Why I Don't Like The Slab Phenom

[woowoo]

I think "that old comic book smell" should be taken into account when grading books.

It's addictive alright. Perhaps it should be investigated as a controlled substance by the FDA.

 

Hey i can talk to Larry Flint and see how that scratch and sniff works for the Label Win Win

[sacentaur]

I have seen him confronted and insulted a few times when he touts his preference for raws. GOD BLESS...

 

It extends far beyond that, jimbo - please don't take things out of context by such a wide degree, it serves no purpose.

 

As many here know, I'm a raw guy myself. I greatly prefer raw books to tombs. But I understand the role that slabs play for individual collectors and for the market as a whole.

 

fifties platform is a broken record - he sees things from only one perspective and one persective only, his own.

 

On the one hand, he has very little knowledge of slabs - "Does CGC count pages?". Really? How can one be so antagonistic against something that they clearly don't understand?

 

There always will be specific examples of where slabbing should/shouldn't have been done. What does that prove? Nothing.

 

To repeat, I love raw comics. I love to hold them. I love to read them. I love to smell them. 98% of my entire collection is raw, because that's the way I prefer it.

 

But it doesn't mean that everyone should prefer it that way, as well.

[Mr. Lady Luck]

I think "that old comic book smell" should be taken into account when grading books.

 

I agree, it's a pity you can't bottle it

 

If you could, I would wear it as cologne.

 

Hey, baby.

[N e r V]

I have some raw books that I might have slabbed not to sell but purely for some extra protection over time.

 

Harder for bugs or accidental dents from ever happening. Only on rarer or higher ticket books though.

 

We have a couple of massive collections in my family but it's not like I can pop in and ask to read one of their Action #1's just because it's a raw copy. Those types of books are tightly sealed in their own tombs called Mylar. So at times I don't see a big difference in what kind of tomb you place your book if it's no longer realistic to regularly thumb through them to read.

 

My cousins own an original Toyota GT2000 too. Those can go for over a million dollars these days. Just because they only paid $35,000.00 when they bought it doesn't mean they drive it daily to the grocery store based on its current value. In some ways high value collectibles all end up in some type of tomb for most collectors. Nature of the beast in collecting.

[Robot Man]

This discussion always amazes me...

 

We all collect different ways for different reasons. There is no right or wrong and no one (except Ritchie) is probably going to change their mind. Attacking each other is pointless on this matter.

 

You probably know my collecting tastes by now. It's all about having a copy. I have MANY beaters as well as not so many very high grade books. Like Uncle Scrooge, I like to dive into them like a porpoise. I love to pull 'em out of the mylar and see them up close. Smell them, turn the pages, read and explore them. I respect and take very good care of them but I enjoy the whole experience.

 

I understand the fiscal part and the need for restoration checks especially. I understand and respect what 3rd party grading has done for our hobby. If I were into big dollar investment books I would only buy them slabbed.

 

I have many thousands of mostly GA books. I have maybe 12-15 slabbed ones. Bought cheaply or for a book I really only like the cover for. Not always super high grades but yes, some big corner numbers. I find the experience of a slabbed book very hollow and unfullfilling. Look at one side, look at the other, then put it away. I'm sure many of you are a bit un-mpressed with my books because they are not all "men in thighs" slabbed in plastic with a big number and price tag. That is OK and I don't care because I collect what I like the way I like to. I don't fault others for their opinions.

 

I also like to think of the previous owners and how much they enjoyed the books I am preserving. I like to thing of reading a book Lamont Larson once enjoyed or some kid who saw it on the newstand and just had to spend his dime.

 

Speaking of previous owners, below is a copy of the book that started this thread that was once owned by Mr. Church. I bought this at the first con Chuckie ever displayed these at. Cost me maybe $5. Not being in a slab you will have to just take my word for it. I don't give it much thought as to value because it it priceless to own a book with Edgar's dna on it. It's beautiful, bone white and has that wonderful "smell" that you "slab" guys are totataly missing. I have a couple slabbed Churchs but just don't get the same feeling with them.

