Comic Grades
There are 8 basic conditions that a comic book could fall under:
mint, near mint, very fine, fine, very good,
good, fair, and poor.
Unless otherwise noted, all comics listed on this site fall in the near mint condition.
Please keep in mind that we are not professional graders and our grades are subject to
interpretation.
Nearly perfect in every way. Only the subtlest bindery or printing defects
are allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Cover inks are bright with high
reflectivity and minimal fading. Corners are cut square and sharp. Staples are
generally centered, clean with no rust. Cover is generally well centered and
firmly secured to interior pages. Paper is supple and fresh. Spine is tight and
flat.
Nearly perfect with only minor imperfections allowed. A comic book with this
grade should have no corner or impact creases, nearly invisible stress marks (if
any), and no bindery tears larger than 1/16 of an inch. A couple of very tiny
color flecks - or a combination of the above - keeps the comic book from being
perfect, making its overall eye appeal less than Mint and dropping it into this
grade. Only the most subtle binding and/or printing defects are allowed. Cover
is flat with no surface wear. Cover inks are bright with high reflectivity and
minimum of fading. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting
permitted. Staples are generally centered, and are clean with no rust. Cover is
centered and firmly secured to interior pages. Paper is supple and like new.
Spine is tight and flat.
A comic book graded Very Fine is an excellent copy with outstanding eye
appeal. Sharp, bright, and clean with supple pages. Cover is relatively flat
with almost no surface wear. Cover inks are generally bright with moderate to
high reflectivity. Staples may show some discoloration. Spine may have a couple
of almost insignificant transverse stress lines and is almost completely flat. A
barely unnoticeable quarter of an inch crease is acceptable, if color is not
broken. Pages and covers can be yellowish/tannish (but not brown), although most
comic books of this grade have a paper color of off-white to white.
A comic book in Fine condition is an above-average copy that shows minor wear
but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other
serious defects. Eye appeal is somewhat reduced because of slight surface wear
to the comic book. The comic book may have a small defect such as a few slight
cross stress marks on its spine, or a very slight spine split (quarter of an
inch). A comic book in Fine condition appears to have been read a few times, and
has been handled with moderate care. Compared to a Very Fine copy, a Fine-graded
comic book's cover inks are beginning to show a significant reduction in
reflectivity, but it is still a highly collectible and desirable comic book. Its
pages and interior covers may be tan, but they must still be fairly supple with
no signs of brittleness.
The average used comic book. A comic book in this grade shows some wear and
can have a reading or center crease, as well as a moderately rolled spine, but
has not accumulated enough total defects to reduce eye appeal to the point that
it is no longer a desirable copy. Some discoloration, fading, and even minor
soiling is allowed. As much as a quarter-inch triangle can be missing out of the
corner or edge. A missing square piece (1/8" by 1/8") is also acceptable. Store
stamps, name stamps, arrival dates, initials, etc. have no effect on this grade.
Cover and interior pages can have some minor tears and folds, and the centerfold
may be detached at one staple. The cover may also be loose, but not completely
detached. Common bindery and printing defects do not affect the grade. Pages and
inside covers may be brown but not brittle. Tape should never be used for comic
book repair; however, many Very Good- condition comic books have minor tape
repair.
A comic book in this grade has all pages and covers, although there may be
small pieces missing inside; the largest piece allowed from front or back cover
is a half-inch triangle or a quarter-inch square. Comic books in this grade are
commonly creased, scuffed, abraded, soiled, and may have as much as a two-inch
split on the spine, but are still completely readable. Often, the paper quality
for a Good-graded comic book is low but not brittle. Cover reflectivity is low,
and in some cases, completely absent. This grade can have a moderate
accumulation of defects but still maintains its basic structural
integrity.
A comic book in this grade is usually soiled, ragged, and possibly
unattractive. Creases, tears and/or folds are prevalent in a comic book of this
grade. Spine may be split up to two-thirds of its entire length. Staples may be
gone. Up to one-tenth of the front cover may be missing. These comic books are
readable, although soiling, staining, tears, markings, or chunks of pages
missing may moderately interfere with a collector's ability to read the entire
story. Some collectors consider this the lowest collectible grade because comic
books in lesser condition are usually defaced and/or brittle. Very often, the
paper quality of a Fair-graded comic book is low and may have slight brittleness
around the edges but not in the central portions of the pages. Comic books in
this grade may have a clipped coupon, so long as it is noted alongside of the
nomenclature; i.e.: "Fair (1.0) Coupon Clipped." Valued at 50% to 70% of a
Good-graded comic book.
Most comic books in this grade have been sufficiently degraded to the point
that copies may have extremely severe stains, missing staples, brittleness,
mildew, and/or moderate to heavy cover abrasions to the point that some cover
inks are indistinct, if not absent. Comic books in this grade can have small
chunks missing and pieces out of pages. They may have been defaced with paints,
varnishes, glues, oil, indelible markers or dyes. Covers may be split the entire
length of the book, but both halves must be present with only some chunks of it
missing. A page or pages may be missing as long as it is noted along side of the
nomenclature; i.e.: "Poor (0.5) Second Page Missing." Value depends on extent of
defects, but would average about one-third of a Good-graded comic book.
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