A Day at Baltimore by Tnerb

[CSJournals-migration]

Or the beginning of the end?

 

This is my fourth year attending the Baltimore Comic Book Convention. After having the pleasure of going to Seattle for ECCC for the last three years, and the New York Comic Con for five years running now, I realized I have been blessed. In 2007 I attended Philadelphia Wizard World, a truly great Comic book convention. In 2008 I submitted my first comic books to CGC for on site grading. They were back the same day, I remember them advertising as same day. The whole concept of getting someone else to grade my comics was new. I handed over what I thought were my best comics.

 

In retrospect I must have trusted this new company right away. I did no research before I handed them my Incredible Hulk 181, Daredevil 158 and 168, along with my ASM 129. These four books left my card and returned the same day I turned them over. They were not all on the same invoice. I originally had my Daredevil books on the same invoice as the Incredible Hulk, but I was corrected since the first full appearance of "the" Wolverine was an older book.

 

It was slightly surreal getting my books back to compare between what was now the official grade and what I graded the books at. I was way off on my Daredevil 158. I graded it a near mint (-) or 9.2. It received an 8. As for my issue 168, that was easily a 9.2, and it was a 9.2. (I might have thought 9.4, I'll have to check my notes). Today I look back on those two books and wonder how did I grade them so close when there was so many things wrong? Did CGC switch my books, was their a mistake made somewhere, or was I just that off? Of course when I graded these books it was somewhere in the early nineties. I didn't bother to do so before I handed them over.

 

The other two, my ASM 129 I graded a 9.4, it returned a 9.2. This one looked perfect, only three spine creases. None of which didn't break color. As I type away at this I realize how naive I was. A crease was a crease, breaking color was something new to me. I counted against manufacturing defects, not realizing that you weren't supposed to. Over time I sent in more and more books and then began cracking slabs for signatures, but that's a whole different monster.

 

Thanks for Reading

 

Tnerb

 

See more journals by Tnerb

[n2wdw]

I missed not going to Baltimore this year. Pick up any interesting books or sigs? Good to see your post, I miss reading about your collecting.

[Comix4Sale]

Great seeing you, Bagofleas and Mrs Tnerb again and walking for like two hours for an hour dinner.

 

James

 

[surfer99]

Nice journal Tnerb. Would love to do Baltimore one year but don't think I could afford the airfare after ECCC. Look forward to seeing more books added to your collection!