Mission Statement 2011
The Restoration Lab celebrates its 25th year of restoring and more importantly, preserving, vintage American comic books. I, Susan Cicconi, have built a solid reputation as the nation's premier comic book restorer while maintaining the highest ethics and standards possible. I want to take this time to thank the many customers who have trusted me with their comics over these last 25 years.
Over the last 10 years, the industry has seen significant changes. I have cherished the opportunity to work on torn and tattered Golden and Silver Age books and, in most cases literally bringing them back to life. Today, in some cases, those same tattered, taped and torn books with rusted staples and fragile pages are worth more as unrestored books than if they were preserved and conserved. Unfortunately without correct preservation, these books are going to cease to exist in the not too distant future. This is a sad state of affairs for the comic book loving community and future generations. I can only hope that within the next 10 years, the marketplace will change and more professionally restored books will be valued at prices worthy of their historical significance and preserved state. Fortunately for me, I still have collectors who are interested in restoring their comics so that they can continue to hold them in their hands and pass them on to their kids.
Today, with a better understanding of the comic book marketplace, I am ready to embark on a more hands-on appropriate pressing service. Due to the current economic situation, I am compelled to ethically participate for the greater good of the comic book community. Since I have been cleaning and pressing books for years as part of my true restoration services, I have acquired a keen knowledge as to how this procedure should be done in order to retain the book's original, pristine state.
I have diligently studied the criteria for CGC pertaining to their submission qualifications and labeling. I am aware of the various pitfalls along with significant monetary benefits to the customer for choosing this service. It needs to be stated and understood that cleaning and pressing, like restoration, is not an exact science. Drawing on my vast years of experience, my expertise in this area is second to none. Intricately weaving a multitude of factors such as types of books, covers, colors, textures, heat, pressure and humidification can either have a desirable or deleterious effect on a comic book.
For the above reasons, I plan to be very selective which comic book candidates merit my service. All the methods and techniques I use are safe and are within the guidelines of paper conservation. Our goal is to individually treat each comic book presented as if it were our own personal and treasured possession. For prices and details, click on the link Just Pressing under Related Links.
Susan Cicconi
The Restoration Lab