Spine Damage (?) Question 0

[Rodrigo9319]

Hello! I am new collecting. Recently, I started collecting Star Wars comic books.

I recently purchased a limited edition book and saw these little lines and a dot on the spine. I wanted to know if, in your opinion, this would count as damage and if it would prevent the book for being NM. Thank you!

[Artboy99]

I am curious to know how this is treated as well as a great many modern books have this "defect" due to the type of paper used to make covers and that paper being folded. Once folded it tends to crack and is especially bad at the tops and bottoms of the spine where it tends to also split.

 

All of that is considered a production manufacturing defect?

[crassus]

On ‎3‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 0:57 PM, Artboy99 said:

I am curious to know how this is treated as well as a great many modern books have this "defect" due to the type of paper used to make covers and that paper being folded. Once folded it tends to crack and is especially bad at the tops and bottoms of the spine where it tends to also split.

 

All of that is considered a production manufacturing defect?

I do not have an answer but I would be curious also, as this feature of moderns is difficult to evaluate. There is no doubt it is production related, however on some books there will still be examples of "perfect" spines absent this problem.

[Jeffro.]

On 3/2/2017 at 10:28 AM, Rodrigo9319 said:

I'm assuming that's not a sticker but part of the artwork?

[Dick Pontoon]

Micadru?

[Philflound]

Those are action figure variants and they are part of the book to imitate stickers. Slight cracks in the spine would probably keep books at 9.8, most likely no higher. Entire spine looking like that would probably go a bit lower, but should bring NM.

[My young Padawan]

I would not be surprised if that comic book received a grade of 9.6 due to very light spine stress lines to cover.

[PhilipB2k17]

It depends. I saw a supposed 9.8 Nyx #3 with spine creases like that. Maybe they developed from the slabbing process? I have no idea. (Ironic if that is what happened). But, I think modern books with that kind of paper and binding do not get downgraded fr it if it is minor. It's very hard to find a modern book that doesn't have some of that. They get shipped in boxes to comic stores, and the ones under pressure will develop those creases.

[joeypost]

Comics produced with thicker cover stock or dark ink tend to show the stress lines in a more exaggerated way that a whit cover with thinner cover stock would. Some of the spines actually crack when the book is folded over. A classic example of this would be the Platinum variant of Spider-Man #1.

 

In the case of the OP's book I believe it is a combination of wear as well as production related issues.