Firestorm #100 Last Page Stain? 1 1

[Upgrayedd2]

I recently looked at one of my copies of Firestorm #100 (AUG 1990). When I saw it, I was bummed because I wondered, "how did I miss this water stain?" The red and black stain does not appear on the back side of the page, or come from the inside cover. Nothing lines up or anything with that pattern on either page. I looked at another copy and found it had the same stain. Any idea what this is?

Thank you

[divad]

Printing error, or ink transfer from the inside back cover?  

[Upgrayedd2]

Not from the inside back cover, as neither the pattern nor color red is present on the back cover.

Edited June 19, 2022 by Upgrayedd2
Grammar

[Michael Browning]

It looks like the printing press rollers may have gotten dirty and smeared ink when it was printed. Those old presses were sometimes messy.

If you know it’s on more than just one copy, why are you so worried about it?

[Lord Gemini]

I suspect it's just a printing issue. I had an X-Men #4 I sent in to get graded, and it had something similar on the last page. From the grader notes, it appears that I didn't get dinged for it.

[Lazyboy]

It's stacking transfer (from story page 41) from when the pages were stacked after printing and before assembly. My copy also has it, but to a much lesser extent.

[500Club]

If it’s only on the last page, it’s probably just a cameo.  If there’s any on the cover, though, it could be called a first full appearance.