!!!!!!! A 9.6 slab will run you about $2000 while a 4.0 will be about $40. I have a little over 1200 comics. That's it and I have about 12 in their plastic coffin. I have NEVER submitted any of my comics to CGC and never will. I buy them like that. I have taken out all of the non high grade comics out of their slabs and keep the high grades in their coffins unable to breathe. I also keep comics in their death chamber if they are the highest or second highest graded. That's why I only have 12 slabbed comics. But I will always hate the idea of slabbing something that has anything more than a front and back.

[Pat Calhoun]

right on Bo - it is the stuff between the covers that makes them comic books!

[pmpknface]

I've got over 23,000 books, so less that 1% of mine are slabbed. I've also never cracked one open, but I have thought about it. I'm not sure of the % of my GA is slabbed, but it's not that much. Maybe 10% at most.

[catrick339]

I've cracked open everything I ever bought for my personal collection, with the exception of a Showcase 14. That one gets the treatment whenever I decide I want to reread my early Showcases.....or my early Flashes.

[nearmint]

My focus fluctuates too much for me to crack out books. I collected the first 10 Legion appearances, held onto them for a year or so, then sold. It would have been pricey to have them all recertified before putting them on the market. Same with Joker covers, collected a dozen or so, then realized that I only liked the ones where he's menacing, rather than the covers where the joke's on him.

 

Sure, I have some Actions and Supes that I've owned for years, some a decade or more, but I can always read those stories elsewhere.

[Tri-Color Brian]

My 2 cents...100% of my 5,000+ comic collection is RAW. I've only bought 1 slabbed book and it was released immediately. I think the only reason to slab a book is if it is very high grade and you want to sell it to someone who thinks that makes it more valuable. Some day I will probably do that...or maybe not...but after seeing the high prices Nedors brought in the recent HA auction I think maybe this one might need a tomb some day:

 

[Cat-Man_America]

I wrote a very controversial report on here on how I feel about CGC years ago. The thread was called Anti cgc and I got a lot of insults and angry responses because everybody was slabbing back then. It was the new thing to do. I have always felt that slabbing comics is not like slabbing coins or baseball cards because comics has so much to offer inside. And the thing that irks me to no end is if you take a book out of the slab, it is worth like a bajillion times less. I mean are we paying for the plastic case or the book? Are we going to get a table at a convention and just put a bunch of blank slabs on our wall and sell those instead of comics. The 1st annual slab convention everyone!!!!!!! A 9.6 slab will run you about $2000 while a 4.0 will be about $40. I have a little over 1200 comics. That's it and I have about 12 in their plastic coffin. I have NEVER submitted any of my comics to CGC and never will. I buy them like that. I have taken out all of the non high grade comics out of their slabs and keep the high grades in their coffins unable to breathe. I also keep comics in their death chamber if they are the highest or second highest graded. That's why I only have 12 slabbed comics. But I will always hate the idea of slabbing something that has anything more than a front and back.

 

Everyone has the right to express an opinion regardless of whether it's controversial or just ridiculously exaggerated. I realize that exaggeration is often necessary to get a desired reaction when trying to be controversial. That's my take away from your viewpoint.

 

Keeping that in mind, ...here's my informed opinion:

 

Comics aren't people. They don't breathe, except in the abstract. Survivability of fragile paper is of more paramount concern to me. The holders ...or slabs if you prefer... provide a modicum of protection for perishable, often rare paper collectibles. The security extends to confidence that professional grading is reasonably accurate and without bias. If you want a raw book, there are plenty of dealers out there selling GA, but if you're looking for high grade you'd better be a sophisticated grader and prepared to take your chances.

 

CGC and it's nearest competition are providing services that prior to the establishment of pro grading kept comics in a ghetto of undisclosed restoration. This lack of confidence threatened to stall the growth of the collector market.

 

No offense, but over the top analogies comparing holders to "plastic coffins" and "death chambers" demonstrate a personal bias or agenda. In fairness, a number of collectors question the necessity of slabbing lower grade comics, but that's a discretionary judgment. It doesn't eliminate the need for these services.

 

My (inflation adjusted)

 

 

[Robot Man]

Awsome book Brian! There is just something about turning the pages (carefully) on a book like that.

 

I don't know how many comics I have any more. I've got them from coverless to Church copies. I have about a dozen slabbed books. I bought them usually only for the cover only so I don't have the need to read them any way. Looking at a slabbed book is just such a hollow experience. Look at one side then flip it over. It's just a short very un-fullfilling experience for me.

 

I understand the need for the grading process but if I'm not going to sell it, I'd much rather have it raw. Besides, as people have said here, they look so much better in mylar and take up a lot less space...

[Tri-Color Brian]

Thanks. I think we're on the same page, and I also agree with what Kat said...

[The_SandMan]

If CGC throws a bone my way and grades it far above what I thought was appropriate, then I'm inclined to keep it entombed for fear of never acquiring the same grade twice. Otherwise, once they come back from CGC, I then crack it out and place the blue label inside the book so future owners know its unrestored.

