PGM Batman #75 1953 3 3

[grigoriane]

I need some help understanding the grade, and also the state of this book whether it would come back restored or universal.

My concerns are the tape near the staples, and also some kind of what looks to be an adhesive on the bottom of the cover (appears better with the inside shot of the cover.)

Thank you.

[scburdet]

Disclaimer: I'm apparently terrible at grading GA books, so take what I say for what it's worth 

I see a 4.5±0.5. I think the apparent internal page discoloration may be the bigger issue. That title page looks pretty dark around the edges. Is this consistent throughout the book? I believe at this lower grades, repairs don't count against you in the same way as they do if the rest of the book was in excellent shape. Someone here will know better, but I believe the restoration tag get pulled out for color touching, page repair and trimming. Things that are either professional or amateur attempts to make the book appear to be in a higher grade than it is. Keeping a book from falling apart is a different story. IMO, the graders' notes would mention the tape, but you'd get a universal label. I will now wait for someone to tell me why I'm wrong.

[grigoriane]

On 8/6/2022 at 7:16 PM, scburdet said:

Disclaimer: I'm apparently terrible at grading GA books, so take what I say for what it's worth 

I see a 4.5±0.5. I think the apparent internal page discoloration may be the bigger issue. That title page looks pretty dark around the edges. Is this consistent throughout the book? I believe at this lower grades, repairs don't count against you in the same way as they do if the rest of the book was in excellent shape. Someone here will know better, but I believe the restoration tag get pulled out for color touching, page repair and trimming. Things that are either professional or amateur attempts to make the book appear to be in a higher grade than it is. Keeping a book from falling apart is a different story. IMO, the graders' notes would mention the tape, but you'd get a universal label. I will now wait for someone to tell me why I'm wrong.

Thank you for your thoughts on this. Yes, a lot of the interior pages at the top have a bit of discoloration; however, they are not as dark as it appears on the photographs. 

I was hoping to get more feedback on this comic but so far you are the only one that has replied:)

[scburdet]

On 8/7/2022 at 9:27 PM, grigoriane said:

I was hoping to get more feedback on this comic but so far you are the only one that has replied

it goes in cycles. I'm sure others will comment, but it can take several days for a critical mass of people to stop by

[gadzukes]

Does the comic feel "thick"?

It looks like it's been in a high humidity environment.  There's hint of mold on the inside.

What kind of tape is holding the cover on? Masking tape?

I'm going to say it's a "good looking" 3.0 restored.  

Remove the tape for a Universal grade.  And then check about how much conservation would run (it may not be cost effective on this one).  With conservation I think the inner pages could be cleaned and the cover reattached in a conserved way.

[Mars76]

I usually avoid grading books with tape and water stains because I'm not confident in grading books with those defects. I'm gonna give it a shot and say 3.0-3.5. I'd go higher if it wasnt for the staples, tape, and dark pages.

[evilskip]

My grades are much lower than CGC and tend towards MCS. If a book is completely detached from the cover, MCS usually only goes as high as 2.5. For example, I have a stunning Rip Hunter #8 with white pages and no faults other than a detached cover that I picked up from MCS as a 2.5.

I'd go 2.0 to 2.5, but I'm a "harsh" grader.

[grendelbo]

3.0 Restored

Thanks for posting.

[Aces]

3.0

[Hschwartz]

Great cover. Looks like 1 2.5 to me.

[grigoriane]

On 8/6/2022 at 7:16 PM, scburdet said:

Disclaimer: I'm apparently terrible at grading GA books, so take what I say for what it's worth 

I see a 4.5±0.5. I think the apparent internal page discoloration may be the bigger issue. That title page looks pretty dark around the edges. Is this consistent throughout the book? I believe at this lower grades, repairs don't count against you in the same way as they do if the rest of the book was in excellent shape. Someone here will know better, but I believe the restoration tag get pulled out for color touching, page repair and trimming. Things that are either professional or amateur attempts to make the book appear to be in a higher grade than it is. Keeping a book from falling apart is a different story. IMO, the graders' notes would mention the tape, but you'd get a universal label. I will now wait for someone to tell me why I'm wrong.

Thank you for your reply. There is a bit of discoloration, and darkening around the page; however, i realized that the original photos i posted are on the dark side making the edges, as you say, look darker than they are. I'm posting a couple new image that are more accurate to the state of the pages. But this is how it is on some of the pages in the book.

[grigoriane]

On 8/8/2022 at 9:14 AM, gadzukes said:

Does the comic feel "thick"?

It looks like it's been in a high humidity environment.  There's hint of mold on the inside.

What kind of tape is holding the cover on? Masking tape?

I'm going to say it's a "good looking" 3.0 restored.  

Remove the tape for a Universal grade.  And then check about how much conservation would run (it may not be cost effective on this one).  With conservation I think the inner pages could be cleaned and the cover reattached in a conserved way.

Thank you for your reply. Not sure if i can tell if it feels "thick." Not even sure what that would mean. It does feel heavier than a modernish comic but i've never really had Golden era books i'm guessing older comics were larger and more pages maybe?!? Is this regarding the mold you mention? and is the whiteish speckly area that's the concern? I'm posting a new photos that is more accurate to the state of the page. I noticed the original photos were on the dark side and made the interior page look darker than it is.  Also not sure what kind of tape it is. But i posted better photos with the tape.

[Galen130]

On 8/10/2022 at 9:16 PM, grendelbo said:

3.0 Restored

Thanks for posting.

Gotta agree....very unique restoration.  I've not seen that one before.

[LowGradeBronze]

I varied on this one quite a bit as I looked at the photos before arriving at a final decision. First instinct was 2.0 due to the tape/staple tears, (I'm a harsh grader,) then as I considered the whole book, flat and quite sharp, I went up to 3.0 and will settle in the middle on 2.5. As for Universal/Conserved/Restored I don't know, sorry. But it's a nice 2.5 that's for sure. It's avoided a lot of the corner damage that can so easily happen over the decades.