Episode 1598 Talkback - The CGS Best of 2015 Awards Results Show

Adam_Murdough

The envelopes, please! The time has come to reveal the winners of the CGS Best of 2015 Awards, chosen by YOU, the listeners, to represent last year's heights of achievement in mainstream comics! And after the last name has been announced, stick around for the after-party... in Comic Talk form! (1:00:08)

Listen here.

nweathington

Overall, I'm happier with the results this year than most of the past years. It was very nice to hear indie books getting so much love—though I realize that a lot of that is probably due to so many listeners being currently turned off with DC and/or Marvel’s product.

And for the record, I wasn't contesting Tom’s nomination for Breakthrough Talent of 2015, merely pointing out a potential problem I thought needed clarification. I didn't vote for him because I voted for him last year—just my personal perspective—but I have no problem with others voting for him or with him winning back-to-back, as he did some great (and I would argue, better) work this year.

nweathington

@Pants and @wildpigcomics I think the tutorial is a fantastic idea. I've said on these forums years ago that anyone who regularly buys back issues owes it to themselves to learn how to grade at least on some basic level.

And don't downgrade your knowledge, Chris, because the CGC graders aren't as consistent as people might think. I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who regularly use the service as to just how inconsistent they can be. Grading is a lot like umpiring in baseball in that there is a bit of subjectivity involved even though there are firm rules and guidelines. I think it's that subjectivity that makes grading seem so mysterious to some. A tutorial should certainly demystify some of that.

i_am_scifi

Bonus Content on this one too in the CGS App, including a genuine, Grade-A, top of the line @Pants Burp!

Mr_Cosmic

nweathington said:

I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who regularly use the service as to just how inconsistent they can be.

I've heard of books being submitted and then carefully removed from the case..sent back in..and mailed back with a different grade than the first time.

nweathington

Mr_Cosmic said:

nweathington said:

I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who regularly use the service as to just how inconsistent they can be.

I've heard of books being submitted and then carefully removed from the case..sent back in..and mailed back with a different grade than the first time.

Yep. A friend of mine did that after disagreeing with the original grade, and got a much better (and more accurate) grade the second time, which turned into a significantly higher “value.”

Dan_in_WI

Mr_Cosmic said:

nweathington said:

I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who regularly use the service as to just how inconsistent they can be.

I've heard of books being submitted and then carefully removed from the case..sent back in..and mailed back with a different grade than the first time.

Makes sense really. Under the best of circumstances, no matter how many guidelines are published, we are talking about an art (grading comics) which is still a subjective venture. There's just no getting around that.

alienal

Yay, Huck! / Those new Star Wars villains are pretty good / Yay, Paper Girls! As Pants mentioned concerning the back matter. It's interesting, but I wonder if BKV is writing those letters or not / Yay! The Fade Out! Excellent! I think I have a letter printed in one of those issues../ Hm...haven't been reading Darth Vader, only the Star Wars series/ Well, I didn't vote for it, but Secret Wars was a decent storyline.../ A TIE?!? - Oh, Dr. Strange and The Vision - Anyway, both so GOOD! / Oh no, not Saga again. Ugh! (I know, I know there are plenty of Saga-lovers out there. Maybe I don't like it because I live in a place called Saga. LOL! Anyway, I'm guessing that if more people read Lazarus it would've beat out Saga since it only lost by 1 vote / The Private Eye - ? Maybe I'll try it eventually. This is one of those categories that could've used more nominations and more choices in the final vote / Yay, Mark Waid! / Salvador Larocca: I like the Vader stuff (but I only read the 1st two issues, but I also liked his previous Iron Man stuff. / Walt Simonson...Ragnarok...this is another category that should have 5 nominations which would've enable Terry Moore to be a choice / Pants: "There's a board?" LOL! / Yay, Michael Lark on Lazarus is AWESOME. Especially the snowy scenes. / A double Fiona Staples win, well okay.../ Tom King! Well, it's a gradual breaking through...heh-heh!
Oh, the number of participants increased? From last year or from the nominations?
Pants: "I could watch Karen Page for days!" Yeah, I agree. / The British money: That was funny. /Thanks for the convention updates and other comic talk. / Murd: "I trusted you to observe this for yourself." Hahaha! / BvS:DoJ: Non-spoiler review: I somewhat liked it.

Mr_Cosmic

Dan_in_WI said:

Mr_Cosmic said:

nweathington said:

I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who regularly use the service as to just how inconsistent they can be.

I've heard of books being submitted and then carefully removed from the case..sent back in..and mailed back with a different grade than the first time.

Makes sense really. Under the best of circumstances, no matter how many guidelines are published, we are talking about an art (grading comics) which is still a subjective venture. There's just no getting around that.

I think it depends on how big of a difference we're talking about.

nweathington

Mr_Cosmic said:

Dan_in_WI said:

Mr_Cosmic said:

nweathington said:

I have plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who regularly use the service as to just how inconsistent they can be.

I've heard of books being submitted and then carefully removed from the case..sent back in..and mailed back with a different grade than the first time.

Makes sense really. Under the best of circumstances, no matter how many guidelines are published, we are talking about an art (grading comics) which is still a subjective venture. There's just no getting around that.

I think it depends on how big of a difference we're talking about.

Exactly. When you're talking high-end key issues, the difference between an 8.8 and a 9.0 can mean hundreds of dollars. CGC is based on the idea of being accurate and reliable, and if they can't establish a consistent internal grading system, then what's the point of using them?