Which grade allows a 1/4" tear?

[CW]

CC,

didn't realize you were talking chunks. Sorry about that.

[Currin Comics]

That's why I would love to have CGC's grading parameters FFB, as all grading is subjective, but it would be nice to put them all in the same "subjective ballpark". As stated in the OS grading guide, there is no mention of "missing chunks" until one reaches the 4.0 grade. I can't tell you how much I would really like a CGC grading guide book to come out.

[Sal]

I bought a comic recently that is going to have its grade based on a 1/4" tear at the top edge. I couldn't find anything on cover tears in the Overstreet grading guide. 6.0 allows a 1/4" spine split, but I wasn't sure if a tear on the cover is different.

 

If the rest of the book is a 10.0 and the tear is clean, relatively unobtrusive, and was not caused by the production process, I'd probably grade it at 9.0. Any other minor, visible defects on the book would drop it down to at least 8.5.

 

If it's a production tear, then probably no higher than 9.2 on an otherwise perfect book.

 

to me, this jibes quite well with the explanation given on page 128 and the corresponding chart on 127.

 

given a clean book with no other errors up to and including the most minor of nonproduction errors, i would think the book could get as high as a 9.2, but is more likely to hit in the 8.5 - 9.2 area

[Currin Comics]

Well, that was one of those "gift grades" as you call it. I'll stick with the OS guide when grading a book personally. Remember, there is no "school" where one can go to become a "certified" or "professional" grader. You went to law school-graduated and passed the bar, hence you are a lawyer. Myself, went to college got my BA in Business Admin, then studied for and passed the residential contrators exam in North and South Carolina and now am a "licesensed" general contractor. I enjoy having CGC as a service, but they are not the end all, tell all when it comes to grading a comic book. OS has parameters one can follow to decide upon a given grade of a comic, and as long as I continue to see the inconsistency that shows up in CGC's given grades and have no listed parameters to follow-well subjectivity and favoritism will continue to plauge my opinion of a "third party" grading company, and until one can get a "diploma" or certificate" qualifying one as a "professional" comic grader..well until then..they do not exsist. Peace-CC.

[Currin Comics]

I know the pages you speak of Sal, and a 1/4" tear would be considered minor to moderate, chunks however appear to be an entirely differnet animal, as stated on pg. 126

 

"Given the subjective nature of comic book grading, we do not wish to set all such determining factors in stone-nor, indeed, could we if we wanted to-but we do want to give all comic book graders a generalized sense of what is allowable in any given grade."

 

So, a 5.0 grade has no mention of 1/4"triangle or 1/8"square chunk missing from the cover(s), but VG 4.0 does, but we must call them as we see them. but once again "tears" and "chunks" are two different animals when grading a comic book. Peace-CC.

[FFB]

That's why I would love to have CGC's grading parameters FFB, as all grading is subjective, but it would be nice to put them all in the same "subjective ballpark". As stated in the OS grading guide, there is no mention of "missing chunks" until one reaches the 4.0 grade. I can't tell you how much I would really like a CGC grading guide book to come out.

 

CGC uses Overstreet's standards. This has only been discussed a zillion times. The fact that Overstreet does not discuss a missing chunk in 6.5 does not mean that a 6.5 cannot have a missing piece if it is otherwise very high grade. Arnold has said at least a half dozen times that the guide is just a guide, not the ten commandments etched in stone, to be followed blindly.

[FFB]

You need to look more closely then. There are multiple books higher than 4.5 that have tears on them. Here are just a few (not all of them):

 

The Amazing Fantasy #15 in the F/VF 7.0 section at page 221 has minor edge tears, along with stress marks along the entire spine and other wear. "Minor" means between 1/8th and 1/4th inch long, which is about the size that the original poster in this thread was asking about.

 

The Weird Science Fantasy Annual 1953 in the F/VF 7.0 section at page 216 has two tears, one of which is at least a quarter inch long -- and it has a ton of other wear, such as spine creasing and a one-inch color-breaking corner crease, and other creasing.

 

The Wonder Woman #1 in the 8.0 VF section at page 203 has two very small staple tears, along with other wear including creasing and abraded corners.

 

Captain Marvel Adventures #4 in the 8.5 VF+ section at page 201 has a 1/8th inch tear, along with several edge chips and an abraded lower spine corner.

 

Daredevil #156 in the VF/NM 9.0 section at page 197 has a small tear at the staple, along with other wear consistent with a grade of 9.0.

