• A slight stress line by the staples.   
• The staples themselves are generally centered clean with no rust.   
• Maybe some of the color has chipped or flaked off the cover.   
• And again, the cover is flat with no surface wear; inks are bright with high reflectivity and very little fading.
• And those tricky corners are cut square and sharp with ever so slight blunting permitted.   
• You can tell that this comic has been stored properly and looks as new as the day it was printed.   
• All stress marks should be almost invisible and bindery tears must be less than 1/16 inch.   
• Only the most subtle binding and/or printing defects allowed.   
• Cover is fairly well centered and firmly secured to interior pages.   
• Paper is supple and like new.   
• Spine is tight and flat.   
• Unobtrusive date stamps or arrival dates in pencil or ink are acceptable.   
• Many pedigree collection comics have a notation on the cover or the interior of the comic and are considered a bonus to collectors as they help prove the provenance of the comic.

• It is vibrant and clean with supple pages.   
• The spine may have a couple of very small stress lines at the most 1/4 inch the surface color around the line must not be noticeably broken.   
• The spine is almost completely flat.   
• The cover is relatively flat with almost no surface wear and the cover inks are generally bright with medium to high reflectivity.   
• The staples may show some discoloration, but it's not too noticeable on first glance.   
• The inside pages and covers usually will be off-white to white, but can be creamy or slightly yellowish.

This one allows for some more defects.   

• Some of the above defects along with a small fold or crease in the cover.   
• Very few stress marks on spine.   
• A few small chips on the cover.   
• The cover has some slight surface wear but still has its original gloss and there is nothing major wrong with it. Overall an exceptional, still very collectible.

• This could have one major defect like a larger piece out of the cover (1/4 inch to 1/8 inch) or a one-inch plus tear.   
• It has stress lines around the staples and creases from the opening and closing of the cover.   
• The whiteness of the pages has been changed to off-white to yellowish color.   
• This could have a reading or subscription crease or a rolled spine, but is not damaged enough to reduce eye appeal dramatically.   
• Some discoloration, fading in colors and even minor soiling is allowed.   
• The cover and/or inside pages could have minor tears and/or folds.   
• Cover can be loose from one staple, but cover cannot be completely detached from interior.   
• Pages and inside covers could be brown but not brittle.   
• Depending on the grade of the copy certain amounts are available in this grade. i.e a book that looks 8.0 with a piece of tape on the interior cover is acceptable in this grade.

• Book is complete, but with major creases and or a spine roll.   
• There is almost low cover gloss or at most times none at all.   
• The inside paper quality is not good and yellow and small pieces of them may be missing.   
• If there is a piece missing from the cover, it should be no larger than a 1/2" to 1/4".   
• Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but completely readable. Tape on the comic is considered a defect in this grade.

• All the defects of a VG comic plus more.   
• There is almost low cover gloss or most times none at all.   
• The inside paper quality is not good and yellow and small pieces of them may be missing.   
• If there is a piece missing from the cover, it should be no larger than a 1/2" to 1/4".   
• Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but completely readable.   
• Book is complete, but with no missing pages and is still in a "collectible" grade.

• A copy of a comic in this grade has all pages and most of the covers.   
• A book in this condition is worn, ragged and unattractive.   
• Heavy creases and folds are prevalent.
• paper quality can be very low.
• The spine and/or cover may be completely split.   
• Staples may be missing.   
• Corners are rounded.   
• Coupons cut from cover and or inside pages. Panels can be clipped out.   
• Parts of the front cover may be missing.   
• Soiling, staining, tears, markings or chunks missing will interfere with reading.   
• Brittleness maybe a factor.   
• Moderate to extensive amounts of tape is acceptable on the comic in this grade.

• Copies in this grade typically will have pages and/or around 1/3 or more of the front cover missing.   
• They may have severe strains, mildew or heavy cover abrasion to the point where cover inks are gone.   
• Heavy defacing with paints, varnishes, glues, oil, indelible markers or dyes, etc.   
• The inside pages can be extreme brittleness.