Comic Book Grading

Grading has become one of the best ways to encapsulate a collector's favorite books along with identifying and preserving its value. For some collectors it is so much more than just a plastic case with a number on it. Rather, it is an opportunity to mark a comic as unique, forming a more personal relationship for the collector.

Grant Adey, owner and operator of Halo Certifications of Australia, is dedicated to creating unique graded slabs. Comic Burst had the exciting opportunity of being the first American company to interview hi. We hope you enjoy reading as much as we did producing.

PGX, known as CGG prior to 2002, was founded by Daniel Patterson and Terrance Leder with the mission to “meet the growing demand for impartial, third-party comic grading and continues to be the fastest, most affordable grading service in the industry.” Based in the US, PGX is one of the three major grading companies and claims a grading staff with over 150 years of combined experience.

Welcome to Part 3 of our series on grading comics. In this installment we will take a look at Comic Book Certification Services (CBCS). The company was founded by Alec Born and Steve Borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at CGC, and was recently purchased by Beckett Media.

When you sit down to read a book involving Galactus what do you see? Power? Moral and ethical questions? A funny hat? Well if all you can think of is wow that guy is enormous and I like that then read on, because in Part 2 of our comic grading series we are taking a deeper dive into the rating system of Certified Guaranty Corporation (CGC), the largest of the grading companies.

Imagine you’ve hit the jackpot and found a Hulk #181 in a box in your grandpa’s attic. After your happy dance (don’t fall through the ceiling), what should you do next? Any serious comic collector will immediately have Wolverine’s first appearance graded and slabbed. You want to know what exactly your comic is worth, and keep it that way, right?

Grading and slabbing, as means to assessing and protecting value, is obviously an important part of the collecting experience. Unfortunately, it can also be filled with jargon and nuance that can be intimidating, especially if you are new to collecting. In this series, we will explore this process by first examining what exactly grading and slabbing is in general, and then dig into the specifics of the three primary grading companies: Certified Guaranty Corporation (CGC), Comic Book Certification Service (CBCS), and Professional Grading Experts (PGX).