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[Lorne Malvo]

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Edited November 25, 2020 by Lorne Malvo

[Lightning55]

That's likely because the front cover is overhanging the pages.  There is no support for the edge of the cover, so it droops over.  Made worse if it taps an edge of the capsule, or has been exposed to SCS (shaken comic syndrome).  And it can happen when they encapsulate it, if it hadn't happened already during the submission process. 

You can see a reflection in your first photo that follows the edge of the comic.  It is reflecting brightly because the paper is at a different angle, bending toward the void behind the edge.  It's possible, maybe likely, that when this was graded there were no bends at all, just potential bends at that time.  Well, time has passed.

I have had 9.8's come back bent after grading that were not bent going in.  Not sure if during encapsulation or from shipment.  I have had 9.8's sitting in a box upright on a shelf, that went into that box with no bend, now have a bend.  I have had buyers receive comics of various grades that left here correct, arrived bent.

I watch for overhang now.  I won't send a book in that has overhang.  If it does have it, it has to be realigned before sending, via the pressing process, if possible.  Otherwise, it's just a time bomb as to when it will curl over.  If there is no way to correct it, you have to take your chances.  They don't starch comics, to my knowledge.

[Lorne Malvo]

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Edited January 28, 2021 by Lorne Malvo

[Lightning55]

2 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense.

Do you think it is worth sending it back to cgc to have them crack and press to fix it? Even if they press and fix it, what's there to stop it from happening again since the overhang will always be there? 

I would contact customer service to see if they can help you out - maybe that you think it happened during encapsulation, which is very plausible.  I don't know when you received it, but you have some time to inspect the contents, like 14 days. 

You are right, though, that you will be in the same predicament.  It could happen again, even after being pressed out.

The only other alternative is to see if it is eligible to be corrected.  If the overhang is on the front because the cover is skewed, maybe it's a bit short on the back.  A good presser could get it all even, or at least distribute the overhang to both sides, not overloaded to the front.  If somehow both front and back are overhanging, maybe the book has been over-pressed such that the squishing is causing the cover to have less distance to travel around the book, now extending outward over the page edges.  That may possibly be corrected by a good presser, such as the way they try to fix spines on squarebound books that have shifted.  Any work on it is risky, though, and it's a 9.8.  A bit quirky 9.8, and that's what puts you in a tough spot.  I've been there, and it's hard to be comfortable with any decision you make.

[Lorne Malvo]

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Edited January 28, 2021 by Lorne Malvo

[Lightning55]

I see.  One of those mystery things.  If it's for your personal collection, then yes, it is probably left as is for now. 

I hadn't tried it, but always thought to maybe let the book lie face down for a while.  That gravity would help out and reverse the bend.  After all, it moved while standing straight up, why not coax it to go back from an even more advantageous orientation.

What I did try was lightly tapping the case in the opposite direction, figuring the inertia might help it back.  Recommend not following THAT idea.

[oakman29]

Remember if you do send it back. The book could become a 9.4/9.6 upon the regrade.

[Lightning55]

For some reason, I thought you had submitted this comic, @Lorne Malvo.  But I see that there was nothing specific that should have led me to that conclusion.  I bring this up because if you contact CGC regarding this, I don't think they can help you, not being the original submitter, and it not having been graded in recent days.  Since you purchased it from someone else, you will have no standing. 

Once it leaves CGC, they have no control of what happens to a comic - rough handling to original submitter, possible mishandling by anyone while in their possession, shipping to a new owner, etc.  They usually help in situations where you get a graded comic back, and something went wrong - damaged case, scuffed case, trapped particles in the case, etc.

[Lorne Malvo]

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Edited January 28, 2021 by Lorne Malvo

[Lightning55]

5 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

I am the original submitter. 

Oh.  This line threw me off: "The bend was definitely not there at the time of purchase (see photo). I bought this book during the 1st quarter of 2020 and it has been sitting upright inside a box. I took it out recently and noticed the bend. "

You mentioned time of purchase, so I thought you bought it graded.  Maybe you meant when you purchased the grading services.

[Hollywood1892]

I've never seen SCS look like this,and by the title of this thread and the OPs explanation, I'm really confused. The book isn't actually damaged, like one of the posters said, it is probably overhang