Congratulations, 2014 CGC Registry Award Winners!

The CGC Registry has grown to over 50,000 registered sets in more than 3,200 set types. Requests for new set types continue to come in and we look forward to watching the progress made by collectors as new books are added each day.

Our mission was to choose three sets each in six competitive categories — Best Golden Age, Best Silver Age, Best Bronze Age, Best Modern Age, Best Copper Age and Best Presented. Additionally, we had the task of choosing one winner for Best Magazine Set, three outstanding message board contributors and just one Registry participant for Overall Achievement in Comics Collecting.

Our team of judges reviewed all of the top sets across every category in the Comics Registry and after much deliberation, selected the following winners. Congratulations to all!

CGC 2014 Award for Achievement in Comics Collecting

Minty-Mint

Minty-Mint is the winner of our 2014 Best Overall Achievement Award! Minty-Mint is also fourth in overall points, with 1,709,341 and a total of 13 sets ranked No. 1! While his main focus is Silver Age, Minty-Mint is a collector who loves it all. His sets run the gamut of ages from Golden Age through to Bronze Age with great comics collected in each age. With his passion for it all, we are happy to congratulate Minty-Mint on winning the 2014 Best Overall Achievement Award! Please check out Minty-Mint’s sets homepage.

Best Golden Age Sets

hkp   What the Church run might have looked like?
In 2011, this set was our No. 1 pick, with 14 issues missing. More than doubling its score since that time, this set once again stands at the top! Now, those 14 issues have been added — as well as several upgrades. Today, all but 11 books in this complete set grade out at CGC 9.0 or better! It’s hard to imagine that another comparable set exists of ANY title from the '30s. Congratulations on a truly amazing accomplishment!!

clarkkentdds   Off to the Museum ...
As this set actually ends with issue #300, its 262 total books make it 87% complete! Only #1 and #6 are missing from the first 10 issues. Every one of the first 50 issues grades out at CGC 9.0 or better! In fact, all but four of the first 100 grade in at least CGC 9.0! A SUPER collection indeed!

Alfred Pennyworth    Joker’s Wild
Aside from the big #1, only #79 and #90 are missing from completing Batman’s first 100 issues! Very respectable copies make up this set, as the first 10 issues average CGC 7.0+ in grade. In fact, only six issues in this whole set fall short of 6.0! WOW! This collection is a real beauty!

Best Silver Age Sets

robz   Hulked Out!
For the dedicated Silver Age collector, few sets are more iconic than that initial six-issue run of Incredible Hulk. Modest print runs and Marvel chipping define early '60s Marvels, and for the 21st-century collector, issues of price and keen competition for the few penthouse-grade copies are daunting. Robz “Hulked Out” set of #s 1 and 6 is a concentrated burst of “as good as it gets” in acquiring this set in outstanding condition. An arresting CGC 9.0 #1 anchors the rest of the run, complete and consistent at 9.4 throughout. Though it’s only a modestly sized run, that one does not see similar sets is testimony to its difficulty.

4Gemworks Comic Book Emporium   4GEMWORKS COMPLETE FOUR COLOR EMPORIUM
This extensive set’s Golden Age component won honors last year. This year, we focused on its Silver Age credentials, which are nothing short of stunning. From the mid–1950s to 1962, Dell issued multiple books every month associated with its Four Color series, almost 650 issues in all. Of that staggering total, the “4Gemworks Complete Four Color Emporium” is missing only a handful of issues. Of the 600+ books represented here, conditions routinely hover at CGC 9.0 and above. Many of the early '60s issues are obscure and not commonly found. This set is impressive in its epic size, completeness and consistency of superior grades. An imposing achievement, this collection looks more like a career than a hobby.

colmoreman   Stunning Squarebounds!
In the early 60s, DC’s newly minted Annuals ruled the Summer & Holiday newsstands. And these elegant square bound books are difficult in top grades because they show reader’s creases so easily and so many of these books were read multiple times by multiple readers. DC Annuals, back then, were an event! Colmoreman’s “Stunning Squarebounds” collects them all - 22 of them, prior to their consolidation as “80 Page Giant.” 9.4’s & 9.6’s are common here. A 9.4 Sgt. Rock’s Prize Battle Tales #1 Annual from 1964 is impressive in itself, but the real showstopper is the 1962–63 obscure gem, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Annual in 7.5, an almost impossible find. That so many “difficult to find in high-grade” books are represented here in high grade is the signature of this set.

