Grade is in, signed by Tom DeFalco: ASM 252 2 2

[scburdet]

Sent this off to the DeFalco signing, but never got around to posting a PGM. Expecting this back in 1-2 weeks, so thought I'd fix my oversight, especially since this is a book a lot of people post. 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by scburdet

[marvelmaniac]

Somewhat long Bindery Tear at the top left corner, minor spine ticks, only one breaks color, looks like there may be slightly fanned pages, cannot really tell (as seen at the bottom right of your 4th picture).

IMO...

9.2 NEAR MINT- (NM-):  Back to Top
Nearly perfect with only a minor additional defect or defects that keep it from Near Mint. A limited number of minor bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Inks are bright with only the slightest dimming of reflectivity. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted. A 1/16-1/8" bend is permitted with no color break. Small, inconspicuous, lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable as long as they are in an unobtrusive location. Slight foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Almost no stress lines. Paper is off-white to cream, supple and fresh. Slight interior tears are allowed.

9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM):  Back to Top
Nearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present.

[Mars76]

9.4

[Eric C M]

I’ll go 9.2

[Nilo2]

9.4. Nice copy!

[Lninefingers]

9.2 with upside

[marvelmaniac]

For what it's worth and only my opinion... I cannot tell how CGC will view this book or others like it, however, I stayed away from NM 9.4 for this reason....

9.4 NEAR MINT (NM): Bindery tears must be less than 1/16" on Silver Age and later books,

[scburdet]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:42 AM, marvelmaniac said:

Bindery tears

It's why I thought this one was worth posting at this late date. As it turns out, I posted several candidates for this signing here & ultimately didn't send any of those.(ASM265, Marvel Age 97, maybe a few others). I did send a Marvel Tails 1, but didn't post it then or now, b/c it is unremarkable (i.e. no noticeable defects)

[scburdet]

Back faster than I expected. CGC might be turning on the afterburners to purge the backlog before convention season goes into full swing.

I was hesitant to send this one b/c my presser had balked at it several times. If it wasn't a newsstand, I might not have sent it b/c of the risk of "losing" money. Anyhow, I'm impressed with how close most of you got to the assigned grade. I guessed 9.2, but was mentally preparing for a much lower grade b/c of the bindery tear & reasons.

 

[grendelbo]

It looked all of a 9 4.

Nice copy.

[Nilo2]

Well done! Congrats!