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Large Uptick in Spine Stress Marks on Recent Marvel Comics
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Started by John Campbell,

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John Campbell

John Campbell

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Hello everyone. I've been noticing an oddity recently with several newer Marvel Comics I've bought right off the shelf from lots of different shops. From Amazing Spider-Man 88 to Hulk 3, Thor 20 and more. Many seem to have multiple curved but faint (usually non-color breaking) stress lines along the spine on the back of the comic. In my opinion, considering the placement and that many similar copies of certain issues seem to have this flaw, these may be production-related. Front covers are almost always completely blemish free and for all intents and purposes they're likely Near Mint condition. I've included a few photos below to highlight as best I can what I'm talking about. 

Does anyone know if this is a common issue? I've got a few potentially key issues I'd like to get graded but am afraid I may get hammered by the graders since grading seems much tighter these days. Is this something that they're aware of and taking into consideration when grading? I'm considering getting them pressed first, but not sure if that will help in this case.

Any insights would be appreciated.

 

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Edited by John Campbell
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lostboys

lostboys

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I have not bought off the rack in forever because I dont buy new comics. I always wonder what its like to pick off the rack in 2022.

Are there a bunch of guys standing there looking for the best copy or do they just grab the first book and move on like I did as a kid?

Id prob be that guy standing there with the entire stack in my clutches, looking for that 9.8.

 

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Ryan.

Ryan.

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On 2/15/2022 at 2:49 PM, lostboys said:

Are there a bunch of guys standing there looking for the best copy

We were doing this at least as far back as the early 90s.

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lostboys

lostboys

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I was 14 in 1992. Waiting at the door of my LCS on new release morning. There was always a small group waiting for them to unlock the door.

It was chaos at the rack for the first hour or so. It was a busy shop. Seemed to me we were just grabbing a copy of the titles we collected and moving on. I don't think anyone was taking extra time to inspect books for finger bends.

 

Shout out to Starship Excalibur - Providence R.I.

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Ryan.

Ryan.

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On 2/15/2022 at 5:56 PM, lostboys said:

 

 

I was 14 in 1992. Waiting at the door of my LCS on new release morning. There was always a small group waiting for them to unlock the door.

It was chaos at the rack for the first hour or so. It was a busy shop. Seemed to me we were just grabbing a copy of the titles we collected and moving on. I don't think anyone was taking extra time to inspect books for finger bends.

 

Shout out to Starship Excalibur - Providence R.I.

I can't speak to a universal experience but way up here in Massachusetts we were definitely picking out the most minty copies (and sometimes two) and immediately bagging and boarding. 

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lostboys

lostboys

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On 2/15/2022 at 6:43 PM, Sweedy said:

I had a pull box in 1992 (thumbsu (living in CT near the RI border).

To be honest, I don't really understand that. 

Unless you're afraid a book will sell out before you get there...whats the point?

Standing in front of the rack was exciting for me. That first look at Todd's latest cover or Jim Lee or Liefeld. That was my favorite part. 

At one time I had a large pile of back issues held for me because I couldn't afford both new releases and back issues on my allowance. If I got extra cash id stop in and buy a few off the top of the stack.

That's more of a hold box, not a pull box. 😆

 

Edited by lostboys
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lostboys

lostboys

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On 2/15/2022 at 7:08 PM, Ryan. said:

I can't speak to a universal experience but way up here in Massachusetts we were definitely picking out the most minty copies (and sometimes two) and immediately bagging and boarding. 

You guys may be older than me too. At age 14, I just wanted to read the stories and enjoy that 90s artwork.

When Image formed, I was floating on a cloud of joy! 

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lostboys

lostboys

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On 2/15/2022 at 7:24 PM, Sweedy said:

I guess you're just more of a fanboy then me (shrug) My first look at the covers was two months previous when I ordered them from Previews.

I dont know what a fanboy is. I was a 14 year old kid with a $10 a week allowance. The only thing I was ordering back then was Columbia House cds... in my dogs name.

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lostboys

lostboys

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On 2/16/2022 at 9:59 AM, AhsokaTano Jedi Apprentice said:

   I had a pull box in the 80's ....nobody lined up outside stores on Thursday's when new releases came out. If you wanted your 15 percent discount you needed a pull box so they knew how many comics you bought a month and could calculate your discount. I do remember when you would go in and buy your pulled comics you didn't really scour thru the condition of your books because you just assumed they were really all the same. People tended to go to comic book stores on the weekends when you had time. Nobody ever lined up on new release day except when super rare things happened like The Death of Superman type of stuff.

Speak on your experiences and Ill speak on mine.

 

Is that okay with you?

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John Campbell

John Campbell

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On 2/14/2022 at 6:52 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

If CGC isn't already aware of this MFG defect, it wouldn't hurt to bring it to their attention.

That actually sounds like a really good idea. I've never attempted to reach out to CGC about anything like this before. Am wondering if I sent a general email if I'd even get a response.

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djzombi

djzombi

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I've noticed it since Marvel (in particular) started using crappier stock for their covers.  So...15 years, give-or-take?  I don't know if some runs are more prone than others (e.g. if copies of #23 of FF's most recent series ALL have that defect, or if ALL copies of Marvel books with an April 2019 cover date have it), but those marks seem common, and it's definitely a production defect.  

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John Campbell

John Campbell

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On 3/3/2022 at 7:43 PM, djzombi said:

I've noticed it since Marvel (in particular) started using crappier stock for their covers.  So...15 years, give-or-take?  I don't know if some runs are more prone than others (e.g. if copies of #23 of FF's most recent series ALL have that defect, or if ALL copies of Marvel books with an April 2019 cover date have it), but those marks seem common, and it's definitely a production defect.  

I'm definitely planning to get a few pressed with a local presser to see if that mitigates the issue. If not, I may just take my chances on a few and see what happens with the graders. I wouldn't mind contacting them about this issue, but not sure where to begin. Anyone know what the email for say any of the top graders may be? Would love to get their thoughts.

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