Showcase Presents #20 Metal Men 1 1

[Upgrayedd2]

I just received my copy of Metal Men #39. Described by the seller as FN 5.5-6.0.

Here's a description:

(1) lots of gloss on the front and back cover, bright colors  

(2) two color breaking creases on front left cover 2 1/2"

(3) piece missing from lower right front cover 1/8"

(4) spine split at top left cover 1/2"

(5) spine split above bottom staple 3/8"

(6) edge missing from front right cover 3/4"

(7) heavy tanning on back cover edges and inside of front cover

(8) tear through entire comic including front and back cover 3/8"

(9) tear on back page and several pages 1/8". 

A little back ground. When I received the comic, I removed it to count the pages and inspect the comic. As I removed the comic, a small piece of the front cover (lower right edge) fell off. The next thing I noticed was every page had a rip. When I got to the back of the comic, I found a second rip. I was very careful not to open the comic all of the way, but when I returned to the front page, I saw both staples detached from the cover. This is now item (9) detached cover. When I first inspected the comic, I did not see if the cover was attached or detached. It's possible this happened while I was inspecting the comic. 

So I am asking for a Spare A Grade with and without the cover detached. Many thanks.

[zzutak]

Silver Age DC comics were produced with relatively thin cover stock.  Even when stored under ideal conditions, DC books from this era often suffer from blown staples.  Seeing a tan halo on the inside covers should put you on notice that the paper has lost much of its original suppleness and is prone to brittle-type chipping, tearing, and splitting.  Books with tanned edges/spines should always be handled with extreme care!

The inside cover tanning and top edge tears would cap my initial (attached cover) grade at VG to VG+.  The newly detached cover warrants a downgrade to GD.