Set Description:
This is probably my second favorite science fiction series (Star Trek being my first). I didn't discover that the comic and magazine series existed until I returned to the hobby in, coincidentally, 1999. I like both series, but the magazine seems to capture the tone of the show more than the comic.
Putting this run together was a bit of an experiment for me. I don't usually try and attain a "highest graded" set nor do I usually set out to purchase 9.8 copies of books. Typically, I try and submit the best copies I have and am generally pleased if books attain 9.6 with 9.8s being a nice bonus.
However, the price difference between already graded 9.8 copies and high-grade raw copies of this run offered by reputable dealers wasn't nearly as large as that for books from the big two publishers. That, combined with the low census numbers, made this seem like an appealing niche set, something that not everyone else has or is pursuing.
However, there has been a learning curve and at the end I'm not sure I would pursue another graded magazine collection. Certainly not one by Charlton - which is a hard choice as I would very much like to have a Six Million Dollar Man run - and certainly not trying to attain 9.8 copies.
When I look at the books in this run and I see the waves created and stress put on the spine by the pressure from the inner well as well as possible other post-slabbing damage, I feel that perhaps magazines - at least ones with a stapled spine - might not be good candidates for encapsulation.
I also think the lack of prescreening on magazine submissions combined with what I suspect is a slightly different grading scale than traditional comics, makes submitting raw magazines in an attempt to hit a certain grade a real gamble.
Overall, I'm proud to have this set, though I would probably feel more of a sense of accomplishment if I had submitted more of the books myself. And I think I will continue to put together a run of nice raw copies of these same books.
Yet, in trying to get raw copies, it impresses on me how infrequently really nice copies of these magazines turn up. Perhaps it's due to a general lack of interest in the property or in comic magazines in general (there's better representation of the comic run on the census) but I also think because of Charlton's poor printing practices that these are genuinely hard to find in high grade.
So while I spent more than I would have on a raw set and it times it was a bit of an eye-opening experience, I do feel a sense of satisfaction in having a high-grade CGC run of series that I feel a fondness for and not everyone is pursuing.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 1 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 1 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
0502567011
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Owner Comments
This issue adapts the first episode of season 1, Breakaway. The cover art used on a number of items of Space:1999 merchandise, including an HG Toys puzzle and later the laserdisc release of the series.
This copy illustrates some of the issues inherent in Charlton publications to due their low printing quality. The black inks for the background run out before reaching the top right edge of the front cover. There was a 9.8 copy in a ComicConnect auction that had the same issue but on the bottom right edge. I own a couple of raw copies that don't have this issue at all but I don't think they were quite nice enough to get graded. And of course, there's a stray printing artifact on the back cover.
I purchased this copy already graded. I had previously tried bidding on the 9.8 copy on CC but it went beyond what I was comfortable paying for this type of book and didn't want to get in a bidding war with someone. So I purchased this copy from Doug Sulipa.
I can see a couple of small stress marks and perhaps a slight bend to the top right corner, but overall I would say this is would I would expect for a 9.6 and I think it presents well considering the predominately black cover.
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Edit - 2/24/24
The above is for the 9.6 copy serial number 2019583015.
I was able to upgrade to a 9.8 copy today but it was an ordeal.
Doing my daily Space: 1999 search on eBay I spotted a CGC 9.8 copy that a seller had just listed. He had both a starting bid and a Buy-It-Now price which was out of character for the seller and all his other listings were just straight auctions. To top it off, the BIN price was less than what I paid for my 9.6 copy and significantly less than what the last 9.8 copy I'd seen up for auction ($460 on ComicConnect back on 3/21/20).
I'd held off from bidding with this seller before because his $20 shipping charge and lack of combined shipping policy had given my pause. But even with the shipping cost, I felt it was too good to pass up.
The book arrived and sure enough the seller had used a Priority Mail Medium Flat box which was $17 at the time (less if you factor eBay's discount to seller on labels printed through them). That might have been ok but the seller had wrapped the slab a couple of times in bubble wrap and that was it. The slab was completely smashed on the top right corner with a 2" piece missing from the edge with shards of plastic floating around in the slab.
But fortunately the slab was still sealed on all four corners, the label didn't look like it had been swapped out, and once I confirmed with CGC that this would qualify for a reholder I decided to keep the book. I had informed the seller immediately of the damage but that I would keep the book. He did refund the $20 for the reholder fee, but I still had to pay the $24 for a CGC membership for the "privilege" of submitting a book for a new holder, and all the shipping cost back and forth. Still, even with all that additional cost, I still have about as much into this as I did my 9.6 copy.
I was nervous about whether CGC would decide to regrade the book and whether the grade would go down, but fortunately it stayed a 9.8 and this copy presents better than my 9.6 as black cover inks don't run out before they reach the top edge of the cover.
