The Authority Launches Public Comic Book Grading Standard Collectors Can Use to Check Grades

The Authority has introduced what it calls the collectibles industry’s first Universal Public Grading Standard, beginning with comic books and giving collectors access to the same criteria intended to determine a final grade. The standard was published by Dynamics Inc., the company behind The Authority, and is available publicly through TheAuthority.com. The goal is to make grading more transparent by allowing collectors to review the process themselves rather than relying entirely on a grading company’s internal methodology.

The first version covers comic books and is part of a broader Universal Public Grading Standard for trade paperbacks and periodicals, including comics, magazines and treasuries.

The system breaks grading into three main steps. First, the collectible is divided into defined components so each area can be evaluated independently. In the case of a comic book, that includes establishing exactly where one component ends and another begins, such as the boundary between the spine and front cover.

Next, damage is identified and measured using what The Authority calls Damage Tables. Different types of damage are evaluated according to the component they affect, with those measurements used to determine a Component Grade.

Once the individual Component Grades have been calculated, collectors move to the Final Grade Matrix. The company says that matrix provides a final grade for every possible combination of component grades, with the intention of producing a repeatable result rather than leaving the final number entirely to grader discretion.

“Without a public grading standard, the hobby is plagued by inconsistency, confusion, fraud, and mistrust. The dark ages of grading are coming to an end,” said Jeffrey Mullen, CEO of Dynamics Inc. “Today, The Authority introduces the industry’s first public grading standard. For the first time, everyone has access to a common standard for grading collectibles. Collectors can now independently determine, understand, and validate a collectible’s grade using a transparent and repeatable process. Confidence in grading should not depend on simply trusting someone else’s opinion. True consistency and trust can only exist when the grading standards and processes are open for everyone to see.”

Mullen said the company chose comic books as the first category because their multi-material construction makes them particularly difficult to grade consistently. The stated goal was to create a system that could be read and applied not only by professional graders but by collectors themselves.

The launch also fits into The Authority’s broader collectibles platform. The company describes its service as a single system that can handle vaulting, purchasing, encapsulation, authentication, grading, selling and fulfillment for collectibles. It says the marketplace supports trading cards, TCGs, comics, figurines, memorabilia and associated certificates of authenticity.

The company has not yet announced public standards for every collectible category it supports. For now, comic books are the first category covered by the Universal Public Grading Standard, with the system available through The Authority.