Last week, we posted the first responses we received to our article,
“Making The Grade – Part 1.” As we mentioned, we invited reader feedback on some
of the issues surrounding comic book grading and our work on the new edition of
The Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide. The article was featured not
only in Scoop, but went out to all new comics retailers who get
Diamond Daily, and via email to the Overstreet Advisors. Here’s some more
of the feedback:

Michael Tierney
Retailer
How
would you define “Restoration” in comics?
Any work done to repair or
enhance the condition and grade of a book above its original
condition.

What would you include and not include?
I wouldn’t
include flattening. Anything repaired, added, bleached, or retouched should be
included.

Would you delineate between professional restoration and
amateur restoration? And if so, what would be the determining factors?
I
can see having a definition between professional and amateur. It’s a matter of
how good a job was done… and how obvious it is that there was
restoration.
It’s all part of the quality of a book’s
condition.

What, if any, forms of restoration are acceptable to
you?
Flattening a book and straightening out the creases.

And
why?
Nothing was changed as far as the actual book itself. A book can be
spine rolled from being poorly stored. Or it can be flattened by being at the
bottom of the stack.

And under what circumstances?
I don’t see
a difference between accidental or intentional. The book is still 100% genuine.
Nothing material was changed.

Matt Nelson
Classics
Incorporated
How would you define “Restoration” in comics?
The
dictionary’s definition of restoration is to bring something back to its
original condition. Some people may use this definition to make the argument
that pressing should be considered restoration, but it’s not that simple. Even
though pressing does remove very small defects in a book, such as non-color
breaking dents in a cover, or a slight spine roll, the same effect can be
achieved by placing a book under heavy objects. Edgar Church’s simple storing
technique of stacking his famous comic collection in six foot high piles gave
the same result as a professional would if he pressed a comic today. But the
Church books are of course not considered “restored.”

People then say
intent is the issue, but books cannot be graded based on intent. They can only
be graded as they are. CGC does not know the long history behind each comic they
grade; the number of owners, the storage conditions (Two years in Maine? Ten
years in Louisiana?), or whether the book was pressed under heavy weight for 40
years, or pressed by a pro last week. Restoration can be detected because they
leave a trace of their existence, such as color touch and rice paper, or a
different feel and tint from cleaning, or staple removal from the way the prongs
sit at the centerfold. But, if done safely and correctly, professional pressing
does not leave any trace, and cannot be detected.

The line between what
is considered restoration and what is not is simply what can be detected. It is
impossible to include intent as a factor.

Pressing has been around in
some form or another since the beginning of collecting. It is not a new
phenomenon. In fact, there’s a strong possibility you’ve got pressed comics in
your collection right now, even if you stopped collecting in the ’70s.

It is in our nature to want our comics to look as good as they can, which
has led many to perform work on their own comics. These amateur techniques have
run the gamut from tape repairs and marker touchup to applying high amounts of
heat or moisture to remove spine rolls and creases. Regardless of why a
collector does these things, whether it be for personal appeal or to make money,
the fact is the motivation to improve one’s comics will always exist. The art of
restoring and pressing on a professional level has been evolving for many years,
and allows a safe alternative to the destructive techniques used by
amateurs.

What would you include and not include?
Restoration
includes anything that is traceable, including rice paper repair, piece fill,
color touch, replaced staples, replaced pages, solvent and water cleaning, and
reglossing. Trimming is not restoration because it does not add anything to the
book for enhancement’s sake. By doing the opposite, I consider it a defect,
similar to tearing off a corner of the cover. I do not consider pressing to be
restoration (see above).

Would you delineate between professional
restoration and amateur restoration? And if so, what would be the determining
factors?
Yes. It pertains to the materials used. Pro restoration uses
archival materials such as rice paper, wheat paste, and acrylic or water colors
for color touch. Amateur restoration uses unsafe materials, such as white glue,
tape, and markers or pens for color touch. Whether a book appears to be restored
by a pro or amateur is reflected in the apparent grade and ranking of the
quality of restoration.

What, if any, forms of restoration are
acceptable to you?
Anything that extends the life of a comic or adds to
its aesthetic appeal using archival materials.

And under what
circumstances?
Always consult with a professional when considering
restoration for your comics. Thousands of hours of research and development have
gone into the current practices of professionals. There are no
shortcuts.

Marnin
Rosenberg
CollectorsAssemble.com
How would you define
“Restoration” in comics?
Any and all comic books that no longer remain in
their original state of preservation.

What would you include and not
include?
(NDP), Non-Disclosed intact Pressing of course. I do not
consider trimming to be restoration.

Would you delineate between
professional restoration and amateur restoration? And if so, what would be the
determining factors?
Absolutely. Unfortunately, I am not one to answer
this question any further because I have never had a book extensively restored.
The last time I had any type of restoration performed on a comic book was the
last group of books I had intact pressed about 3 1/2 years ago.

