Lost Boy Comics is offering Mystery Boxes featured a CGC 9.8 graded comic for $39 a box! There’s also a chance to get a CGC 9.9 graded comic as well as exclusives and rare 1:100 ratios.
We open up a box and see what we got!
What do you all think of graded comics? Sound off!
The Certified Collectibles Group has announced the promotion of Harshen Patel to Senior Vice President, Sales & Partnerships.
Patel has been with the Certified Collectibles Group for more than 27 years and has played a central role in building the business across its categories, brands and regions. Patel started in NGC, the company’s expert and impartial coin certification service, and just months into the job he was tapped to become one of the first employees of CGC, which was about to become the world’s first third-party comic book grading service.
Patel has been integral to CGC’s growth from an upstart comic book grading service to the world leader in pop culture collectible certification. More recently, he has helped to build CGC’s card grading category from its launch in 2020 into a market-leading service that received more than 5 million cards last year alone. Today, CGC provides expert and impartial certification services for comic books, magazines, trading card games (TCGs), sports cards, non-sports cards, concert posters and home media collectibles.
At CGC, Patel quickly earned a reputation throughout the company and hobby as someone who rolled up his sleeves and got the job done. He developed trusted relationships across the hobby, providing collectors and dealers with superior service and innovative solutions, always with integrity.
In his expanded role, Patel will remain particularly focused on sales and partnerships within the fast-growing CGC division while lending his leadership to the Certified Collectibles Group’s other categories, including JSA, the world’s leading autograph authentication service; PMG, the world’s largest paper money grading service; and ASG, the world’s largest stamp grading service.
Bad Idea has unveiled a must-see-to-believe version of Cul-De-Sac, that defies logic, reason, and preservation best practices. Introducing the Cul-De-Sac #1 Impaled Edition—a CGC-graded, ultra-limited comic book impaled with a handcrafted wooden stake.
Yes, you read that right. Actual wooden stakes. Actual comic books. How else would you kill a vampire?
In a follow-up to the industry-shattering, infamous invisible comic book, publishing anarchists BAD IDEA have done the unthinkable again—this time submitting unholy, undead comic books for certification. And CGC? They had the guts to grade them.
The monster idea spawned from some hard-hitting, essential questions: If a human can become a vampire, does that mean an animal could, too? Like, what if a dog or a cat was bit, would it become a vampire? And what about inanimate objects? Can a chair become a vampire? Can a comic book!?! If a comic book becomes a vampire, how do you kill it?! I guess you’d have to slab it and then stab a stake through the slab.
And that’s how the CGC-graded Cul-De-Sac #1 Impaled Edition came to life… or undeath.
This blood-soaked collectible masterpiece turned fine art installation took the two companies seven months and required solving a very serious engineering challenge: how to drive a stake through a CGC holder without cracking the case or shattering it into a million pieces.
The result? A limited run of 36 certifiably-cursed and stake-pierced comic books, each a one-of-a-kind art piece that sits upright when leaned against the stake and featuring:
Behind the madness: a three-person team of engineers, a 30-year veteran woodworker, and a Hollywood special effects artist came together to meticulously create each one. What they’ve created is more than a collectible—it’s a statement.
Timed to arrive with Cul-De-Sac #1 on August 6th, the much-anticipated series marks the long-awaited return to comic books of New York Times bestselling writer and master of the macabre, Mike Carey, who is combining his powers with groundbreaking fine art illustrator Jonathan Wayshak to deliver a nightmarish new vision for the horror genre.
These monstrosities are available now on a first come, first served basis. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. Because let’s be honest—no one’s crazy enough to do this again.
To secure one before they are all gone simply:
CGC and JSA are excited to announce that the companies will be offering on-site autograph authentication and grading for comics as the Exclusive Authentication and Grading Service of Baltimore Comic-Con. This year’s convention will be October 17-19, 2025 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. See their website for ticketing details, guest information, and more!
Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) and James Spence Authentication (JSA) have announced that both companies will be accepting submissions and offering on-site grading for comics as the Official Authentication and Grading Service of Baltimore Comic-Con.
As the show gets closer, look for updates on what CGC and JSA have planned as well as details about submitting for on-site grading.
CGC and JSA have announced that the companies will be offering on-site autograph authentication and grading for comics and cards as the Official Authentication and Grading Service of Baltimore Comic-Con. This year’s convention will be September 20-22, 2024 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. See their website for ticketing details, guest information, and more!
Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) and James Spence Authentication (JSA) have announced that both companies will be accepting submissions and offering on-site grading for comics and cards as the Official Authentication and Grading Service of Baltimore Comic-Con. This year’s convention will be September 20-22, 2024, at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center.
Stay tuned for details!
CGC and JSA are proud to be the Official Authentication and Grading Service of Baltimore Comic-Con, as it is a testament to the value our services add to shows and the collecting community. As the show gets closer, look for updates on what CGC and JSA have planned as well as details about submitting for on-site grading.
Certified Collectibles Group (CCG) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire James Spence Authentication (JSA), the leader in autograph authentication. The combination of CCG and JSA will provide collectors and dealers with a seamless solution to have autographed collectibles authenticated, graded and encapsulated by the world’s top experts.
The mission of CCG is to empower collectors with services that ignite passion, create value and build community. Since 1987, its iconic brands — NGC, PMG, CGC and ASG — have certified more than 90 million coins, banknotes, comic books, magazines, trading card games, sports cards, video games, home video, stamps and related collectibles. In 2021, CCG became a Blackstone portfolio company (NYSE: BX).
JSA was founded in 2005 by James Spence, Jr., a giant in the world of autograph and memorabilia collecting. In the last two decades, JSA has certified millions of autographs and in the process has built the world’s largest autograph database of nearly 1 million images encompassing virtually every known person — from Thomas Jefferson to Taylor Swift, Lou Gehrig to Little League stars. JSA uses this extraordinary database alongside deep expertise and state-of-the-art equipment to maintain unparalleled accuracy in autograph authentication. In addition, JSA’s experts frequent shows and interact closely with collectors, dealers and auction houses, further defining the JSA name as being synonymous with trust and accessibility.
James J. Spence, Jr. and James J. Spence III will remain at JSA’s helm after the transaction closes, and Mark Pepitone, a JSA co-owner and an industry expert in his own right, will serve as Senior Advisor to the company. The Spences, the JSA brand and their expert team will continue to provide the same world-class authentication services for autographs, with CCG enabling JSA to offer expanded services to collectors and dealers, such as grading and encapsulation, and to better serve collectors worldwide.
The acquisition of JSA is CCG’s answer to the countless collectors and dealers who have asked to have their autographed collectibles authenticated and then graded and encapsulated. Although CCG pioneered witnessed authentication of autographs through its popular CGC Signature Series service, it has never offered full authentication and grading services for collectibles with unwitnessed autographs.
JSA has a particularly strong reputation in sports collectibles, a market that is an important focus for CCG. With JSA, CCG will significantly upgrade its services for collectors of sports, autographs and memorabilia through additional expertise, increased show attendance and other efforts.
In April, collectors of autographed comic books, magazines, sports cards, trading card games (TCGs) and non-sports cards will benefit from a seamless submission experience where they can use a single online form to submit their collectibles for JSA autograph authentication and CGC grading and encapsulation. More services and enhancements will be announced in the months ahead.
JSA and CCG will operate independently for another few weeks while the companies work behind-the-scenes to integrate. Instructions on how to submit autographed comics, magazines and cards will be posted soon.
Certified Collectibles Group has been rocked in recent months with the revelation that individuals were tampering with graded product creating fraudulent product and creating distrust in collectors.
CCG CEO Steven R. Eichenbaum has released a letter addressing recent events and event mentions examples of fraud they’ve combatted. This includes the recent tampering which has resulted in a lawsuit against the individuals involved.
You can read the full letter below.
Dear friends,
The Certified Collectibles Group and our companies — NGC, PMG, CGC and ASG — exist to protect the collecting community from counterfeit, overgraded and otherwise misrepresented collectibles. I like to say that we are the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” in the collectibles world.
Our position as the hobby’s first line of defense sometimes makes us a target for bad actors who try to defraud us or misappropriate the trust that we have built with our community. These scammers are persistent, and we are in a constant battle to prevent and detect fraud, such as counterfeiting or tampering with our holders.
CCG has certified more than 85 million collectibles since 1987, including more than 10 million in 2023 alone. Counterfeit and tampered-with holders represent a tiny fraction of the holders in the marketplace, but even one is unacceptable to us. We continue to pursue an aggressive, multi-faceted strategy to combat this scourge.
We take a number of defensive measures, such as imaging all collectibles, testing and upgrading the seals on our holders, releasing new high-security holograms and adding variable QR codes, with more to come. We also go on the offense and aggressively pursue bad actors, big and small, across the globe. We will keep the community informed of all of these developments, and today I’d like to give you an update on our legal efforts.
