Congratulations, 2019 CGC Registry Award Winners!

The CGC Registry has grown to over 77,000 registered sets in the last year! There are now more than 4,400 competitive set types and we continue to receive new set type requests daily. The possibilities are endless and it is thrilling to see how the CGC Registry has evolved over time.

Our Mission was to choose three sets each in six competitive categories - Best Golden Age, Best Silver Age, Best Bronze Age, Best Modern Age, Best Copper Age and Best Presented. Additionally we had the task of choosing one winner for Best Magazine set, one Best Signature Series Set, three outstanding message board contributors and just one collector for the John Verzyl Sr. Registry Masterpiece Award. Our team of judges reviewed all of the top sets across every category in the Comics Registry and after much deliberation, selected the following winners. Congratulations to all!

CGC 2019 John Verzyl Sr. Registry Masterpiece Award

The 2019 John Verzyl Sr. Registry Masterpiece Award goes to MarvelMovers! Look at some of these highlights; Amazing Spider-Man #1 in CGC 9.6, Amazing Fantasy #15 in CGC 8.5, Journey into Mystery #83 in CGC 8.0, a Tales of Suspense #39 CGC 9.2; a beautiful Fantastic Four #1 in 9.0, a copy of X-Men #1 in CGC 8.5; 2 copies of Iron Man #1 in CGC 9.8, 9.8; 2 copies of Amazing Spiderman #129 in CGC 9.8; 2 copies of Incredible Hulk #181 in CGC 9.8, 9.6; Incredible Hulk #1 in CGC 7.5; Strange Tales #101 in CGC 9.2. These are beautiful high grade Marvel keys that any collector would be thrilled to own even just one. MarvelMovers has been a long time collector and his journey in comics as earned him the John Verzyl Sr. Overall Achievement Award in Comic Book Collecting for 2019. Congratulations to Marvelmovers! View all of these sets, their images and more at Marvelmovers profile page.

Best Golden Age Sets

podboy66 - Vern's MM's - Marvel Mystery Comics
Timely's flagship title is a beast of a run to conquer, and Vern has come within 7 issues of completing it! Just as impressive is that most copies are 6.0 or higher. When it comes to classic Golden Age covers and historic first appearances, Marvel Mystery is hard to beat.

keever - PhantomLadies - Phantom Lady (1947)
While only 11 issues, the run of Phantom Lady is among the most sought after good girl comics, featuring the king of good girl art, Matt Baker. The all-time classic #17 cover caps off this amazing completed run, also accentuated by two ultra high grade copies in 9.4.

RICK STARR - TALES OF THE STRANGE - Strange Tales #1-#100
Any Atlas collector appreciates the true scarcity of these '50s issues, particularly the highly sought after horror titles. Rick Starr's run of Strange Tales is over 75% complete and boasts many issues in the 8.0 to 9.2 range, incredibly tough to find, making this one of the nicest existing runs of Strange Tales in existence. If not the nicest!

Best Silver Age Sets

wallstreetrebel - WSR’s Fantastics - Fantastic Four Lee-Kirby #1-#102
Here is a run of Marvel's original Flagship title collected in an almost unheard of condition. #1-102 (missing only #37) & Annuals #1-7 have been accumulated in spectacular fashion. While less than a dozen issues grade out at a lowly (hah!) 9.4 Near Mint, the rest clock in at a spectacular 9.6 or better!!!! Thank you "wallstreetrebel" for assembling this truly awesome run. Now, if only we could enjoy seeing more than half the set. C'mon, show us all you got!

batcollector - Batcollector's Worlds Finests - World's Finest (1941)
This 35 year run is worthy of an award in both the Gold as well as Silver Age division. While 10 minor issues are missing from 1941-1959, The Silver Age issues are complete from 1959-1975, and grade out at 9.2 or better except for one 8.5 and a couple 9.0's. While combining D.C.'s 2 biggest stars, Batman & Superman, this series seems to be often overlooked. Well, not this year. Thank you "batcollector" not only for putting this beautiful run together, but also for posting scans of almost every issue for us to enjoy! WOW!!!

Rosland - Books Of The Vishanti - Strange Tales #101-#188
Always known for being a tuff run to build in high grade, "Rosland" has stepped up to the plate with this awesome & complete "superhero" run from 1962-1975, including the Annuals. Aside from a couple of 9.0's and 9.2's, 95% of the run grades NM 9.4 or better! And, we have been treated with scans to view every one of them!! A truly beautiful set of Silver Age Marvel magic!!

Best Bronze Age Sets

jjbjheartman - Wrightson's Swamp - Swamp Thing #1-#10 (1972)
An extremely impressive run of Swamp Thing! The set begins with Swampy's first appearance in House of Secrets #92 by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Issues #1-10 of the characters ongoing series completes Bernie Wrightson's run on the title as regular artist. It is a truly impressive set to have put together all in 9.8! This set is the root of all modern horror comics today, (pun intended) and will continue to be revered!

