Bound books

[bribri]

Yes, oversewn. I don't feel the gutter loss is too bad, but it depends on the thickness of the book. The thicker the book, the more gutter loss.

Occasionally I will find myself hold down one side of the book in order to read some of the text that is heading into the gutter, but it hasn't been a problem.

I think this image gives you a good idea of what to expect:

[Captain_Nemo]

These are amazing! I would like to do this with some of my books. Perhaps I will start with my Crossgen books.

[IanAlexavier]

These are amazing! I would like to do this with some of my books. Perhaps I will start with my Crossgen books.

Crossgen would be a great line to bind!

You can make them as simple or complex as you like.. its personalized binding

There are a TON of great ideas shown in this thread

[Captain_Nemo]

So I spent the better part of my day looking at various websites on binding, mapping and recommended binderies...

My wife is going to kill me!!

After that I went through some long boxes I haven't looked at in years. There are so many things I will want to bind knowing that they will be more accessible to me in this format. I think it will be a joy to read this way without going through the unbagging/rebagging process. Time to get some lists and a lot of cash ready...

These are amazing! I would like to do this with some of my books. Perhaps I will start with my Crossgen books.

Crossgen would be a great line to bind!

You can make them as simple or complex as you like.. its personalized binding

There are a TON of great ideas shown in this thread

[IanAlexavier]

With binding, you can find damaged books to use. For me, I took out any double sided ads and the back pages (unless they were wrap around covers). Spine condition really doesnt matter and nicks along the edges end up getting removed when the books are cut down.

Keep asking questions here and we will share the ideas that worked best with us.

Try not to be too focused on getting them all bound tomorrow... enjoy the journey, savor the process and be proud of your work

[Donovan]

I've got a three volume XO Manowar set coming to me in the mail that I had bound last month. I'll post picks in this thread as soon as they come in!

Captain Nemo, you would NOT believe how great a hobby this is. Like IanAlexavier, I too removed all my ads and back covers. It reduced the amount of space the books occupied previously. Plus, not having them in bags and boards reduced the space they took up as well!

A lot of the books I'd sent in weren't of the best quality. Rough edges, poor spines, etc. But once the binder is done trimming them, they look AMAZING!

[IanAlexavier]

A lot of the books I'd sent in weren't of the best quality. Rough edges, poor spines, etc. But once the binder is done trimming them, they look AMAZING!

Ive been able to find damaged premium books to place in my bound copies.. its a great way to save a damaged book

[Captain_Nemo]

This is something I've been thinking of. For my Crossgen books I will use what I have and they are all NM or better. I don't mind that because I have no intention of ever selling them. I have some older books that I would like to bind, too, but I'm wondering about maybe buying some "reader" copies to bind instead rather than using my original NM or better books.

I also saw Marvel's Star Wars 1 - 107, plus annuals and specials bound in 5 volumes sold on eBay for just over $200 back in July. Man I would have loved to get my hands on that!

[Donovan]

Got my 3 volume X-O Manowar set back from Herring & Robinson yesterday. Wow.

Half Bind Hickory Arrestox and Black Buckram


Bob Layton commission on inside cover


Lots of extras, including Barry Windsor Smith concept art


Obligatory interior shot

[Captain_Nemo]

Those are gorgeous!

[IanAlexavier]

2 color buckram? Did it cost more??

Looks great!

I think if I could start over I would pick just one design/color scheme and stick with it like you.

[Donovan]

It was $10 more per book! It seemed like a good idea at the time, till I figured out at 30 books it would be an extra $300!

Actually, I'm extremely happy with the half binds. They feel great to hold.

And yeah, I'm glad I went the unified line look for these books!

[IanAlexavier]

It was $10 more per book! It seemed like a good idea at the time, till I figured out at 30 books it would be an extra $300!

Actually, I'm extremely happy with the half binds. They feel great to hold.

And yeah, I'm glad I went the unified line look for these books!

Yes, more expensive but youre going to have an amazing collection when your done!

[Captain_Nemo]

So I've made some decisions. Rather than start with Crossgen I'm going to do a few self contained books while I practice the process. I'm going witht he following:

Evangeline (First Comics) - has some wrap around covers
Warp (First Comics)
Godzilla (Marvel)

I'm going with Herring & Robinson and thinking of doing all of my volumes in Black imitation leather with gold lettering for a nice consistent look as I build my collection. I'm going with the oversewn method. These first three trial run books will not have any other bells and whistles but for future volumes I'll want ribbons and headbands.

