ExNihilo

God dammit Filoni! Messing with us like the Skeletor "until we meet again" meme.

I would hope the label stage is merely someone pressing print and that whatever the grader noted is what would print. If grader and encapsulation have the ability to enter different things, that seems problematic.

I'm fine where they are. It feels like every streaming series uses the same style of opening credits where they have deep music paired with some artsy homage that subtly hints at the show while names flash by on screen. I enjoyed the first two episodes. The start to the series is better than Mando, but not as good as Andor. Mando/BoBF/Obi Wan all followed the same predictable storytelling beats: character intro, character intro, side quest, character intro, re-visit character from episode 1, explosions. Ahsoka (through two episodes) avoids that style of storytelling. It feels like a sequel to Rebels which is good. It's years down the line and our characters have changed, but it's still great seeing familiar faces. My biggest qualm with Ahsoka (and with Mando/BoBF/Obi-Wan) is the overuse of The Volume soundstage. Andor filmed some stuff on location and the lighting and weather make a HUGE difference in the cinematography. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.

It should at least be noted that the image was "enhanced" (likely via AI upscaling). It's possible the enhanced image still obscures an original tear if the AI didn't pick up on it. (Just playing devil's advocate.)

Posts like this, I really don't envy the difficult position that Management puts Mike in. Some insufficiently_thoughtful_person somewhere rips a cover, denotes it as existing damage, and then a suit comes up with a stupid question trying to deflect blame. Meanwhile, Mike's left to do damage control.

I wonder what goes through a persons head when they're unboxing/unbagging/handling/doing whatever and then rip part of the cover off. Is it like "oopsie, no one will notice".

I 100% think AI should form the first layer of grading as it provides consistency of grading. It also, in theory automates the notation system so customers get more accurate notes. Let's face it, we're all sick and tired of getting 9.4 and 9.6s with no explanation as to why they didn't get 9.8s. From the business side, it's also more cost effective as in their view, it would reduce the number of graders you would need to have on staff.

Which one of you is screwing with his auction? Also, that shipping?

My take is that Black Panther's marketing showed it off as more inclusive of African culture and that played a part in why it was popular amongst the African American community. From what I've seen of Blue Beetle's marketing, they don't lean into Hispanic culture the same way. As such, there's not as much of that excitement to see it from the target community because it's not highlighting cultural backgrounds, as much as it just appears to be marketed as a generic superhero film that happens to feature Hispanic actors. I haven't seen it, so I can only say what I see based on trailers/promos. Maybe there's a lot of stuff in the movie and there will be strong word of mouth. I'm not taking any guesses on that.

The problem with this is CGC's advertised service is that grading is being looked at by two graders. If it turns out they're not doing this, then it opens them up to legal action for false advertising. My personal position is it kind of is everyone's business. If there are enough dumb issues that slip through QC to the point that CGC's reputation takes a hit, then that affects everyone who has a CGC book. Look at PGX, they no doubt had books that were graded fine, but all the bad grading or outright lies ruined the label for everyone. I realize that's an extreme example, but that's the sort of thing that worries me about CGC. It takes years to build a reputation. It only takes one bad day to bring it all down. When I harp on CGC for all the dumb mistakes that get posted here, it's not because I'm trolling them, it's because I wish they would hold themselves to the same high standard we expect from them.

I'm just saying that if they're grading 28,472 books per week, or 12 books per minute, even with 16 graders, they're looking at a book every 1m15s. Tack on the fact that supposedly each book is reviewed by 3 graders, and really that means in order to process 28,472 books a week, there are a total of 85,416 total reviews (28,472 x 3 = 85,416). With that in mind, in order to pump out 28,472 books each week, each grader spends about 0m25s reviewing each book. That presumes that graders are reviewing books non-stop when the reality is they are marking down notes, filing, removing books from bags, taking breaks, etc. Based on what we know based on these figures (and I don't quite know if we can attest to the accuracy of this data), graders are spending very little time reviewing books. This with the fact that it appears QC is non-existent really puts into doubt the quality of the work behind the scenes. So that all leads to my wish that they reduced the number of books reviewed per day/week (quality over quantity), which will in turn increase turnaround times.

