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‘One-man crusade’ against CGC grading, slabbing

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comicbookresources.com/

 

 

Comic books are made to be read. But along the way they’ve grown to become a collectible in the minds of some, leading to an interesting bifurcation of fandom: collectors and readers.

 

My Friend Dahmer cartoonist Derf Backderf is a longtime fan who, while downsizing his collection, wandered upon the uniquely placed Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). The avowed comic fan who followed his hobby into a career was shocked at the degree to which comics collecting had subsumed the readability of comics, especially given that “true collectors” would hermetically seal their comics in CGC “slabs,” leaving them unable to be read — you know, the original intent for the comic.

 

“For someone who has devoted his life to making comics, and who takes several years to painstakingly craft each one … to be READ! … this is an abomination,” Derf wrote in a long post on his blog. “For baseball cards, fine. because you can still read everything on the card. With a comic book, 90 percent of the contents are lost forever! Most of these “collectors” wouldn’t know the difference between Wally Wood and Wally Walrus. They’re just collecting a number. It’s an affront to everything I hold dear.”

 

Derf, who has been reading comics since the mid-1970s, covers the growth of the secondhand comics market and the rise of collectability through the Overstreet Price Guide and now through CGC. Because of this severe leaning toward collectability limiting the readability of comics, the cartoonist has started what he calls a “one-man crusade against slabbing” by buying CGC books and “then free[ing] them from their plastic coffins.”

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comicbookresources.com/

 

 

Comic books are made to be read. But along the way they’ve grown to become a collectible in the minds of some, leading to an interesting bifurcation of fandom: collectors and readers.

 

My Friend Dahmer cartoonist Derf Backderf is a longtime fan who, while downsizing his collection, wandered upon the uniquely placed Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). The avowed comic fan who followed his hobby into a career was shocked at the degree to which comics collecting had subsumed the readability of comics, especially given that “true collectors” would hermetically seal their comics in CGC “slabs,” leaving them unable to be read — you know, the original intent for the comic.

 

“For someone who has devoted his life to making comics, and who takes several years to painstakingly craft each one … to be READ! … this is an abomination,” Derf wrote in a long post on his blog. “For baseball cards, fine. because you can still read everything on the card. With a comic book, 90 percent of the contents are lost forever! Most of these “collectors” wouldn’t know the difference between Wally Wood and Wally Walrus. They’re just collecting a number. It’s an affront to everything I hold dear.”

 

Derf, who has been reading comics since the mid-1970s, covers the growth of the secondhand comics market and the rise of collectability through the Overstreet Price Guide and now through CGC. Because of this severe leaning toward collectability limiting the readability of comics, the cartoonist has started what he calls a “one-man crusade against slabbing” by buying CGC books and “then free[ing] them from their plastic coffins.”

 

Wait until he finds out that someone has slabbed his Dahmer comic.

 

6am04.jpgvia Imgflip Meme Maker

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Derf, who has been reading comics since the mid-1970s, covers the growth of the secondhand comics market and the rise of collectability through the Overstreet Price Guide and now through CGC. Because of this severe leaning toward collectability limiting the readability of comics, the cartoonist has started what he calls a “one-man crusade against slabbing by buying CGC books and then free[ing] them from their plastic coffins. to go broke"

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comicbookresources.com/

 

 

Comic books are made to be read. But along the way they’ve grown to become a collectible in the minds of some, leading to an interesting bifurcation of fandom: collectors and readers.

 

My Friend Dahmer cartoonist Derf Backderf is a longtime fan who, while downsizing his collection, wandered upon the uniquely placed Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). The avowed comic fan who followed his hobby into a career was shocked at the degree to which comics collecting had subsumed the readability of comics, especially given that “true collectors” would hermetically seal their comics in CGC “slabs,” leaving them unable to be read — you know, the original intent for the comic.

 

“For someone who has devoted his life to making comics, and who takes several years to painstakingly craft each one … to be READ! … this is an abomination,” Derf wrote in a long post on his blog. “For baseball cards, fine. because you can still read everything on the card. With a comic book, 90 percent of the contents are lost forever! Most of these “collectors” wouldn’t know the difference between Wally Wood and Wally Walrus. They’re just collecting a number. It’s an affront to everything I hold dear.”

 

Derf, who has been reading comics since the mid-1970s, covers the growth of the secondhand comics market and the rise of collectability through the Overstreet Price Guide and now through CGC. Because of this severe leaning toward collectability limiting the readability of comics, the cartoonist has started what he calls a “one-man crusade against slabbing” by buying CGC books and “then free[ing] them from their plastic coffins.”