Shivabali - Lunar Lycanthrope - Werewolf By Night
Owner Shivabali has put together an amazing run of Werewolf by Night! Including the characters first appearances in Marvel Spotlight #2-4, all forty three issues of the ongoing series, and four Giant size specials! All of them 9.6 or 9.8! The extremely sought after #32 featuring Moon Knight's first appearance just happens to be one of the 9.8's in the collection! This set shows an incredible amount of dedication!

JMoses - JMosesOriginal MM - Mister Miracle (1971)
Jack "King" Kirby's creation of the Fourth World brought us the New Gods' escape artist Mister Miracle! This master set consists of issues 1-18 by Jack Kirby, 19-25 featuring the art of Marshal Rogers and ends with the Mister Miracle Special showcasing the art of Steve Rude! Grades range from 9.4 to 9.8. Mister Miracle is on fire right now! Featuring loads of first appearances, including the title character. The series introduces Big Barda, The Female Furies, Granny Goodness, Oberon, and Shilo Norman to name a few!

Best Copper Age Sets

Vikingreed - For Some Things...There Is No Forgiveness. - Crow (Chapter One)
Caliber Comics launched at the tail end of the Copper era as an independent publisher of mostly creator-owned work. The Crow is by far the most recognized title in the catalog and its iconic status among indie titles (and comics as a whole) is well deserved. Several factors contribute to the difficulty of collecting this title in high grade. Independently published comics are more often than not printed in low-number runs on lesser quality materials, making higher grade copies nearly impossible to find. Due to the desirability of first printings, they don't trade hands as often, and the black covers of course are always tough.

Vikingreed has put together a very high grade, comprehensive Crow collection. Caliber Presents #1 - the first appearance of the Crow - is a tough book in high grade, but certainly a crown jewel in a 9.8. The #1 is a first printing 9.8 Signature Series signed by James O'Barr - a fantastic achievement and one of only 8 on the census. The #2 is also Signature Series 9.8, one of only 3 on the census! Congratulations to Vikingreed for putting together this collection of one of the most groundbreaking titles of the Copper era!

SpiderJunkie - SpiderJunkie's ASM McFarlane - Amazing Spider-Man McFarlane
When Todd McFarlane began his run on Amazing Spider-Man in 1988 it was nothing short of unbelievable. Peter Parker was in phenomenal hands for 28 issues, and the influence McFarlane's work had on the title cannot be understated. His run continues to grow in its desirability and attracts new readers to this day.

SpiderJunkie began putting together this collection of McFarlane's run in 2013, rounding up 9.8's over the next 6 years. What makes this collection stand out is the addition of SEVEN 9.9's and TWO 10.0's! The #321 is one of only two 10.0's on the census, and the #322 is the one and only 10.0! Holy smokes! Extraordinarily, the #300 is a 9.9, (one of only 10 on the census!) and was one of the last to join the collection in 2019.

It's well worth mentioning that the #301 in 9.8 also stands out as a crown jewel. This book is arguably more difficult to achieve in 9.8 than its #300 counterpart, with only 150 on the census in the grade, and zero 9.9's or 10.0's. If by some rare chance a higher grade surfaces, here's hoping SpiderJunkie might add it to this beautiful collection! What a fantastic achievement! Congratulations!

jgallo - Furry Friends - Ewoks
Marvel Star titles are cornerstones of 80's nostalgia, adapting some of the most beloved television shows and films of the era. These titles are well known among collectors for being tough to find in high grades. These were comics aimed at a younger generation of readers not only for their content, but to help them climb the ladder to more mature titles in the future. That said, these books were well-loved and well-read, making well-preserved copies extremely difficult to find! The Ewoks title is certainly no exception, and the highest grades are of course some of the lowest numbers on the census. JGallo has managed to assemble a full run in 9.8 with only one 9.6! Ewoks 1 being a black cover is particularly difficult to get in 9.8, and JGallo's copy is also newsstand, making it even more rare. The majority of this collection are newsstand with white pages, and were assembled over the course of 6 years. Congratulations to JGallo for this great collection!

Best Modern Age Sets

Sensei Ryan - WE ARE THE WALKING DEAD! - Walking Dead (2003 Complete with Variants)
As the Walking Dead comes to an end as a comic series, this amazing set by Sensei Ryan needs to be recognized. His passion for the series is clearly evident from not only the books in the collection but the time spent adding pictures and info for every book. The set includes multiple 9.9s including issue #1. There are also multiple variant covers and tie ins including a set of the Image Plus magazines featuring Negan's backstory all in 9.8. Bravo Sensei Ryan for this amazing collection.

BooZeR - BooZeR's ASM v3 + Variants - Amazing Spider-Man (2014) Complete with Variants
BooZer's ASM collection is a complete run of Amazing Spider-Man vol 3 all in 9.8. Boozer has been adding to this collection throughout the year and it shows. What sets this set apart from others is the high number of variant covers in 9.8.

workingdog - Batman (Rebirth- 2016) - Batman (Rebirth- 2016)
Workingdog's Batman Rebirth set is a very impressive collection of the current Batman series. What separates this set from other Batman sets is the large number of issue 50 variants all in 9.8. Keep up the great work on this set workingdog!