They should 100% be using or developing AI to at least identify common flaws on covers. Those errors should be reconciled by actual graders who should work to identify other issues and look at the inside of the book. All this does is highlight the fact that CGC should be reducing the number of books they're completing each day which would in turn lengthen turnaround times.

y'all aren't alone

I wish there was an option for a Jim Lee pencil sketch, Scott Williams ink, and Alex Sinclair color. Jim's sketches on these always look rushed (which makes sense given the nature and timing of the signing events). Scott's inks always give the pencil sketches more definition and detail.

https://www.cgccomics.com/news/article/12016/Jim-Lee-Trio-Signing/ CGC is excited to host the extremely talented comic book creators Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair for another amazing signing event! This creative team has worked together on many high-profile projects such as Batman: Hush, Superman, WildCATs, Infinite Crisis, Gen 13 and All-Star Batman and Robin to name a few. In addition to signing, they will be offering Remarques, Sketches and Buckslips for purchase. See pricing and details below. Click images to enlarge. Lee will also be signing trading cards featuring his art. Card submissions will be available soon, and fans will be able to select the option on the CGC Cards online submission form. (For more information follow our CGC Signature Series accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.) One of the most respected artists in the comic industry, Lee is a Harvey and Inkpot Award-winning artist known for his incredibly detailed and dynamic artistic style. He started his comic book career at Marvel Comics, where his work on X-Men continues to be his lifelong legacy. He was also the artist on many of DC Comics’ bestselling books and graphic novels, including All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder, Batman: Hush and Superman: For Tomorrow. Later, he started his own production company, WildStorm Productions, and co-founded Image Comics, an independent comics company that quickly grew and is now one of the industry’s largest publishers. Williams is an Eisner and Inkwell Award-winning artist and inker who has worked for both Marvel and DC Comics throughout his career. He is best known for his work on series such as Batman: Hush, All-Star Batman and Robin, X-Men, WildCATs, Superman and Justice League. Sinclair is an acclaimed comic book colorist who has worked on series for DC and Marvel like Batman: Hush, All-Star Batman and Robin, Venom, Superman, Ultimate Invasion, Harley Quinn, Star Wars: Han Solo and Chewbacca, and Justice League. “We are so thrilled to be joined again by this extraordinary team of comic creators who have helped shape the comic industry with their incredible work,” said Brittany McManus, CGC Signature Series Director. “Their last signing was an absolute pleasure, and we are eager to see all of the amazing Remarques and Sketches that will be created during this event!” For this exclusive event, ALL CGC members, including free CGC members, can submit books directly to CGC headquarters in Sarasota, Florida. CGC must receive all submissions for this event by Friday, October 20, 2023. If the CGC Private Signing needs to be rescheduled, CGC will securely store all submissions in its vault until the event can be rescheduled. After they sign the submitted books, CGC will grade and encapsulate them with an estimated turnaround time of six weeks. If CGC pressing is also requested, the turnaround time is estimated at eight weeks. After grading and encapsulation, the collectibles will be shipped back to their owners. The CGC Private Signing fee for Jim Lee is $120 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for Scott Williams’ Regular Signature is $90 per item and includes: Scott Williams’ signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for Scott Williams’ Logo Signature is $120 per item and includes: Scott Williams’ Logo signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for an Alex Sinclair Regular Signature is $80 per item and includes: Alex Sinclair’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for an Alex Sinclair Logo Signature is $85 per item and includes: Alex Sinclair’s Logo signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for Jim Lee and Scott Williams’ Regular Signature is $150 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s signature Scott Williams' signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair’ Regular Signature is $140 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s signature Scott Williams' signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for Alex Sinclair’s Regular Signature and Scott Williams’ Regular Signature is $110 per item and includes: Alex Sinclair’s signature Scott Williams' signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The trio CGC Private Signing fee for Jim Lee, Scott Williams’ Regular Signature and Alex Sinclair’s Regular Signature is $170 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s signature Scott Williams' signature Alex Sinclair’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The trio CGC Private Signing fee for Jim Lee, Scott Williams’ Logo Signature and Alex Sinclair’s Logo Signature is $205 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s signature Scott Williams' Logo signature Alex Sinclair’s Logo signature. Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for a Jim Lee Remarque is $570 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s Remarque. The submitter may request the desired Remarque. Important: The final design and subject matter of the Remarque is at the artist’s discretion. CGC cannot guarantee Remarque requests. Jim Lee’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for a Jim Lee Inked Side Profile Sketch is $1085 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s Inked Side Profile Sketch. