X-Men #94 CGC NM+ 9.6 White

Sold:
$3,600
Status:
Auction Ended
Grade
CGC NM+ 9.6
Page Quality
White
Pedigree
Professor Pecora Collection
CGC Serial Number
1208847005
Census Rank
2
Publish Date
8/75
Category
Bronze Age Marvels

Description

The offered item is a CGC 9.6 Near Mint+ of one the most sought after key comics of the Bronze-Age. In this issue, the New X-Men (Wolverine, Storm, Nighcrawler, Colossus, Banshee and Thunderbird) join up with Cyclops to make their first appearance as a team in the X-men title. The dark cover makes it an elusive acquisition in the higher grades. Out of an astounding over 5,075 submissions to CGC, a mere 28 (plus 3 in the yellow Signature SERIES label) have ever been graded slightly higher at 9.8, making this stunning example one of the very best attainable. This book has deep color strike and is unbelievably PERFECTLY WRAPPED, CUT & CENTERED. Adding to the desirability of this example, CGC has assigned its PERFECT PAGE QUALITY designation of WHITE PAGES. You will NEVER find a more PERFECTLY STRUCTURED high-grade example! From the Professor Pecora Collection.

Professor Pecora's Comments:

X-Men #94 showcases the 1st new X-Men issue since X-Men #66, which was published back in March of 1970!

X-Men #94 is also the 1st new X-Men issue published in 1975, which represents only 1 of 3 1975 issues, as the X-Men title was still published bimonthly. As a side note, the bimonthly issues began with issue #67 in December of 1970 (which launched the reprint era) and ended with issue #112 in August of 1978!

After roughly 4.5 years of recycled X-Men stories, spanning issues #67 through #93, and with the X-Men title on the verge of its demise, writer Len Wein & artist Dave Cockrum introduced a new X-Men team consisting of “adult” mutants from around the globe!

This was a momentous event that occurred in the summer of 1975 in Giant-Size X-Men #1! For the first time in history, the world was introduced to the dynamic characters of Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird! In addition, Giant-Size X-Men #1 also showcased the 2nd full appearance of Wolverine, who was also featured for the first time in his iconic yellow & blue suit with the extended face mask!

It was a scorching hot summer in 1975, as the new X-Men team was born, which would not only revitalize the X-Men title, but would catapult a major cult following in the comic collecting community. Due to the diversity of the characters originating from various countries on different continents, thousands of X-Men collections would eventually be spawned worldwide in the years to come, and the X-Men title would later evolve into an international franchise!

This movement inevitably ignited the demand for more new X-Men stories by the fans, which prompted legendary writers Len Wein and Chris Claremont, along with the artistic team of Dave Cockrum, Gil Kane & Bob McLeod, to launch the “official” All-New, All-Different X-Men series beginning with X-Men #94 in August of 1975!

This ground-breaking, 1st new X-Men issue showcases the 2nd appearance of Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird & Colossus and also documents Sunfire leaving the team! In addition, although it isn’t noted on the CGC label, X-Men #94 also features the 3rd full appearance of Wolverine!

Moreover, X-Men #94 will always remain one of the scarcest Marvel Bronze Age Grails in super high-grade condition, due to the unforgiving dark green and partial black ink that surrounds about 75% of the cover and exposes the slightest of defects! For example, according to the CGC Census Report as of March 28, 2017, out of a staggering total of 5,078 copies graded, there are only twenty-eight (28) copies graded as a Universal 9.8 and three (3) copies graded as a Signature Series 9.8! That means that an X-Men #94 in CGC 9.8 represents a rarity factor of ½ of 1% of the total population! With these statistics in mind and considering the vast amount of collectors who would love to own a top-graded example, it’s no wonder why CGC 9.8 copies have been selling upwards for around 15K!

With that said, the next viable option for most serious collectors or investors would be to acquire a CGC 9.6. However, there are only a total of seventy-five (75) copies (including my copy) graded as a Universal 9.6 and eight (8) copies graded as a Signature Series 9.6! Keeping in mind the total number of CGC graded copies is currently at 5,078, the rarity factor for X-Men #94 in CGC 9.6 is only 1.6% of the total population! To put this in perspective, X-Men #94 in CGC 9.6 is rarer than Giant-Size X-Men #1 in CGC 9.8 by a factor of 0.5%!

This particular copy is unbelievably PERFECTLY CUT, WRAPPED & CENTERED and sports unblemished SNOW WHITE PAGES! The ink reflectively is extremely bright with intense color gloss and looks like it came right off the printing press! It also has a solid spine, perfectly inserted staples and with the exception of a minute corner blunt on the top left-hand corner of the front cover…it contains RAZOR SHARP EDGES!

Without a doubt, this immaculate CGC 9.6 copy looks better than just about any CGC “9.8” that has previously hit the market, as most are either off-centered or wrapped crookedly with parts of the back cover appearing from the front. OF PARTICULAR NOTE, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO NIGHTCRAWLER'S TAIL & THE TIP OF THE RIGHT MISSILE ON THE PLANE; you will notice on this pristine copy that it is COMPLETELY VISIBLE on the cover! Now take a close look at any other X-Men #94 CGC 9.6 or 9.8 copy (or in any grade), and you will witness this part of the cover art obstructed off the page like 99% of the time! Therefore, this copy truly stands in a class of its own and earns the title of being the “WORLD'S MOST PERFECTLY WRAPPED, CUT and CENTERED X-Men #94” KNOWN TO EXIST! In addition, you rarely see copies that contain PERFECT WHITE PAGE QUALITY for some reason on X-Men #94s. Therefore, this bad boy is a true stunner and represents the prized centerpiece of “The Xecution!”

In closing, I would like to thank Mr. Doug Schmell of Pedigree Comics for helping me to acquire this MEGA Bronze Age KEY!

-Professor Pecora

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