CGC Census Olympics - Which books take home the most gold?

To celebrate the return of the Olympics, this month’s article creates the CGC Census Olympics. It’s true that Amazing Spider-Man #300 is the most submitted book to CGC, but the CGC Census Olympics includes 28 events. Each CGC grade is its own event, with Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals awarded for the top three most submitted books for each grade (universal plus signature series). That’s a total of 75 medals to award for 25 CGC grades from CGC 0.5 to CGC 10. Additionally, the top three most submitted signature series, restored, and qualified books for all grades totaled will also earn a medal. Altogether, 84 medals are awarded to two dozen comic books from more than 200,000 books which were eligible.

All comic books and comic magazines submitted to CGC and appearing on the CGC Census at the end of July 2021 were eligible to “compete” in these CGC Census Olympic Games. Currently, there are 233,154 different comic books in the CGC Census, with over 6,000,000 graded copies. Allow every CGC graded book that you’ve ever seen to parade through your memory as an opening ceremony, with your choice of music (or the Olympic theme) playing in the background.

More than 21 years of CGC submissions from 2000 to 2021 compiled as census totals to reach the “finish line” for each event. For the highest possible CGC grades, 9.9 and 10, the winners are recent comic books printed with materials that protect against the types of flaws, wear, and damage that are normal for comics from earlier eras. In the case of lower grades, comic books with many flaws are rarely submitted to CGC except for quite valuable comics. While Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel) is the most submitted book in the CGC Census, it is not the most submitted book at the highest, middle, or lowest grades. The winners in the CGC Census Olympics events will most likely be recognizable comics, having been submitted the most often, however, there is no individual book which is able to take home a medal in every event.

CGC 10

CGC 10 GOLD MEDAL - 373 copies - Batman: Damned #1 (2018, D.C. Comics)

CGC 10 SILVER MEDAL - 310 copies - Batman: Damned #1 Variant Cover (2018, D.C. Comics)

CGC 10 BRONZE MEDAL - 95 copies - Crossed +100 #1 CGC Numbered Leather Ed. (2014, Avatar Press)

CGC 9.9

CGC 9.9 GOLD MEDAL - 872 copies - Batman: Damned #1 (2018, D.C. Comics)

CGC 9.9 SILVER MEDAL - 654 copies - Batman: Damned #1 Variant Cover (2018, D.C. Comics)

CGC 9.9 BRONZE MEDAL - 218 copies - Batman: Damned #2 (2019, D.C. Comics)

CGC has graded silver foil cover reproductions which have received many CGC 10 and CGC 9.9 grades. Because those items are not comic books or comic magazines, having no pages, they were not included in these events.

CGC 9.8

The most common grade on the CGC Census is CGC 9.8, with universal 9.8 occurring for more than 31% of all CGC graded books, and another 8% for CGC Signature 9.8. The winners in the CGC 9.8 event are not just comic books which have very high quantities of raw copies available. The books must also be “worth submitting” to CGC including those added costs of CGC grading and shipping, as opposed to keeping the books in inventories and collections as ungraded books. This combination of “widely available” and “worth submitting” essentially focuses this CGC 9.8 olympic event to comic books from the early 1990s, which were printed in high quantities and treated as quite collectible at the time of their release. These books have reached the 25 to 30 year mark since publication, making them popular for two, if not three, generations of collectors.

CGC 9.8 GOLD MEDAL – 9,826 copies – Spawn #1 (1992, Image Comics)

CGC 9.8 SILVER MEDAL – 6,709 copies – Spider-Man #1 Silver Edition (1990, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.8 BRONZE MEDAL – 6,466 copies - Venom: Lethal Protector #1 (1993, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.6

The second most common grade on the CGC Census is CGC 9.6, with more than 15% of all CGC graded books as CGC 9.6 universal or CGC 9.6 signature series. While it would be easy to assume that the top three winners for CGC 9.8 would also be winners for CGC 9.6, in fact, none of the CGC 9.8 winners won a medal in the CGC 9.6 event.

CGC 9.6 GOLD MEDAL – 7,571 – Amazing Spider-Man #361 (1992, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.6 SILVER MEDAL – 5,925 – New Mutants #98 (1990, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.6 BRONZE MEDAL – 4,902 - Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 (1984, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.4

The first appearance of Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics) in these CGC Census Olympic Games occurs for the CGC 9.4 event and continues all the way to CGC 7.5. That is six consecutive events with a gold medal won by Amazing Spider-Man #300, followed by a bronze medal for CGC 7.0.

