MINT (MT)  Near perfect in every way. Only the most subtle bindery or printing defects are allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Cover inks are bright with high reflectivity and minimal fading. Corners are cut square and sharp. Staples are generally centered and clean with no rust. Cover is generally centered and firmly secured to interior pages. Paper is supple and fresh. Spine it tight and flat.

NEAR MINT (NM)  A nearly perfect copy with only minor imperfection allowed. A comic falls into this condition range if it meets all the following standards:  Extremely minor corner bends if hardly noticeable.  Must be very, very limited and hardly noticeable. Spine ‘tick’ or stress marks must be very minor/hardly noticeable and very few. No writing except for autographs and distributor date notations. A distributor's date stamp or a date written in pencil or ink, if it is unobtrusive and does not significantly detract from the over all attractiveness of the comic, is acceptable and is in fact valued by many collectors. Off-center printing is only acceptable if only to a minor degree. Missing pieces not allowed except for tips of pages nicked during the production process. "Marvel chipping" under this definition, a phenomenon well known to the collectors of early 1960's Marvel comics. No spine roll or rubber stamp imprints. .

VERY FINE (VF) An exceptional copy with outstanding eye appeal. Sharp, bright and clean with supple pages. Pages and covers can be yellowish/tannish (at the most), but not brown, and will often be off white to white. May have these in addition to NM light spine wear is acceptable. Corner bends must be slightly noticeable allowed. Cover scuff marks are only allowed if very limited and hardly noticeable.