Example Based Comic Book Grading Guide

ComicBookRealm's Example Based Grading tool is based loosely on a tool previously provided by a now defunct website. We will continue to refine the tool, please make feature requests for changes wished.

Abrasion / Cover Wear

• Glossy, smooth; no abrasion
• Just noticeable abrasion
• Small Area of Scuffing
• Colour Breaking Abrasions
• Large Areas of Visible Abrasion
• Deep Abrasions/Spine Wear

Centration / miswrap

• Perfect Centration
• Off centre 1-3mm
• Noticeable miswrap
• Severe miswrap
• Wild miswrap

Color Spots

• None
• <3 tiny flecks
• Several Flecks/large donuts

Color Lift

• None- Flat & Smooth
• 3mm area removed
• 3-10 mm area removed
• 10-20 mm Patch Removed
• > 10mm Patch Removed

Corner Creases

• Perfect Unblemished Corners
• Just Noticeable Deformation
• Blunting
• 5mm Crease
• Several Minor Creases
• Multiple Light Creases
• Small General Atrition
• 40 mm Colour Breaking Creases
• Large Corner Crease
• Corner Attrition

Corner Rounding

• Sharp Corner
• Just Perceptibly blunted
• Blunted
• Fibres Showing
• Deformation with Colour Breaks
• Rounded; radius < 3mm
• Rounded; Radius >3mm
• 'No Corner'

Cover Gloss

• As New
• High Gloss
• Moderate Gloss Remaining
• Dull
• Matte

Cover page missing

• Complete
• Back Cover Missing- Front Taped On
• Entire Cover Missing

Cover Whiteness

• White
• Off-White/White
• Off-White
• Cream/Off-white
• Cream
• Tan
• Brown

Cutouts (Interior/Exterior)

• None
• 5mm sq. Piece out
• 20mm Piece out of Cover
• Coupon Cut; Non-Story Page
• Coupon Cut- Story Page
• Large Piece / Coupon Out of Cover

Digs & Gouges

• None
• 2mm Non-Colour Breaking
• Long Non-Color Breaking
• 5mm Dent/Bale Marks
• Page thickness Gouge
• Long Drag Marks
• Pieces out from Several Pages

Edge Wear / Chipping

• Sharp, straight edge
• Slight abrasion to extreme edge
• Perceptible 'Dings'
• Rolled Overhang / Creases
• Slight Creasing / Breaks
• Single large chip / general breaks
• Heavily Worn Overflash
• Multiple Creases / Minor Tears
• Multiple Chips Out
• Brittle

Ink Density (Printing Defect)

• Deep, Dense Inks
• Areas of Fading
• Washed out / Visible Color Overlap

Interior Page Colour

• White
• Off-White/White
• Off-White
• Cream/Off-White
• Cream
• Tan
• Brown

Interior Pages Missing

• All Pages Present
• One or More (story) Pages Missing

Lying Flat

• Totally Flat
• Slight Page Lifting
• Open Bend at Spine/warping
• Warping/Kinks at Spine
• Large Shallow Bend
• Excessive Warping/Lifting

Paint

• None
• <5mm Coloured Areas
• Obvious Amateur Colouring
• Large Amounts of Paint

Piece Out (wear/rip damage)

• Edges Complete
• 1mm Flake Out
• <3mm piece out
• 3-5mm piece out
• 5-10mm piece out
• 5-20mm piece out
• Large piece out

Printer's Creases

• None
• 2" or less printer's crease
• 2-3" printer's crease
• Multiple 3" creases
• Greater than 3" crease(s)

Scratches

• None
• Just Perceptible Colour Break
• 3mm Scratch & flaking
• Deep 10mm Scratch
• Large Superficial Scratches
• Page-Thickness Scratches
• Large Noticeable Scratch

Soiling

• Totally Clean
• Tiny Fingerprint <5mm
• Soiling Tracks
• General light Soiling
• Moderate Contact soiling-Dirt

Spine Creases

• None
• Single Perceptible Crease
• 4mm Colour Breaking Crease
• Several Colour Breaking Creases
• Uniform Creasing <7mm
• Multiple Deep Creases
• Heavy Creasing

Spine Roll

• Tight, Flat Spine
• Slight Spine Roll
• Moderate Spine Roll
• Substantial Spine Roll
• Severe Spine Roll

Spine Stress Marks

• None
• Just Perceptible (<3mm)
• 2-4mm non-color Breaking
• Several non-color breaking creases
• Multiple non-color breaking creases

Spine Tears

• None
• <5mm Tear
• 10mm Tear
• 20mm Tear or several smaller
• 30mm spine tear
• Very Large Tear
• Book-Length Split

Staining

• None
• Just Perceptible Mark
• Moderate fingerprint stain
• Small Stain Spotting
• Label Adhesive
• Single large Stain
• Dark fingerprint stains
• Large rust / oxidation stain
• Water Damage

Stamps & Ink

• None
• Small Date Stamp
• Cover Stamp < 20mm
• Bookshop Stamp
• Multiple Large Stamps

Staple Placement

• Perfect Placement
• Slightly Off Alignment
• 1-3mm off-staple
• > 3mm mis-staple
• Amateur Re-Staple

Staple Rust

• Clean, Shiny Staple
• Matte Appearance
• Moderate Tarnish / Rust Signs
• Advanced Rust with Migration
• Substantial Migration

Staple Wear

• Perfect; As-new
• Perceptible Staple Wear
• 2mm Staple Crease
• Buckled Spine; colour breaking creases
• Large Creases and/or small tears
• Considerable Staple Wear
• Severe Staple Wear
• Cover Detached

Subscription Crease

• None
• Noticeable Crease
• Obvious Folding Damage

Sun Shadow

• None
• Just Perceptible
• Slight Tanning
• Unobtrusive Sun Shadow
• Noticeable Sun Shadow
• Obvious Sun Shadow

Tape

• No Tape
• Amateur Tear Seal <10mm
• Small Amateur Repair
• Large Repair (Complete Spine)

Tears

• No Tears
• Single tear <5mm
• Multiple <3mm tears
• Several 3-5mm Tears
• 5-10mm Tear
• 10-20mm Tear
• 20-30 mm Tear
• Large Tear

Warping

• None
• Just Noticable
• Bumpy
• Noticeable Warping
• Water Damage
• Heavy Wrinkling

Writing

• No Writing
• Unobtrusive writing; pencil BC
• Single Date Mark (Ballpoint)
• Multiple Ballpoint on Cover
• Large Written Characters
• Marker Pen
• Scrawl

Results

Your estimated grade is