any comic book fans here? Got a question about grading

kingraider75

Ok, as some of you may know comic books are now graded by this company called CGC. They seem to the be PSA of comics. The question is what is a good grade for a comic from the 70's, 80's etc. They have a lot of subgrades and this off white, white white pages. I just do not know what a good grade is for a comic. let me know comic folks.

storm888

Free Advice: Be cautious buying any of this junk. It is
EVEN harder to get your money out of than cards are. Like
cards, if you buy ONLY the best/rarest you may be ok.

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CGC says:

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There is an easy to understand label placed on the interior of the holder on certified comic books. The label displays the title, issue #, publisher and grade of a comic book. It can also display the importance (for Key Issues) or the artist (if by an important artist). There are four different colored labels that represent:

Universal (blue) — This label is applied to comic books that are simply the grade as marked with no qualifiers or special considerations.


Signature Series (yellow) — This label is applied to comic books that have been signed by someone of significance to the comic, under the direct observation of a CGC employee, and are thus certified as an authentic signature by CGC.


Qualified (green) — A Qualified label is used by CGC for certified books that have a significant defect that needs specific description. For example, it is would be a disservice to the seller and buyer to call a VF/NM book with a 4-inch back cover tear a VG, so CGC will give this book a Qualified grade of "VF/NM 9.0, back cover 4-inch tear."


Restored (purple) — This label is applied to any comic book that has evidence of repair so it will appear as it did when it was in its original condition. Restoration can come in a variety of degrees, slight professional restoration (SP) to extensive amateur restoration (EA).


Modern (red) — An outdated label used originally to distinguish modern comics. (these books can be sent in for our New Holder service and receive a blue, universal label at the same grade)

1-10 GRADING SCALE
10.0 Mint

9.9 Mint

9.8 Near Mint/Mint

9.6 Near Mint +

9.4 Near Mint

9.2 Near Mint -

9.0 Very Fine/Near Mint

8.5 Very Fine +

8.0 Very Fine

7.5 Very Fine -

7.0 Fine/Very Fine

6.5 Fine +

6.0 Fine

5.5 Fine -

5.0 Very Good/Fine

4.5 Very Good +

4.0 Very Good

3.5 Very Good -

3.0 Good/Very Good

2.5 Good +

2.0 Good

1.8 Good -

1.5 Fair/Good

1.0 Fair

.5 Poor

baseballfanatic

Storm888 hit it right.
Only buy Universal Blue.
Depending on the title (or issue) of a rare vintage book, any number will do................

helionaut

CGC is a good company with a good service. I recommend reading their boards, which are the best venues I've found for answers to any questions you have. A lot like this board, but about 20x more lively, espcecially the "Comics General", "Silver" and "Bronze" boards.

To answer your question, a good grade depends on the era as well as the specific book, as well of what your personal definition of "good" is. In general, the usual "target" collector grade is 9.8 for modern stuff, 90s and later. A 9.6 is still worth a premium, but nowhere near as big. Less than that and it's usually not going to recoup the grading fee. For 80s, 9.4s and 9.6s are more common, but 9.8s are more coveted and a lot more expensive. From the 60s, anywhere from 8.5 and up, depending on your snobbishness and wallet, but 9.0-9.2-9.4 is "good".

Like cards, some books are just tough to find in high grade due to printing problems, design, or overall scarcity. Unlike cards, books put out by the same company in the same month can vary widely in print run. Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 is about 50x more valuable than #75, and about 4x the price of a #77, due to the fact that it was the first O'Neill/Adams issue on the book, and is viewed by some as the start of the Bronze Age (that or Conan #1). A book with a black or dark blue cover, such as a Silver Surfer #4 or Amazing Spider-man #300, is like a '71 Topps, simply tough to get a 9.8 on due to the fact that handling at the printers, let alone by collectors, can cause the tiny wrinkles or stresses that downgrade a book. So while a ASM 300 in 9.8 brings a very large premium, selling for $300-350, a 9.6 isn't worthless, either.

Page color is less important for modern books than for older ones, but it's usually a deciding factor when it comes to buying. If you're looking at 2 9.4 Ms. Marvel #18s, and one's W while the other is OW/W, obviously you'd go for the White, even though the premium it brings is usually small. Page color generally doesn't affect the grade as long as the page strength and flexibility is good and the pages are whole. It more comes into play on Silver and especially Golden Age and earlier.

If you're looking to buy, yes, the Blue label is the one to choose. There's also the Yellow Signature Series label, where the book was signed by one of the creators witnessed by a CGC rep, and they are viewed as equivalent to blue, unless noted on the label. Unwitnessed sigs are treated like pen marks, downgrading the book somewhat, but nowhere near as much as cards, as writing, date stamps, and other identifying marks are so common with comics they are taken into account on a slight curve. The restored books you want to stay away from unless you're a heavy GA collector, although it wasn't too long ago that restored books were an accepted segment of the hobby, akin to "real" books. With the green labels you can find bargains if you're looking for a personal reading copy, but avoid for investment, and don't submit if your books will get that label.

I'd check out ebay and comiclink.com to get a handle on what's a "good" grade for the price and the book. What comics has that cards are sorely lacking is a site called CGCAnalysis.com, where they keep track of all known sales of most books on ebay, at live auction, and other documented sales. It's a subscription service, but if you're getting serious and want to drop some coin on a book costing several hundred dollars, and none have sold on ebay lately, it's invaluable to keep from paying too much.

If you're looking to get a book graded, your local comic shop may be able to help. There is a certified dealer program like there was (is?) with PSA, and they can help you in grading and seeing if what you have is worth it. It costs about $17 for books 1975-up worth less than $500 or something like that, so that covers a lot. And yes, obscure is good. There are lots of books out there that sell very well even with less-than-incredible CGC grades that aren't household names. The set registry is growing all the time, though it hasn't exploded like PSA's did yet, and populations are still low on lots of books, especially from the 80s and 90s, which can help sell a book to the right person.