Lot of 2 Think Tank Comics Think Tank Animal #3, Think Tank Fun with PTSD #1

Condition of Think Tank Animal # 3 is LESS THAN PERFECT BUT STILL PRETTY AWESOME (best guess): Number 2 (see below)

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Once upon a time there was a young man who was gifted his first comics from his dad, as many such young men are. They consisted of cowboy and war comics and a few old Turoks. The young boy was hooked. His collection expanded in leaps and bounds over the years until it filled a room. When the young man went off to college he sold the collection curated since childhood to pay for undergraduate work.

But he would not be out of the game for ever. He slowly began building another collection that finally, because of a single large purchase on the other side of the country, became known as the largest private collection east of the Mississippi River. Then he sold it as well to pay for the laundry list of expenses associated with having 5 kids.

Very little is left of the Lincoln Collection. The comic for sale here is one of the few issues remaining.

All comics sold here are personally curated from the original Lincoln Powers (Utah) collection. There aren't many left, as most of the collection has already been sold to other collectors. 

Each comic comes with a Certificate of Authenticity as proof that it was originally part of the Powers collection.

All my comics are sold AS IS. I'm NOT a professional grader, and this is not a store. These are from my personal collection.

Smoke and pet free home. Lots of kids, but I kept them away from the comics. Seriously. I don't let my kids touch my comics.

Here's my personal grading system...

Dr. Redbeard Collectibles Grading System

1. Darn NEAR perfect

This is close to mint with some minor defects.

·         Slight stress on the spine.

·         The staples themselves are generally centered clean with no discernible rust.

·         Maybe some minor color has chipped or flaked off the cover.

·         The cover is flat with no surface wear. Inks are bright with high reflectivity and very little fading. Square and sharp corners with ever so slight blunting permitted.

·         You can tell that this comic has been stored properly and looks almost as new as the day it was printed.

·         The smallest amount of creasing

·         All bindery tears are small.

·         Only some 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.

2. less than perfect but still pretty awesome

This book is an excellent copy with great eye appeal.

·         It is vibrant with supple pages.

·         The spine may have a couple of very small stress lines that break color.

·         Minor creasing.

·         The spine is almost completely flat.

·         The cover is relatively flat with almost minimal 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/white, but can be cream/off-white with the absence of other defects.

·         Some of the above defects along with a fold or crease in the cover that breaks color.

·         Some stress marks on spine.

·         A few small chips on the cover.

·         The cover has some slight surface wear but still has much of its original gloss and there is nothing major wrong with it.

·         Sun shadows, dust shadows and tanning can be darker and have more of a visual impact than those in higher grades.

3. don't feel bad cracking this one open to read it

·         This could have one major defect like a larger piece out of the cover, a long tear or a detached centerfold.

·         It has stress lines on the spine and creases from the opening and closing of the cover.

·         This could have a light reading or subscription crease or a rolled spine, but is not damaged enough to reduce eye appeal dramatically.

·         Some cover discoloration, fading in colors and soiling is allowed.

·         The cover and/or inside pages could have some tears and/or folds.

·         With the absence of many other defects, the cover can be detached from one staple, but cover cannot be completely detached from interior.

·         Books with slightly brittle pages cannot grade higher than 6.5 and generally are even lower in grade.

·         Pages and inside covers could be brownish but not brittle.

·         Depending on the look of the comic, very small amounts of tape could be acceptable in this grade.

4. An okay placeholder until you find a better copy you can afford

·         Cover gloss can be very low or sometimes no gloss at all.

·         These books are complete, but can have major creases and a spine roll.

·         The inside paper quality can be low and small pieces of the pages may be missing.

·         Books with brittle pages cannot grade higher than 3.5 and generally are even lower in grade.

·         Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but readable.

·         A larger amount of tape is also allowed in this grade. (once again, CBCS does not recommend placing tape on a comic)

5. possibly attacked by a bear

·         All the above defects of a VG comic with more significant wear.

·         The inside paper quality might not be good and pieces of the pages may be missing.

·         Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but readable.

·         Large pieces can be missing from the cover.

·         Long or many spine splits are possible.

·         The cover and pages many be detached but not missing and is still in a "collectible" grade.

·         A significant amount of tape may have been applied to cover and pages.

·         Book may be fragile.

·         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.

·         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 may be a factor.

·         Extensive amounts of tape are acceptable on the comic in these grades.

6. well lived and deserving of a good death

It has major defects to the point that there is almost no collector value.

·         Copies in this grade typically will have pages and/or the front cover or back cover may be missing.

·         They may have severe strains or heavy cover abrasions to the point where cover inks are gone.

·         Heavy defacing with paints, varnishes, glues, oil, indelible markers or dyes, etc.

·         The inside pages can have extreme brittleness.

These designations are only used for the purpose of authentication. Numerous collectors and comic fans will purchase coverless comics to either read or to obtain a filler copy of a book for their collection.

Books that are coverless, but are otherwise complete, will receive a grade of 0.3 from CBCS as will covers missing their interiors.

Coverless copies that have incomplete interiors, wraps or single pages will receive a grade of 0.1 from CBCS as will just front covers or just back covers.

·         Copies in this designation typically will in most cases be beyond collectability to the majority of the hobby.

·         Rare key comics and incomplete pages i.e. centerfolds are considered to be valuable by the collecting community for either restoration purposes or for individuals who just wish to own a piece of comic history.