My latest CGC 9.8 — Infinity: Heist #3
In my constant attempt to take this website too far, I seek out high-grade copies of the few comics that Iron Man’s Ablative Armor has appeared in. The most obvious were the two Iron Man issues that focused on the Ablative Suit, Iron Man #416 and #417 (vol. 3 #71 and #72.) I sent a couple of copies to CGC for professional grading, and earlier this year these two comics came back in 9.8 NM/MT.
Iron Man #416 (vol. 3 #71) in CGC 9.8
Iron Man #417 (vol. 3 #72) in CGC 9.8
Now, before you ask, “Is this a joke?” the answer is yes, it’s kind of a joke. While I take this site seriously, it is pretty silly to slab a couple of comics from 2003 that are unimportant is pretty much every way. Oh, and they’re right next to worthless. But, considering these two books are the first and second appearances of the Model 23, Axol, I thought it might be fun to seek out a couple NM/MT copies and grade them. To me, it was worth the $18 each.
After getting those two slabbed, the next goal was to get a 9.8 of the third comic the Ablative ever appeared in, Infinity: Heist #3 (January 2014). Axol only appears in the background of one Hall of Armor image…at least we’re pretty sure it’s him.
“Axol! Ablative! Would the Model 23 please wave? No, not you, Tin Man! No, Thorbuster, put your hand down…”
Well, I’m happy to report that I have just received my copy of Infinity: Heist #3 back from CGC, and it looks like I didn’t miss anything that would have knocked it down a grade.
Infinity: Heist #3 in CGC 9.8
Now, trust me when I say that this was not difficult in the slightest. While there are only two copies graded in CGC 9.8 (and two copies graded period), there are thousands of high-grade copies of this book sitting in comic book shops across the country. It’s just that no one cares enough to have them graded.
So What’s Next?
Those are the only three in-continuity issues in which Ablative Suit Iron Man appears. There’s one more I’m trying to find in high-grade, and that’s the All-New Iron Manual from 2008. This comic has a newly drawn image of every Iron Man armor up to that time, including a single picture of Axol. While I have a copy that could probably get a 9.6, the single, almost imperceptible spine bend pretty much excludes it from 9.8 territory. I’m sure there are many of these hanging out in comic stores as well, but its one-shot nature means that the average shop employee has no idea where to find it. (I could also go for the Iron Manual TPB in 9.8, but finding that might be impossible. It was so thick that people just didn’t bag it or take care of it. Plus, I’m not even sure CGC would grade it.)
For now, I have the three in-universe appearances of the Model 23 Ablative Armor all taken care of. And if you have a perfect copy of the Iron Man TPB, I’d like to see it!
