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PGM Showcase 4!
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34 posts in this topic

7 minutes ago, RustyStaples said:

Update to everyone: I have purchased this comic and it is off to by pressed and cleaned by CCS and graded by CGC.  Fingers crossed!

Question: is it possible to have a resto check before all the work is done?  

Apologies for chiming in late, but I think there's a pretty decent chance of some color touch on the spine. I'd love to be wrong, but it's somewhat concerning to me that there seems to be wear up and down the spine, but no color breaks there. Ditto for the crease along the top edge. And there are a few smudgy patches that seem a bit off. Working against my theory (I guess) is that there are some color breaks near the right edge... it would be somewhat odd to hit the spine and edge ones and leave those alone. But it's my gut feeling that it comes back in a purple label of some kind. Sorry.

 

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Just now, Point Five said:

Question: is it possible to have a resto check before all the work is done?  

Apologies for chiming in late, but I think there's a pretty decent chance of some color touch on the spine. I'd love to be wrong, but it's somewhat concerning to me that there seems to be wear up and down the spine, but no color breaks there. Ditto for the crease along the top edge. And there are a few smudgy patches that seem a bit off. Working against my theory (I guess) is that there are some color breaks near the right edge... it would be somewhat odd to hit the spine and edge ones and leave those alone. But it's my gut feeling that it comes back in a purple label of some kind. Sorry.

 

I couldn't agree more.  I was very suspicious the book didn't seem to have color breaks along the spine and I really appreciate you weighing in, here's what I know:

I have a good connection with the seller, and the providence of the collection leads me to believe there is no restoration.  Of course that can be meaningless, but this collection seems to me like a bought fresh off the newsstand collection.  For instance the collection had about half of the DC newsstand books from 55-62, it also had an amazing fantasy 15 stored as the second to top comic in a box, nothing bagged and boarded, and the owner of the collection left it behind in an office building after going delinquent of rent.  In general that indicates to me the collection is truly original owner... assuming the providence of the collection is true and not a bunch of BS.

Lastly, the seller and I have discussed what we will do if it comes back restored, they are interested to see as well, and they were open to the idea of renegotiation.  That seemed fair to me.

My guess: 4.5 Blue Label

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The right edge looks sharper than the top and bottom.  Maybe an issue of the photography, but also seems to be cut along two different vertical planes (seems to pinch at the middle instead of a straight cut from top to bottom).

If it comes back a blue label, are you prepared to pay a higher price?

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Just now, Yorick said:

The right edge looks sharper than the top and bottom.  Maybe an issue of the photography, but also seems to be cut along two different vertical planes (seems to pinch at the middle instead of a straight cut from top to bottom).

If it comes back a blue label, are you prepared to pay a higher price?

No.  We negotiated a price based on the comic not having any restoration, thus blue label.  We also negotiated before the deal that if the comic comes back purple we will address it then.  Those were the terms of our deal.  I certainly hope if comes back blue, but I don't owe the seller anything additional if it does, nor do I if it comes back 8.0.  That's why I set the deal the way I did.

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30 minutes ago, Point Five said:

Question: is it possible to have a resto check before all the work is done?  

Apologies for chiming in late, but I think there's a pretty decent chance of some color touch on the spine. I'd love to be wrong, but it's somewhat concerning to me that there seems to be wear up and down the spine, but no color breaks there. Ditto for the crease along the top edge. And there are a few smudgy patches that seem a bit off. Working against my theory (I guess) is that there are some color breaks near the right edge... it would be somewhat odd to hit the spine and edge ones and leave those alone. But it's my gut feeling that it comes back in a purple label of some kind. Sorry.

 

I agree. It looks color touched and trimmed to me...

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1 hour ago, RustyStaples said:

I couldn't agree more.  I was very suspicious the book didn't seem to have color breaks along the spine and I really appreciate you weighing in, here's what I know:

I have a good connection with the seller, and the providence of the collection leads me to believe there is no restoration.  Of course that can be meaningless, but this collection seems to me like a bought fresh off the newsstand collection.  For instance the collection had about half of the DC newsstand books from 55-62, it also had an amazing fantasy 15 stored as the second to top comic in a box, nothing bagged and boarded, and the owner of the collection left it behind in an office building after going delinquent of rent.  In general that indicates to me the collection is truly original owner... assuming the providence of the collection is true and not a bunch of BS.

Lastly, the seller and I have discussed what we will do if it comes back restored, they are interested to see as well, and they were open to the idea of renegotiation.  That seemed fair to me.

My guess: 4.5 Blue Label

Thanks right back for taking my comments in the spirit they were meant. I'm glad to hear you have a good relationship with the seller, and some guardrails in place for the deal. (thumbsu

The providence angle is good to hear, but I'd suggest some gentle pushback on that. Keep in mind, Showcase #4 was really the #1 silver age book from the 60s to the 80s until the Marvel keys started eclipsing it, which *could* have made it more of a tempting target for restoration whatever its origin. It does seem possible that the original owner could have touched up the book themselves even if other books stayed untouched, or that the book could have been added later as a 'key' to their existing OO collection. (Obviously I'm just throwing out scenarios here; I have no idea.)

Finally, I suspect the electric colors in the photos are likely making some of the creases and stains harder to see, and that there's a good chance it's more in the 3.5/4.0 range than 4.5, resto or not. I wouldn't go so far as to say this was intentional on the part of the seller, but it's still worth a mention that large hi-res scans would have represented the book more accurately.
 

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On 1/28/2021 at 8:48 PM, Comics4All said:

Look at the 3rd picture the OP listed:

 

showcase bic.jpe

Nice thing is the inner cover will not be seen again after grading. My bigger problem are high grade books that have bleed through into the front cover. Like the covers are becoming opaque. Sometime you can easily identify the ad. Not sure how those make it to 9.4 and 9.6.

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