What,
if any, forms of restoration are acceptable to you? And why?
Though I
have no interest in restored books of any kind, all would be acceptable if
disclosed.

And under what circumstances?
Only if the
restoration is performed with the intent of conservation and/or
preservation.

D’Arcy Farrell
Pendragon Comics
I’m
glad to see Overstreet taking this to the next step. For too long collectors
have totally shunned anything restored at any level. For your questions in
order:

Restoration
Anything foreign applied, added to
surface(even chemical sprays etcetera) of covers or within, including spines and
staples, or marriages of wraps and folds to me is restoration.

Professional or amateur
An accredited company with certificates
only counts to me as professional. If they give out invoices and pay the IRS
taxes based on their services, then that is professional. The guy in the
basement, with the same gadgets and technique/skills, is still amateur. color
t-up is amateur, taking off writing and foreign material is professional.

Better yet, what is not acceptable, because anything professional restored
is fine to do. Things like color touch up (amateur) and trimming is not
unless it is a redundant restoration. By that I mean is this: I have a
Detective Comics #36 that is restored. It has/had a 3/4″ rip on bottom of
spine. Split was sealed with glue, then on the glue some color touch up. The
color added does not touch the comic, only the glue. This book is CGC certified
and reads as follows “…spine split sealed, color t-up, glue on cover.”
Basically I see that as 1 problem fixed, but CGC labels it as if three things
were done. This scares a collector, but really this is minor. Whereas a
comparable book with pieces added, or is trimmed (the worst form of
amateur/fraud), that same collector would think more or less the same, avoiding
it. I see a deal for this Detective Comics #36.

In general, restored
books are fine dependant upon age and scarcity (another point, many refer to a
Gerber scale for scarcity…as a suggestion, nix a line in values, VG I suggest
since it falls 1/2 way between G and Fine anyhow, and make an Overstreet
scarcity scale). Mid-late Silver Age to modern basically is crap if restored
professional or amateur. Once you begin to look at early silver to turn of the
century, it begins to be acceptable.

On a value level, decent golden age
books (DC, Fox, Timely, Centaur, for example) I tend to value most within
1/3-2/3 value of Overstreet dependant upon the level of restoration. Lesser
books or Silver Age, I go at most 1/2 value, but again this depends upon the
level of restoration and if professional or amateur.

Trimming, major
color touch up, marriages, pieces added are the biggest no-no’s.

Not so
bad restorations:
replacing staples, I mean, why worry? It’s not the comic,
the staple may be rusting hurting the cover? As long as the holes for the staple
are not extended, why not? If the frame to the Mona Lisa had termites, replace
the frame, right? It’s like those idiot CGC collectors, it is the comic that is
the value, not the plastic slab.

Spine split seals, and other rip seals.
As long as professional, this may help avoid further extention of the rips. So
minor and not too bad. using glue is not great, but restoration can remove that,
so more hurtful, but not damning like a trim.

Stephen H.
Gentner
Collector
Restoration: means to me that you
have replaced a clipped coupon, color touched, bleached the cover and guts,
replaced parts of the book, or altered the book specifically to enhance its
monetary value. Not OK by me

NOT Restoration: means a small tear
seal, pressing the book, removing dirt or grit from the book, or as I would term
it ‘conservation’ All you are doing is preserving and protecting what is there,
not necessarily to enhance value. OK by me.

PRO versus Amateur:
means if some person tries their best to color touch, or replace parts of the
book in a uneducated or crude way, it is amateur. If Susan Ciccione or Matt
Nelson lay hands on a book carefully, in a considered fashion, mindful of the
chemistry of the paper involved and using accepted scientific processes to
restore a book, THAT is professional. When a PRO is done with a book, you would
be hard pressed to see or know the difference. Some PROS will restore in a way
that could be reversed if desired. But crude, irreversible major work done to
books is amateur, and lousy.

Restoration Acceptable: Any PRO
restoration that is done is OK by me, if and only if, there is
full disclosure of the work done prior to any sale predicated by the condition
or represented condition of the book. If an Action #1 is badly torn on the cover
and separated from the interior, to repair and preserve it is warranted. To
color touch a Mile High, is abhorent, and ridiculous.

Todd
McDevitt
New Dimension Comics
How would you define
“Restoration” in comics?
Any deliberate attempt to alter the condition of
a comic.

What would you include and not include?
I would even
include tape. That would be an obvious attempt to secure the comic improving
its original state.

Would you delineate between professional
restoration and amateur restoration? And if so, what would be the determining
factors?
Sure. I would expect a certificate from either detailing the
work. Preferably before and after pics.

