Not a question as much as an observation about graded comics 1 1

[LowGradeBronze]

MAR1979, you make a very powerful and persuasive case for digital comic reading.  

[The lips]

On 4/30/2023 at 2:42 PM, MAR1979 said:

Its 2023, for the last 18-20 years there have been other ways to read Comic Book content than to hold ones book in hand and I'm not talking about re-colored trade volumes which of course is another easy cheaper way to read a comic. I've not read a physical comic, other than beater/reading copies book since 2007.  

Not directing this at you KCOComics;   The constant whine from some collectors about not being able to read a comic book once in a slab while technically true is rendered moot in this century.

Yes I "care about" and "love comics" have since I was a child, which is precisely why I do not subject them to the usually damaging utility for which they were created but have found better ways to read nearly every book I want to read.  BTW I do not sell comics so they are not a commodity to me.

Hey look below, I don't need to spend $200,000+USD to read a decent copy of AF15. Nor a cool million to read Action #1
Plus on my tablet or screen I can easily adjust the image size to deal with my ever changing eyesight 

 

and look-y here I don't need to crack out my Dell Giant 48 out of its slab to view Fred, Wilma, Betty, Barney, and Dino's 1st Comics app.

 

There may be many reasons to not want slabbed books but IMHO not being able to read them is the weakest reason of them all.

I very much see your point, but speaking as somebody who has never had a book encased, I offer my explanation why. 
 

For me, I don’t slab books as i like to take out and admire the same pages and get same experience from same medium as a kid did 50/60 years ago when buying from his local drugstore. Of course, you can still read via digital or reprints etc but personally I like the history involved in a comic book. 
I also collect vinyl and I much prefer pulling out a first pressing Beatles record and listening to the original a lot more than I do clicking play on spotify 

fully respect and get people’s reasons for encasing books but it’s not for me. I love too much the smell, authenticity and pleasure only an original can bring. 

[Lazyboy]

On 4/29/2023 at 2:41 PM, Mokiguy said:

I don't understand your comment, perhaps you could explain it better to  novice like me. I thought I was making the point that a comic once it is slabbed it does in fact become a two dimensional object. How is a coin any different than a comic then? If you are not counting the edge of a coin why but count the edge of a slabbed comic?

A slab is only a case for the actual item that matters.

[Lazyboy]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:42 AM, MAR1979 said:

better

<insert The Princess Bride meme here>

[MAR1979]

I knew someone who licked interior pages of comics. That can't be done with a slab.  I know smell brings out strongest memories, but I ain't a comic sniffer

What  used to bring me back to my earliest comics purchases was the combined smell of Coffee, Bacon, and Newspaper Newsprint. My earliest purchases were made at a luncheonette with a newsstand

Edited May 1, 2023 by MAR1979

[Axe Elf]

[theCapraAegagrus]

It's about the overall condition...

[Mokiguy]

When I first started this thread, I really was only making an observation about how I thought it strange that part of a comics TPG grade is locked away, never to be seen again, unless one chooses to destroy the TPG grade by opening the sealed case. I never meant for this thread to go anywhere but there, but it has, and that's OK. But I'm going to share a final thought on my posts original intent.

I still cannot think of a single item other than comics or magazines that are graded, appraised or judged, and then sealed after that grading, appraising or judging, and so part of that grade, appraisal or judgement can no longer be seen in order to either agreeing or disagreeing with that grade, appraisal or judgement. The Morgan and Peace dollars I collect ....... you can see every part of a TPG grade and decide if you think it accurate, low or high. Paintings, old cars, pottery, virtually every antique item, stamps, paper currency, old firearms, or a thousand other items are either never sealed or sealed but all parts graded are visible so anyone can see everything taken into account to arrive at that grade or appraisal.

That's all I meant and the entire point of my original post. I don't have the answer, and most likely there is no answer and the only possible way that a TPG can stand behind their grade is to do exactly what they do. But I just found it strange or interesting or just different that comics and magazines are alone in this distinction.

[LowGradeBronze]

It's like a lot of threads on here: They take on a life of their own and end up in some interesting places along the way! Asking questions that people have tended to take the answers to for granted is never wrong. It provokes thought, challenges the status quo and sometimes leads to rediscovering and re-proving those answers! 

Edited May 1, 2023 by LowGradeBronze

[Lazyboy]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:17 AM, Mokiguy said:

When I first started this thread, I really was only making an observation about how I thought it strange that part of a comics TPG grade is locked away, never to be seen again, unless one chooses to destroy the TPG grade by opening the sealed case. I never meant for this thread to go anywhere but there, but it has, and that's OK. But I'm going to share a final thought on my posts original intent.

I still cannot think of a single item other than comics or magazines that are graded, appraised or judged, and then sealed after that grading, appraising or judging, and so part of that grade, appraisal or judgement can no longer be seen in order to either agreeing or disagreeing with that grade, appraisal or judgement. The Morgan and Peace dollars I collect ....... you can see every part of a TPG grade and decide if you think it accurate, low or high. Paintings, old cars, pottery, virtually every antique item, stamps, paper currency, old firearms, or a thousand other items are either never sealed or sealed but all parts graded are visible so anyone can see everything taken into account to arrive at that grade or appraisal.

That's all I meant and the entire point of my original post. I don't have the answer, and most likely there is no answer and the only possible way that a TPG can stand behind their grade is to do exactly what they do. But I just found it strange or interesting or just different that comics and magazines are alone in this distinction.

You're right. Slabbing comics is a stupid idea, for multiple reasons.