CGC 9.4 GOLD MEDAL - 4,743 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.4 SILVER MEDAL - 3,743 - New Mutants #98 (1991, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.4 BRONZE MEDAL - 3,714 - Amazing Spider-Man #361 (1992, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.2

CGC 9.2 GOLD MEDAL - 3,510 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.2 SILVER MEDAL - 2,171 - New Mutants #98 (1991, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.2 BRONZE MEDAL - 1,841 - Amazing Spider-Man #252 (1984, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.0

CGC 9.0 GOLD MEDAL - 3,042 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.0 SILVER MEDAL - 1,650 - New Mutants #98 (1991, Marvel Comics)

CGC 9.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 1,493 - Amazing Spider-Man #252 (1984, Marvel Comics)

CGC 8.5

CGC 8.5 GOLD MEDAL - 2,520 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 8.5 SILVER MEDAL - 1,276 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 8.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 1,262 - New Mutants #98 (1991, Marvel Comics)

CGC 8.0

CGC 8.0 GOLD MEDAL - 1,756 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 8.0 SILVER MEDAL - 1,292 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 8.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 1,122 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 7.5

CGC 7.5 GOLD MEDAL - 1,265 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 7.5 SILVER MEDAL - 1,200 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 7.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 1,134 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 7.0

CGC 7.0 GOLD MEDAL - 1,154 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 7.0 SILVER MEDAL - 1,080 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 7.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 967 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

CGC 6.5

CGC 6.5 GOLD MEDAL - 1,017 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 6.5 SILVER MEDAL - 956 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 6.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 769 - Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975, Marvel Comics)

CGC 6.0

CGC 6.0 GOLD MEDAL - 837 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 6.0 SILVER MEDAL - 740 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 6.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 635 - Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975, Marvel Comics)

CGC 5.5

CGC 5.5 GOLD MEDAL - 697 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 5.5 SILVER MEDAL - 654 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 5.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 509 - Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975, Marvel Comics)

CGC 5.0

CGC 5.0 GOLD MEDAL - 774 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 5.0 SILVER MEDAL - 732 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 5.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 574 - Fantastic Four #48 (1966, Marvel Comics)

CGC 4.5

CGC 4.5 GOLD MEDAL - 595 - Fantastic Four #48 (1966, Marvel Comics)

CGC 4.5 SILVER MEDAL - 592 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 4.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 562 - Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 4.0

CGC 4.0 GOLD MEDAL - 579 - Fantastic Four #48 (1966, Marvel Comics)

CGC 4.0 SILVER MEDAL - 541 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

CGC 4.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 458 - Daredevil #1 (1964, Marvel Comics)

CGC 3.5

CGC 3.5 GOLD MEDAL - 458 - Fantastic Four #48 (1966, Marvel Comics)

CGC 3.5 SILVER MEDAL - 425 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 3.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 390 - Daredevil #1 (1964, Marvel Comics)

CGC 3.0

CGC 3.0 GOLD MEDAL - 506 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 3.0 SILVER MEDAL - 448 - Avengers #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 3.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 406 - Daredevil #1 (1964, Marvel Comics)

CGC 2.5

CGC 2.5 GOLD MEDAL - 401 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 2.5 SILVER MEDAL - 317 - Avengers #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 2.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 285 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 2.0

CGC 2.0 GOLD MEDAL - 300 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 2.0 SILVER MEDAL - 244 - Avengers #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 2.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 217 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.8

CGC 1.8 GOLD MEDAL - 226 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.8 SILVER MEDAL - 167 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.8 BRONZE MEDAL - 161 - Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.5

CGC 1.5 GOLD MEDAL - 170 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.5 SILVER MEDAL - 168 - Avengers #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 158 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.0

CGC 1.0 GOLD MEDAL - 167 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.0 SILVER MEDAL - 144 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 1.0 BRONZE MEDAL - 135 - Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962, Marvel Comics)

CGC 0.5

CGC 0.5 GOLD MEDAL - 189 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 0.5 SILVER MEDAL - 162 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

CGC 0.5 BRONZE MEDAL - 155 - Amazing Spider-Man #3 (1963, Marvel Comics)

SIGNATURE SERIES

All grades (0.5 to 10) were included for the CGC Census totals in the Signature Series event.

GOLD MEDAL – 4,298 - Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988, Marvel Comics)

SILVER MEDAL – 3,820 - Spawn #1 (1992, Image Comics)

BRONZE MEDAL – 3,545 - Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 (1984, Marvel Comics)

RESTORED

All grades (0.5 to 10) were included for the CGC Census totals in the Restored event.

GOLD MEDAL – 896 - Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962, Marvel Comics)

SILVER MEDAL – 871 - Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

BRONZE MEDAL – 789 - X-Men #1 (1963, Marvel Comics)

QUALIFIED

All grades (0.5 to 10) were included for the CGC Census totals in the Qualified event.

GOLD MEDAL – 902 - Incredible Hulk #181 (1974, Marvel Comics)

The defect most often cited is a Marvel Value Stamp missing from page 10.

SILVER MEDAL – 883 - Amazing Spider-Man #238 (1983, Marvel Comics)

The defect most often cited is “Tattooz” missing from insert.

BRONZE MEDAL – 401 - Ms. Marvel #1 (1977, Marvel Comics)

The defect most often cited is the cover detached from bottom staple.

CGC CENSUS OLYMPIC TOTALS

The final totals for these “Olympic games” – 84 medals awarded to two dozen comic books.

About the Author

Greg Holland has collected comic books for over 30 years and has been the administrator of the CGC Census Analysis website since 2003, currently located at CGCdata.com. He is the 1999 founder of the ValiantComics.com website and the 2004 ValiantFans.com message board. Dr. Holland holds a Ph.D. in information quality from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and has held data science positions as research director, analyst, and administrator for government, corporations, and university. Active on the CGC Forums as ‘valiantman’ since 2002, he is also a 15+ year advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and contributor to later editions of the Standard Catalog of Comic Books. Greg resides in Arkansas, USA, with his wife and their daughter.