Best Presented Sets

Kir Kanos - Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years - Star Wars (Marvel) #1-#107
"I'd like to propose a toast honoring a hero of the true Empire, someone whose devotion to the Emperor is legendary. Gentlemen, show your respect to the last surviving member of the Royal Guard -- the living emblem of Palpatine's rule, Kir Kanos." If you public name wasn’t already a dead give away, your “Star Wars: Original Marvel Years” Set is. Kir Kanos, you are Star Wars Super Fan! We really enjoyed looking though this amazing set. Holy Signature Series! Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Jeremy Bulloch, Billy Dee Williams… the list goes on and on and that doesn’t even touch on the creators! You have all the 35 Cent Price Variants, a 9.9, and 10 from 1982! WOW! Amazing work!

umyeahwhatevers - Girl U Want - Tank Girl
You’re right, umyeahwhatevers, Tank Girl the movie was not good… But your “Girl U Want” Set is great! Not only did you win our hearts by naming your set after the DEVO song, but your set description was a walk down memory lane. We remember that cardboard cut-out too. The inclusion of your favorite Pin-Ups for your 2nd Image and why you chose them was an aspect of your set that we loved… AND you were actually in the 21st Century Tank Girl Sampler? Who else can say that??? So cool.

AlphaPrimeIan - Marvel's The Transformers - Transformers (1984)
AlphaPrimeIan, (you) Roll(ed) Out... A beautiful set consisting of 9.8s or higher and your hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed. You’ve worked tirelessly over the last 6 years to build the best and this year you finally took the title! Not only were you this year’s Best In Set Type, we couldn't overlook you for Best Presented. Your wonderful plot summaries and Set Description about the start of the Transformer Series at Marvel kept us reading until the very end. Congratulations!

Best Magazine Set

Mark Sielski - The Mark Sielski E Collection - Eerie Magazine
After ten consecutive years as the Best in Set Type, I think it’s about time to crown this collection as the Best Magazine Set! After kicking things off with issues #2 & #3 in high grade 9.6, this collector follows up with more classic Frazetta covers in 9.4 (#5 & #8), and the hauntingly beautiful “Sea Witch” black cover in an elusive - and impressive - 9.6!

Other highlights include Tom Sutton’s hard-to-find-in-high-grade #17 cover in 9.4, and the Frazetta classic “Egyptian Queen” cover #23 in 9.4, the original art of which recently sold at auction for $5.4 million! Aside from the always captivating Frazetta artwork, Eerie featured consistently terrific cover art from Sanjulian, Boris Vallejo, Vaughn Bode, Jeff Jones, Richard Corben and Ken Kelly, just to name a few.

Best Custom Set

GAM - Designed for Delinquency
For an interesting and informative look into the early era of comic censorship this custom set does a great job of highlighting some of the comics or titles featured in the publications regarding this matter during the 1940s and 50s. The set description does a nice job of setting up the background for the comics listed under the fun title of "Designed for Delinquency" preparing the visitor for the journey to come. Upon further exploration you will find that all 153 items have images and most have comments explaining their relevance and reference whichever publication had a mention of that comic or title in their pursuit of censorship. GAM clearly displays passion for this topic in comic history and does an exemplary job of sharing it!

MrWalkingDead - Sketch Editions/Partial Blank Covers
MrWalkingDead has compiled an awe inspiring set of sketch covers that are truly out of this world. A beautiful mix, ranging from the likes of George Perez, Tony Moore, Todd Nauck, Ethan Van Sciver, Charlie Adlard, Tim Seeley… The list goes on and on. This set celebrates the creative process and pays respect to some of the industry’s finest. Keep up the great work! We can’t wait to see what you add next!

Lookin4Newsstands - Marvel Comics Newsstand Editions (6/79 - 12/13)
Lookin4Newsstands has definitely found ‘em! His “Marvel Comic Newsstand Editions (6/79 – 12/13)” is an impressive collection of issues normally difficult to find in high grade, due to the nature of their distribution. All books in this set 9.8s plus a 9.9! There are over 448 issues, spanning across 41 different series, both Signature Series and Universal. Impressive!

Best Signature Series Set

wasonff - X-Men #201-#300 9.8 SS - X-Men (1963) #201-#300
Chris Claremont, John Romita, Jr., Whilce Portacio, Barry Windsor-Smith, Alan Davis, Marc Silvestri, Art Adams, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Andy Kubert are among the legends that have signed books in this comprehensive set. Wasonff has been working on this set since 2009 and it shows! Congratulations on winning the first ever CGC Signature Series Achievement Award!

Best Forumites

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Best in Set Type

We would also like to acknowledge the top set in each set type. See our 2019 Awards Archive page for the Best in Set Type winners. 2019 Awards Archive

Special note: In response to participant feedback, an opt-out feature has been added on the edit set page for users with a No. 1 set who wish to NOT receive a certificate in the mail. If your set is No. 1 at the award deadline and you choose to opt out of receiving the certificate, your set is still named No. 1 and gets the award icon online. Opting out only means you wouldn’t receive the paper certificate in the mail.