A Dreamy 8.5

I picked this Conan 17 PGA (CGG) 8.5 VF+ on eBay recently for $7.14. It is absolutely stunning, and I have no doubt this would be a CGC 9.2 minimum -- maybe even 9.4.

This slab also has the new PGA inner well which features a tapered sealed edge. The sealed edge is about 1/8th of an inch from the edge of the comic. Slab damage is an impossibility in this well. I shook the book fairly hard and there was no movement or damage. The key is that the seals are close enough to the edge of the comic to prevent movement -- this prevents slab damage to the corners and it also prevents the interior from tearing loose from the cover.

I understand that restoration detection and the archival quality of their materials have been issues with PGA. I'm not going to worry about restoration on fairly inexpensive books and I will crack it out of the slab for long term storage. So, for now, I'll take PGA 8.5s all day long... especially at $7 each!