In Europe, an individual falsely claimed that he did not receive a return submission of banknotes and tried to recover more than € 100,000 from us. Our team conducted an intensive investigation and determined that he not only received the package but had also distributed many of the banknotes. After tracing these notes back to him, we notified law enforcement in Germany, where we have an office in Munich; in Austria, where the banknotes were delivered; and Turkey, where the individual lives. Austrian authorities took up the case, and two weeks ago the individual was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Another incident involved two former employees, one of whom stole comic books from CGC submissions. They had these stolen books, along with some of their own books, encapsulated in CGC Comics holders, and then smuggled the books out of our facility to sell through various marketplaces. We swiftly filed a lawsuit against them and have already been granted a temporary restraining order while we pursue further actions, including damages.
We have also filed a lawsuit against an individual and his partner who tampered with CGC comic book holders to replace higher-graded comic books with lower-graded comic books of the same type. We are keeping the community updated on comic books impacted by this incident here. On February 13, 2024, we obtained a Preliminary Injunction Order prohibiting the defendant from distributing, circulating, selling, marketing, altering, removing — basically anything related to CGC-graded books — pending the final hearing and ruling in the case. We are seeking further remedies from the court, including damages
We will not tolerate acts of fraud against our community, and we will not rest until justice is served. We have been successful in the past. For example, last year, we advantageously settled a lawsuit against Richard Albright, who perpetrated a coin swapping scheme with NGC holders. He was ordered to report all collectibles that may have been impacted by his scheme, surrender all of his electronic devices during the investigation, cooperate with efforts to reimburse consumers and pay damages.
We recognize that fighting fraud that has already occurred is only one half of the equation to solve for a protected, confident and whole community. Staying ahead of the bad actors is absolutely essential to ensure these types of incidents do not continue to happen, and we will take the steps necessary to enhance the security of our services and facilities. We have a comprehensive initiative to make continual, meaningful updates to the security of our products, and will share updates as they are available.
Collectors and dealers can protect themselves from fraud in a number of ways:
- Always look up a collectible in our free Verification Certification tool on the homepage of our websites. All collectibles are now being imaged in high-resolution, and you can compare the images of your collectible to the images that we took.
- Buy from CCG Authorized Dealers, Official Submission Centers or Strategic Partners. You can look them up using the free Dealer Locator on our website.
- Choose online marketplaces that offer buyer protection, such as eBay. Do your research and exercise common sense. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
If you suspect fraud, please report it immediately to ReportFraud@CollectiblesGroup.com.
We are committed to protecting our community from fraudsters and anyone else who seeks to take advantage of collectors. We are also committed to being transparent with all of you and sharing information about what we are doing for you. Your passion is our passion.
It’s new comic book day! What are you excited for? What do you plan on getting? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.
ICv2 – CGC Files Suit Against Two Former Employees Alleging Theft, Label-Swapping – What happened has become clearer.
Kotaku – IGN Staff Announce New Union Amid ‘Hectic Media Landscape’ – Good for them.
Reviews
The Beat – Ninjak: Superkillers #2
CBR – Resurrection of Magneto #1
It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d you all get? What did you like? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.
The Beat – CGC slabbing scandal rocks the collecting world – This has been a shitshow.
Daily Cartoonist – David Kunzle – RIP – Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and fans.
Reviews
CBR – Cursed Princess Club Vol. 3
The Beat – Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Vol. 1
Comicbook – Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) and Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) has announced that CGC Comics is the event’s 2024 Presenting Sponsor. With this epic superhero partnership, collectors and comic book shops can look forward to special offers, giveaways and a free CGC custom label!
This year, Free Comic Book Day is on May 4 (May the 4th be with us!) and 48 free comics will be available in participating comic book shops. The line up features 12 Gold Sponsor and 36 Silver Sponsor titles with stories from superheroes to movies and video games, beloved franchises and favorites for all-ages.
CGC is poised to revolutionize the Free Comic Book Day experience by offering a unique opportunity for collectors to not only preserve but also significantly enhance their cherished FCBD treasures. As part of this unprecedented initiative, CGC will offer an all-new, complimentary FCBD label for all FCBD books submitted for grading, adding an extra layer of prestige to these limited editions. This complimentary label is available for all FCBD books, including titles from previous years.
Leading up to Free Comic Book Day, collectors and comic book shops can anticipate a cascade of excitement with a host of offerings as part of CGC Comics’ “Grade Today for Tomorrow!” FCBD campaign, including exclusive giveaways, enticing discounts and a plethora of surprises designed to take the celebration to new heights.
