I’ve been a major Silver Age collector for over a decade now, I wish I could afford these books earlier in my off and on 35 years of comic collecting. I’ve always heard of comic fakes, however they were never very common until now. Just this week shopping Silver Age online I ran across 3 fake books. The first is labeled a replica and not trying to pass it off as real, but whoever bought it will be trying to pass it off as real I’m sure.
This is a real tough one to figure out without holding and smelling the book because it is falsely aged and stained. The book even has rusted staples to complete the hokey doke. The one thing that would tip me off on this copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 would be the stress marks. A 60 year old stress mark is going to sit flat and have wear on the inside of the stress mark. When you deal with a lot of silver age low graders this is something that will be come recognizable, but other than that very tough to tell online that this copy is a fake.
Keeping with the Amazing Fantasy 15 since it’s probably the most common of faked books, here’s one currently for sale on Mercari. The listing is enough to tell you it’s fake comics found in my friends attic don’t know nothing about them. Yet the seller is selling Wanda Vision Marvel Legend toys so obviously they are going to recognize 1st Spidey. This one is an easy one to tell its fake because it’s doesn’t have the blue around the trade dress letters like an original would.
Now this fake was listed last night on Mercari for $12 someone bought it immediately then the seller cancelled and relisted for $1200. I assume someone alerted the seller that this book is worth more and they would pay more, it’s a cutthroat comic world out there. Now I own a real copy of this book and when I saw it I knew something was immediately off. The color seemed a bit off so I zoomed in and low and behold Flashes boot of the fake is missing a few lines and the yellow comes out of the lines on a real copy. I alerted the seller that his comic was fake told him why and guess what he did raised the price to $2000 and cropped out the bottom of the book and Flash’s boot.
Moral of the story fakes in comics are now highly rampant, protect yourself compare and zoom. If a deal is too good to be true on a major Silver Age key most likely 99.999% of the time it’s a scam or fake.
Yours in in a cbcs slab. You’re good. What would concern me is the older CBCS
Slabs weren’t as robust security wise and if it’s a high priced book potential for tampering.
This was such a disturbing post to read - but highly needed. I rarely buy older books now do this issue, and this post merely confirms it. I doubt I would catch the fakes without being more trained on it. It’s sad but the comic market is hot and the whacks come out of the woodwork to scam us.
I generally have a rule that if I spend more than $100 on a book than it needs to be slabbed.
I don’t know if I’ve ever paid $100 for a raw book online…and only moderns of in person.
I think the only raw I purchased for $100 was a GI Joe #1 newsstand that was in NM- condition. But that was in person where I could examine the book myself.
Wow. I just realised I do not have anything like the expertise I would need to spot one of the really good fakes! The subsequent stories make me furious. The brass neck that some of those sellers demonstrate, even when called out on their behaviour, is sickening.
Not trying to sound holier than thou, but I just could not scam someone like that. Sheesh, some days I get very deflated about human behaviour…
I’ve always wondered this-people are careful looking over golden/silver age books for things like color touch-ups and trimming. Do you think there are any seriously modified modern books out there? People just assume because they are newer, they have no restoration or modifications. I suppose it would be about if they are valuable enough to go through the trouble for the scammer.
I read a report once of somebody who bought that Hughes Harley cover from New 52. They got it at a con and later at home found out it was just a high quality color print slipped in front of some other book.
Then I ask, did they get the book at a con, or did the con get them?
I found the Flash fake on Mercari as well. Seller’s name is “Phlip”. Might as well call yourself “whore out my own grandmother” because that’s the vibe I get.
He JUST joined Mercari and looks like a total beta cuck, too.
