The Official Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide, 3rd Edition (Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide)
by Robert M Overstreet
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert M OverstreetEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-12
ISBN: 0375721061
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: House of Collectibles
Book Reviews of The Official Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide, 3rd Edition (Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide)
Book Review: Grading Guide - A Work in Progress
Summary: 3 Stars
I own the two previous versions of the Overstreet Grading Guide and have a few historical observations which may put the current work into perspective. First, the grading world was stood on its ear with the advent of third party grading companies that "certify" the grades of comics, by far the most prominent being CGC which began operations in 2000. Second, grading is not a science, it is an art. Like Robin Williams in "Dead Poet's Society" you can't grade a comic book on an axis like was suggested for grading poetry in the text Robin taught from in literature class.
What you see here is Bob Overstreet's second attempt to incorporate more CGC-like grading standards into his publication. The attempt at grading uniformity is laudable but not always attainable. True the defects chart/graph in the guide shows that for a 9.8 grade, a book should have no more than two defects, yet a color plate of Infinite Crisis #1, shown as example of a 9.8 book, shows three defects indicated by arrows.
CGC however demonstrates similar occassional inconsistency. In the Overstreet Grading Guide no bindery tears are allowed in 9.9 (Mint) books. I have owned and currently own a number of 9.9 and 10.0 CGC books. None have any bindery tears, except one 9.9 I previously owned which had a prominent and easily visible bindery tear in the upper left corner. I have tried to nail CGC down just what the difference is between a 9.9 and a 9.8 book, relied on their advice in my submissions, but to no avail. I have produced CGC graded 9.9 books from my submissions, but not when expected.
This grading guide is just that; a "guide," to be used in combination with experience in the comics hobby as well as hopefully some education, training and dedication. It is not a bible to be referred to in attempts to discern the objective truths of grading; there are few. What it is, is a solid guide to introductory and intermediate level grading. To go beyond that you have to have enough knowledge to identify the inconsistencies in this guide and deal with them. If you have expensive, key issue Golden or Silver Age issues or high grade issues, you should strongly consider submission to CGC. CGC graded comics are most fungible in the marketplace and will always draw multiples of the bids placed on non-CGC graded comics in the same grade at auction.
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