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GRADING GUIDE GLOSSARY |
Edgar Church Collection - See "Mile High Collection."
Embossed Cover - When a pattern is embossed onto the cover creating a raised area. Eraser Mark - Damage left when pencil marks are removed from the cover or inside of a comic. Most identifiable when cover gloss is dulled. Extenders - See "Staple Extenders." Eye Appeal - A term which refers to the overall look of a comic book when held at approximately arms length. A comic may have nice eye appeal, yet have hidden defects which reduce grade. Faded Cover - See "Fading." Fading - Color fading due to exposure to sunlight or certain fluorescent lights which give off a moderate to high percentage of ultra violet light. Fanned Pages - A condition caused by a rolled spine which progressively pulls interior pages away from the edge creating a "fanned" appearance. Fanzine - An amateur fan publication. fc - Abbreviation for "Front Cover." File Copy - A high grade comic originating from the publisher's file. Not all file copies are in pristine mint condition. Note: An arrival date on the cover of a comic does not indicate that it is a file copy. Finger Oils - Body oils left when handling comics with bare hands. Oil accelerates the collection of dust and dirt. First Appearance - See "Debut." Flashback - When a previous story is recalled. Fleck - See "Color Fleck." Foil Cover - A thin metallic foil that is hot stamped on comic covers. Folding Error - A bindery defect in which the comic is folded off- center, resulting in part of the front cover appearing on the back cover, or more seriously, part of the back cover appearing on the front cover. Folded-off Center - See "Folding Error." Folds - Linear dents in paper that does not result in the loss of ink. Not a crease. Folio - A sheet of paper, folded once in the middle, making 2 leaves or 4 pages. 32 interior pages are made up of 8 folios. The centerfold, cover, and first wraparound are examples of folios. Four Color - Series of comics produced by Dell characterized by hundreds of different features. Named after the four color process of printing. See "One Shots." Four Color Process - Name given to the process of printing with the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) plus black. Foxing - Defect caused by mold growth which results in a spotting effect usually at the edges of comic books. Freeze Dry - Process used to preserve paper that has been wet before mildew damage can occur. Fumetti - Illustration system in which individual frames of a film are colored and used for individual panels to make a comic book story. The most famous example is DC's Movie Comics 1-6 from 1939. G.A. - Golden Age. Genre - Categories of comic book subject matter; e.g. Science Fiction, Super Hero, Romance, Funny Animal, Teenage Humor, Crime, War, Western, Mystery, Horror, etc. Giveaway - Type of comic book intended to be given away as a premium or promotional device instead of being sold. Glasses Attached - In 3D comics, the special blue and red cellophane glasses are still attached to the comic. More desirable than "Glasses Detached." Glasses Detached - In 3D comics, the special blue and red cellophane glasses are not still attached to the comic. Less desirable than "Glasses Attached." Glue (or) Glued - Restoration method in which some form of glue was used to repair or reinforce a comic book defect. Golden Age - Although open to interpretation, most collectors and comic book historians define it as the period of comic book publishing from June, 1938 (Action #1 ) until the end of WWII or approx. 1945. Good Girl Art - Term coined in 1977 to describe a style of art that portrays women in a sexually implicit way. Grease Pencil - A wax based marker commonly used to write on cardboard. Grease Pencil on Cover - Indicates that someone marked the cover of a comic with a grease pencil, usually with a resale price or an arrival date. Grey Tone Cover - A cover art style in which pencil or charcoal underlies the normal line drawing. Used to enhance the effects of light and shadow, thus producing a "richer" quality. These covers, prized by most collectors, are sometimes refer- red to as "painted covers" but are not actually painted. See "Painted Covers." Headlights - Protruding breasts. Heavy Creasing - A crease that is longer than 2 inches. Hologram Cover - True 3-D holograms are prepared and affixed to comic book covers and cards for special effects. Hot Stamping - Process of pressing foil, prism paper, and inks on cover stock. HRN - Abbreviation for highest reorder number. Most often used to distinguish first editions from later printings in Gilberton's Classic Comics series. i - Art inks. ibc - Abbreviation for "Inside Back Cover." ifc - Abbreviation for "Inside Front Cover." illo - Abbreviation for "Illustration." Indicia - Publishing and title information usually located at the bottom of the first page or the bottom of the inside front cover. In rare cases and some pre-1938 comics, it was sometimes located on internal pages. Infinity Cover - Shows a scene that repeats itself to infinity. Initials on Cover - Someone's initials in pencil, pen, or grease pencil on the cover. Init. on CVR - Short for "Initials on Cover." Ink Skip - Printing defect in which the printing roller momentarily receives no ink causing a streak or blank spot. Ink Smudge - Printing defect in which ink is smeared, usually by handling before the ink is completely dry. These commonly look like fingerprints. Inker - Artist that does the inking. Intro - See "Debut." Investment Grade Copy - (1) Comic of sufficiently high grade and demand to be viewed by collectors as instantly liquid should the need arise to sell. (2) In very fine or better condition. (3) Comic purchased primarily to achieve a profit. Issue Number - The actual edition number of a given title. ish - Short for "Issue." JLA - Justice League of America. JLI - Justice League International. Joined Pages - (1) Bindery defect in which pages are "trimmed long" and are not separated at right hand corner(s) or along right edge. See "Siamese Pages". (2) A rare printing defect where a new roll of paper is glued to the spent roll while still on the press. This glued intersection appears as a vertical "stripe" of double thick newsprint on one of the interior pages. JSA - Justice Society of America. Key - See "Key Issue." Key Book - See "Key Issue." Key Issue - An issue that contains a first appearance, origin, or other historically or artistically important feature considered especially desirable by collectors. Laminated - Clear plastic with adhesive used by early collectors to protect comics. An outdated and destructive technique which virtually eliminates collector value. Larson Copy - Pedigreed copy with the initials or name of its original owner, Lamont Larson. Lateral Bar - See "Staple Lateral Bar." lbc - Abbreviation for "Lower or Left Side or Edge Of Back Cover." Lenticular Covers - Images move when viewed at different anglesspecially prepared and affixed to cover. (Also known as "flicker covers"). Letter Col - See "Letter Column." Letter Column - A feature in a comic book that prints and sometimes responds to letters written by its readers. lfc - Abbreviation for "Lower or Left Side or Edge Of Front Cover." lft - Abbreviation for "Left." Light Creasing - A crease 2" long or less. Line Drawn Cover - A cover published in the traditional way where pencil sketches are overdrawn with india ink and then colored. See also "Grey Tone Cover," "Photo Cover," and "Painted Cover." llbc - Abbreviation for "Lower Left Corner of Back Cover." Logo - The title of a strip or comic book as it appears on the cover or title page. Logo Cut - See "Remainders." Loose Staples - Staples that can be easily moved and no longer hold comic pages tightly. See also "popped staple." lrbc - Abbreviation for "Lower Right Corner Of Back Cover." lrfc - Abbreviation for "Lower Right Corner Of Front Cover." LSH - Legion of Super-Heroes. Magic Lightning Collection - A collection of high grade 1950s comics from the San Francisco area. Manufacturing Fold - A defect in which some page(s) of the comic (usually the cover) is folded during the printing and/or the paper manufacturing process. Marvel Chipping - A bindery (trimming/cutting) defect that causes a series of chips and tears at the top, bottom, and right edge of the cover. This is caused where the cutting blade of an industrial paper trimmer becomes dull. Dubbed "Marvel chipping" because it can occur quite often with that companys comics from the late 50s and early 60s but can also occur with any companys comic books from the late 1940s through the middle 1960s. Maverick Pages - Interior pages that are not the same size or shape as the majority of the rest of the pages. Most commonly a bindery defect. Maverick Signature - See "Maverick Pages." Maverick Staple - See "Deformed Staple." Mid Spine - Between the staples. Mile High Collection - Collection discovered in Denver, Colorado in 1977, originally owned by Mr. Edgar Church. Comics from this collection are now famous for extremely white pages, fresh smell, and beautiful cover ink reflectivity. Miscut - Bindery defect where cover and/or pages are not cut square or are cut to wrong size. Mistrimmed - See "Miscut." Miswrapped - Bindery defect where staple and fold do not intersect the center of the cover causing some of the back cover to appear on the front of the comic or front cover to "ride around" to the back. Moisture Damage -Wrinkling and/or stains caused by absorption of a liquid. Moisture Ring - Circular wrinkling and/or stain caused by absorption of moisture usually from the bottom of a cup or glass. Moth Ball Smell - The odor imparted to some comic books because of their storage with moth balls. Some comics from specific collections can be identified by this characteristic odor. Multiple Bindery Staples - Bindery defect in which the comic book is stapled additional times unnecessarily. Multiple Reading Creases - See "Reading Creases." Mylar(tm) - An inert, very hard, space age plastic used to make high quality protective bags and sleeves used for comic book storage. Mylar(tm) is a trademark of the Dupont Co.
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