Kurt Busiek's Astro City, Vol. 2 #18 (1999)
VF/NM
$3.00
$3.00
Condition
Description
The Empty Shell
When the Mock Turtle is murdered after having reached Astro City, the residents of Kiefer Square are in a dour mood. The Black Mask Killer has struck again, and Steeljack, the former villain they've paid to protect them still has no idea who is comitting these crimes. And what's worse, he's already gone through the money he was paid.Desperate for a paycheck, and perhaps to get to the bottom of the mystery as well, he goes to see Donnelly Ferguson about a job. He's thinking that perhaps if most of the victims were hired by the same person, that might be a connection... and that he might also be able to get a paycheck out of this. But he's risking a parole violation by taking these steps.
Release Date: 1999
THE HIGH GRADES (Investment Quality)
- 9.9 – 10.0 MINT: Near perfect. No discernible defects.
- 9.8 NM/MT: High-end; negligible stress or bindery tears.
- 9.6 NM+: Nearly perfect; very minor surface wear.
- 9.4 NM: Standard high-grade; minor corner blunting.
- 9.2 NM-: Excellent; small stress lines (no color break).
- 9.0 VF/NM: Great eye appeal; minor spine stress.
THE MID GRADES (Collector Quality)
- 8.5 VF+: Clean copy; small amount of wear/creasing.
- 8.0 VF: Very attractive; minor surface wear or foxing.
- 7.5 VF-: Slight accumulation of defects; minor blunting.
- 7.0 FN/VF: Solid copy; minor creases or color breaks.
- 6.0 FN: Average mid-grade; small spine splits or tears.
- 5.0 VG/FN: Significant wear; small pieces may be missing.
THE LOW GRADES (Reader Quality)
- 4.0 VG: Average used copy; heavy creasing or scuffing.
- 3.0 GD/VG: Heavily read; major creases or staple rust.
- 2.0 GD: Well-worn; covers may be detached but present.
- 1.0 FR: Heavily damaged; large chunks missing.
- 0.5 PR: Fragile; missing pages or severe degradation.
Our raw grading is an opinion based on 30+ years of experience. We do not guarantee a specific numeric grade from 3rd party services (CGC/CBCS) but strive for maximum accuracy.
