Countdown #5
Condition
Description
Una accompanies Buddy Blank through the riot infested streets of Metropolis as more and more people succumb
to the effects of the Morticoccus virus, helping him get to the apartments where his daughter and grandson live
Across the world, the heroes attempt to combat the effects of the virus but most of them, as well as the super-villains,
contract it, turning on each other.
The Challengers can do little apart from watch the city and the planet fall to pieces.
Buddy and Una find his grandson alive but the apartment has been infested with rats which attack Una. Reaching the roof
to escape, they discover Buddy's daughter who has mutated due to the virus and attacks them. Una sacrifices herself,
giving Buddy her flight ring so he can escape with his grandson while she dies protecting them.
Buddy travels to the Command D Bunker where he had worked on the Brother Eye project and from there he watches the
world powers blame each other for the virus and, eventually, launch nuclear weapons against each other.
The Challengers, realising there is nothing they can do, leave the Earth via Boom Tube.
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.