What, if any, forms of
restoration are acceptable to you?
Cleaning, when
disclosed.

And why?
Enhancing, not altering.

And
under what circumstances?
Paper rapidly declining and in need of being
“saved”

My contention about restoration has always been that collectors
desire originality. If a comic is plucked from an attic in trashed
shape, it’s in its original state at the time it’s found. To “fix” it makes it
a much tougher sale to a very specific clientele. I say the only people
who should get books restored are the collectors themselves with the intention
of keeping it for themselves forever and it being their personal preference to
have it repaired.

Rich Olson
Collector, Historian
A
few thoughts for you on “restoration.”

First, all of the world’s greatest
works of art, from the Mona Lisa to the Sistine Chapel, have been cleaned and
restored a number of times over the years to try to get them to look like they
did when originally completed. In the world of multi-million dollar art the
question of whether to have restoration is not an issue–the only question is
who will do the best job. Note: As long as restored books sell at a discount, a
great investment area is buy key books that have had excellent work performed on
them because eventually all books will have restoration.

Second, comics
are ticking along on the clock that leads to browning, brittleness, chipping,
and ultimately, disintegration is we don’t do something to intervene. Sure,
some comics are in better shape today than others because of what state they
were stored in, how carefully they were handled, etc., but they are all going to
get there eventually. As the temporary owner of a comic, you should do what you
can to help preserve it for as long as possible. This is one reason why back in
the late 1960s or early 1970s I got involved with a few other collectors to
provide comics for a color microfiche project. We wanted to at least have
images of the books as they existed in their prime. Today I have a large color
microfiche collection of virtually every book of significance and many
more.

Third, if I buy a book, I want to enjoy it and receive pleasure
from looking at it. If I didn’t buy a book in at least fine condition, then I
might have it restored to both help save the book and give me greater pleasure
from owning it. I don’t mind if a book has had restoration if it looks great
and it is mostly a real book. For example, I would not buy an Action
Comics #1 that had a real page #33 and #34 and the rest of the book was
“restored.”

Fourth, there is really no point in distinguishing between
professional and amateur restoration because you can’t always tell. Further, I
have seen some jobs by pro’s that looked like they had been done by a first
grader. I think the only thing that should matter is the quality of the job.
This means that usually the best jobs will be done by the best pro’s, but not
always. It is the case that some of the pro’s give you a listing of what was
done which is nice to have, but even then you don’t know if everything was
listed. So, quality of work is all that really matters.

Fifth, it may be
my imagination because I haven’t recorded any prices, but it seems that after an
original over-reaction in which the hobby said that restorations were almost
worthless, people have been paying more and more of what a non-restored book
would bring. Again, I think the amount of restoration and the quality of the
work are the key factors.

I am sure I haven’t said anything you haven’t
heard before but I did want to throw my two cents in the pot.

Terry
O’Neill
Terry’s Comics
How would you define “Restoration” in
comics?
Adding ink, glue or paper that was not already part of the
book.

What would you include and not include?
I would not
include tape or Archival tape as restoration, I would not include eraser
cleaning but probably would include chemical cleaning. I would not include
pressing, but would include any kind of additions of ink, glue or
paper.

Would you delineate between professional restoration and
amateur restoration?
No, really the only delineation needed is the
apparent grade after work is done as opposed to the original un-restored grade,
(call it the” Restoration factor”)

And if so, what would be the
determining factors?
What, if any, forms of restoration are acceptable to
you?
I believe there is a vast difference between Restoration and
Preservation. I believe we should all accept minor preservation to keep vintage
comics as close to their current grade as possible. I think restoring a book
just to try to get extra money for it is a bad practice and should be
discouraged.

And why?
Preservation is to keep the book from
getting to a worse condition and included: archival tape, Tear seals and Tape
Removal.

Restoration includes Color touching, adding pieces, chemical
cleaning, re-glossing, trimming and pressing

And under what
circumstances?
Re-attaching loose covers or centerfolds, mending edge
tears or flattening out heavy spine roll should be accepted by most collectors.

Gary Colabuono
Moondog’s
I define restoration as any
process that tries to reverse damage done to a comic book. The mending of tears,
the addition of new paper, color touch, etc.

I do not consider
pressing restoration since it’s not reversing anything it’s just bringing the
book to it’s full potential. It’s enhancing the book by not adding anything to
it.

There’s a huge difference between amateur and professional
restoration. In many cases a book improved with professional restoration is a
very desirable addition to a collection. Clunking amateur restoration on the
other hand does nothing to aesthetically enhance a book. It’s like cleaning a
coin with a hole in it. Why bother?

All professional restoration is
acceptable to me on those books that obviously had little problems to begin
with. If minor repairs were made and the book exhibits great eye appeal, I would
have no problem adding it to my collection.