Best Bronze Age Sets

Sterling Comics   The Mystery And Madness...
The '70s saw a resurgence of horror comics in the industry, and DC led the way with titles like House of Mystery and House of Secrets. But it also included the aptly named Weird War Tales, which combined the horror and war genre together. Beginning in 1971 and running for 12 years, this anthology series was a fan favorite that featured early work from creators like Frank Miller, and Walt Simonson’s first professional work ever (in issue #10). The amazing set from Sterling Comics is missing a mere eight issues from the 124-issue run. It consists of 10 CGC 9.4s, 46 CGC 9.6s, and 60 CGC 9.8s! Those impressive numbers earn it the No. 1 Bronze Award for this year!

canickus   Canickus Marvel 30 Cent Price Variants
In 1976, most Marvel comics cost 25¢. But beginning in that year, Marvel started testing the market to see if readership would accept a price increase of 5¢. So for several months, while most of country would continue to get their Marvel comics for a quarter, six cities would instead be selling their Marvels with a cover price of 30¢. The print run for these was, of course, much lower than their standard price counterparts, so amassing a complete run of all 186 Marvel titles with a 30¢ price variant is no easy feat! And yet, that’s exactly what this winning set from Canickus features, with the majority of them being CGC 9.4 or better! That makes this set greatly admired among price-variant collectors, and a worthy winner for the No. 2 Bronze Age award!

Doctor Joe   Joes Subbies
From 1968 to 1974, Marvel’s first superhero Namor McKenzie, known more popularly by his nom de voyage “the Sub-Mariner,” was featured in his own title. Rather than a typical superhero book, Namor was the king of an underwater country that would often find him at odds with mankind. This 74-issue set (consisting of 72 regular issues and two Annuals) boasts an astounding 35 CGC 9.6s, with the remaining 39 issues being 9.8s! Add to that, every book except for two has a scan to go along with it! Congratulations to Doctor Joe for this No. 3 winning Bronze Age set!

Best Copper Age Sets

Anon-E-Mouse   Identity Crisis, Horror and Dystopia.
Independent publishers during the Copper Age of comics saw great growth in popularity during this era. One of those publishers was Eclipse, which published the sometimes-controversial but highly revered Miracleman. Anon-E-Mouse’s Miracleman set is very impressive in its presentation, with great descriptions and photos of every book. In addition, all 25 books in the set are signed by creators who worked on the books and are all graded Signature Series 9.8. An amazing set! Congratulations!

Rune   Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, 1st Print 1986
During the Copper Age of comics, the big two publishers published many well-known mini- and limited-series titles that today still retain their popularity. One of those titles that holds on to its ability to bring on great nostalgia is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Rune has a very impressive high-grade set of this compete miniseries. The set is highlighted by his copy of issue #3, which received an unheard of CGC 10.0 grade — the only 10.0 of this issue in existence. And also the only copy of the entire series currently on the census to have achieved this grade!

bagofleas   Kill ‘em all !!
The “Mutant Massacre” story line was a very popular crossover that began in 1986. Bagoflees’ set contains all 13 issues in CGC 9.8 condition. A large percentage of which are signed by the talent who worked on the different books. A very impressive set highlighted by the fact that there are also very good descriptions and pictures of every book!

Best Modern Age Sets

vicbeer660   Chosen One
This year’s top spot for modern age collections goes to Vicbeer660’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight set. One thing that makes this such an interesting set is that it is almost completely made up of CGC 9.8 copies, plus a couple of 9.9 copies. It also includes the variant covers and extra printings of each book. All that plus images for each book makes this a truly remarkable collection.

Vikingreed   Love Me Some Saga
Congratulations to Vikingreed’s Love Me Some Saga set. This collection contains Saga #s 1–18 including variants and additional printings. This set is 100% complete and includes eight CGC 9.9 copies, which is an amazing accomplishment.

SpiderJunkie   SpiderJunkie’s ASMs 500-600
Congratulations to SpiderJunkie’s Amazing Spider-Man #s 500–600 set. This impressive set contains a CGC 9.8 copy of every book and even a few 9.9 copies. This submitter has shown dedication to the quality of their collection. Now somebody just needs to get SpiderJunkie an Amazing Spider-Man #522 in 9.8 for his birthday.

Best Presented Sets

Zabra   The Complete Zabra Collection of Action Comics
This well presented set includes pictures and descriptions for all 304 items. In the overall set introduction, the owner shares with us some history on the series as well as his goals in collecting. With consistent activity over the last few years, this set shows how a collection is built over time.

Lee K   The Go-Go Check Set
Original commentary for every book in this set allows us to view each of these books through the eyes of this collector. The energy involved in building this set keeps us interested in watching how it will develop over time.

bagofleas   newmuties
Lots of work happening in this best-presented set. This collector is in the process of including summaries and personal comments for all entries as well as using the second photo spot in a unique way. This is one to watch!

Best Magazine Set

DRenoK   Creepy DK Collection
For your drooling pleasure we present this creeptacular collection of Warren’s classic Creepy magazine. The run begins with an impressive display, featuring several classic Frank Frazetta covers in CGC 9.8, including the #s 4, 5, 10 and 15. Also included is an impressive 9.4 copy of the elusive-in-high-grade Creepy #32. As a matter of fact, there are only two entries that do not meet (or exceed) 9.4 among the first 41 issues! The remainder of the set showcases several high-grade, beautifully rendered Sanjulian and Ken Kelly covers. Again, anything below a 9.4 is a rare exception in this set, which would make a fantastic museum display of 20th-century fantasy artists.

Best Forumites

Harvey Swick
143ksk
Marty Mann

Best in Set Type

We would also like to acknowledge the top set in each set type. See our 2014 Awards Archive page for the Best in Set Type winners.

2014 Awards Archive