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Anatomy of an X-Men 7

18 posts in this topic

OK, let's step back and take a SANE look at what started the last and latest round of ANTI-Koos/Comic-Keys sentiment. Let's analyze the X-Men 7. I'm going to post 4 or 5 different aspects with different illumination on Photoshop software of the X-men 7 that is the Shuley Bros.' contention is color touched and the contention of most here that the scrawlings that my daughter did in the capital X were some nefarious attempt at restoration (restoration of a scan????), as crude and ineffective as they were.

Can we first agree that this is the same book that is on Ebay presently and the same book thats scan sported doodlings? If so, let's look at the images. As we know, ANY color touch, no matter how subtle, will show up on a scan if the brightness is greatly augmented. Let's take a peek at these different aspects of this X-Men 7 already condemned by the Shuleys and most of you. Please see each successive scan attatched to each successive post. Thank you.

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Here's a normal aspect of the book, top right quadrant, not over-illuminated for reference as it being the same book. The break in the black on the right is a PRINTER'S line (partial tiny fold-over).

43611-7xquad2reg.jpg.5480486873c302c2686e2e75891f9400.jpg

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Now, don't think that because there are tiny, little breaks, viewable at THIS illumination, that the book IS NOT gorgeous. These little breaks DO NOT show up under normal illumination and normal magnification. Even a razor blade's edge, under high magnification, looks like a craggy moutain range. Here's a portion of this beautiful spine under NORMAL illumination where minute breaks show up under ridiculous illumination and magnification. You'll notice that the spine is KILLER.

43614-7xspineportion.jpg.709b4e8d33199055bce0d214698895ac.jpg

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Murph, No answers? Here I am, directly responding with IRONCLAD evidence, to the charges and lies of the infamous Shuley Brothers. That's all you have to say? You don't like when REAL evidence points to LIES about me, do you Murph? Well, here's your big chance, all of you. REFUTE this presented FACTUAL evidence. Everyone says, in complete agreement with the Shuleys, the X-Men 7 is color touched. WHERE is it? Should be easy as pie to point that out? There are enough scans I placed here, aren't there?

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I'm one that believes that if you can't see the restoration with the naked eye then it shouldn't be mentioned. The only restoration that should be noted is the most obvious kind. Thats my opinion. I've seen too many books slabbed with blue labels noting color touch and too many that say the same get the purple label. Its just not right. Until some consistency in grading happens will everybody be happy with purple labeled books. Restoration is a touchy subject. In this case... color touchy.

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Meth, maybe you should settle down before you get another member to cross over to the anti-you bandwagon...do a little search on my posts, I have NEVER...NEVER..said anything negative about you directly, indirectly or towards anything you do...so quit attempting to badger me for posting a post meant to be taken "lightly".

 

Brian

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Brian, I'm NOT badgering you. I was surprised by your response. I know you've been open minded about OTHER things unrelated to me on this forum and really expected you above all else to admit I was right on the X-Men 7 if you were going to respond at all to my evidential scans. That's why I was taken aback by your "slow night, eh, Meth" post instead of a more factual and honest, "looks to me like you were right, Meth" post.

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I actually didn't look at any of them..just thought you might be bored since you were posting scans of all the corners..I've kinda given up (never actually participated anyways) on the "whether or not you sell restored books" threads..they all say the same thing and are pretty dull anymore. It'd almost be nice if Arch would delete them so we could talk about something else.

 

Brian

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Not to give an opinion one way or another, nor side with anyone at the moment, but some facts should be pointed out regarding image editing, through PSP or many other compatible image editing programs.

 

Having created and edited well over 10,000 comic (and non-comic) related images over the last 5 years for web-site content, print, and various merchandising, maybe (just maybe:)) I can shine some light here:

 

Everyone should understand that "touch-up" is NOT a term solely meant to include ONLY a pixel by pixel color fill. It is a very relative term that may also include adjustments to:

 

- Brightness, which will result in a change in the relative lightness or darkness of COLOR anywhere from 0-100%

 

- Saturation, which will result in the change of the strength of color, or amount of "grays" in proportion to the overall hue (color wheel), again from 0-100%

 

- Levels, which is the most difficult to understand (aside from the handy auto-levels command in PSP). Levels expand tonal range in a given image, resulting in the transformation of darkest pixels becoming black, and the lightest pixels becoming white. The "grays" in between will receive added contrast either automatically or (better suited) manually.

 

*If a comic's spine is subject to a positive brightness adjustment, this will result in any stress lines being less visible due to their being LESS of a clash between the lights and the darks, as the darks will become lighter and the whites will change MUCH less (the omission of color)*

 

*IF* the original image was edited in any manner, it was either done by one of the above adjustments.

 

Or...

 

Personally, I would have went under 1600% magnification and either "cloned" a pattern using a selection and then fill-in using the clone-stamp tool...Or just fill a selection by a predefined saved and stored pattern.

 

Only thing is: Cloning inside an image can be "caught" or visible under high magnification by detecting a pattern of use of a selection, but NOT nearly as easy if a selection was filled.

 

The whole purpose of the message is that over time, I have learned to think "outside the lines" after gaining experience in graphic arts. I used to think that possible manipulation of an image was quite limited, but in fact it is VERY far from it:)

 

Nor am I assuming that EVERYONE here is uneducated in ANY way as far as image editing is concerned,

 

Eric

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Sam, I for one have NO interest in altering an image and I'll tell you why. As a seller, I want the book, once popped out of it's shipping container by the Buyer, to look as accurately represented as possible to the image viewed on Ebay. If it doesn't, as it has been said OVER and OVER that I DO give a full refund if not 100% satisfied, and must be returned because it DOESN'T look like the scan and the buyer is disappointed, the only one that gets rich is the post office and PayPal.

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