Joe Papa Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Hi Guys, I have these two sketch covers drawn by Mark Ellerby that I am picking up Saturday. The backs are dirty from his drawing board, should I get these cleaned before grading or will this not be taken into consideration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Papa Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan. Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Why get them graded? Fraggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Generally, it depends. your goals, your motivations, your time restrictions, your finances If you’re considering cgc ss, make sure you have an understanding of the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Papa Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 I would like to get them CGC SS, what do you mean understand the process? As in they need to be signed in front of GCG? I have a good collection of 9.8s and would like to add these to my collection. I was going get them cleaned by CGC and then slabbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougC Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 (edited) These books will not be eligible for the signature series label as they were not witnessed by a CGC representative (you will need a facilitator to pick them up). If you want them graded by CGC if you pick them up they will either get a green label for non-witnessed drawings or a blue label with a significant grade hit. If you want them graded and the sketch/signature recognized you will need to go with the "other" company. Having CGC clean them with an eraser for you may not be cost effective but that is a value decision you will need to make. Edit for clarity as I thought they were already picked up. Edited May 24, 2023 by DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Papa Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 I appreciate the comments, but I was just asking about the cleaning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Papa Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 No, I'm debating on whether its worth getting them cleaned and graded, its disappointing as I did tell him I wanted them graded and he hasn't taken the care I would have liked. Just wanted Opinions on whether they could be cleaned. I haven't had to have a comic cleaned before Any advice/opinion welcomed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Papa Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 Could you elaborate instead of just saying its not a good idea? Why is it not a good idea? Fraggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougC Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 CGC is likely going to try and charge you in the hundreds of dollars each to "clean" the back cover and you are not even close to being guaranteed they will do a good job or receive a favorable grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcjames Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 (edited) On 5/24/2023 at 12:42 PM, Joe Papa said: No, I'm debating on whether its worth getting them cleaned and graded, its disappointing as I did tell him I wanted them graded and he hasn't taken the care I would have liked. Just wanted Opinions on whether they could be cleaned. I haven't had to have a comic cleaned before Any advice/opinion welcomed Assuming these are unwitnessed (by a CGC facilitator) sketches... The back cover won't affect the grade as much as the fact that it will be considered "writing on cover" and be heavily downgraded for that (if you request a Universal Blue Label), not so much for the back being dirty. Cleaning the back won't matter much in a Blue Label value-wise, except for personal aesthetics. If you go with the Qualified Green Label (along with having them cleaned), then the value will still be significantly affected by the unverified drawing on the cover, but the grade will not be so badly affected as a Universal Blue Label. btw, it looks like they're not signed either, so still very hard to even get the "other guys" to verify anything if you went that route. Cool cover art though! Edited May 24, 2023 by jcjames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgcsketcherz Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/24/2023 at 6:09 PM, DougC said: CGC is likely going to try and charge you in the hundreds of dollars each to "clean" the back cover and you are not even close to being guaranteed they will do a good job or receive a favorable grade. CGC cleans? I only thought they pressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougC Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/24/2023 at 7:53 PM, cgcsketcherz said: CGC cleans? I only thought they pressed. "Dry cleaning a comic to remove soiling and any unwanted substance is also considered a non-restorative process, and is included in the CGC pressing service when necessary." This is stated but rarely ever done due to how CGC fast presses comics under very high heat. The last time (over five years ago) when I specifically asked for a book to be dry cleaned prior to pressing they quoted me a much higher amount. cgcsketcherz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Papa Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 Sorry I should have clarified, These two sketches are with the artist I am picking them up from him at a convention Saturday so he ill sign them then and I can get them witnessed. I'm a little concerned as I have booked in to have 3 books pressed by CGC, they are not bad and only need pressing to get a couple of small creases out. Do you guys not recommend using CGC for the cleaning and pressing? So get the back covers cleaned by someone else? Can I get them witnessed, cleaned somewhere else and then send them in? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 3:21 AM, Joe Papa said: So get the back covers cleaned by someone else? Can I get them witnessed, cleaned somewhere else and then send them in? No. The only way to maintain the SS Chain of Custody is to have CGC both witness and press the books in-house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcjames Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 12:21 AM, Joe Papa said: Sorry I should have clarified, These two sketches are with the artist I am picking them up from him at a convention Saturday so he ill sign them then and I can get them witnessed. I'm a little concerned as I have booked in to have 3 books pressed by CGC, they are not bad and only need pressing to get a couple of small creases out. Do you guys not recommend using CGC for the cleaning and pressing? So get the back covers cleaned by someone else? Can I get them witnessed, cleaned somewhere else and then send them in? Thanks Okay. So you'll have a CGC facilitator witness the artist's signatures, and that should be last time you should see them until they're graded. The facilitator should take them from the artist at that time to send/bring to CGC. I would assume the facilitator will verify the sketches too, but I don't know how that works - when the artist sketches with no witness, then signs with a witness. As far as having CGC/CCS press and clean them after they're sketched and signed, again I'm not sure, but there's the slight risk of messing up the sketches and/or the book. Other much more experienced folks could chime in on pressing/cleaning sketched books, @joeypost and whether having CCS do it is the best course of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 1:28 PM, jcjames said: Okay. So you'll have a CGC facilitator witness the artist's signatures, and that should be last time you should see them until they're graded. The facilitator should take them from the artist at that time to send/bring to CGC. I would assume the facilitator will verify the sketches too, but I don't know how that works - when the artist sketches with no witness, then signs with a witness. As far as having CGC/CCS press and clean them after they're sketched and signed, again I'm not sure, but there's the slight risk of messing up the sketches and/or the book. Other much more experienced folks could chime in on pressing/cleaning sketched books, @joeypost and whether having CCS do it is the best course of action. If they would be unwitnessed sketches, it doesn’t really matter who he sends them to. The owner of the books should keep in mind there are some, other than CCS who have worked on thousands of SS books before CGC changed their policies. The whole educated consumer thing. jcjames 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcjames Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 11:11 AM, joeypost said: If they would be unwitnessed sketches, it doesn’t really matter who he sends them to. The owner of the books should keep in mind there are some, other than CCS who have worked on thousands of SS books before CGC changed their policies. The whole educated consumer thing. So in the OP's situation, would the witness to the signatures (who did not witness the sketches themselves) also then verify the sketches too? Would the artist tell the witness "Yeah, I did those sketches a few weeks ago, and I'm signing it now for you to see" and everything gets verified? Would it get SS Yellow, or SS Yellow/green-stripe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse-Lee Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 1:23 PM, jcjames said: So in the OP's situation, would the witness to the signatures (who did not witness the sketches themselves) also then verify the sketches too? Would the artist tell the witness "Yeah, I did those sketches a few weeks ago, and I'm signing it now for you to see" and everything gets verified? Would it get SS Yellow, or SS Yellow/green-stripe? Yeah, it seems like if you're dealing with an artist (whose name is on the actual cover of the book), and they're saying "yes, I verify I drew these" while signing them in the presence of a CGC verifier, that should be enough to get a yellow label, right? If not, that seems crazy... Sweet covers by the way, I especially love the Joker one with Morty as Bob! jcjames 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 2:23 PM, jcjames said: So in the OP's situation, would the witness to the signatures (who did not witness the sketches themselves) also then verify the sketches too? Would the artist tell the witness "Yeah, I did those sketches a few weeks ago, and I'm signing it now for you to see" and everything gets verified? Would it get SS Yellow, or SS Yellow/green-stripe? That’s a question for CGC. But past experiences says if CGC didn’t have a contract with the artist for mail away sketches they will not fall under the SS umbrella and be downgraded or given green labels. jcjames 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
