Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Acetategate, Black Flag, boston fan expo, c2e2, ultimate fallout

Black Flag Not At Boston Fan Expo & More Ultimate Fallout #4 Fallout?

Welcome to #Acetategate. A quick recap. Earlier in the week, Bleeding Cool covered the story of the Black Flag Comics Ultimate Fallout #4 acetate variant cover drama that played out at C2E2. A comic book retailer creating new heat for an exclusive Clayton Crain retailer variant comic from last year by stapling a new acetate variant cover on top, with patriotic imagers and the label Infinite Black Publishing, then selling them from $85-$100 at C2E2, against Marvel Comics requirements and instructions for retailers participating in the exclusive variant programme. And now copies are selling for up hundreds on eBay. Black Flag has removed much of their social media promotion, but a deleted video resurfaced talking about the situation they found themselves in, Black Flag promised new acetate cover editions for Boston Fan Expo from today, one for Deadpool Nerdy 30 #1 and one for Ghost Rider #1, both by friend of the store, Clayton Crain.

Black Flag Comics are still not updating their social media, despite that they are meant to be exhibiting at Boston Fan Expo. Only thing is, they are not present on the Boston Fan Expo exhibitor list, not as Black Flag Comics nor as Infinite Black Publishing.

CGC continues to get criticism from collectors for grading Ultimate Fallout #4 Black Flag Acetate without changing the grade, the colour of the slab, or noting the addition outside of the original manufacturer process. There is a history of covers where comics are graded with a replacement cover, for a greater grade, which have been tagged as "married" covers. While others using custom-made covers have received NG "non-graded" slabs for doing similar.

Such as this, a custom-created cover featuring Natalie Portman printed on a black sketch copy of The Mighty Thor #1, with a notation "cover removed and printed image added after manufacturing". This was created by the same place that prints up Frank Cho sketch custom covers for certain comics. Though they haven't been sent to be graded, will the impact that the Black Flag acetate covers have had on the market, and publisher reaction to that, doom future sales of this sort of thing?

A "Metal" cover of We Live #1 was also brought up, though that was created with the participation of the publisher, AfterShock Comics. Rival slabbing service CBCS took advantage of the situation to state that "Occasionally, fake facsimile covers are added to mainstream comics, post-manufacturing. When CBCS receives these comics, our label reads, "Facsimile cover attached with 2 staples added." when the fake added cover is attached using 2 additional staples. We then grade the book as if 4 holes are going through the spine of the book, as you can always remove the fake cover & 2 staples that were added, leaving 4 staple holes as damage. CBCS considers any cover added post manufacturing as a facsimile cover, regardless of their origin." However, it was pointed out that some customers actually sent in their own custom covers to comics to be graded and CBCS didn't make any note of it.

One thing, it has certainly raised the issue in a prominent way, and everyone from Marvel to CGC to CBCS to ReedPOP to eBay to WhatNot is going to have to consider this kind of thing a little more thoroughly going forward. Now, what the hell is going on at Black Flag Comics and Boston Fan Expo? Does anyone know? Doors open at 4 pm local time if anyone wants to report back…

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