[GoldenPRGuy]

I wrote a very controversial report on here on how I feel about CGC years ago. The thread was called Anti cgc and I got a lot of insults and angry responses because everybody was slabbing back then. It was the new thing to do. I have always felt that slabbing comics is not like slabbing coins or baseball cards because comics has so much to offer inside. And the thing that irks me to no end is if you take a book out of the slab, it is worth like a bajillion times less. I mean are we paying for the plastic case or the book? Are we going to get a table at a convention and just put a bunch of blank slabs on our wall and sell those instead of comics. The 1st annual slab convention everyone!!!!!!! A 9.6 slab will run you about $2000 while a 4.0 will be about $40. I have a little over 1200 comics. That's it and I have about 12 in their plastic coffin. I have NEVER submitted any of my comics to CGC and never will. I buy them like that. I have taken out all of the non high grade comics out of their slabs and keep the high grades in their coffins unable to breathe. I also keep comics in their death chamber if they are the highest or second highest graded. That's why I only have 12 slabbed comics. But I will always hate the idea of slabbing something that has anything more than a front and back.

 

Everyone has the right to express an opinion regardless of whether it's controversial or just ridiculously exaggerated. I realize that exaggeration is often necessary to get a desired reaction when trying to be controversial. That's my take away from your viewpoint.

 

Keeping that in mind, ...here's my informed opinion:

 

Comics aren't people. They don't breathe, except in the abstract. Survivability of fragile paper is of more paramount concern to me. The holders ...or slabs if you prefer... provide a modicum of protection for perishable, often rare paper collectibles. The security extends to confidence that professional grading is reasonably accurate and without bias. If you want a raw book, there are plenty of dealers out there selling GA, but if you looking for high grade you'd better be a sophisticated grader and prepared to take your chances.

 

CGC and it's nearest competition are providing services that prior to the establishment of pro grading kept comics in a ghetto of undisclosed restoration. This lack of confidence threatened to stall the growth of the collector market.

 

No offense, but over the top analogies comparing holders to "plastic coffins" and "death chambers" demonstrate a personal bias or agenda. In fairness, a number of collectors question the necessity of slabbing lower grade comics, but that's a discretionary judgment. It doesn't eliminate the need for these services.

 

My (inflation adjusted)

 

 

I'm with Cat. To each their own.

 

In my early collecting a lot of resto was passed off as unrestored. I certainly bought my share of books sold that way. I don't mind resto if it's well done, but I don't want to pay unrestored prices for it and I know that I don't have the skill to identify every method. With prices climbing the way they have in the past several years it's been very helpful as a collector to know at a glance whether a book has been restored or not.

 

From a preservation standpoint it's a toss up. I think the case protects the book, but so do my BCE mylars and boards. Impact wise the slab is far superior. For example, this book will never leave the case as long as I own it.

 

 

Based on the other copies out there, these fall apart if the wind blows.

 

If I had more room to store my books I'd selectively slab more of them.

[adamstrange]

Owning a 9.8 slabbed GA would be torture. Logically it would be foolish to crack, from both a financial and risk to the comic standpoint. But the temptation to handle a 70 year old comic that looks and feels like it was fresh off the newsstand would be overwhelming, especially a legendary Church copy.

This.

 

"I can resist anything except temptation"

 

Church copy CGC 9.8

[fifties]

This past weekend had me pondering a topic which has long been on my mind: I don't like not being able to see inside my certified books I started wondering this morning if anyone else who collects G.A. comics struggles with that as well? How do my fellow board members collect? What percentage of your collection is raw vs. slabbed? Are you content just seeing the covers or do you need to get inside them?

You've started an interesting thread. Of course in my case I think my sig says it all, eh eh.

 

Recently I've bought several reader-grade slabbed books and now have that many empty slab cases should anyone needs some. Zero percent of my books are slabbed.

 

I primarily buy PCH, Sci Fi and crime books to read.

 

In some cases in the distant past, I obtained such pristine copies that I was somewhat hesitant to open and potentially degrade them, so I bought reader copies. In scant few other cases I've bought books essentially for their cover images.

 

In these limited cases, I suppose I could spring to have them slabbed, but only for the purpose of enjoying a higher rate of return when selling, as opposed to offering them raw. After all, slabbing seems to definitely fetch higher prices (one reason not to be so enthused about the practice if you are a buyer).

 

Also discussed was the idea of reading reprints, or online sites offering the comic's interior stories. Let me know when you find a site exposing EC, DC, or Atlas interior stories, eh eh.

 

I've got a full reprint set of EC's horror, crime, shock, and Sci Fi books, but have never read them beyond when I first received them. Why? Because there just ain't nothin' like reading the originals.

 

The term, "entombed" has been used in the discussion, and it reminds me of a similar practice, which is that of music -originally on 45 rpm records- being copied onto a CD.

I notice a sort of "set in glass" audio experience when listening to the same tune in the latter format, vs the warmer, analog sound of the former, with it's inherent imperfections of crackles, pops, etc, as the record wears down.

 

Sealing a comic book (which was produced for reading it's pages) inside a plastic shell, seems to be an equivalent type of detachment.

