Case Study 16
Amazing Spiderman 1
Restoration Removal
Our customer got in touch with us about his copy of Amazing Spiderman 1 and concerns he had about the cover being attached to the comic with glue. Upon inspection, we pointed out all the areas where glue was obvious and explained the type of damage that would occur during its removal. After talking in detail with the client, we agreed to go ahead with a minimal invasive approach and to attempt as much glue removal as possible. We made it clear that, due to the subjective nature of grading, there was a risk that the comic could still come back classed as restored if the grader thinks there is still glue and they believe it reinforces certain parts of the book. The typical way most companies remove glue, is to scrape the whole area, which usually leaves the comic looking a complete eyesore and leads to a lower grade. On the rare occasions we agree to undertake this kind of work, we tend to go for a calculated approach and do just enough to meet the criteria for a blue label, but retain the highest grade possible.There were a number of small splits, cracks and tears down the spine, all reinforced with glue that had also seeped through and stuck to the first wrap. After cleaning the comic of stacking dirt, we separated the cover from the areas where it was glued to the first wrap. Then we proceeded to clean off as much of the glue as would be safe, while carefully making sure all glue, which was on the edge of any splits and tears, was completely cleaned away. This was done with the aim of making it obvious during the CGC restoration check that no glue was holding or reinforcing a broken or weak area.
Once we had done as much glue removal as we were comfortable with, we proceeded to press the comic. We had to go carefully due to the condition of the spine and bottom staple, which meant we could not address a deep crease on the back cover as we would have liked, but we were able to do enough to minimise it. With the condition of the spine and detached bottom staple, the comic was highly unlikely to ever grade higher than a 3.5, and the danger was that if the top staple became detached during any work (or even during the subsequent CGC grading process, which was an unfortunate possibility), then the grade would likely have maxed out at a 2.5. And so it was a relief to hear of the customer's happiness at getting it back from CGC.
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