First print vs reprint for international comic books 2 2

[Antiqueman]

Hey guys,

I'm starting a new collection of international comic books that I'm planning to get them graded.

I noticed that most of the non American comic books do not have any barcodes that give an indication of their printing status.

I have non English comics from the 60's that I'm pretty sure they are first prints just from the quality of the pages and general appearance.

Some of these books (from the 60's) are being reprinted in the same style as the original books (have no barcodes or a mark that indicates their printing status). My concern is that if these reprints go unchecked and get high grades as if they are first prints, then the original book will lose its value.

 

So my question is, would it be challenging for the grader (from CGC for example) to tell if this is first print or reprint, specially if it is written in different language?

 

 

 

 

 

Thank!

[revat]

I think generally, yes it could be challenging.  There's even some debate about what is an original foreign edition and what constitutes a foreign reprint (even if its the first printing of that issue in that language).

If you have specific concerns with a book type of book and you see it being slabbed incorrectly, I would contact CGC customer service directly with your concerns.  If you have some great foreign language comic database, no harm in sharing it with CGC (unless its proprietary).  

[LowGradeBronze]

Hi, do you have just one or two examples of the books you refer to? If you had an example of say the 1960s original and it's (1980s?) reprint side by side it would be really useful. In general if the reprints are identical in all respects to the original it would be a forensic task to look for tanning, differences in paper thicknes, gloss and smell between the original and the reprint. I find it hard to think the reprint would be run in exactly the same format/colours etc though. There ought to be some differences. Show us some. Let us know what you mean! 

[Antiqueman]

Hi I appreciate the responses.

Here are the exmples,

Superman 1 Lebanese edition from 1963 (original printing). I don's have an image for the reprint copies but it will look new as if from modern time.

 

As far as I know, the Lebanese Supermen is the oldest Arabic version of all Superman editions and there are only about 9-10 copies (no database but this is according to some sellers).

[Get Marwood & I]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:20 PM, Antiqueman said:

So my question is, would it be challenging for the grader (from CGC for example) to tell if this is first print or reprint, specially if it is written in different language?

If you haven't already seen it, here is a link to CGC's feature page regarding international (non-US) books and how they treat them:

https://www.cgccomics.com/international-comics/

[LowGradeBronze]

Wow, what an interesting comic! You've done well to track that down. If you have any examples where you don't know if it's original or reprint, those would be good to see as well. 

[Antiqueman]

On 9/18/2022 at 5:24 PM, Hottohman said:

No comics had barcodes until the mid 1970s and bar codes indicating print status is a 21st century advancement.

You need to check the indicia for that information. Not sure why this matters when they're just reprints.

They're all reprints, so why does the printing matter? Hell, they're not even in English, so they'll never be mistaken for true first American prints. And how would an Arabic reprint affect the value of an American original?

Thanks for the info Hottohman,

 

It is true that non English (whether Arabic or any other languages) would not affect the value of any American comic book.

I'm talking about the first print non English comic books that were printed back in 50's or 60's. Those books obviously would have very low grades.

But let's say someone submits a reprint for grading and since the language is different and in addition to the lack of database about those international books, the reprints may get labeled as first prints with high grades.

 

Believe it or not, nowadays, international books are being sold on international auctiuons. And that's why any certifiying company should look into it in depth and have a reliable method to differentiate between first prints from reprints.

[Antiqueman]

On 9/18/2022 at 7:11 PM, Hottohman said:

Arent they all just foreign "first prints"? Why would these books get a second print in the first place?

I am confused. Are you worried that foreign reprints could accidentally be slabbed as 1st print American comics? If they're not in English that's impossible 

Again, not talking about American comics.

American comic books can be easily differentiated into first prints and reprints. For example, if you currently have action comics#1, it is very likey that your have a reprint which is worth of few bucks in comparison to the first print which is worh millions.

 

I'm not worried that non English books gets confused with American books. I'm referring to the reprints of non English books gets confused with first prints (not the American!).

 

Check out this link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185363884729?hash=item2b288c6ab9:g:C98AAOSw3WRhw6G7&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAsJq4l%2F7PYKv27XQueZEmriXWPpfsxtq0A675RAB3VNIMU3cheje0WUkKQVUEhb1226Y2u%2FnKA%2BuobWupNHf99Hr8HPklejQENZse%2F6sexQJsThGD55eLXJHaIs6Tnv%2FpkIYDRqcjjs%2BgKy4jBzxXavx8N%2FUbn7CzDzEeCwLKeFNREBn64G0UaVIZoBXtG5LF1hUeTK22A20%2FVG5Vg0kxCBo584YGH9aSix13CtTW0hpJ|tkp%3ABk9SR4yVi6_qYA

 

This is reprint copy which is almost in NM condition. The same book but first/original print is in fair condition.

 

 

 

[RareCBs]

I know this is somewhat off-topic, but I just can't find the answer anywhere.

Does CGC charge the same amount for International Edition grading as for USA comic book grading?

Thanks for any help!

 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/24/2023 at 12:29 PM, RareCBs said:

I know this is somewhat off-topic, but I just can't find the answer anywhere.

Does CGC charge the same amount for International Edition grading as for USA comic book grading?

Thanks for any help!

FYI, if you haven't already seen it:

https://www.cgccomics.com/international-comics/

 

[Sof]

On 9/18/2022 at 6:00 PM, Antiqueman said:

Hi I appreciate the responses.

Here are the exmples,

Superman 1 Lebanese edition from 1963 (original printing). I don's have an image for the reprint copies but it will look new as if from modern time.

 

As far as I know, the Lebanese Supermen is the oldest Arabic version of all Superman editions and there are only about 9-10 copies (no database but this is according to some sellers).

Hi Antiqueman, did you get your answers regarding the reprint of this Lebanese version of Superman? Is there a practical way to identify first print vs later prints?

[Vintage_Paper]

I didn't mean to reply. Is there a way to delete my comment?

 

Edited April 6 by Vintage_Paper