Working on Your Early GA Batman/Detective Runs? CGC 7.0-9.2

[Bugaboo-migration]

pov...What does "gloss" consist of???

Darth personally "glosses" all of his Cherry Poptart books..........even the inside pages.

[Paradise_Comics]

Thanks for the discussion and bringing the books to people's attention.

The comics are available for viewing at the store. I agree that sometimes it's tough to pull the trigger on a restored comic without being able to look at it. As for the notes on restoration they vary on how extensive the details are. Ex. If there is just a dot or two of color touch it will probably be noted. If there is a large amount it will just be noted as color touch on cover or spine. If anyone is trurly interested, email me at paradisecomics@wiznet.ca and I can provide the bar codes. We will be putting up many more Silver age and golden age keys in the next few weeks, some restored, some unrestored. Among them will be Wonder Woman #1, Incredible Hulk #181, a and few more X-Men #1's

Thanks

Peter

(416) 487-9807

[Darthdiesel]

pov...What does "gloss" consist of???

Darth personally "glosses" all of his Cherry Poptart books..........even the inside pages.

 

umm... that's more like a hi-protein varnish...for added whiteness! And for those who don't like things added to their comics and so inclined, you can peel off the "gloss" and throw it in with a bowl of chips for your next party...

[PovertyRow]

Seriously, I'd like to know what the 'gloss' on an early GA book would consist of. I've got a fair number of books from '38-45, say, and most of them don't appear to really have gloss at all, at least not in the sense that we think of gloss on newer comics (or even SA comics).

 

While not a real collector from that era I too have seen and handled a number of such books (and owned a few) and I agree that the glossy gloss is not there. More of a dulled, slightly matted gloss. If the restorer used a shiny gloss then that is bad, but it is marked "Pro" so they probably used something along the line of a methyl celullose solution applied with an airbrush.

[Shield]

I dig Golden Age books, and I don't mind restoration, especially if the pages are supple and white to off-white.

 

I bought a Jackpot Comics #4 recently that had moderate restoration ($1000)...

and in order to get a VG- unrestored it'd cost about the same.

 

Now, which one would you want? According to the CGC census, only 7 total have been submitted, 2 of them restored, with the highest unrestored copy for sale right now at Metropolis (CGC VF) for $5500...

 

Here's my copy:

 

 

 

[Shield]

Now, don't get me wrong. If I collect something as common as silver or (ugh) modern comics where there is plenty of supply, I'd want unrestored. Big difference in how the 1941 books were printed, WWII paper drives, 20 + more years of time, etc. vs. a 1963 Spider-Man book.

 

There's many reasons why I collect Golden Age, but an added bonus (to me) is the simply scarcity of the books themselves. I mean c'mon, if there was no resell value, I wouldn't pay $1.00 for a Hulk 181, simply because of the thousands that are available.

 

I also think the popularity of silver/bronze/modern collectors and the "snub" of restored books is what has driven the restored price (along with the purple label) down in the past few years. These rules cannot be applied to the golden age, period.

 

Those Det/Batman books are beautiful and I would love to have them in my collection. OH YEAH, I'd crack the slab and sit down and read them as well...

[Shield]

Oh yeah one more thing.

 

Say I have a nice, bright book from 1940. Off-white paper, supple, no creasing/foxing/interior cover tanning/etc. This book has only one flaw, a slight spine split at the bottom. Let's say without the split it's a solid FINE 6.0. Now, if I crack open a roll of Scotch tape and put it on the book and submit it to CGC, it'll come back BLUE LABEL UNIVERSAL Unrestored.

 

However, considering the acidity in tape, how do you think that book will look in 20 years?

 

Instead, if I'd use the proper archival tape or something safer and repair the book, it'd come back PURPLE LABEL RESTORED, yet in 20 years one could take mineral spirits and remove the archival tape. No one would know it was ever on there.

 

Is the goal to have shiny objects in plastic with numbers as close to "10" as we can get them? Is it really worth sinking ALL that money into for the split second you show your wife/girlfriend the 9.9 common book? OOOH, look, that's almost a "10"...(BIG FREAKIN DEAL).. How the heck can a 9.9 be worth that much more than a 9.6? You cannot dare ever crack open the book and read it (as all ephemera was intended) and the slighest crease makes it worth 1/3 of the value...!

 

Sorry guys if I sound cranky...just sleepy I guess! I guess I'll never understand one who collects common books, yearning for the "1/10 of a point higher CGC--OOOH!) mentality.

 

Impress me more; put together a complete run of MLJ comics. Piece together a Centaur Run. Get an early Action/Detective/Adventure/More Fun run going.