Comic horror story--ever drop one?

[mlovest]

What's the worst thing you ever done to a comic on accident, and what was the impact to the comic grade-wise/value-wise? I've dropped one or two in their mylars with backing boards, but I've never noticed any damage.

 

Mike

[ninanina]

Jammed an Incredible Hulk 181 in a mylar that did seem a bit snug, but the comic fit ok. After awhile though I noticed 2 minute stress cracks that I don't think were there before. They were very small and I thought maybe the tight fit was causing this unusual wear. What I thought was a 9.4, might now be a 9.2. When I noticed the cracks, I took the comic out of the bag and put it in a mylar bag with a backing board.

[chrisco37]

It's a horror story, at least on my part, anytime someone (specifically friends not in the hobby) wants to see my books. I'll say, what super-hero do you want to see. They say, "Spidey" or whatever and I go dig out a premo issue from the series to show tham.

 

99.9% of the time, they will instantly grab for the book by the spine! I freaked enough to the point that people rarley (but, some people get "carte blanche", too) ask to hold them anymore. Yeah, it's exremely "anal", but (non-collectors) the majority of people out there, just don't understand.

 

Chris

[MikeS]

Worst thing I've ever done to a comic by accident - I'm sure like most of you, I had that experience where a piece of tape on the flap of the bag got snagged on the comic. Fortunately it wasn't a very expensive book, but it did some damage to it. After that I learned my lesson that tape and comics don't mix!!!

 

So far I've been lucky - haven't dropped an expensive, mylar comic yet.....

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

I don't know if this qualifies as a "horror story", but I'm sure that several people can relate to this one. I sometimes spend a little "spare" time grading books that I have not graded. After I've graded the book, I then place the book into a new mylar sleeve with acid-free board, and finally into a short acid-free box. This whole process is very time consuming, and as such, I usually don't have near enough time to grade, bag, and board (approximately) 120 books in one sitting. One day, I opened a half empty box of ASM books that I had already graded, bagged, and boarded, and to my horror the books were leaning at such a degree as to cause spine stress to several books that were under the most weight of other books that were also leaning. Because the box was half empty, the first books to lean almost fell completely flat, but not quite. The lesson I learned from this is: temporarily fill the empty space with something. Fortunately none of the books were seriously "stressed", and at worst it might have "downgraded" a couple of NM- books to VF+, but they are also moderns, so I'll take it as a cheap lesson learned.

 

I'm sure that we can all recall seeing this type of scenerio in a comic shop, where a box has too much empty space and the books have fallen over and lean (instead of being pressed up against) against a wall of the box.

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

I've dropped one or two in their mylars with backing boards, but I've never noticed any damage.

 

...the amount (or lack) of damage depends on a few things:

 

1.) the angle that a book drops - if it drops flat, or if it drops on a corner

 

2.) the surface that the book drops onto - for example: if the surface is smooth and the book falls flat, there is a better chance that the book will be OK.

 

3.) the distance that it drops - if you drop a book from the top of the Empire State building, and it won't matter if the book falls flat or not.

 

4.) Unless the book is raw, the rigidity of the bag or sleeve that the book is in - if a book is in a 4 mil mylar sleeve, then it might even survive a small corner fall without damage, and if you drop an encapsulated CGC graded book from the top of the Empire State building that is securely packed in USPS box it might still be in one piece...if a parachute were attached to the box!!

[fantastic_four]

99.9% of the time, they will instantly grab for the book by the spine! I freaked enough to the point that people rarley (but, some people get "carte blanche", too) ask to hold them anymore. Yeah, it's exremely "anal", but (non-collectors) the majority of people out there, just don't understand.

Do what I do--before you hand it to them, tell them that looking at the book will be free of charge if it's in the same condition it is before the viewing, but that every 1/32" stress mark they put on the book will cost them $500. I usually don't use the term "one-thirty-second inch," I just hold my forefinger and thumb about 1/16" to 1/32" apart and say that each mark "THIS" long will cost them $500 or some other amount that would goggle the mind of the average non-collector.

 

If I see them reaching for the book in a haphazard way, they usually get the point when I follow the first comment up with "Based upon the way you're about to handle the book, I see you've chosen the second option. So how will you be paying for this, cash or check? Or should I just take it out of your arse?"

 

I haven't had to worry about this for a while, because now I just show them CGC books. Very few handling worries there.

[mcd-migration]

Back in the early 90s I used to set up at area shows with books on a big plywood board.The guy set up next to me was a loud insufficiently_thoughtful_person that was waving his arms around right next to my board. Me & my buddy told him to move away because he was making us nervous. A little later he had edged his way back over & slammed into our board knocking 3 or 4 books off the top row. Turned a very high NM Space Ghost Gold Key file copy into a solid VF+ & downgraded some Amazing Adult Fantasy issues also. My buddy went after the insufficiently_thoughtful_person & I went after the comics. He was offering $10 bucks or so to make everything even & I was cussing at him like crazy. It was the weekend that the 1st run of the X-Men figures hit the toy stores & this guy had a stack of the 1st Wolverine pieces with him & my buddy ended up getting them from him. I wasn't a toy person but my buddy said we could do okay with them & we did end up making around $200 off them as they went for $15 to $20 each at that show. The guy was in shock to see them all sell. That more than offset the cost at the time, but I still look at that Space Ghost #1 & think about what it was...

 

Mark

[Lantern]

While sitting at a desk carefully reading one of my silver age Justice League books (I do not remember the exact issue), I heard a tiny thunder of small feet coming down the hallway. As I glanced around to see what it was I caught my cat in the compression stage of an attack jump. By the time I realized the target area for the jump was the desk I was using for my reading it was to late. Picture the scene from the Matrix where Neo dodges the bullets on the rooftop and you will have a clear image of my cat flying through the air avoiding my flurry of grabs. Needless to say the cat landed on the open pages of the JLA. The comic and the cat slid across the top of the desk and onto the floor.