[Robot Man]

My 2 cents...100% of my 5,000+ comic collection is RAW. I've only bought 1 slabbed book and it was released immediately. I think the only reason to slab a book is if it is very high grade and you want to sell it to someone who thinks that makes it more valuable. Some day I will probably do that...or maybe not...but after seeing the high prices Nedors brought in the recent HA auction I think maybe this one might need a tomb some day:

 

 

Do you know what the Exciting #39 went for and what was the grade?

[Electron]

I prefer my books to be raw. I do have some slabs,maybe 10% of my collection,usually books I might sell down the line.I've probably cracked out over a hundred GA books. I like to enjoy every last page between the covers on a book I buy.Really get my money's worth. For me,there's nothing like holding,sniffing and paging thru a supple GA book.

 

In fact,it kinda makes me sad to see 9.4 and up slabs,often pedigrees,knowing they'll likely be encased forever...

[Robot Man]

This past weekend had me pondering a topic which has long been on my mind: I don't like not being able to see inside my certified books I started wondering this morning if anyone else who collects G.A. comics struggles with that as well? How do my fellow board members collect? What percentage of your collection is raw vs. slabbed? Are you content just seeing the covers or do you need to get inside them?

You've started an interesting thread. Of course in my case I think my sig says it all, eh eh.

 

Recently I've bought several reader-grade slabbed books and now have that many empty slab cases should anyone needs some. Zero percent of my books are slabbed.

 

I primarily buy PCH, Sci Fi and crime books to read.

 

In some cases in the distant past, I obtained such pristine copies that I was somewhat hesitant to open and potentially degrade them, so I bought reader copies. In scant few other cases I've bought books essentially for their cover images.

 

In these limited cases, I suppose I could spring to have them slabbed, but only for the purpose of enjoying a higher rate of return when selling, as opposed to offering them raw. After all, slabbing seems to definitely fetch higher prices (one reason not to be so enthused about the practice if you are a buyer).

 

Also discussed was the idea of reading reprints, or online sites offering the comic's interior stories. Let me know when you find a site exposing EC, DC, or Atlas interior stories, eh eh.

 

I've got a full reprint set of EC's horror, crime, shock, and Sci Fi books, but have never read them beyond when I first received them. Why? Because there just ain't nothin' like reading the originals.

 

The term, "entombed" has been used in the discussion, and it reminds me of a similar practice, which is that of music -originally on 45 rpm records- being copied onto a CD.

I notice a sort of "set in glass" audio experience when listening to the same tune in the latter format, vs the warmer, analog sound of the former, with it's inherent imperfections of crackles, pops, etc, as the record wears down.

 

Sealing a comic book (which was produced for reading it's pages) inside a plastic shell, seems to be an equivalent type of detachment.

 

I've got the EC volumes as well. At one time, I had a near full set of EC's as the reprints came out, I pulled out my favorites and sold the rest to buy other pre-code horror that wasn't being reprinted. I have read mine many times and use them for refrence. I like seeing the "original art" as well but I'm with you, nothing like reading an original. I've started building back my collection with lower grade readers when I can find them cheap. I store 'em un-bagged on a shelf in piles for easy access.

 

As far as recording music goes, I've got a big record collection. My wife bought me one of those digital turntables a few years ago. I've recorded a ton of them as wave files and put them on my ipod (Apple's coolest invention). Got a 160 gig with room to spare. They sound very close to the originals with the original warmth and imperfections. I'm all about marrying the past with modern techonology if I can.

 

I do have a motorcycle with a carb and play my guitar through a vintage tube amp so I guess I am really a geezer at heart...

[nearmint]

My 2 cents...100% of my 5,000+ comic collection is RAW. I've only bought 1 slabbed book and it was released immediately. I think the only reason to slab a book is if it is very high grade and you want to sell it to someone who thinks that makes it more valuable. Some day I will probably do that...or maybe not...but after seeing the high prices Nedors brought in the recent HA auction I think maybe this one might need a tomb some day:

 

 

Do you know what the Exciting #39 went for and what was the grade?

 

$19,718 for the Rockford 9.2.

[Tri-Color Brian]

What a bargain...tell you what...I'll sell my Startling 32 (which is obviously a 9.6-9.8 and a better cover) for only $15,000... In fact, it could be one of the missing SF/Reilly Nedors...

[Bronty]

My 2 cents...100% of my 5,000+ comic collection is RAW. I've only bought 1 slabbed book and it was released immediately. I think the only reason to slab a book is if it is very high grade and you want to sell it to someone who thinks that makes it more valuable. Some day I will probably do that...or maybe not...but after seeing the high prices Nedors brought in the recent HA auction I think maybe this one might need a tomb some day:

 

 

Do you know what the Exciting #39 went for and what was the grade?

 

$19,718 for the Rockford 9.2.

 

 

whoooaaaaa that's nuts

[Sqeggs]

What a bargain...tell you what...I'll sell my Startling 32 (which is obviously a 9.6-9.8 and a better cover) for only $15,000... In fact, it could be one of the missing SF/Reilly Nedors...

 

Such a bargain!