Hello everyone,
I recently stumbled upon this corner of the comic book world by accident in researching the Masterworks and Essentials books. The thought of binding my single issues into hardback form had never before occurred to me (as much as I love hardcovers!) - but the thought of having all those comics so easily accessible, as opposed to being stowed away in bags and long boxes, is a revelation. I can't wait to get started!
My experience with comics is very limited compared to most of you. I've only recently (within the past year) gotten back into them after a loooong layoff. I grew up in the 80's and often picked up the random issue of Spiderman (my favorite back then), Iron Man, Batman, Superman...even a few oddities like Swamp Thing, Warlock, etc. that I'm sure I just grabbed because the cover looked cool. It wasn't until the late 80's, when I was in jr. high school, that I REALLY starting getting into comics. My funds were limited, but between a measley allowance and money made from mowing yards, I managed to pick up a couple of books every week or so. I collected for about 3 years, amassed a collection of about 350-400 comics, and then stopped. Don't really remember why, exactly...but it was the early 90s which, looking back, may have had something to do with it. I simply couldn't afford to get all the latest "hot" comics in all the various fancy covers and such - so, I think I just became frustrated and gave it up.
There have been many times since then that I've thought about getting back into comics, but I was afraid to do so...because I knew what would happen. I knew that if I allowed myself to buy just one comic, it would become an obsession. And, ofcourse, it has...
But, it's a good obsession!
Okay, that's it for the introduction... On to the projects! Most of the things I would like to bind for now are current runs of books that I really enjoy. I don't have any complete runs of older comics, so until I can fill all the holes in those runs, they'll have to wait. I'd like my first project to be the comic that I'm enjoying the most these days: Dark Horse's Conan. The first volume will consist of issues 0-22 or 0-25, depending on where I decide to cut it off at... I have the 2 hardcover editions that have been released by Dark Horse, and while they are beautiful books and I'm glad to have them, they are lacking in a few areas. They omit the letters column (which is always a joy to read) as well as the "Two Gun Bob" backup strip from every issue. Also, while they do include the covers for each issue, they are cropped. These books have also omitted certain fill-in issues (to be collected in a later volume) that I would like to have in numerical sequence with the rest of the issues. I'm thinking that this would make a great volume of comics, bound in brown with gold foil. Any thoughts on this project?
Also on the horizon... Complete runs of Gotham Central, Fables, Y: The Last Man and 100 Bullets.
I recently stumbled upon this corner of the comic book world by accident in researching the Masterworks and Essentials books. The thought of binding my single issues into hardback form had never before occurred to me (as much as I love hardcovers!) - but the thought of having all those comics so easily accessible, as opposed to being stowed away in bags and long boxes, is a revelation. I can't wait to get started!
My experience with comics is very limited compared to most of you. I've only recently (within the past year) gotten back into them after a loooong layoff. I grew up in the 80's and often picked up the random issue of Spiderman (my favorite back then), Iron Man, Batman, Superman...even a few oddities like Swamp Thing, Warlock, etc. that I'm sure I just grabbed because the cover looked cool. It wasn't until the late 80's, when I was in jr. high school, that I REALLY starting getting into comics. My funds were limited, but between a measley allowance and money made from mowing yards, I managed to pick up a couple of books every week or so. I collected for about 3 years, amassed a collection of about 350-400 comics, and then stopped. Don't really remember why, exactly...but it was the early 90s which, looking back, may have had something to do with it. I simply couldn't afford to get all the latest "hot" comics in all the various fancy covers and such - so, I think I just became frustrated and gave it up.
There have been many times since then that I've thought about getting back into comics, but I was afraid to do so...because I knew what would happen. I knew that if I allowed myself to buy just one comic, it would become an obsession. And, ofcourse, it has...
But, it's a good obsession! Okay, that's it for the introduction... On to the projects! Most of the things I would like to bind for now are current runs of books that I really enjoy. I don't have any complete runs of older comics, so until I can fill all the holes in those runs, they'll have to wait. I'd like my first project to be the comic that I'm enjoying the most these days: Dark Horse's Conan. The first volume will consist of issues 0-22 or 0-25, depending on where I decide to cut it off at... I have the 2 hardcover editions that have been released by Dark Horse, and while they are beautiful books and I'm glad to have them, they are lacking in a few areas. They omit the letters column (which is always a joy to read) as well as the "Two Gun Bob" backup strip from every issue. Also, while they do include the covers for each issue, they are cropped. These books have also omitted certain fill-in issues (to be collected in a later volume) that I would like to have in numerical sequence with the rest of the issues. I'm thinking that this would make a great volume of comics, bound in brown with gold foil. Any thoughts on this project?
Also on the horizon... Complete runs of Gotham Central, Fables, Y: The Last Man and 100 Bullets.