 

Thankfully my cat is de-clawed or the damage could have been much worse. The result of my cats craziness was a few crinkled pages and a spine crease. Nothing major but it could have been worse had it been a key book.

 

[Eternal]

I had just washed my hands to handle my books and as always made sure to dry off completely. I sat down and removed my comic and started to go through it. When I was done I noticed on the cover a water drop right in the middle of it. Man was I mad. I deduced later that my watch still must have had some water on it that I did not notice in the cracks of the wrist piece and must have fallen out on the cover. It dried up nicely tho and have not noticed any problem or side affects from it. Man those first few minutes were freaking me tho.....now my watch stays far away.

[Ariamus]

MOS,

 

I did the same thing early on in my return; fortunately, most of my collection is still Bronze Age and later, so the damage was minimal. Still, I was kind of glad it was a bunch of modern Avenger books and not my Straczynski Spider-mans, or Bendis DD's. Yeah, I know those books aren't worth much more than cover price, but It still doesn't stop me from wanting to have a mint run of the JMS spideys or the Bendis DDs down the line.

 

Now, I only box my books when I have enough comics to fill a long-box; I keep my new books stacked vertically in a safe place until I have about 250 or so and then I transfer them into a long-box.

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

Now, I only box my books when I have enough comics to fill a long-box; I keep my new books stacked vertically in a safe place until I have about 250 or so and then I transfer them into a long-box.

 

You have the right idea, and I had more than enough books to fill the short box, but I usually don't have the time needed to grade, bag, board, 100+ books in one sitting. So if I don't want to risk allowing the books to slide and lean against one of the ends of the box, I have to temporarily fill the empty space, until I have time to grade, bag, and board more books to fill the empty space.

[ericc123]

about three years ago I was reading a high grade copy of Green Lantern #59 (don't ask I don't know why I was reading a high grade copy either) anyway it was on the floor and my two year old nephew came in and jumped on it Needless to say it lowered the grade considerably.

 

Ericc123

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

anyway it was on the floor and my two year old nephew came in...

 

...So did that experience prompt you to install a door lock, or to lock your door every time you read a comic? Or do you make a mental note to place a book anywhere except a floor when someone interrupts you while reading a book?

 

Needless to say it lowered the grade considerably.

 

, I feel for you man, I think when I have children, I'll hide all of my high grade 1st print books, until he/she is old enough to understand the reason(s) for preserving a comic book, and practice (with other books) the gentle loving care required to maintain a book in it's original condition, and finally be able to appreciate the beauty of a high grade book.

[Mushroom]

I have never dropped one but I had a situation where my wife came in to talk to me while I was indexing some of my books. Lovingly she asked if I would like a cup of tea. I said yes and was not paying attention when she came in to put it down. Obviously she couldn't find a coaster so she grabbed the nearest piece of cardboard and put the tea on it. Unfortunately it was a VF/NM B&B ist SA appearance of metamorpho. I reckon it may grade now as a G as it has a wonderful cup ring right in the middle of the front cover.

[Illiterati-migration]

My dear cat is a very finicky eater. He prefers high-grade Silver Age Fantastic Fours. Go figure.

[fantastic_four]

What'd you say to her when she ruined that book? I woulda said something like "that's OK, we'll just skip enough restaurant dinners to make up for that comic."

[Mushroom]

We had only been married for a year and so loves first bloom allowed me to take it on the chin but 6 years later I now bring it up every time we are having an argument, usually something along the lines of "well at least I haven't [!@#%^&^] up one of your favourite comic books". Doesn't win me any arguments but it makes me feel better.

[linmoth]

HI All: I went to visit a very dear friend who is also a comic collector, we had communicated by telephone for years and finally decided to get together to show each other some jewels of our collections.

Well, when I got to his home he already had his books stacked on a desk ready for me to be awestruck, by his books. Mile High MLJ's stacked 10 or so high in Mylars w/backing boards. Shield Wizard 1-10, Pep 1, 22, Bulletman 1, Top Notch, Zip most shown in Gerbers Photo Guide, you get the picture.

Do you guys realize how slippery those mylars can be when you are drooling all over yourself.

To make a long story short, to this day I don't know what happened but books started sliding, the old domino effect and all I can remember is the look on his face when his prized possesions went flying into the wall, fell off the desk, and hit the floor. I probably cost someone a few points on the CGC scale, but he sold them long before CGC came along. You can see by Ernies photos that most of them were unscathed.

After that he would only show me one book at a time and it took all weekend to view all those stupid Marvels FF 1- up, AF 15 ASM 1- Up, Strange Tales, TOS, TTA, etc. I had to act impressed but it was really getting boring looking at all those NM Marvel comics. I got excited when I saw the DC's

 

Best, Tom

 

PS: That collection later became pedigreed as Western Penn.

[atakra-migration]

Well I was somewhat responsible, bt you be the judge.

In the late eighties I had decided to move from New mexico to California, unfortunately I didn't have any room in the car for my collection of comics, so I rented a storage unit for them specificly, making sure that the temperature of the unit wouldn't change to much while I was away. Well due to circumstances beyond my control I wasn't able to get back and pick them up for about a year.

Imagine my suprise when I get back and find that the temperature fluxuations shouldn't have worried me. BUT somehow one of the boxes had ended up on the actual floor of the unit. It seemed that a mouse has gotten quite cozy with the comics and had single-handedly bored a hole through half of the long box of comics.

So scratch about 100 comics bagged with backboards as total garbage!