I’m sticking to reading only myself. They got a few titles that look good. I like Matt Kindt’s work and a few others. As for chasing for spec, meh… I honestly don’t care if I end up with the “Not First Printing” at this point.
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Was t public but a response to a direct message.
That’s where I’m coming from. Which is it? Super exclusive and only available in single issue hard copies or let anybody and everybody copy and reproduce it?
Yeah. So, for example, if you had a direct message saying you were allowed to do it, that would be a license, but revocable by the copyright holder at any time.
For sure. If he made a public announcement that he revoked the license, it would then be an evidentiary matter as to whether copies were produced after that revocation. What we call in the industry: a f&($ing nightmare.
These hypotheticals are fun! Haven’t thought about ip like this since law school exams.
Yeah, I try to keep up with tech patents and such… I actually do some contract work for some open source so we gotta stay on top of things like this. But I’m still a newb when it comes to artwork and such…
Copyright has been a bit of a Wild West land where the rich robber baron ip holders run the whole show for a while. I thought it was funny a year or two back when Mickey was celebrating his “90th anniversary.” A weird anniversary for sure. I saw it and said “oh you mean the expiration date of his copyright under the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act? Cool. Have fun POPifying Mickey with Funko in an attempt to get a new copyright date.”
Oof. What a nightmare piece of evidence to litigate. So, did they or did they not grant a license?
- They love it.
- Not authorized.
- They’re flattered.
It’s like an ambiguity sandwich.
So they shutout a retailer if they sell more than 1 copy if caught of their books but are flattered if they print up copies and sell as bootlegs? That logic makes absolutely zero sense…
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And the weirdest thing is cgc graded one.
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For me, that’s the most significant issue here - CGC graded one. They are supposed to be the crux of catching things IMO. Grades, Resto… and yes even bootlegs. It may not be explicit in their corporate criteria but c’mon guys. You’re supposed to be protecting the consumer.
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Thats what bothered me about this all to begin with. It was out there that these were bootlegs. I guess it would have absolved them if Bad Idea gave permission for them to be done, like it was an approved marketing tool but they said they were not, but they love bootlegs, which is a grey area to say the least. Needless to say, someone spent $550 for a bootleg, that they could have purchased for .45 cents and had graded themselves. (if CGC is still grading the ashcans.)
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Sadly, I have zero sympathy for whoever paid that much money for it… 
The last year with CGC… esssh… I know they’re under duress with record numbers of submissions, but the quality, accuracy, and something like this does not look good for them. I will not change because I follow the money; not the quality. Most everyone else uses them still; and until others alter their purchasing habits, then I will not change to the other guys. Lastly, there are times I wonder if they’re even looking at the Moderns for more than a minute from my personal observations with my own submissions.
I work in a big company and I’ve seen the lessening of quality when deadlines and pressure hit. I think CGC is there right now.
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CBCS is looking better and better all the time, too boot. In the fact that their grading seems to be more uniform, and in the improving quality of their labels and slabs. I’m not sure why this hobbies consumer base has no desire to move on from CGC while they sort through their issues. If we, the consumer, held CGC responsible to our quality expectations by taking our business elsewhere, I believe CGC would be forced to correct course. Having said that, I haven’t switched to CBCS either…yet. I can’t justify the potential losses atm. Someone with real influence needs to lead the way here. Im not so sure an entity that fits that bill even exists. 
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I use CGC because I know how its submission process and membership work. I feel too lazy to learn how CBCS does everything even if I am kinda tempted to give them a try.
I’m new to grading my comics and have tried both. I enjoy CBCS when it comes to the overall process of submitting books. My biggest issue with CGC is that you have to submit 25 books in order to prescreen for a certain grade. Another plus for CBCS is they prescreen for pressing and only charge you if it gets pressed with no reject fee. CCS charges a $10 screening fee no matter what which is pointless when pressing is only $12. Might as well just press them all at that point 
I personally switched to CBCS. And we’re starting to use them for anything we send in to get graded for our stores. I prefer the slabs more, and for anything modern the difference in value is shrinking or nonexistent if the book is hot enough.
CGC to me has always seemed kind of culty on the submission side. If you’re one of the groups or stores that uses them a ton, they’re great. If you’re not part of that club, it’s hit or miss more often now.
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CGC is starting to lose their aura of invincibility. CGC favors certain shops if they do business with them. CBCS has verified a signature program,which is a plus.CBCS also has cheaper grading fees. CBCS could overtake CGC if enough CGC doesn’t get their shit together .CGC should have two departments for fast track and slow track grading to make grading more efficient.CGC doesn’t care about us .Maybe we shouldn’t care about them as well?
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