Although comic book grading is still somewhat subjective, you can expect that the grade I assign to a comic will be accurate. I find that I'm more strict a grader than most people dealing on eBay. I've been dabbling in collectible comics since the late-1960s and participated in the WSA program (#1305) which provided a code of ethics for comics dealers. I've contributed material to the Overstreet Price Guide and published articles in a variety of comic book related periodicals including Comic Book Marketplace, Comic Source, Golden Age Greats, Best of the West, and others.

If you buy a comic book from me you can rest assured that it will live up to the description or I'll be happy to take it back and refund your money. My grading terminology is pretty standard for collectible comics but feel free to ask me if you have questions. Some comics may have previous dealers prices on the bags or perhaps on the comics themselves. I don't consider a light pencil price inside a comic to be a major defect and I might not mention it.

Comics are usually shipped bagged in a StayFlat mailer reinforced with a single piece of corrugated cardboard. So far this method has protected the comics very well. If, however, you would prefer shipping in a sturdy carton it can be arranged for a small additional shipping charge.

Grading Key

Standard grading terms for paper items are drawn from the Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide, Hancer's Price Guide to Paperback Books, McAlpine's Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain, and Henkel's Collectible Magazines. Numerical grades are given for your reference. Generally, we do not carry any vintage comic we cannot examine ourselves (slabbed comics). Any slabbed item will be clearly stated in the description and is sold "as is" no returns.

• Mint [M] 9.8-10.0
• Near Mint [NM] 9.2-9.6
• Very Fine [VF] 7.5-9.0
• Fine [F] 5.5-7.0
• Very Good [VG] 4.0-5.0
• About Very Good, VG-, or G+ [ABT. VG] 2.5-3.5
• Good [G] 2.0
• About Good, G- [AG] 1.8
• Fair [FR]1.0-1.5
• Poor [P] <1.0

Vintage popular priced books, paperbacks, comic books, and magazines are subject to aging of the cheap internal paper, weakness or drying of the spine glue resulting in occasional loose pages, rusting of staples, and loss of original lamination (particularly early Dells). Previous bookseller's prices written lightly inside are typical and not considered a defect. I do not consider names written or stamped inside the book/magazine to be a serious defect but I note them if they are present. I do consider tape of any kind to be a serious defect and will only offer items with tape defects if they are particularly scarce or desirable. Previous seller's price tags may not be mentioned if unobtrusive.

The Ages of American Comics

They actually overlap a bit. The Golden Age or first heroic ago ended at various times depending on the company and character. For the same token, the Silver Age did not begin at the same time for every publisher and while the first DC Silver Age comic came out in 1956, the Silver Age did not begin for Marvel until 1961.

• Victorian Age (1840-1932)
• Platinum Age (1933-1938)
• Golden Age (1938-1948)
• Atomic Age (1948-1956/1961)
• Silver Age (1956-1970)
• Bronze Age (1970-1985)
• Copper Age (1985-1993)
• Modern Age (1993-Present)