Commentary - CGC Should Change Its Name To "Comics Grading, LLC"

[deathlok]

[esquirecomics]

Red Hook posted this Chris Friesen post in another thread and I just had to repost it in the relevant thread for further discussion.

 

Hi everyone. For quite a few months now there have been many threads on these boards about pressing and I’m sure at conventions, comic stores, and anywhere else comic collectors gather to talk about this great hobby.

 

I’m not here to tell you that you should press books or buy pressed books because as free thinking individuals it is your right to make that decision yourself.

 

For months I have seen half truths and conspiracy theories run through these boards. Some people with true and honest opinions on pressing and others with their own personal agenda.

 

I have had many discussions about pressing with my co-workers, customers, collectors and dealers, but what has led me to writing this post is a piece of information that most of the people I have talked to believe is very important to the pressing issue. That is the burden of proof that CGC needs to decide if a comic receives a blue or purple label.

 

Checking for restoration is quite different than grading. When grading a comic you are looking at something that at one point was mint(ish) and are now evaluating it based on its state of deterioration and visible flaws to determine its grade. When checking for restoration you are looking for something that was not meant to be seen. Even for experts, though sometimes easy, most of the time it is very difficult.

 

And this leads me to my most important point. Unlike grading, restoration detection is not subjective. Restoration must be supported by proof and not a gut feeling. Like in a jury trial a comic is innocent until proven guilty. When I evaluate a comic for restoration and I find something that could be color touch I don’t stop there and assume it is, give the book a purple restoration label and move on. I stop, look closer and ask myself, “What is it? Is this color touch? What is its purpose? Is it there to cover an under lying flaw? Is it something other than color touch?” and so on, and so forth. Using my art background, almost two decades as a professional in this hobby consisting of, five years as a restorer with Renaissance Restoration Lab, almost five years with CGC, and over one million comics evaluated in my career, I make a decision based on evidence. Then I move on to the next odd looking spot on the comic, so on, and so forth. I do not do restoration checks based on my gut feeling but instead on evidence that the book provides. I know for a fact that Borock, Haspel, and Litch do restoration checks the same way.

 

On to pressing and expanding on my points above. If a suspected pressed comic was in a jury trial it would likely end in a hung jury. Based on the criteria above I would ask myself “Is this comic pressed?.....possibly, “Is this comic not pressed?”…..possibly. “This book has a lot of creases, does it make it not pressed”…..no, it still could be. “This book has no creases or bends, it must be pressed”…..no, it could simply be a high grade book. So on, and so forth.

 

I could start doing restoration checks by relying on my gut feeling. If a book rubs me the wrong way I could guess what was done. Flip a coin, roll the dice, pull out the ouija board, toss the chicken bones, or rely on my spidey senses. How many people will be disappointed when they get their books back from CGC in a purple or blue label that reads “Pressed” when they know it’s not possible? How many phone calls a day will I receive with people asking me “how do you know my book has been pressed?”, should I reply “Well..I thought it could be…possible”. Or possibly CGC should start using a new term on the label “Maybe Pressed”.

 

If CGC changes its stance on pressing will people stop pressing books? Of course not. If CGC changes its stance on pressing will it cast doubt on all books considering the new subjective restoration check policy. Maybe.

 

On a final note, do I consider pressing restoration? No. But that is just my opinion, not the reason I have written this. The point of this post was not to illustrate my opinion but to place the opinions of others into the context of CGC, its stance on restoration checks, and the comic book industry as a whole.

 

Chris Friesen

Restoration Detection Expert

Comic Guaranty, LLC

 

The bold text above is exactly why CGC should be guaranteeing its restoration detection service. It is a science, not an art. If CGC is not willing to stand behind it, the message sent is a lack of faith in their own science.

[Red Hook]

Banner collected and posted that material in the other thread. Just for the record.

[jkrk]

The bold text above is exactly why CGC should be guaranteeing its restoration detection service. It is a science, not an art. If CGC is not willing to stand behind it, the message sent is a lack of faith in their own science.

 

Great. CGC can alter their policy and open themselves up to lawsuits from Esquire. He then will be in a position to pay for his comic purchases from settlements of the CGC suits. After a while CGC might find it more profitable to settle the cases by giving Esquire better grades on his submissions.

 

The wheels on the bus go round and round.

[esquirecomics]

The bold text above is exactly why CGC should be guaranteeing its restoration detection service. It is a science, not an art. If CGC is not willing to stand behind it, the message sent is a lack of faith in their own science.

 

Great. CGC can alter their policy and open themselves up to lawsuits from Esquire. He then will be in a position to pay for his comic purchases from settlements of the CGC suits. After a while CGC might find it more profitable to settle the cases by giving Esquire better grades on his submissions.

 

The wheels on the bus go round and round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding.