Glossary of Terms   “So we speak the same Comic-ese”

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Annual – A comic that is published once a year.

Ashcan – A prepublication comic book shown to potential advertisers.

Atom Age – Refers to comics published around 1946-1956.

Bi-monthly – A comic that is published once every two months.

Bi-weekly – A comic that is published once every two weeks.

Brittleness – Paper that has deteriorated to a point that it may fall apart or crumble to the touch.

Bronze Age – Refers to comics published between 1970-1985.

Browning – Aging paper that is between tanning and brittleness.

Cameo – A brief appearance of a character in a comic book.

Certification – A process designed to provide the comic book collector with comprehensive information on any given book, giving the collector a confidence base when purchasing books.

Chromium Cover – A limited edition book which has a special foil cover.

Cleaning – Removing dust, dirt, and other materials from a comic book.

Color Touch – The process of using colored inks to cover missing color pieces during restoration.

Comic Book Dealer – Someone who buys and sells comic books as an occupation.

Comic Book Repair – An attempt to repair a loose staple, centerfold, or tear without trying to change the appearance of the book. Repair is often considered a defect, is usually fairly evident, and usually involves using glue, tape or other common items.

Comic Book Restoration – Any attempt, amateur or professional, to change or enhance a comic book’s appearance.

Comic Code Authority – In 1954 a committee was formed by major publishers to set guidelines for acceptable content for comic books.

CGC - a competitor who does a good job grading books but can’t match PGX pricing or delivery. See Why PGX

Complete Run – Having all issues of a specific comic book title.

Condition – Usually referred to as grade, it describes the state of preservation of a comic book.

Convention/Con – An event designed to bring buyers and sellers of comic books together, often offering the opportunity to meet industry professionals.

Coupon Clipped/Cut – A comic book that has had a coupon pulled or cut out.

Crease – A heavy fold in the paper of a comic book.

Crossover – When one or more characters appear in another character’s story or title.

De-acidification – A process used to lower the acid level in a comic book’s paper.

Debut – A character’s very first appearance in a comic book.

Defect – Damage that takes away from the appearance or shape of a comic book, and keeps it from being able to be a mint quality comic book.

Embossed Cover – When the cover has a pattern pressed into it creating a raised surface.

Eye Appeal – A term used in describing a comic book’s overall appearance in relation to its condition.

Fair Market Value – The current average value of a book on the open market, or replacement cost of a book in the same condition.

Fanzine – An amateur publication, usually on a specific topic, created by a fan.

First Appearance – Same as Debut, defined above.

Foil Cover – Created when metal foil is hot stamped on a cover of a comic book.

Four Color – A process when the three primary colors and black are used in printing. This also refers to the Four-Color series that was published by Dell.

Foxing – Tiny orange/brown discoloration spots caused by mold that appear on the cover and/or interior pages of a comic book.

Gatefold Cover – A double cover that folds in on itself.

Genre- Categories of comic books grouped together according to subject matter.

Give Away – A promotional comic book that is given away.

Golden Age – Refers to comic books from 1938-1955.

Hologram Cover – A comic book that has a 3-D hologram affixed to the cover.

Hot Stamping – Refers to foil, prism paper, and inks being pressed onto the cover of a comic book.

Indicia – Usually printed on the inside front page, the Indicia gives general information about the comic book, such as issue number, title, date, and publisher.

Inker – The person that lays down the inks over the penciler’s artwork.

J.L.A. – Justice League of America.

J.S.A. – Justice Society of America.

Key Issue – A term used when referring to an important issue of a comic book series.

Label – The label found in the interior of a certified comic book holder. It displays the issue number, title, publisher, grade, and sometimes the artist or importance of the book.

Loose Cover – When a cover becomes detached from one of its staples.

Modern Age – Comic books from the late 1970′s to the present.

One Shot – A comic book published only once.

Origin – Details a comic book character’s creation.

Painted Cover – When a painting is used on the cover of a comic book instead of the standard line drawing.

Pedigree – Indicates that a book comes from a famous collection.

Penciler – The artist that creates the original line drawings for a comic book.

PGX – Professional Grading eXperts, LLC, a dedicated and reliable company offering impartial, third-party certification of comic books that beats the competition in services, price and delivery.

Photo Cover – When a photograph is used on the cover of a comic book instead of the standard line drawing.

Platinum Age – Beginning in 1897 with newspaper reprints, this is the first age of comics.

Price Variant – When the cover price differs from the normal cover price of a comic book series.

Quarterly – A comic book that is published every three months (4 times a year).

Restoration – The art of repairing a comic book to improve its appearance.

Rolled Spine – A bowing of the spine usually causing uneven pages, caused when the reader folds back the pages of a comic book, or by improper storage.

Silver Age – The publishing period for comic books beginning in 1956 to the early seventies.

Slabbed – Used to describe the process of certifying and encapsulating a comic book.

Spine – A comic book’s folded and stapled edge.

Spine Roll – Same as Rolled Spine, described above.

Stress Lines – Creases or wrinkle marks varying in size that move outward from the spine of the comic book.

Subscription Crease – Caused when a comic book is folded for mailing, it is a large crease down the middle of the book.

Title Page – Usually on the first page of a comic book, it shows the title of the story.

Trimmed Cover – When a trimmer has been used to cut the edge or edges of a cover to give it a sharper or better preserved look.

Variant Cover – When different artwork is used on a cover of the same issue of a comic book title.

Warehouse Copy – A comic book that originally came from a publisher’s warehouse.