So now I'm only one book away from having an all 9.8 set.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 2 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 2 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
3737026001
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Owner Comments
This cover art was also used for one of the HG Toys puzzles. Though the weapon(?) Koenig is holding didn't appear in the show, it very much looks like a legitimate prop from the show.
This is a copy that I purchased raw from Bob Storms and is the first "high-grade" copy I purchased for this run and owned it for several years before deciding to attempt a CGC graded run of this series. Like my copy of #1, this illustrates some of Charlton's printing issues: there's a rather large and obvious printing anomaly in the logo on the front cover.
I decided to have this issue graded in an attempt to achieve at least a 9.6 copy rather than wait for an already graded 9.6/9.8 copy to come up for sale. The person who did the pressing work for me estimated that this might come back 9.4 so I was very excited when I found out it came back a 9.8.
However, for me this copy is a cautionary example of why encapsulation may not be the best for comics and magazines. While I was thrilled with the 9.8 grade in the top left corner, there are some pages that now drop down below the bottom edge of the cover and when the slab is tilted they slide back. When they drop down below the cover's edge there are still pages visible at the top edge so I'm not sure how many wraps are effected by this. I'm certain this wasn't an issue before I sent the book off so this may be a result of pressing, the weight of the book being suspended in the slab or both.
Also, on the back cover image it can be noted that appears the inner well is creating pressure at approximately the middle of the spine, creating a proto-spine stress.
While I'm happy to have this copy as part of my set, I can't help but feel that I did more damage to this copy than good by having it submitted for grading.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 3 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 3 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
1287058011
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Owner Comments
This cover seems to be somewhat inspired by a scene from the episode Ring Around the Moon.
This is another copy that I purchased already graded from Doug Sulipa.
This is a copy does have a printing defect similar to issue #1 but his time on the back cover: the yellow inks don't reach the top left edge of the back cover. It also seems there's something somewhat similar happening on the front cover where one of the color plates doesn't quite make it all the way to the top edge of the cover.
This is a copy where I'm a little surprised that it achieved a 9.8 grade. There seems to be some scuffing to the middle of the front cover along the spine edge. It's possible though that CGC grades attributed this to being a printing defect and gave it a pass. There also appears to be a number of spine stresses and I can't convince myself that scaling is the reason. Which is to say, because magazines are larger than comics, the defects allowed would be proportionately larger as well.
While I've pointed out the printing defects that show up on this Charlton magazines, I think it's worth noting that out of this entire run, this is the only copy that has a "bad" cover wrap, part of the front cover image appears on the back cover. Maybe it's different with magazines, but considering Charlton's reputation for shoddy printing, this seems like a pretty good track record for cover wraps.
Overall, it's a nice copy that I think presents well considering the predominately dark background but I can't help but feel that perhaps these Sulipa copies were graded during a loose period.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 4 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 4 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
3737026002
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Owner Comments
This cover features images from a number of episodes including Earthbound, Death's Other Dominion and War Games. This artwork was also used (not sure if legitimately) for an iron-on t-shirt transfer.
This copy was actually a part of a raw lot of issues #1-5 that I purchased off of eBay. The lot was a bit of a gamble as the picture accompanying the listing was simply of the issues propped upright on a rack with no picture of the back covers. This copy had some defects - a very faint bend to the bottom left corner of the back cover, a tiny impact bend to the bottom of the spine, a couple of spine stresses - and I was sure that these would preclude it from a 9.8 but still might be nice enough for a 9.6 with a press.
This was submitted along with the issue #2 for pressing and grading. This copy is the one that I really had my fingers crossed on as there was (and as of this writing, still is) only one 9.8 copy on the census and that copy is currently owned by another member on the Registry. At the time there were no 9.6 copies on the census and the next highest copy was a single 9.4.
The person who did the pressing was unsure of what the results might be for this copy, conservatively estimating the low NM range. So I was very excited to see that it came back as the (for now) lone 9.6 copy on the census.
The press did wonders for the slight bend to the bottom corner on the back cover, but while the bend to the bottom of the spine is gone, there is still evidence of slight impact damage visible on the back cover. And the spine stresses are still clearly visible though they pop more in the pictures than in hand. I was concerned about the ink streak at the top of Koenig's shoulder on the front cover, but thankfully CGC seems to have dismissed it as a printing defect which is what I suspected and hoped.
While not a 9.8 copy, I still feel that this copy was a big "win" for me.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 5 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 5 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
0338180008
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Owner Comments
I like the colors and the geometric patters on this cover as it is reminiscent of similar patterns seen on some of the set backgrounds in the show.
This issue is one that initially I had purchased as CGC 9.4 which played a part in swaying me to pursue a higher grade set. At the time I only had a raw copy of #1 that was purchased from J S Comics as a "NM-" that was probably VF-ish at best, and the NM copy of #2 that I had purchased from Bob Storms. I purchased the CGC 9.4 copy of this issue off eBay for what I thought was a reasonable price with the intent to crack the book out of the holder to continue my run of raw copies.
