Hulk 181 9.4 5 5

[Amspider]

Just bought this book at Tampa Con I wanted to get everyone’s opinion. Should I send to press and regrade?  The red colors are bright but the blues look a little faded. Let me know thanks 

[KCOComics]

It would be helpful to post graders notes. 

I didn't pick up any obviously pressable defects, but sometimes pictures can be hard to see. 

There are a lot of spine ticks, and some fairly sizable ones. Possibly CT removal? I would be concerned with the grade going down to a 9.2 or 9.0 with a resub. 

Edited August 29 by KCOComics

[buttock]

On 8/28/2024 at 7:21 PM, KCOComics said:

It would be helpful to post graders notes. 

I didn't pick up any obviously pressable defects, but sometimes pictures can be hard to see. 

There are a lot of spine ticks, and some fairly sizable ones. Possibly CT removal? I would be concerned with the grade going down to a 9.2 or 9.0 with a resub. 

Agreed.  

At this point you have to assume any IH 181 has already been pressed.  

[GawkHawk]

Personsally, I'd leave it alone.  It's hard to imagine it getting a 9.6 based on the pics posted.  I'm with KCO - I'd be more concerned with the possibility of a lower grade.

[namisgr]

Huh, I'm frankly amazed that a copy with a couple of color breaking spine stress lines and especially a color flake missing from the bottom left of the front cover near the spine can receive a 9.4 grade.  I certainly don't think this copy could grade any higher.

For comparison this is what a typical 9.6 looks like:

[joeypost]

Who did you purchase it from?

[TRMN8R5]

On 8/28/2024 at 9:21 PM, KCOComics said:

There are a lot of spine ticks, and some fairly sizable ones. Possibly CT removal? I would be concerned with the grade going down to a 9.2 or 9.0 with a resub. 

My thoughts exactly.  Whomever assessed this book and slapped that grade on it was extremely "generous", IMHO.

Not to beat a dead horse here, but the old adage rings true:  Buy the book...not the grade.

[sledgehammer]

That submission in November of 2018 was LOADED with very high value key books.

This is not going to end well.

[Amspider]

I bought it from Mack Multiverse comics at Tampa Con. Thank you all for your responses.  I have attached the graders notes 

[Amspider]

On 8/29/2024 at 7:45 AM, joeypost said:

Who did you purchase it from?

Mack Multiverse comics

[joeypost]

On 8/29/2024 at 8:52 AM, Amspider said:

Mack Multiverse comics

Never heard of them. Looking at the scans on my computer I would recommend leaving well enough alone. 

[Flanders82]

On 8/29/2024 at 4:42 AM, namisgr said:

Huh, I'm frankly amazed that a copy with a couple of color breaking spine stress lines and especially a color flake missing from the bottom left of the front cover near the spine can receive a 9.4 grade.  I certainly don't think this copy could grade any higher.

For comparison this is what a typical 9.6 looks like:

Comparing your 9.4 to the book above, there looks to be a large crease/chunk missing from the bottom right and part of the cover missing from the bottom left, along with several spine ticks. As people have stated in a more polite and indirect way above, this isn't a 9.4. The book was either swapped out or ridiculously overgraded. It shouldn't even be a 9.0 with those defects. 

Edited September 1 by Flanders82

[Chaos_in_Canada]

Here's my CGC9.2w for comparison, 

Don't press & regrade.

 

 

[VintageComics]

Guys, it's like amateur hour in here. 

We're 25 years into these CGC discussions and the digital age. 

For one, you CANNOT compare relatively small scans to each other to figure out relative grades. Every scanner represents defects differently and can either hide or exaggerate defects.

Plus, you can't tell how tight or loose a book is graded just from the front cover (as if this needs to be pointed out).

Finally, we'd need to see larger, much clearer scans of the OP's 1st book in the thread to get a proper idea to even begin answering the question. 

Oy vey!

