Marvel Spotlight #28 (1976) - CGC 9.4

You look at this slab and you see the comic book equivalent of a silver medalist who is trying very hard not to cry on the podium.

This is Marvel Spotlight #28, the issue where Moon Knight finally stepped out of the shadow of a werewolf and got his own solo story. It was his big break, his chance to prove that a man dressed entirely in white could fight crime in New York City without immediately looking like a dirty napkin.

The copy you are looking at is a CGC 9.4. In the real world, a 9.4 is a fantastic score. If you got a 9.4 on a math test, your parents would take you out for ice cream. In the world of comic collecting, however, a 9.4 is the grade of "almost." It is "Near Mint," which is a polite way of saying "Mint, but we found a flaw that only a microscope could love."

It means the original owner took care of it, but perhaps they read it once with slightly vigorous enthusiasm. Or maybe they stored it in a room that was two degrees too humid. Now, it is sealed in a plastic sarcophagus, trapping the smell of 1976 newsprint forever. You cannot read the Don Perlin art. You cannot enjoy the Doug Moench script. You can only stare at the number 9.4 and wonder what tiny, invisible tragedy prevented it from being a 9.6.

It is a beautiful object, perfect for the collector who wants to own a piece of history but is realistic enough to know that perfection is a myth sold to us by people who sell plastic cases.