CGC Now Grading Time, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide

Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), the world’s leading third-party comic book and magazine grading service, will now grade issues of Time, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide. These famous periodicals are popular among collectors because their covers capture American history and pop culture over the decades.

The move comes amid increasing demand for CGC’s grading and encapsulation services for magazines. Founded in 2000, CGC expanded to magazines in 2009 with grading services for Sports Illustrated and Playboy. It later added grading services for other magazines that feature Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page.

For nearly a century, the weekly news magazines Time and Newsweek have chronicled tragedies and triumphs in the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment and elsewhere. The covers of the magazines often feature a picture of a newsmaker, creating a tangible link to the past.

Many enthusiasts of sports collectibles cherish Time magazine covers of top athletes in their prime, such as baseball players Joe DiMaggio (1936) and Jackie Robinson (1947), football player Red Grange (1925), golfer Ben Hogan (1949) and boxer Cassius Clay (1963), who later went by the name Muhammad Ali.

Time is particularly renowned for its Person of the Year issues, starting with aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927. Time has produced several ‘X’ covers, with a red X over an image of a hated historical figure upon the news of his death, including Adolf Hitler (1945).

Since it was founded in 1933, Newsweek has targeted a similar news niche as Time, which was started a decade earlier. Newsweek covers have featured groundbreaking icons such as the Beatles, Janis Joplin, Michael Jordan, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs. (Newsweek ceased publication at the end of 2012, but then resumed print editions a little over a year later.)

TV Guide emerged on the national scene in April 1953, during the original Golden Age of Television. Its first edition featured Lucille Ball (star of “I Love Lucy,” the year’s top-rated TV show) and her son, Desi.

Entertainment Weekly has had its fingers on the pulse of the entertainment industry since February 1990, when it launched its premiere issue with k.d. lang on the cover. Entertainment Weekly, which is owned by the same company as Time, has an annual Entertainer of the Year issue at the end of the year; Bart Simpson, whose animated show is still going strong, was the first of the 27 winners.

For comics collectors with a particular interest in Superman, all four magazine covers have featured the archetypal superhero at least once. The January 1, 1979 Newsweek was titled, “Superman to the Rescue,” with an image of Christopher Reeve in his famous role. A Time cover from March 14, 1988 celebrated 50 years of Superman. The Sept. 25, 1953 issue of TV Guide featured “Adventures of Superman” star George Reeves, while Entertainment Weekly celebrated 75 Years of Superman with its June 21, 2013 issue.

CGC will use its standard grading scale and labels for the magazines. Any of these magazines can be submitted for CGC’s yellow Signature Series labels, provided they have a connection to the autograph. But please note that CGC cannot verify any signatures on magazines not witnessed by a CGC representative; the best way to do this by visiting the CGC Booth at a show.

For a list of CGC Magazine Grading Services and Fees, click here.

Magazines can also be submitted to Classic Collectibles Services (CCS), an affiliate of CGC, for its pressing, restoration and restoration removal services.

Time and Entertainment Weekly are among the magazines CGC is now grading. Click images to enlarge.

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