CGC 9.9 and 10 Grades posted by 109

[CSJournals-migration]

Why are there, so many 9.9 and 10 graded comics?

 

I have submitted numerous comics to CGC for grading and have never been lucky enough receive a 9.9 or 10 on any of my comics. I have a few 9.9 or 10's, because I purchased them from someone else who had them graded. I have noticed a rise in 9.9 and 10's in graded comics, but many of them appeared to be from the independent comics. For example Grimm Fairy Tales and related issues that are published by Zenescope and a few other publishers that I'm not too familiar with seem to be producing a higher grade comic. Maybe it's just me, but it sure seems that way.

 

Attached is my Michael Turner's Fathom v2 #0 Wizard World Los Angeles 2005 Con Edition. It's a beautiful 10. Thanks for looking.

 

See more journals by 109

[kaholo1256]

I've noticed this also and when I asked the same question it comes down to three big things from what I'm told. Lower print count makes the likelihood of damage easier to minimalize, they bipass Diamond, and the cover stock is of better quality. Additionally an upward trend of 9.9's and 10's can be seen with the 3D covers as well because of the Covers sturdiness compared to typical covers.

 

I've tried to chase the Magical Dodo bird and Unicorn type covers as well but constantly find myself lucky to even pull once obtainable 9.8's. For now the 9.9's in my collection are just like yours bought and paid for through others. Hopefully with this pre-grade set I just sent in back in November I'll at least score 1 of these Mythical grades from my own submissions.

 

Good luck and amazing cover from Turner.

[GamingEtc-migration]

I've always wondered this exact same thing, especially all the 10.0 of the Grimm Fairy Tales books. I order those through my store straight from diamond and the covers don't seem any sturdier than say image books and they have their fair share of shipping dings like all the rest in my experience.

[Silver Collector]

Hi 109,

I read another thread that lamented CGC was returning grades lower than expected.

 

I think the super high grades for a particular publisher's books has some relation to how the book is made. Higher quality paper, better cutting, etc.

 

I have only managed (1) 9.9 in all the years I've been sending books to CGC. I'm like you in that I would just buy the 9.9 or 10 rather than roll the dice and hope for the "holy grail" to come back from the grader.

 

The 9.9s and 10s are still pretty rare as a percentage of the overall populationl. It's just that the population is rather larger.

 

Just my 2 cents,

 

Mike

[mzhammer]

Yeah, there is definitely a lower quality paper and print from the likes of DC & Marvel, that is for certain. You can tell just by holding them. Image has a really nice quality product, see a lot more of the 9.9 & 10's from them too!

[N/A]

Some of it is also how quickly the books get slabbed. A couple of the publishers you mentioned have people prescreen them straight out of the box before anyone else even sees them.

[RMI High Tech]

I HAVE TO AGREED THAT TODAY THERE ARE MORE MODERN 9.9/10.0'S, BUT FOR A MUCH SIMPLER REASON...DEALERS AND COLLECTORS KNOW THE VALUE OF A HIGH GRADE COMIC. THEY DO TAKE BETTER CARE OF THEM, AND ADD IN THE POPULARITY...SO MANY MORE ARE THUS BEING SUBMITTED TO CGC. THE WALKING DEAD AND THE GRIMM SERIES ARE GREAT EXAMPLES.

 

BUT OLDER ISSUES, PRE 1995ish, IS A MUCH DIFFERENT STORY.

IT IS HARD TO GET A 9.8 UNLESS IT IS PERFECT. ADD IN THE CGC PRESSING SERVICE, ANY MINOR FLAW MAKES A PREVIOUS 9.8 A 9.6.

 

PRIOR TO ALL OF THIS MY JOKE WAS THEY JUST RANG A BELL AT RANDOM TIMES AND THE NEXT 9.8 GOT A 9.9 GRADE. I PRESUMED THIS WAS A MARKETING BONUS! Haha.

 

I HAVE A NUMBER OF 9.9's I PURCHASED THAT DO NOT LOOK LIKE THE MODERN 9.9's I SEE TODAY. I HAVE HAD 3 CGC SUBMITTED COMICS GET A 9.9 GRADE, AND THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL, MUCH BETTER THAN SOME OF MY OLDER 9.9's. I HAVE ALSO SUBMITTED SOME REAL BEAUTIES, AND GOTTEN A 9.8 GRADE.

 

OVERALL, I THINK THE GRADING IS MUCH STRICTER, AND MORE 9.9's and 10.0 ONLY DUE TO THE MASSIVE VOLUME OF CGC SUBMISSIONS BY FOLKS CONSCIOUS OF TAKING CARE OF THEIR BEAUTIES.

 

MATT HOLLY

[seanfingh]

[Iceman399]

 

saving that image!

[B-Smooth]

[B-Smooth]

Some of it is also how quickly the books get slabbed. A couple of the publishers you mentioned have people prescreen them straight out of the box before anyone else even sees them.

That makes ALL the difference. It's not as difficult as one would think, picking out 9.9's and 10's for books that are hot off the press. Gently taken care of and meticulously searched through for the finest copies. Books made before 1993, are just extremely rare in those grades because they weren't manufactured to be in those lofty grades. That, and CGC is really inconsistent with their 9.8/9.9 grades.

[Lost]

CGC is fully aware of the prices some stiffs... er I mean buyers pay for the highest grades. They are much more cautious of comic book series that have a much higher following, with people paying much higher market prices, before giving out a 9.9 or 10...

[Garlanda]

As previously mentioned, it seems like a lot of the books getting high grades are especially engineered to do that. The relatively smaller print runs and higher initial costs allow for more individual care to be given to each issue, None of the "Convention Exclusive," "Retailer Exclusive," "Naughty variant" etc cover were ever intended to be crammed in a box by Diamond, UPSed across the country, and tossed on the sidewalk during unloading. It stands to reason that a higher percentage of those would be able to get 9.8 and up.

 

Personally, I am unimpressed by intentional variants with manufactured rarity that exists solely to be slabbed. What blows me away are the Bronze and Copper 10s that are out there. Prominent journaler bagofleas has a New Mutants #1 in perfect 10. That comic was graded in 2008, so it survived a little more than 25 years in the wild in certifiably flawless condition.

[B-Smooth]

As previously mentioned, it seems like a lot of the books getting high grades are especially engineered to do that. The relatively smaller print runs and higher initial costs allow for more individual care to be given to each issue, None of the "Convention Exclusive," "Retailer Exclusive," "Naughty variant" etc cover were ever intended to be crammed in a box by Diamond, UPSed across the country, and tossed on the sidewalk during unloading. It stands to reason that a higher percentage of those would be able to get 9.8 and up.

 

Personally, I am unimpressed by intentional variants with manufactured rarity that exists solely to be slabbed. What blows me away are the Bronze and Copper 10s that are out there. Prominent journaler bagofleas has a New Mutants #1 in perfect 10. That comic was graded in 2008, so it survived a little more than 25 years in the wild in certifiably flawless condition.

Yeah, that's essentially what I was getting at. Even with the ridiculous print runs of copper books, they still have little chance of getting those grades. There are subtle differences in 9.8's and 9.9/10.0's, and even with bags and boards, it only takes a tiny flaw to bump it down. That, and CGC protects those grades far more than they do modern books. The new variants and convention books are lovingly, white gloved right off the press. Otherwise, there's absolutely no way they would get those grades had they been handled like older books were.

[B-Smooth]

Can I borrow this, Sean? Priceless.