Edited September 12 by VintageComics

[namisgr]

Tens if not hundreds of thousands of slabbed comics have been bought and sold via the mail with scans and the CGC grades as the sole sources for potential buyers to assess.  It's anything but a reach to view the scans of the Hulk 181 in this particular holder sporting a 9.4 grade to state two things with a high degree of confidence.  First, this is not a candidate for press and regrade in the hope of landing a 9.6 second time around.  And second, this is a lower end 9.4, at best, owing to wear that is plainly visible and whose size can be readily appreciated from the scan provided.

The appropriate comparison is not between this book and the others provided, but between the others provided and the grades CGC assigned to them.  They illustrate general guidelines using this particular comic issue about the nature, size, and number of visible defects that go into the grade assignments, and are no different from the hundreds of thousands of slabbed comics that have been bought and sold via mail and based on buyer assessments of the grades and the appearance from scans.  The 9.6 slab example, which was sold by ComicLink in the Exchange using scans very similar to the one posted, sets an example that not only clearly differentiates it from the posted 9.4, but emphasizes the highly unlikely outcome that a press and regrade will raise the posted 9.4 any higher, owing to the near pristine nature of the 9.6 category.  That's what the OP asked opinions for, and everyone is welcome to weigh in on it, amateur and professional alike.

Edited September 12 by namisgr
because I can ;-)

[KCOComics]

On 9/12/2024 at 12:01 AM, VintageComics said:

Guys, it's like amateur hour in here. 

We're 25 years into these CGC discussions and the digital age. 

For one, you CANNOT compare relatively small scans to each other to figure out relative grades. Every scanner represents defects differently and can either hide or exaggerate defects.

Plus, you can't tell how tight or loose a book is graded just from the front cover (as if this needs to be pointed out).

Finally, we'd need to see larger, much clearer scans of the OP's 1st book in the thread to get a proper idea to even begin answering the question. 

Oy vey!

While I can appreciate your point,  I think we can see enough with this comic to recommend not sending it in. 

There would be a significant risk of it coming back a lower grade with the spine tics we see alone. 

 

People ask for advice. We take the information we have and try to give advice. 

In my day to day life there are exactly 0 people who ask for my opinions on comic books. Here, this useless knowledge I've acquired could actually serve a purpose. So I always try to help if I feel I can. 

Edited September 12 by KCOComics

[VintageComics]

On 9/12/2024 at 6:37 AM, KCOComics said:

While I can appreciate your point,  I think we can see enough with this comic to recommend not sending it in. 

There would be a significant risk of it coming back a lower grade with the spine tics we see alone. 

 

People ask for advice. We take the information we have and try to give advice. 

In my day to day life there are exactly 0 people who ask for my opinions on comic books. Here, this useless knowledge I've acquired could actually serve a purpose. So I always try to help if I feel I can. 

My comment was more directed at the longtime members, who were comparing their grades with the OPs as proof of what a specific grade should look like. 

Neither of their books are "proofs" of what a book should look like in grade. In fact, if they were keepers, they're likely exceptional examples of what a book should look like in grade.

You need large clear scans of the front and rear (assuming there's no hidden defects) to assess them properly. Everyone knows this (or should).

And as far as I'm concerned, both of those books posted after the OP (the 9.2 and the 9.6) look like 9.8's from their unclear scans and not like a 9.2 or a 9.6, because small scans hide defects, so not really helpful at all. 

I do agree that the OP's 9.4 looks loosely graded and I should have said that, but the quality of the pics are pretty poor, which is why I asked for better pics.

 

[Yorick]

Swap book?

[namisgr]

On 9/12/2024 at 2:41 PM, Yorick said:

Swap book?

The grader's notes aren't a perfect match, describing corner wear being at the lower right instead of the lower left.  But they might just have written 'right' instead of 'left' when creating the notes by mistake.

[Iconic1s]

CGC does not make mistakes.