 

Wait until he finds out that someone has slabbed his Dahmer comic.

 

6am04.jpgvia Imgflip Meme Maker

 

 

 

6am64.jpg

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comicbookresources.com/

 

 

Comic books are made to be read. But along the way they’ve grown to become a collectible in the minds of some, leading to an interesting bifurcation of fandom: collectors and readers.

 

My Friend Dahmer cartoonist Derf Backderf is a longtime fan who, while downsizing his collection, wandered upon the uniquely placed Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). The avowed comic fan who followed his hobby into a career was shocked at the degree to which comics collecting had subsumed the readability of comics, especially given that “true collectors” would hermetically seal their comics in CGC “slabs,” leaving them unable to be read — you know, the original intent for the comic.

 

“For someone who has devoted his life to making comics, and who takes several years to painstakingly craft each one … to be READ! … this is an abomination,” Derf wrote in a long post on his blog. “For baseball cards, fine. because you can still read everything on the card. With a comic book, 90 percent of the contents are lost forever! Most of these “collectors” wouldn’t know the difference between Wally Wood and Wally Walrus. They’re just collecting a number. It’s an affront to everything I hold dear.”

 

Derf, who has been reading comics since the mid-1970s, covers the growth of the secondhand comics market and the rise of collectability through the Overstreet Price Guide and now through CGC. Because of this severe leaning toward collectability limiting the readability of comics, the cartoonist has started what he calls a “one-man crusade against slabbing” by buying CGC books and “then free[ing] them from their plastic coffins.”

 

It's highly interesting that when anyone posts an article that is in any way critical of CGC or its slabbing practice, the frightened masses always resort to mass-image SPAMMING in hopes that it will just all go away and they can get back to caressing their precious slabs.

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Umm...you can still read the books by buying trades.

It really is a silly point of contention amongst the anti-slab brigade. Most things deemed important, classic, must-read, etc., have been reprinted. I wonder if stamp collectors have to put up with this? Like, is there a small segment of philatelists that go on stamp collecting websites and scream,"they're supposed to be used for mailing stuff :frustrated:"?

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He's not necessarily wrong. It's his opinion.

 

One that I struggled a lot with when I started collecting heavily also - raw vs. graded.

 

I chose my side because of a a number of factors, he (and all the raw heads out there) are completely entitled to theirs also. One which I fully understand, and sometimes envy to be honest. When i see a group shot of raws my heart warms :cloud9:

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Umm...you can still read the books by buying trades.

It really is a silly point of contention amongst the anti-slab brigade. Most things deemed important, classic, must-read, etc., have been reprinted. I wonder if stamp collectors have to put up with this? Like, is there a small segment of philatelists that go on stamp collecting websites and scream,"they're supposed to be used for mailing stuff :frustrated:"?

 

That's pretty funny actually (thumbs u

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" Most of these “collectors” wouldn’t know the difference between Wally Wood and Wally Walrus. They’re just collecting a number. It’s an affront to everything I hold dear.”

 

Collectors willing to spend on high grade GA books most certainly know, and appreciate Wally Wood...

 

 

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It's highly interesting that when anyone posts an article that is in any way critical of CGC or its slabbing practice, the frightened masses always resort to mass-image SPAMMING in hopes that it will just all go away and they can get back to caressing their precious slabs.

Hey! (tsk)

Some of us don't caress them - I use my slabs as a mattress :cloud9:

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He's not necessarily wrong. It's his opinion.

 

One that I struggled a lot with when I started collecting heavily also - raw vs. graded.

 

I chose my side because of a a number of factors, he (and all the raw heads out there) are completely entitled to theirs also. One which I fully understand, and sometimes envy to be honest. When i see a group shot of raws my heart warms :cloud9:

 

I get you.

 

But a slab is just a raw in a really nice bag.

 

I get gooey when I see NAKED RAWS NO BAG. Buck naked, like the day it was born.

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" Most of these “collectors” wouldn’t know the difference between Wally Wood and Wally Walrus. They’re just collecting a number. It’s an affront to everything I hold dear.”

 

Collectors willing to spend on high grade GA books most certainly know, and appreciate Wally Wood...

 

 

 

You said Wood hehehe :baiting:

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He's freeing the comics from their slabs???????? :o:o:o:o

 

My god, what a revolutionary idea. No one in the history of the world has ever had that idea before. :ohnoez:

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