One of the first things you have to learn as a new collector is how to grade comics. Here are the basics to help you get started.

KNOW YOUR GRADES

So you have decided to devote your free time to collecting comics. While I may write about graded comics, the majority of the sales are for those “raw” issues - the ones that have not been slabbed are just as the publisher made them. 

When it comes to buying comics, there are plenty of charlatans out there who would love to convince you to pay near-mint prices for low-grade comics. That is doubly true for buying raw issues. Without CGC or CBCS’ all-knowing numerical grade, the quality of the comic is anyone’s guess. Before you buy, you need to know what to look for. That is where I am here to help.

Both grading companies use a 10-point scale to gauge a comics’ state. It can go as far down as a 0.5 for one that is missing pages or is otherwise incomplete all the way to a pristine, fresh-off the presses, perfect 10.0 with all points in between. This is where comic guys get the terms low grade, mid-grade, and high grade.

LOW-GRADE COMICS

The precise qualifications for these categories are subjective, but the bookends for the terms are fairly solid. From my experience, a low-grade comic is anything from a 0.5 up to a 4.5. These are comics with obvious defects, like chips, stains, or tears. There may be writing on the cover on the interior pages, which are typically yellowed or in some cases brown. Because of their numerous eye-sores, these are the lowest-priced comics. Many times, collectors refer to these as “reader copies” because they do not hold much value unless it is a particularly sought after key issue.

MID-GRADE COMICS

Moving up the ladder, we have the mid grades. This is where we have the biggest range of comics. Again, different collectors have different mindsets about these, but I typically view mid grades falling anywhere from a 5.0 to a 7.5. Of course, this can also vary depending on the age and rarity of an issue. For, say, a Golden Age comic, anything over a 6.5 would be considered a higher grade for that issue. In general, I look at the 5.0-7.5 range as the mid grades.

What are you looking for with a mid-grade? These will have blemishes, certainly, but not to the extent of the lower grades. Some sellers like to say they “present well.” In other words, the front and back covers are in better shape than the interior. Oftentimes, mid grades have color-breaking bends, curved or rolled spines, or those interior pages are off-white. If you hold them in direct light, these usually have ample fingerprints and have lost some of their glossy shine on the cover. 

Mid-grade comics tend to benefit the most from presses. Pressing has been covered in other blog posts here at GoCollect, so I won’t go into too much detail. Generally, a good presser can correct the spine rolls and creases, and you can even have fingerprints and dirt removed without CGC or CBCS labeling it as “restoration.”

MORE TO COME

There’s more to say about comic grades, particularly with the high grades. Keep an eye out for the follow-up post which will cover those gem-mint comics.