 

Hey, no right, no wrong here, let's just not worry about it and enjoy this hobby the way we want to...

 

 

 

[N e r V]

Dude, you paid 50X over cover price and you act like you got a deal?

 

 

Edgar got the damn thing for a dime.

[Robot Man]

Well, I did buy it from Chuckles...

[Marty Mann]

This discussion always amazes me...

 

We all collect different ways for different reasons. There is no right or wrong and no one (except Ritchie) is probably going to change their mind. Attacking each other is pointless on this matter.

 

You probably know my collecting tastes by now. It's all about having a copy. I have MANY beaters as well as not so many very high grade books. Like Uncle Scrooge, I like to dive into them like a porpoise. I love to pull 'em out of the mylar and see them up close. Smell them, turn the pages, read and explore them. I respect and take very good care of them but I enjoy the whole experience.

 

I understand the fiscal part and the need for restoration checks especially. I understand and respect what 3rd party grading has done for our hobby. If I were into big dollar investment books I would only buy them slabbed.

 

I have many thousands of mostly GA books. I have maybe 12-15 slabbed ones. Bought cheaply or for a book I really only like the cover for. Not always super high grades but yes, some big corner numbers. I find the experience of a slabbed book very hollow and unfullfilling. Look at one side, look at the other, then put it away. I'm sure many of you are a bit un-mpressed with my books because they are not all "men in thighs" slabbed in plastic with a big number and price tag. That is OK and I don't care because I collect what I like the way I like to. I don't fault others for their opinions.

 

I also like to think of the previous owners and how much they enjoyed the books I am preserving. I like to thing of reading a book Lamont Larson once enjoyed or some kid who saw it on the newstand and just had to spend his dime.

 

Speaking of previous owners, below is a copy of the book that started this thread that was once owned by Mr. Church. I bought this at the first con Chuckie ever displayed these at. Cost me maybe $5. Not being in a slab you will have to just take my word for it. I don't give it much thought as to value because it it priceless to own a book with Edgar's dna on it. It's beautiful, bone white and has that wonderful "smell" that you "slab" guys are totataly missing. I have a couple slabbed Churchs but just don't get the same feeling with them.

 

Hey, no right, no wrong here, let's just not worry about it and enjoy this hobby the way we want to...

 

 

mm

 

[sacentaur]

Hey, no right, no wrong here, let's just not worry about it and enjoy this hobby the way we want to...

 

 

 

Exactly - everyone can enjoy the hobby in different ways, their books and their money. Raw is fine. Slabs are fine.

 

I actually had someone finger-point and briefly lecture me for cracking slabs, stating how much money I was "leaving on the table" (not only for the associated fees but for perceived increased value in a tomb). That person had a different perspective which I understood, but while he was looking at the slabbed comic strictly for its monetary value I was was looking at the de-slabbed comic for its entertainment value.

 

In other words, to him I had just devalued the book to the point of almost committing a sin. To me, I had just increased the book's entertainment value and I subsequently enjoyed it a lot more.

 

I just shrugged him off, no big deal. Both valid opinions, just two different perspectives that's all.

 

(nice Church copy by the way, Bob )

[Cat-Man_America]

This discussion always amazes me...

 

We all collect different ways for different reasons. There is no right or wrong and no one (except Ritchie) is probably going to change their mind. Attacking each other is pointless on this matter.

 

You probably know my collecting tastes by now. It's all about having a copy. I have MANY beaters as well as not so many very high grade books. Like Uncle Scrooge, I like to dive into them like a porpoise. I love to pull 'em out of the mylar and see them up close. Smell them, turn the pages, read and explore them. I respect and take very good care of them but I enjoy the whole experience.

 

I understand the fiscal part and the need for restoration checks especially. I understand and respect what 3rd party grading has done for our hobby. If I were into big dollar investment books I would only buy them slabbed.