Evangeline and Warp come in at under 2 inches without removing back covers (almost all ads have story pages on the reverse). For Godzilla at 24 issues I'm concerned it might be a little bigger but I want to bind complete books for the ad nostalgia. Godzilla (as well as Star Wars and Werewolf By Night) was among the first books I ever collected and I like looking at the old ads and letter pages.

Has anyone done any of the above titles? Any suggestions or recommendations for me?

[IanAlexavier]

Valiant is the only thing I bind...

Check to see if there are any crossovers with other books that you may want to add.

What about original art that you may want to add to the beginning of the book?

What about any other documentation that you want to add to the beginning of the book? Table of contents? Issue info? Artist, writer info?

The Archer and Armstrong book is 28 issues, I think.. so its a big one. Big books work fine

Take your time to look through this thread to find a consistent design that you think youd like to use for your 'library'

[MoonChild]

Great Job Beyonder!

[Donovan]

Still plowing through my complete VH1 library, getting them bound!

I just got Magnus vol 1 back, and am in love with my extras!

Scans of the cards from issues #0-8:


And the full poster, stitched together in photoshop, which folds out:

[Donovan]

And have I shared the wicked Don Perlin Bloodshot sketch in my Bloodshot vol 1 hardcover?


Bob Layton's Dr. Mirage!

[Donovan]

Last but not least, here's a fairly recent shot of my bound Valiants! Still quite a few volumes to go!

[IanAlexavier]

Looking great!!

[lorddunlow]

That's so awesome! :Stop number three on my comic book raid added:

[Donovan]

Just sent off my last four VH1 books to Herring & Robinson in California for binding. In a month or two, I'll have a complete set of VH1 Valiant, bound in hardcover sitting on my shelves.

Well, nearly complete. I didn't include Super Mario, Vintage Gold Key reprints, or Punx.

Super excited.

[Langiy]

Hello all,

I’m new to this forum, and man, I gotta say, I’m blown away! Steve Topper, I sure you don’t need me to tell you, but your binds and maps are really great.

I’ve finally decided to pull the trigger on binding up my entire pre-Acclaim run of Valiant. Here’s my issue: I’m a writer more than an artist, and (typically) I don’t envision things visually (IE in pictures) in my mind. While that’s great for covers with foils, it’s awesomely terribad for table of contents pages, and well, anything visually creative.

I’d like to re-create Steve Topper's dust jackets into intro/TOC pages, but before I do that, are there images somewhere on the board that showcases what you guys have done for internal TOC pages and the like? Also, anyone have cool endpaper treatments? I have a set of the old trading cards, and I’m thinking of doing a washed-out walpaper-type thing, but again, not that creative.

I’m interested in what you do for reprinting pages. I ask because the MRB #5/Rai #1 flip-book has one shared page. Now I can just buy another book, but scanning and printing seems to be a smarter option. Do you use standard white paper & ink jet? Does it match up well?

I’m also interested in getting/securing the card scans for MRF (like Donovan did). I have the ones still in mine, but they are ½ yellowed from time and as I mentioned, I’m horribad at Photoshop and I’m not sure I can color correct them. Any help would be welcome.

On a rarity question, I do have a Jim Shooter signed MRF #1 that’s NM (never graded) and I think I want to include it, but since it also has the cards, I’m wondering if it’s too valuable. Is there still a market for such a book? Or do I include it for cool factor (same is true for my Harbinger #0 Pink, but unsigned).

I’d also love any first-time lessons-learned from your experiences. Things I should look out for, be wary of, and creative ideas that worked.

(Edited- I cut my current map plans as it made the post way too long!)

[Donovan]

My first batch of VEI came in last week! I had a die of the new logo made up at Herring & Robinson, so if you're looking to get some current Valiant done, they are the place to go!

[grendeljd]

My first batch of VEI came in last week! I had a die of the new logo made up at Herring & Robinson, so if you're looking to get some current Valiant done, they are the place to go!

Sweet - one less XO #5 1:50 variant out in the wild. The value of the rest is going to skyrocket!! Wait... I don't have one yet. Not good.