Help me choose which comic to buy! Brittle pages vs White. 0

[Spartcom5]

Posted this on another thread but decided it should go here as well. How bad is a brittle page designation? Given these two comics which is the better choice? I love the fact that the 103 has perfect white pages.... but does that beat the earlier bondage cover? Any input? The bondage cover is $70 and the other is $60!

 

[jabats]

They’re both nice covers. I’d go with the better page quality for sure if it were me.

[rainmaker]

i have a hard stop at brittle, would never touch it regardless of how nice the cover looks.  whether this is minimal or the pages are about to fall apart into dust, the perception of 'brittle' on the label is a deal breaker for most collectors.  

[Mr.TawkyTawny]

FWIW, I'd jump on the #65 as it's a very attractive book, not as many copies around as the #103 and the better pride of ownership and investment of the two choices IMHO. 

[entalmighty1]

They're both cheap, don't limit yourself.  Buy both of them.

[Stephen H]

I would personally stay away from the brittle pages as well. From what I have been explained, alot of collectors will pass, and the problem can still persist in the slab, so if ever reslabbed, you could see a downgrade in the overall grade of the book later on.

[Knightsofold]

Brittle can be cool because you can usually get the book cheaper.

Don’t get one if you plan on selling it because it can be tough.  

Don’t get one if u plan on reading it.  

Don’t get one if the cover appears brittle.  

If cover looks great, brittles are far from worthless, if you had a brittle tec 27 or action 1 it would still be worth quite a few $$$$$$

[Point Five]

13 hours ago, Spartcom5 said:

Posted this on another thread but decided it should go here as well. How bad is a brittle page designation? Given these two comics which is the better choice? I love the fact that the 103 has perfect white pages.... but does that beat the earlier bondage cover? Any input? The bondage cover is $70 and the other is $60!

First, welcome to the boards!

As other folks have mentioned, brittle-paged books are less desirable and should be heavily discounted as such. I'd only go with a brittle copy if the book in question were fairly scarce or otherwise very expensive. By golden age standards, both of the books you've posted are fairly common and I would pass on the slightly brittle one.

Both books also have cover colors on the soft side, and if you're not in a particular hurry I'd wait and look for Jungle Comics with vibrant orange and red colors. You might be surprised how much brighter they can look.

(Also: no posting of non-CGC slabs here.)

Good luck!

[Sqeggs]

The 65 is Slightly Brittle rather than Brittle.  Looks like there is a bit of flaking at the top of the spine.  Pretty common in books with the SB designation.  If you can swing it, I'd buy them both.  If not and the book is for your collection, I'd buy the 65.  It's a better book, imo, and that copy has nice colors.

[Robot Man]

I don't (as a rule) by comics that are brittle, have rat chews or excessive tape. Unless they are super rare or VERY cheap. That said, I probably do have a few examples of all 3 of these defects.

That being said, I wouldn't buy either one. 65 has "questionable" page quality and the 103 is just kind of mundane cover wise. I would instead hold out for a Jungle with a nice cover, decent page quality and bright color. Even if the grade were a little lower. These three factors would make it a whole lot easier to move if you ever wanted to.

And, welcome to the GA boards. Always nice to see another Friction House FAN.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

My greatest disappointments in the hobby all seem to revolve around brittle pages. They literally fall apart in your hands; they are heart breakers. Stay away!