 

I have many thousands of mostly GA books. I have maybe 12-15 slabbed ones. Bought cheaply or for a book I really only like the cover for. Not always super high grades but yes, some big corner numbers. I find the experience of a slabbed book very hollow and unfullfilling. Look at one side, look at the other, then put it away. I'm sure many of you are a bit un-mpressed with my books because they are not all "men in thighs" slabbed in plastic with a big number and price tag. That is OK and I don't care because I collect what I like the way I like to. I don't fault others for their opinions.

 

I also like to think of the previous owners and how much they enjoyed the books I am preserving. I like to thing of reading a book Lamont Larson once enjoyed or some kid who saw it on the newstand and just had to spend his dime.

 

Speaking of previous owners, below is a copy of the book that started this thread that was once owned by Mr. Church. I bought this at the first con Chuckie ever displayed these at. Cost me maybe $5. Not being in a slab you will have to just take my word for it. I don't give it much thought as to value because it it priceless to own a book with Edgar's dna on it. It's beautiful, bone white and has that wonderful "smell" that you "slab" guys are totataly missing. I have a couple slabbed Churchs but just don't get the same feeling with them.

 

Hey, no right, no wrong here, let's just not worry about it and enjoy this hobby the way we want to...h

 

 

mm

 

I'm still trying to wrap my caffeine deprived mind around Bob's "men in thighs" comics.

[fifties]

 

With that in mind, there are lots of alternatives for reading pleasure, from buying low grade under-copies and HC archive editions to (perish the thought!) PD photocopies sold on eBay

There are no alternatives for someone who wants to re-live experiences he had in the '50's, my friend; none.

 

Have you personally ever smelled the interior of an EC comic book fresh off the news stand? If not, and with all respect, you may not understand (by that example) the drift here.

 

Sorry, most of my ECs are lowly Gaines File Copies, too protected to receive a proper newsstand education.

 

You obviously know a lot less about me than I know about you from your response. That's fine, I still respect your choices. Carry on, old chap.

With all respect, David, I kind of figured that this subject was beyond your comprehension, and I don't mean that in a derisive manner.

It's simply that in my estimation, thumbing through a $50-$100 currently priced EC and reading the stories, some of which I originally read in the '50's, provides a certain experience, that I couldn't possibly get from a $2,000 Gaines 9.4 slabbed book.

 

I have to assume that you are simply too young to have had that type of occurrence.

 

 

 

fifties platform is a broken record - he sees things from only one perspective and one persective only, his own.

I don't think that that's completely fair; in my OP, I did in fact acknowledge that slabs do have a place with higher costing books. For me, however, that's not in my world.

 

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

It's simply that in my estimation, thumbing through a $50-$100 currently priced EC and reading the stories, some of which I originally read in the '50's, provides a certain experience, that I couldn't possibly get from a $2,000 Gaines 9.4 slabbed book.

 

You said a mouthful there.

If any type of comic books absolutely beg to be read it is the EC library, simply because the stories and art are so damn good.

[MrBedrock]

It's simply that in my estimation, thumbing through a $50-$100 currently priced EC and reading the stories, some of which I originally read in the '50's, provides a certain experience, that I couldn't possibly get from a $2,000 Gaines 9.4 slabbed book.

 

You said a mouthful there.

If any type of comic books absolutely beg to be read it is the EC library, simply because the stories and art are so damn good.

Cracking and reading a Gaines file copy is the closest you can come to the experience of buying it new off the stands. Even better than buying a low/mid grade reading copy.

[fifties]

It's simply that in my estimation, thumbing through a $50-$100 currently priced EC and reading the stories, some of which I originally read in the '50's, provides a certain experience, that I couldn't possibly get from a $2,000 Gaines 9.4 slabbed book.

 

You said a mouthful there.

If any type of comic books absolutely beg to be read it is the EC library, simply because the stories and art are so damn good.

