The CPG team has developed these grading standards using established hobby benchmarks and extensive CGC grading research. Special thanks to comic grading advisor Steve Borock, President of CBCS Comic Book Certification Service, former Heritage Auctions consignment director, and former CGC President/Primary Grader. The condition of a comic has a direct relationship to its market value.

When grading a comic, evaluate both interior and exterior condition. Confirm page count and completeness first. Missing pages, clipped coupons, tears, tape, glue, loose centerfolds, insect damage, and paper quality can all materially affect grade and value. The most desirable page quality is white; collectors are generally less accepting of brittle pages.

The cover usually shows the most wear and should be carefully inspected for abrasions, tears, creases, corner wear, spine splits, chips, tape, and glue. In this guide, tape is treated as a defect, not restoration.

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It's important to remember that the condition of the comic is just one of several key factors when buying, selling, or trading comics.

Others Are:

Rarity is one significant factor which can affect the value of a comic. How unusual or how easily replaced the comic might be. Collectors will be typically less inclined to part with a rare book easily. While rarity can significantly affect a book in a positive manner it is not the only factor in helping to assess value. If a rare book is not in demand within the comic collecting community no amount of this factor will help support the value of the book on its own.

Marketability is the demand for the book and also is their potential buyers interested in your comic? Comics with classic covers, first appearances, noted artists, and other types of strong interest from the collectors market will have more marketability then a common book that has no historical significance. The Internet has changed the marketability of books in the comic book market. Prior to the internet collectors had to purchase their comics either directly from comic dealers at conventions, retail stores, through private transactions, or through mail-order catalogs. In some instances comics that were once viewed as scarce or rare on a local level are now more readily available via the internet. Today, online comic auctions and consignment sites allow comics to be offered and have a more significant presence with a larger pool of potential buyers. Note that the marketability of any comic book can change based on time, the popularity of the character or characters, collector demand, etc.

Restoration is the treatment that returns a comic book to a known or assumed state through the addition of non-original material for aesthetic enhancement.

For more information on restoration click here.

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(Coverless/Covers/Pages or Single Wrap)

This designation is only used for the purpose of authentication. Numerous collectors and comic fans will purchase coverless comics to either read or to obtain a filler copy of a book for their collection. Coverless books will typically sell for a percentage of the good condition value. Rare and key comic books that are coverless in many cases may sell for a percentage of guide value depending on the specific comic title and issue number. Typically lower then the .5 value, but can fluctuate based on market value.

• Book can been coverless or be an incomplete partial comic (i.e. wraps).
• Copies in this designation typically will in most cases be beyond collectibility to the majority of the hobby.
• Rare key comics and incomplete pages i.e. centerfolds are considered to be valuable for either restoration purposes or for inpiduals who just wish to own a piece of comic history.

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CPG has researched the definitions and terminology used in our hobby and determined that CGC's standards on restoration are the most concise and the mainstay of the hobby. With the permission of CGC we are using their standards.

Restoration is the treatment that returns a comic book to a known or assumed state through the addition of non-original material for aesthetic enhancement.

Repairing comic books has been around in our hobby since the first comics were sold to the public. It is natural for people to want their books to look as new as possible or to remain intact so that they can continue to be read. Early in fandom history, simple and crude repairs were performed by the owner of the comic for these reasons. For example, a couple of pieces of tape were used to hold on the cover, a dab of Dad's wood glue was used to close a tear, some crayon made the cover look better, etc. As the hobby grew and comics became more expensive, the need to define and describe various repairs became apparent. Some repairs remained acceptable to collectors and were "grandfathered," such as tape. Most repairs, however, were defined as restoration.

Restoration can be broken down into two main types: treatments intended to prolong the existence of the comic book and treatments done for aesthetics. Both types of restoration involve the introduction of non-original material to create or facilitate a desired effect.

Examples of restoration include:

Color touch. Using pigment to hide color flecks, color flakes, and larger areas of missing color. Examples of pigments may include paint (acrylic, oil, watercolor, etc.), pencil crayon, pastel, pen, marker, white-out, etc. Color touch is sometimes called inpainting.

Pieces added (piece replacement). Added pieces to replace areas of missing paper. Piece replacement material can be non-original paper such as wood or cotton fiber papers, married from a donor comic book, or color-copied pieces. This process is sometimes called infilling.

Tear seals. Sealing a tear using an adhesive. An adhesive may be cellulose, chemical, or protein-based glues as well as anything that acts as an adhesive, such as saliva.

Spine split seals. Sealing a spine split using adhesive (adhesives are described above under "tear seals").

Reinforcement. A process by which a weak or split page or cover is reinforced with adhesive and reinforcement paper. Reinforcement papers are commonly wood or cotton fiber papers.

Cleaned (lightened). An aqueous process to lighten the paper color or remove soluble acids, often using chemical oxidation, solvents, or water. This process is sometimes called cleaned and pressed or C&P. Common chemicals used to lighten paper include benzene, acetone, xylene, sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, chloramine-T, chlorine dioxide, sodium borohydrate, etc.

Re-glossed. Enhancing the cover gloss, typically through the application of canned re-glossing/art fixodent spray.

Non-additive processes such as dry cleaning (non-aqueous removal of dirt, soot, or other non-original surface material), pressing (removal or reduction of bends and creases), and tape removal, are not considered restoration by CPG. In accordance with hobby standards, the addition of tape is not considered restoration but sellers should always note tape to potential buyers.

While we believe that tape should never be used on a comic book for any reason, our hobby has accepted that people used tape to keep comic books from falling apart. This measure was taken even before comics became collectibles. In the early days of fandom, some sellers stated that tape was not a defect and some collectors even accepted tape on mid grades. CPG downgrades for tape, as we consider it a defect no matter why or when it was added.

Restoration has become a controversial issue in the comic book hobby because it is not always disclosed by sellers, but can dramatically affect the value of a comic book. In some cases, restoration is not readily detectible to novices or inpiduals lacking expertise in restoration detection. Even experienced hobbyists miss restoration when grading comic books.

CPG would like to thank CGC for the use of their standards regarding restoration and their definition of restoration.

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