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Submissions must be a blank sketch cover. Jim Lee’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for a Jim Lee Inked Side Profile Sketch with Alex Sinclair Colors is $1235 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s Inked Side Profile Sketch colored by Alex Sinclair. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Submissions must be a blank sketch cover. Limited to the first 50 submitters. Jim Lee’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The fee for a  Jim Lee Pencil Side Profile Sketch Buckslip is $1585 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s Pencil Side Profile Sketch. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Sketch will be done on Buckslip. Jim Lee’s signature Encapsulation with CGC’s iconic yellow Signature Series label   The fee for a  Jim Lee Inked Side Profile Sketch Buckslip is $2085 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s Inked Side Profile Sketch. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Sketch will be done on Buckslip. Jim Lee’s signature Encapsulation with CGC’s iconic yellow Signature Series label   Please contact the Signature Series department if you would like to order one of these Buckslip Sketches for the Jim Lee Signing: SignatureSeries@cgccomics.com The CGC Private Signing fee for a Jim Lee Full Pencil Headshot Sketch is $3085 per item and includes: Jim Lee’s Full Pencil Headshot Sketch. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Submissions must be a blank sketch cover. Jim Lee’s signature Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label The CGC Private Signing fee for a Black and White Sketch Colored by Alex Sinclair is $285 per item and includes: Illustrated sketch colored by Alex Sinclair. Important: The final design and subject matter of the sketch is at the artists’ discretion. CGC cannot guarantee sketch requests. Submissions must be a blank sketch cover. Limited to the first 50 submitters. Estimated turnaround time of six weeks for CGC grading Estimated turnaround time of eight weeks for CGC grading and CGC pressing (an additional $20 fee applies for CGC pressing) Encapsulation with the iconic yellow CGC Signature Series label Submission Instructions For this CGC Private Signing event, you can ship submissions directly to CGC with a FREE membership. Paid memberships are also available and include additional benefits. For more information and to join, visit CGCcomics.com/join. To submit books for the signing: Log onto your account or sign up for an account HERE. Click Submit in the CGC website navigation and select Submission Forms. Next to Comics / Magazines, select Online Form. Select Comic or Magazine from the drop-down menu, then select Private Signing and one of the following from the dropdown menu section: JIM LEE, SIGNATURE; SCOTT WILLIAMS, REGULAR SIGNATURE; SCOTT WILLIAMS, LOGO SIGNATURE; ALEX SINCLAIR, REGULAR SIGNATURE; ALEX SINCLAIR, LOGO SIGNATURE; JIM LEE, SIGNATURE/SCOTT WILLIAMS, REGULAR SIGNATURE; ALEX SINCLAIR, REGULAR SIGNATURE/SCOTT WILLIAMS, REGULAR SIGNATURE; JIM LEE, SIGNATURE/ALEX SINCLAIR, REGULAR SIGNATURE/SCOTT WILLIAMS, REGULAR SIGNATURE; JIM LEE, SIGNATURE/ALEX SINCLAIR, LOGO SIGNATURE/SCOTT WILLIAMS, LOGO SIGNATURE; JIM LEE, REMARQUE; JIM LEE, INKED SIDE PROFILE SKETCH; JIM LEE, INKED SIDE PROFILE SKETCH WITH ALEX SINCLAIR COLORS; JIM LEE, FULL PENCIL HEADSHOT SKETCH; BLACK AND WHITE SKETCH COLORED BY ALEX SINCLAIR. Under Services, select Grading and, if you would like it, Pressing. Then hit Next in the top right section of the form. Enter the information requested for your comic, and make sure to check the box next to JIM LEE/SCOTT WILLIAMS/ALEX SINCLAIR under Private Signing Details. On the next screen, you can add one of CGC’s custom Marvel labels to your submission for qualifying books. Select Add to Cart, and then repeat if there are additional books in your submission. If there are no additional books in your submission, click on the cart icon and proceed to checkout. Note: If you want to submit magazines, please group them together on their own private signing form separate from comic submissions. The same rule applies for any custom labels. Please group them together on their own private signing form separate from non-custom labels. To see the available labels, click HERE. Put ALL ungraded books in window bags or they will not be accepted. You can purchase window bags HERE. Books that are already certified by CGC, including CGC Signature Series books, can be submitted for this event. CGC will remove a CGC-certified book from its holder for an additional $5 fee. Carefully package books in a box for shipment. If you need a CGC shipping kit, they can be purchased HERE. IMPORTANT: Please write JL/SW/AS on all sides of the outside of the box. You must initial outside of the box or we will not be able to honor the submission for this signing. Books will be received into the CGC system when they arrive and will be safely stored by CGC until the event. (Please note: Payments are processed as they normally are at the time of the collectibles’ arrival at CGC.) Once books are signed, they will start an expedited CGC grading process. PLEASE NOTE: All submissions must be received by CGC no later than Friday, October 20, 2023, to qualify for this private signing event. No change requests will be accepted after Friday, October 20, 2023. *No Multi-Sigs included with other signings. **If you submit a CGC-graded collectible that needs to be removed from its original holder by CGC, the collectible will need to go through the certification and encapsulation process again, and there is no guarantee that it will receive the same grade. ***Marker color requests are welcome, but not guaranteed. Marker color choice and signature placement is at the final discretion of the signer.