Cracking and reading a Gaines file copy is the closest you come to the experience of buying it new off the stands. Even better than buying low/mid grade reading copy.

Well of course it would be, but that's a rather pricey experience!

[MrBedrock]

It's simply that in my estimation, thumbing through a $50-$100 currently priced EC and reading the stories, some of which I originally read in the '50's, provides a certain experience, that I couldn't possibly get from a $2,000 Gaines 9.4 slabbed book.

 

You said a mouthful there.

If any type of comic books absolutely beg to be read it is the EC library, simply because the stories and art are so damn good.

Cracking and reading a Gaines file copy is the closest you come to the experience of buying it new off the stands. Even better than buying low/mid grade reading copy.

Well of course it would be, but that's a rather pricey experience!

But if we are discussing the relative merits of different collecting experiences then it sounds like the guy who buys the slabs wins. At the end of the day it really just comes down to what makes each of us happy. I am happiest when I can read a comic in as close to original newsstand condition as possible. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate reading an old beater too.

[sacentaur]

It's simply that in my estimation, thumbing through a $50-$100 currently priced EC and reading the stories, some of which I originally read in the '50's, provides a certain experience, that I couldn't possibly get from a $2,000 Gaines 9.4 slabbed book.

 

You said a mouthful there.

If any type of comic books absolutely beg to be read it is the EC library, simply because the stories and art are so damn good.

 

True, but a person didn't have to read them off the newsstand in the 50's to at least share in the experience.

 

I had my EC epiphany when I first read one back in 1979 and have never looked back. I have a lot of EC's, some in very high grade, and some of those remain slabbed (with undercopies). I enjoy the raw EC's to death too. Best of both worlds.

 

While Cat's Gaines file copies are slabbed, I'd wager he's read more than his fair share of EC stories over his collecting career (and he can correct me if I'm wrong). Even if not, I see nothing wrong with enjoying a killer high-grade pedigree book (for its cover and stunning condition) in a protective slab, if that's what someone wants to do.

 

A book in a slab can always be cracked out (and enjoyed in a different way) later.

[sacentaur]

For me, however, that's not in my world.

 

Right, I get that.

 

But you're advocating a flat world when in reality the world is round.

[lou_fine]

That person had a different perspective which I understood, but while he was looking at the slabbed comic strictly for its monetary value I was was looking at the de-slabbed comic for its entertainment value.

 

In other words, to him I had just devalued the book to the point of almost committing a sin. To me, I had just increased the book's entertainment value and I subsequently enjoyed it a lot more.

 

I just shrugged him off, no big deal. Both valid opinions, just two different perspectives that's all.

 

 

With your method, you can actually have the best of both worlds.

 

Simply crack it out of its slab for its entertainment value while you own. Slab it again for its monetary value when it comes time for you to pass it onto the next collector.

[fifties]

But if we are discussing the relative merits of different collecting experiences then it sounds like the guy who buys the slabs wins. At the end of the day it really just comes down to what makes each of us happy. I am happiest when I can read a comic in as close to original newsstand condition as possible. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate reading an old beater too.

I can't agree with that, personally, although for you and I imagine others, it works. For me, a VG copy is the best of all worlds, in that it presents decently, and I can thumb through and read it without worrying about depreciating it, as can happen in handling, esp with 60+ year old paper.

 

Years ago, when GA comics were 50 cents to a buck or two each, condition wasn't a concern, and one could and did get Fa to VF books for the same prices, at used bookstores. The few F to VF books I received, I would hesitate to open and read, for fear of damaging them. I then had to buy "reader copies" of them.

 

 

But you're advocating a flat world when in reality the world is round.

WHAT??!! When did THAT happen?

[fett]

I think "that old comic book smell" should be taken into account when grading books.

 

I agree, it's a pity you can't bottle it

 

I've been looking for that scent in car tree fresheners for years but it never seems to be in stock. ?