However, after removing the book from the holder I was both surprised and disappointed with what CGC determined was qualified for a 9.4 grade on this copy. This experience is what influenced me to pursue 9.6 and higher copies when I decided to put together a graded set. While these Charlton magazines are difficult to find in high grade, I felt based on what I saw with this first graded copy that simply buying 9.4 copies wasn't really going to be anything special.
This 9.8 graded copy was purchased from a seller on eBay who had sent me a discount offer when I first put this book in my watch list. Because of the seller's use of "free" shipping, this is probably the least expensive 9.8 copy I purchased for this run.
Incidentally, I sold the de-slabbed 9.4 copy after having acquired this 9.8 copy and included the label with the book. So unless the buyer has re-submitted the book, the lone 9.4 copy on the census for this issue doesn't actually exist any longer.
This copy is definitely much nicer than the 9.4 copy although there are a couple of spine stresses that I would be surprised to see on a 9.8 comic book. There also seems to be some pressure being put on the middle of the spine by the inner well as evidenced on the back cover, creating a proto-spine stress which again makes me question the wisdom of having these magazines slabbed. Still, I think this copy presents well overall.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 6 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 6 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
1287058014
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Owner Comments
My absolute favorite cover of the series and one of my favorite comic covers. The image is derived from the episode Mission of the Darians and the woman in the background is supposed to be Joan Collins, though her character didn't actually have facial markings.
This issue was always high on my priority list of acquiring in high grade, and constantly looking at the 9.8 copy that Doug Sulipa had for sale in my eBay watch list played a big part in swaying me to go for a high grade graded run.
At first glance this book looks immaculate, exactly what I would expect on a 9.8 comic book. However, there is some color breaking on the edge of the spine...the kind I would expect to see on a modern comic which have covers that come to a sharp bend at the spine and are prone to color breaks. But these magazines have the traditional cover wrapping that results in a rounded spine, making me think that this color breaking is perhaps the result of too aggressive of a press.
Still, as of this writing, this copy is the lone 9.8 on the census, the lone 9.4 and 9.2 copies being the only others in the NM range. I'm very proud to own this book.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 7 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 7 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
1287058016
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Owner Comments
This cover doesn't seem to reference any particular episode though the set pieces in the background seem to be reminiscent of those in The Infernal Machine.
This copy was purchased already graded from Doug Sulipa. This is another issue that kind of surprises me as to what was allowed for the grade.
This copy presents very well from the front, but there is at least one clearly visible spine stress on the back cover, as well as some ink transfer from another magazine (possibly issue #8 as that has dark inks on the front cover) on the back cover. There's also a tiny chip off the bottom left corner of the back cover. It's possible that damage occurred post-grading pre-slabbing so I'm unsure whether this defect is actually allowed for a 9.8 magazine.
And while the complaint about foreign matter showing up in slabs seems to be a complaint that's become more prolific in recent months, this slab has the distinction of also having some tiny plastic pieces suspended in the back of the slab. They don't seem to be affecting the comic at all.
Still, this copy was graded 7/31/18 and it remains the sole 9.8 copy on the census with only one 9.4 copy in the NM range. I'm not sure if that's a testament to how hard this issue is to find in high grade - I certainly haven't come across any raw copies that I thought would be an upgrade from this copy - or just how little collectors care about this title. Probably a combination of both.
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Slot: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 8 |
Item: |
Space: 1999 Magazine 8 Universal |
Grade: |
CGC |
Cert #: |
1287058018
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Owner Comments
This issue adapts the first episode of the second season The Metamorph. Since this issue predates the 7th issue of the comic series, this is technically the first appearance of Maya in comics. I like the repeated eye imagery as the camera would always zoom in on Maya's eyes when she would transform. The composition of the image certainly reflects the more action-orientated tone of the the 2nd season.
This copy was purchased already graded from Doug Sulipa. It also has the printing defect of the color running out before reaching the top left corner edge of the back cover. There are a couple of spine stresses that are slightly visible on the back cover, but overall I think this is what I would expect condition wise from a 9.8 comic book.
As of this writing, there is only one other 9.8 copy on the census, two 9.6s and one 9.2. While conventional wisdom would be that the print numbers for these would go down with each successive issue, and that this issue would probably be the lowest since most Space: 1999 merchandising was abandoned at the outset of season 2, these census numbers suggest there might be more high grade copies of this issue out there. It's hard to say, and I haven't seen any really high grade raw candidates show up on eBay since purchasing this copy.
Time will tell. It will be interesting to see if the first appearance craze currently driving the comic market will ever find it's way to Maya's first appearance. While Space: 1999 is much more of a cult show as opposed to a show like Star Trek, Maya is what most people remember fondly from the show and was popular enough at the time that there was brief talk of her getting her own spin-off show.
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