This looks more like a labeling error to me. Isn't the best grade you get can with a sig something like a 6.0?

Option C: Whatever's cheapest. When it comes to keys, I'll buy from whomever has the best price, whether it's an LCS, local con, or online. When completing arcs, it's largely LCS and local con (hellllllo dollar bins). The occasional big value book within an arc, I'll buy online. I love the feeling of finding a deal or series amongst the dollar bins, but otherwise, I don't really subscribe to the thrill of the hunt of going to all the LCS's in an area in search of one book.

Don't email. Call. Everytime I've called CS, I'm connected to another person within a few minutes and my issues/questions are all resolved a few minutes after that. I find they're MUCH more responsive to phone calls than emails.

FTFY

You have to call them and ask to apply the credits. Don't know why it's such an archaic system, but that's how it works.

You're a godsend. I was in the process of doing this as well and had gotten as far as page 100 before I gave up.

The submission is gonna be one book, three lines on the form: 1) TMNT #1 (1st print) ? 2) TMNT #1 (2nd print) ? 3) TMNT #1 (3rd print) ?

1) why would you blindly send a book to CGC without knowing exactly what it is? It could be something completely worthless and the time/money spent would be a waste. that all being said... 2) I can't wait to see what it comes back as because with the absence of CGC's QC, it wouldn't surprise me if it erroneously came back as something it isn't.

There needs to be a review signature. I work in finance, when I reconcile the books at the end of the month I sign and date my review. When I prepared quarterly reporting for the auditors, I sign and date my support. There needs to be a similar process in place for QC such that issues can be traced back to the reviewer so you can monitor performance. A QC intern or two should be responsible for doing a high level review of all books to make sure the bare minimum requirement is met. No upside down books. No hair or loose papers in slabs. This thread continues to be an embarrassment for CGC and I refuse to pay to send books in until the number of posts in here is reduced to a minimum of less obvious problems.

I believe the phases after grading are encapsulation, QC, shipping/receiving. I imagine the encapsulation and shipping/receiving teams aren't qualified to make judgement calls on labeling and what not. It's probably the two phases of the entire process that don't necessitate any knowledge in comics as they're more technical/physical roles. Not to dismiss the work of anyone that works in those fields, but I would think it would require the least amount of critical thinking to perform your job. (Unless the encapsulation machine breaks down, then I imagine their knowledge in that particular field comes in really handy). But otherwise I figure you place the book in a designated spot, press a button, assemble the inner/outer well, press another button, and send it on its way. I just can't imagine the encapsulation room isn't heavily automated and that most days employees aren't simply high functioning drones going through the process until the lunch bell rings. That doesn't excuse stuff like rolls of stickers getting slabbed, but I wouldn't expect someone in encapsulation to go "hang on, this isn't a 2nd print, it's a facsimile cover" and send the book back. That said, one of the three departments should catch major things that can be caught with a simple glance. Big, obvious stuff getting past QC is inexcusable.