What is the highest possible grade you would give to a comic book with a completely detached front and back cover, and why?

I'm not basing this on anything other than my gut, but GOOD is as high as I would go... and that's if the book is structurally high grade otherwise.

Why? Because the book is no longer intact.

I agree with Steve. In the old days detached meant fair and at best good and there is nothing that has been argued since that changes my mind on the matter. detached centerfolds are almost in the same category for me too.

Gotta love that 10 point grading scale and how well it has defined the borders of the grades

Exactly what I thought gents, and according to Overstreet Grading Standards as well.

Whiz Comics #1 (#2) GD 2.0 ow (Mar 1940) Detroit Trolley


As you will soon see, the new-age of certification grading standards no longer support this belief.

However, what if the book were an otherwise high grade copy, and not your typical beater or semi-beater? Still a GD 2.0?

As I stated earlier

but GOOD is as high as I would go... and that's if the book is structurally high grade otherwise.

If it's a beater with a detached cover, then you are in FAIR/POOR territory.

I think I would agree, though I can't remember ever seeing a high grade book with anything more than one detached staple.

The New Age Of Grading:

That looks like a 4.0 even with the cover attached. Was there no dedcuction for the detached cover?

In the last two grading guides detached cover have been allowed up to a VG. That is a bit misleading though since the second guide mentions that there are contingent circumstances in which this is allowable.

I have no details about the book Steve, and I guess I must undergrade according to what Aaron read, but if I was the submitter I'd be elated and that's what it's all about right? And the buyer has the info required to make an informed decision.

4.0 on a detatched cover is surprising. IDK why that book would grade that high. I would say G would be the limit

So what would you assess the grade of the Trolley Whiz Comics #1 (#2)?



Apparently not anymore Pat.

I would like to know who submitted the 4.0

Why is the certification number for the SM#1 concealed?

Out of respect to it's owner, I felt it prudent. I presented it specifically as a grading example.

I hope the book was bought around the price of a G. Otherwise I would be upset.

Well.. this is the highest I've ever heard of...

Superman #1 in Very Good in the upcoming Comiclink auction.

check out the site for details and pic..

forget it... I see it's been posted above...

I've been grading for well over 30 years with only one minor dispute, and that was about if a book was VG or VG+, and the highest I could grade that Supes #1 is GD. Though if I was actually in the market for one I'd bid quite a bit higher for it, despite the detached cover, just to have it as a personal copy. I love the fact that it came from the guy that pulled it off the stand and OO stuff adds another dimension for me.

I totally disagree with the VG grade assigned to this book, and am suspicious of its "bump" due to high profile dealer/owners, and or GA Key status of the issue.....both would be unacceptable. VG books do not have detached covers.......it's just plain silly / creates a loss of credibility in grading standards. Lets see a bronze age book submitted by a nobody with a detached cover, and see if that one gets a VG as well..........

Until the 10 point scale came in and some in the CGC community I was always told and told others that the age of the book did not give it exception in the grading scale. That being said there were some changes that are characteristic in certain eras that they did make some exceptions for that I would not say were without weight (bindery corner on GA books for example). However, IMO because these certain defects were common doesn't mean that those defects be given no weight and be allowed in higher grades they previously automatically since they did not appear on all books from that era or even a specific print run.

IMO many of the changes, I I know I stand fairly alone in this opinion, pushed many books into higher categories and in the last 8 years it seems that suddenly very fine and up are not so rare any more. Fine is almost non existent and the rest, unless a notable person owns them, get bum rushed into VG or lower. Heck I wish I had some of the GA books now that I had in the past because they all likely would have been much higher grades than they were back then .... an anecdote yes but completely true.

Different scenario, but still pertaining to questionable grading of Golden-Age books.

Comments please regarding how I graded this in comparison to what CGC graded the same book, and what if anything could have been done to this book considering it's extreme and severe problems. This was the most severely damaged book I had ever acquired in 34 years of selling comic books. The inside was as bad or worse than the front and back covers, with the inner pages being stuck together from being completely immersed in water with extreme bacterical foxing throughout.

Red Raven Comics #1 FA/GD 1.5 ow (Aug 1940) Detroit Trolley



Red Raven Comics #1 CGC GD+ 2.5 ow (Aug 1940) Detroit Trolley



My intent for posting these examples is not at all to bash CGC or it's grading. I just do not understand how a resubmission resulted in this upgrade and I'm curious to hear the opinons of seasoned collectors and dealers of Golden-Age books who have far more experience than I do grading Gold.

Hi Marnin,

Although not a Gold collector myself I would like to comment on what I believe garnered the Good + grade after the flaws you described.

1. Structurally the comic presents very well although technically it's got some major flaws, staples rusted beyond recognition, moisture and mold damage.
2. The fabled " golden age bump " being that it's a significant book for 68 years of age with unique provenance.
3. Grading is completely subjective and grading a comic can garner a different grade on a different day.

I would have split the difference from your grade and their grade and said Good ( 2.0) myself. C'mon...at least the cover is detached, if it was, I'd say 4.0

I hear what you're saying Paul, however I believe had you actually held this book in your hands you would have commented otherwise. This book looked like it had been under the boat nearby the van living down by the river for 68 years.



Chris Farley: "You'll have plenty of time to live in a Van down by the river when your're livin' in a VAN down by the RIVER!"

The ol' "Down by the River " defense. A classic
but that certainly makes all the difference when you can actually hold the book and I'm sure it smells worse then Chris Farley too !

I gotta tell ya, that was one book I never got my nose anywhere close to. It smelled like a skunk from 2 feet away.

So cracking it out of the plastic case would be like that old science experiment in junior high school when you fart in a jar and seal it, only to open it on an unsuspecting classmate's desk later in class...

Hello boys. That book was submitted by Jamie Graham (owner of GrahamCrackers Comics) and Harley Yee, who bought it two weeks ago from the grandson of the original owner (story is all over Scoop, so no issues with confidentiality).

Marnin,
this book looks like a Good+ 2.5 to me.
Yes, you were slummin' when you offered this grotesque beast , especially when compared to your normal offerings, but if you break this book down, it appears to have the following pluses, which when added to the minuses you mentioned, leads me right to Good+ (even though I'm sure the buyer appreciated your conservative and careful grading)

book pluses:
100% complete
no missing pages
both staples in tact
off-white pages
no missing pieces
no tape
no spine roll ( after pressing, obviously )
no writing ( not referencing the erased "L" )
no major tears
only minor cover top layer paper loss on front cover

...and maybe the heat / moisture from pressing "unstuck" the stuck together pages?? ( the pages of my Reform School Girl! got stuck together after I read it ) Either way, I think 2.5 Good+ is spot on

Now I'm sure it's time to start over-grading Gold.