A very appealing cover with no major flaws. The cover reflects light well (with 70% or more of original gloss) and has strong dark coloring. The most noticeable flaw is the "No 1" inked in above the hand holding the net. There is minor color breaking creasing and general non-color breaking creasing (see below for Definition of a Crease), but relatively little wear or scuffing. The spine has a series of visible stress marks. The back cover has a four inch tear running perpendicular from the spine. General light soiling on the front and back covers, though the whites of the cover art come through nicely. Interior pages are very supple and off-white to a light tan at the edges with strong colors to the story panels . The staples are extremely well placed and the cover nicely cut with color extending nearly all the way to the spine, though the spine line is slightly askew from the spine. The cover is nicely attached to both staples. The cover's edges are very slightly creased at the top. The corners are slightly rounded and there is a slight tear at the top left corner at the spine. The book lies relatively flat with 2 of the corners rising 3 to 4 millimeters. The book is complete with all pages securely attached with no interior tears or rips except the corner tips of the pages for the second story have been torn off and there are some very tiny tears at the edge of some of the pages (all relatively minor flaws). A number of flaws, but still a very appealing book which displays and reads well!
Batman is my favorite comic hero. As Challengers of the Unknown resemble Batman broken up into four heroes, it was natural to like their series as well. Like Batman they have no superpowers, leaving them to rely on their wits and cunning to a larger degree than their superhero counterparts. As with Batman of this era the plots are full of Asimov styled devices, aliens, and creatures. One of the charms of the Challenger series was the comradery of the heroes, Ace, Red, Prof, and Rocky. As the series evolved the banter between the boys was priceless. I have nearly every issue and I highly recommend it to others!
Comic Grading - Definition of a Crease.
Crease - A fold which causes ink removal, usually resulting in a white line. This seems to be the sense of what a crease is to Overstreet's Grading Guidelines and most comic graders. I note two categories of creasing in my descriptions, 1) color breaking and 2) non-color breaking.
For a color breaking crease, it must show that white line, though of course the thickness, length, and cover location of the crease are all important factors in how severely the crease actually degrades the cover's impact.
A non-color breaking crease is technically not a crease since it doesn't break color, but to those of us who have spent hours obsessing over our books, it is an interruption in the gloss or how the cover reflects light. Take a smooth unblemished white sheet of paper and press your thumb nail into it several times using varying amounts of pressure. As the paper is white there is no break in color, but depending on lighting and its angle to the paper eventually you would be able to see every point where the nail impressed the paper. Again the noticeability, number, and locations of non-color breaking creases are factors affecting the quality of the cover.
If a cover is generally smooth, this means the non-color breaking creases present are interfering little with the cover's appearance. These kinds of creases range from unnoticeable in normal viewing conditions to very intrusive. A comic must be very carefully handled to avoid leaving these impressions at the edges.
Unfortunately, scans of the covers, even the SuperSize Images I employ, do not always fully depict these imperfections. I try to fill in the gaps by offering my estimate of what the Overstreet Grade would likely be, and by giving a detailed written description.
Like most comic buyers and graders I have exchanged thoughts with, we agree that Overstreet Grading Guidelines provide a helpful starting point to access a book's quality, but we all have our own tastes and biases, and sharp disagreements on various books as well as complaints about Overstreet's approach. Different books will impress you differently than they would me, which is why I try to be detailed and factual. I am merely trying to provide my buyers with enough background so the book received satisfies or exceeds the expectations generated by my listing.
See my listings for many high quality DC Comics from 1960 to 1973.
International buyers please note the $8 handling fee cited below. Note the eBay and PayPal fees which I pay out of your purchase price are in excess of $12 on purchases over $70!!
As of this listing over 90% of all issues of Detective Comics 270 to 400, Action Comics 282 thru 482, & Worlds Finest 115 to 244, are in stock. Some are on auction or in my eBay store. Open to requests for individual issues to list on eBay!!!
Picture Perfect Comics -- because I want to give as true a picture of the condition of my books as possible. I use a black border to display my comics, since it highlights the defects that may be there; borderless scans cut off the edges of the books where creases, staples, and rips are most likely to be. All my scans are of the actual books for sale, without comic bags to obscure the view. As many defects are impossible to evaluate unless the image is SuperSized, that service is provided below.
Expert Shipping!!! I am a very careful shipper. I have shipped thousands of comics commercially prior to eBaying. Before shipping my 1st eBay book, I sought out coaching from an extremely experienced eBay seller. There have been no reports of a problem with any of my eBay shipments and if you check my feedback you will see my packing has impressed many buyers.
I have tried to be precise and reasonable in my grading. However, since grading has many gray areas ... No Condition is guaranteed. No one can catch or describe every flaw, though generally my listings in detail and accuracy surpass 90% of eBay posts. Better yet, with supersize images for every item you can make sounder judgements about the quality of the item. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want additional scans via email.
I am posting a number of Silver Age Superman, Batman,
and other DC titles. Consider me for your 1960 to 1973 DC Comic needs. Where else can you get 90% of all Challengers of the Unknown issues (though this may change as I am starting to list these)? Please check out my other auctions. I would be happy to respond to requests for individual issues to list on eBay. Virtually all my 30 plus year-old books were purchased by me, carefully read by me, come from a smokeless and petless environment.
Rules:
An e-mail response is required within 3 days from the end of the auction unless payment has been made. Your mailing address and a statement of how you intend to pay needs to be included in the e-mail. Funds are due within 10 days from the ending date of the auction. Auction win may be cancelled and the item relisted if these requirements are not met.
Within the U.S. shipping is $8.00 Priority Mail or $6.00 First Class Package for this listing and $1.00 for each additional comic shipped. I will combine non-comic purchases for shipping charging only for actual shipping plus only ONE handling fee (the highest handling fee among those listed for the items being shipped) and a $1.00 fee for each additional purchase. For non-continential U.S. areas actual shipping plus a $2.00 handling fee is charged; please wait to be invoiced as the eBay shipping calculator may be incorrect.
For international shipping, books and similar purchases can be shipped by First Class Mail International (FCMI) which is generally $20 less than Priority Mail International (PMI)! Both methods are INSURED. The handling fee for shipping is $9 for FCMI or $7 for PMI. Buyers choosing to ship PMI will be charged a $9 handling fee, but $2 will be refunded upon shipping. For multiple purchases, items will be combined to lower shipping costs. Buyers will be charged actual shipping, plus the highest handling fee cited in the listings for the items purchased, plus a $2 fee for each purchase after the first.
If Picture Perfect Comics determines the Buyer's address is not suitable for FCMI service, the Buyer agrees to cancel this transaction without leaving feedback, if he does not choose to pay for PMI service.
Additional Terms
- All sales are final. All items are sold As-Is. Bidding is an agreement to accept the item as pictured and described.
- Any differences between actual shipping\handling costs and those calculated by eBay's software will be decided by the terms of this listing. Shipping overpayments of less than $1.00 will not be refunded unless requested by the buyer. A note with payment or an email at any point will suffice. Buyers have made it clear that tiny refunds are unwanted.
- If you have questions, please email prior to bidding. Having asked my share of questions, I encourage those with the bravery to send an email to do so. Shipping quotes generally answered within 30 hours.
- Buyers with less than 10 feedback or even 0 feedback with no negative feedback are quite welcome and DO NOT need prior approval. I am happy to help newer eBayers with their questions.
