Counterfeit comics, possible or not?

[Dave_Hennen]

Couldn't they just use a copy machine using the comic book itself?

 

There are counterfeit copies of Cry for Dawn #1. I'm not positive but I think they were made with a high res color copier or something like that. The way to tell is a moire (sp?) pattern in the clouds at the top

 

dave h

[Kevin76]

To have it look like the original, You would have to find out what paper stock was used,(pounds,company name,roll with ect..) Then you would have to take apart the real book and have the prepress make plates out of them,say 8 pages per plate.Then once it's on the press they need to be trimmed to the exact size of the original,since say Hulk 181 can have white pages to this day...you could have a print run of a few thousand and send them to CGC and get 9.6-10.0 slabbed copies. Cha-Ching!

[seank]

To have it look like the original, You would have to find out what paper stock was used,(pounds,company name,roll with ect..) Then you would have to take apart the real book and have the prepress make plates out of them,say 8 pages per plate.Then once it's on the press they need to be trimmed to the exact size of the original,since say Hulk 181 can have white pages to this day...you could have a print run of a few thousand and send them to CGC and get 9.6-10.0 slabbed copies. Cha-Ching!

 

If you're going to counterfeit the book, why not counterfeit the CGC packaging also? Get some slabs from some cheapie books on Ebay, open them, put in a fake CGC info card, reseal the slab, and voila! you have a counterfeit 9.8 Hulk 181. Why take a chance on CGC recognizing that the book is a phony and blowing the whistle on you?

[Kevin76]

To have it look like the original, You would have to find out what paper stock was used,(pounds,company name,roll with ect..) Then you would have to take apart the real book and have the prepress make plates out of them,say 8 pages per plate.Then once it's on the press they need to be trimmed to the exact size of the original,since say Hulk 181 can have white pages to this day...you could have a print run of a few thousand and send them to CGC and get 9.6-10.0 slabbed copies. Cha-Ching!

 

If you're going to counterfeit the book, why not counterfeit the CGC packaging also? Get some slabs from some cheapie books on Ebay, open them, put in a fake CGC info card, reseal the slab, and voila! you have a counterfeit 9.8 Hulk 181. Why take a chance on CGC recognizing that the book is a phony and blowing the whistle on you?

 

Sean,

the place where you would have it printed up (your fake book) would most likey catch on first.."hey this guy is not Marvel Comics,these books look old and he wants them printed? They are not totally stupid,besides The CGC case would have had it's corners cracked,so the flags would be raised once someone noticed that they have been tampered with

[fazman]

Unfortunatly, there's a sucker born every day !!

[PovertyRow]

Bottom line? I believe it is potentially possible to counterfeit a comic successfully. But the cost to do so accurately is prohibitive. One would need access to considerable equipment, printing and pre-press knowledge to pull it off. They would also need access to the right papers and inks. They would need "strippers" and neg cutters and a host of skilled personel. One mistake along the line would be a giveaway to the really experienced. It is possible. But highly, highly improbable.

[500Club]

Is anyone worried that the copying technology is getting so advanced that someone could copy key comics and sell them as original and no one would know? I watched a History Channel program that showed how advanced the counterfeiters are getting at reproducing money and thought that since there are no security measures incorporated into comics that they would be easier to reproduce than money. Can someone please ease my paranoia and tell me it isn't possible?

 

When the FBI was able to bug former Gambino crime boss Paul Castellano's home in the 1980s, they actually picked up a snippet of dialogue among wiseguys discussing this very idea. Things never progressed beyond the discussion stage, though, at least according to the dialogue intercepted.

[Darthdiesel]

Is anyone worried that the copying technology is getting so advanced that someone could copy key comics and sell them as original and no one would know? I watched a History Channel program that showed how advanced the counterfeiters are getting at reproducing money and thought that since there are no security measures incorporated into comics that they would be easier to reproduce than money. Can someone please ease my paranoia and tell me it isn't possible?

 

When the FBI was able to bug former Gambino crime boss Paul Castellano's home in the 1980s, they actually picked up a snippet of dialogue among wiseguys discussing this very idea. Things never progressed beyond the discussion stage, though, at least according to the dialogue intercepted.

 

The perfect money laundering scheme.

[drbanner]

The perfect money laundering scheme.

 

I've always thought comics (any collectibles really) provide a great avenue for money laundering. Attend the big shows with oodles of cash, buy tons of books, open a rare comics, coins, collectibles shop and you're off and running. No paper trail, and no one to dispute it when you say "I bought all these when I was a kid from an old guy...these were my uncles...etc."

 

 

[ultimatevenom]

Found them in my Grandparent's attic

 

[aardvark88]

Found the stash next to a petrified stick of Gambino butter.

[drbanner]

"These belong to an old friend of mine who has since passed. Yeah, they do have "James Hoffa" written in ink at the top of the 1st page, so what?"

[shadroch]

The perfect money laundering scheme.

 

I've always thought comics (any collectibles really) provide a great avenue for money laundering. Attend the big shows with oodles of cash, buy tons of books, open a rare comics, coins, collectibles shop and you're off and running. No paper trail, and no one to dispute it when you say "I bought all these when I was a kid from an old guy...these were my uncles...etc."

 

 

There was a store in Queens,NY that was a front for a group of bankrobbers who laundered the money thru the store by buying at shows and selling in the store. There was an IRA angle to it also,and I believe one of the listed store owners was either a Catholic priest or a brother. This was around 1992/93.

[jonnydouble]

The perfect money laundering scheme.

 

I've always thought comics (any collectibles really) provide a great avenue for money laundering. Attend the big shows with oodles of cash, buy tons of books, open a rare comics, coins, collectibles shop and you're off and running. No paper trail, and no one to dispute it when you say "I bought all these when I was a kid from an old guy...these were my uncles...etc."

 

 

There was a store in Queens,NY that was a front for a group of bankrobbers who laundered the money thru the store by buying at shows and selling in the store. There was an IRA angle to it also,and I believe one of the listed store owners was either a Catholic priest or a brother. This was around 1992/93.

 

Was it on Hillside Ave??

 

J.D.

[Aman619]

POV - - all of that is true.

Thats why it would be easiest for a comic-fan printer to do it..or some guys who work at a printer and could have access to the presses etc late at night...that is if they didnt want to cut the boss in on the action!

[shadroch]

No. The store with the IRA affiliation was in the area where Jackson Heights and Astoria come together by the BQE and the old Buliva factory. Can't think of the name of the store just now.