 

Arrgh #1 in the VF/NM 9.0 section at page 194 has a small tear that looks to be about 3/16ths of an inch long, along with a 3/16th inch color breaking corner crease and other light edge and corner wear.

 

 

The highest grade I could find in the OS grading guide with a "tear" and not "slight tear" was a 4.5. I had to go through the pictures with descriptions.

[Currin Comics]

FFB, you remind me of my Bro-n-Law(he is also a lawyer((my sister is as well)) they own there own law firm), man we love to debate-good naturedly(sp) as I hope you fell it is, about this-that- and the other. Peace-CC.

[FFB]

FFB, you remind me of my Bro-n-Law(he is also a lawyer((my sister is as well)) they own there own law firm), man we love to debate-good naturedly(sp) as I hope you fell it is, about this-that- and the other. Peace-CC.

 

Sure, no hard feelings. I just couldn't believe that the first book showing a tear in the OGG was in the 4.5 section. That would have been a HUGE oversight by Gemstone if they'd done that, as small edge and spine tears are pretty common in the VF and F/VF levels.

[RustyStaple]

Your signature is TOO BIG! my eyes!

 

I was thinking the other way, the avatar is too small...

[burntboy]

FFB, you remind me of my Bro-n-Law(he is also a lawyer((my sister is as well)) they own there own law firm), man we love to debate-good naturedly(sp) as I hope you fell it is, about this-that- and the other. Peace-CC.

 

Sure, no hard feelings. I just couldn't believe that the first book showing a tear in the OGG was in the 4.5 section. That would have been a HUGE oversight by Gemstone if they'd done that, as small edge and spine tears are pretty common in the VF and F/VF levels.

 

i realize that the thread started to discuss a 1/4inch tear and i took it to the 1/4inch chunk that Currin brought up. ( iwas at a christening in Delaware over the weekend so pardon my absence on this topic).

 

it seems to me that even if the first place OS mentions a 1/4 inch chunk missing, is in the 4.0 grade, one has to understand that the specific book also has LOTS of other defects which helps bring it down to a 4.0.

 

as FFB stated my FF#2 has about a 1/3 inch chunk and almost nothing else wrong with it and was graded as a 6.5.

 

i don't think that there is any maximum absolute grade number that such a book can have, displayed in the Guide. i think my FF suggests that a chunk of that size probably brings a book down 2.5 - 3.0 full grading points..........IMO.

[Rob]

Why don't I post a pic of the comic in question. I wanted to grade it 6.0, but didn't know if a 1/4" tear gives it an automatic 4.0, if that is the first grade a tear is allowed.

 

[Currin Comics]

We talked it out about tears and such, I'd say the book is a solid 5.5, and with the Black cover catching some slack, a possible 6.0-nice book.

[FFB]

Why don't I post a pic of the comic in question. I wanted to grade it 6.0, but didn't know if a 1/4" tear gives it an automatic 4.0, if that is the first grade a tear is allowed.

 

I don't know if you read the rest of the discussion, but the notion that "4.0 is the highest grade where a tear is allowed," is wrong.

 

I would call that book a 6.5 or maybe even a 7.0 depending on how it looks in hand.

[burntboy]

Why don't I post a pic of the comic in question. I wanted to grade it 6.0, but didn't know if a 1/4" tear gives it an automatic 4.0, if that is the first grade a tear is allowed.

 

I don't know if you read the rest of the discussion, but the notion that "4.0 is the highest grade where a tear is allowed," is wrong.

 

I would call that book a 6.5 or maybe even a 7.0 depending on how it looks in hand.

 

yup - i'd be thinking 6.0 - 6.5. Cool cover and in pretty decent shape.

[Ze-man]

Question...is the tear really a true 1/4"?.. it looks longer.

Are the ares that appear to be color scuffs, white spots.. really as they appear?

Or is that just scanner/flash residue?

Especially the area on the lower right bridge post.

 

Still a VERY nice book. And to call it around a 5. something is accurate, and fair.

 

 

 

 

Ze-

[FFB]

Question...is the tear really a true 1/4"?.. it looks longer.

Are the ares that appear to be color scuffs, white spots.. really as they appear?

Or is that just scanner/flash residue?

Especially the area on the lower right bridge post.

 

Still a VERY nice book. And to call it around a 5. something is accurate, and fair.

 

 

 

 

Ze-

 

The image is magnified to about 133% or so. The tear is about 1/4 inch long.