Bound volumes - can this still be done?

[DonEMC]

I'm wanting to have some 1980s runs of comics put into bound volumes. Does anyone know if this is still done and where I could find information so that I can get the sets bound for my library?

[shaxper]

I looked into this a few years back and found that any small-time book binder can do it. To the best of my knowledge, there never was a company that specialized in binding only comics.

[DonEMC]

Thanks for the help! I know it's probably frowned upon, but I plan to put some of my 1980s comics into bound volumes so I can easily store them on my bookshelf in my library.
I would love to hear people's opinions of bound volumes and would also like to know if anyone on this board has ever had a set of comics bound.

[Kirk G]

John Byrne did this with all his early silver age Marvels to act as reference books.... and the idea caught on with Marvel.... as a result, we now have 80 plus volumes in the continuing Marvel Masterworks series....

I wouldn't pay to bind them, as you'll lose part of the panels that fall in the crease... and double page spreads just don't look right.

I'd just buy the Marvel Masterwork volumes when they get up to the period you want.

For $28-32.00 a pop, it's a better investment, plus you'll still have all the originals to read and enjoy individually, and smell the ink too!

[DonEMC]

I'm talking about the Who's Who series from DC and maybe some others, like my DC 1980s miniseries (like Red Tornado) and Flash 323-350 (I might as well do it since DC has told me it doesn't appear likely it'll be reprinted anytime soon.
DonEMC

[shaxper]

I've always considered doing it, myself. I've been buying the DC Archive editions and removing the dust jackets, because I think the hard binding lends a certain dignity to the stories within. When it comes to my preferred classic literature, I've always tried to obtain the handsome hardbound editions that are pleasing to see on the book shelf and feel just right in your hands. I see no reason why this shouldn't carry over to comics as well, so long as you don't mind compromising collectibility. A few years ago, I saw an ebay auction for a set of Cerebus phonebooks that had been professionally bound in leather. Beautiful stuff. I was quite jealous.

[DonEMC]

See, I've been collecting so many years that I've started to reevaluate my collecting habits... and wondering what good it's going to do me to keep these things in pristine mint condition when I'm not getting any enjoyment out of them.
I'm not planning to sell my 1980s stuff, because that's MY golden age and I want to reread those over and over. Now, I'm not wanting to get my actual golden age comics bound, because those aren't books I'm wanting to read over and over.
But, I want to get the things I'm most fond of bound for my lifelong enjoyment.
Collecting has taken a back seat to my reading habits these days, anyway, because I'd much rather buy new comics and take them to a local restaurant I frequent and sit and eat and read.
Keeping things I collect pristine is a thing of the past.
I've also been building a library for the past five years. It's tough for me to go to our local Borders or Books-A-Million and find anything I don't already have, so I've amassed a nice collection of trade paperbacks and hardbacks that look very nice in what is slowly becoming a pretty cool library.
DonEMC

[DDM]

Thanks for the help! I know it's probably frowned upon, but I plan to put some of my 1980s comics into bound volumes so I can easily store them on my bookshelf in my library.
I would love to hear people's opinions of bound volumes and would also like to know if anyone on this board has ever had a set of comics bound.

DC is going to release the Who's Who in a Showcase TPB in the near future.

[MichikoS]

Hi Don. You'd think, since I'm a librarian, that bound volumes would appeal to me, but they don't. At all. I personally would never, ever bind floppies, as they have too much intrinsic appeal to me, esthetically and sensually, in spite of (or perhaps because of) their flimsy vulnerability.

That said, shax is right on about any local bindery being able to do the job. I would, however, choose one that has had some experience binding comics, or magazines with shallow gutters for libraries. Binding requires some slicing and cutting, so be sure you understand that this is part of the process. There is no putting Humpty together again after it's done!

Here in the Midwest, I can recommend Houchen Bindery. I have seen many, many examples of their work in various libraries throughout a five-state area, and I think they do excellent work. Dunno about binderies in W. Virginia.

http://www.houchenbindery.com/

If you are determined to go through with this, call around to some binderies you find in the Yellow Pages and get some price quotes. Rebinding is NOT CHEAP!

Good luck and (><gack><) enjoy those bound volumes. ;)

Michi

[zilch]

Try here for some threads about this subject...

http://p206.ezboard.com/Binding-Vault/fmarvelmasterworksfansitefrm22

[DarthAstuart]

Try here for some threads about this subject...

http://p206.ezboard.com/Binding-Vault/fmarvelmasterworksfansitefrm22

This board right here is THE place to go to learn about and discuss binding. Also a great spot to ogle drool-worthy pictures of some very impressive bound volume collections!

[dan bailey]

Collecting has taken a back seat to my reading habits these days, anyway, because I'd much rather buy new comics and take them to a local restaurant I frequent and sit and eat and read.


A preference I happen to share.

Hmmm ... DonEMC (welcome, by the way!) identifies himself as hailing from Danville, West Virginia. A coincidence? I think not.

[scratchie]

I'd just buy the Marvel Masterwork volumes when they get up to the period you want.Depending on the book, that could take years.

And the coloring is terrible in some of the Masterworks volumes. Even when it's not done poorly, it's still different.

Binding them insures that you will have the exact comics, looking the way they always did, with all period ads and Bullpen Bulletins included for nostalgia value.

I got three volumes of comics bound last year and am looking forward to doing more soon. I wouldn't do it for Silver Age Fantastic Four or anything really valuable like that (which I don't own, anyway), but for mass-market comics from the 70s and 80s, it's a great way to preserve their condition (in terms of eye appeal and readability, if not "collectability") and keep them easily-available for re-reading without digging through boxes and bags.

I strongly recommend binding and, as someone else pointed out, any bindery can do it for you (check the Yellow Pages). These are the same businesses that bind University theses and periodicals for library (the binding for multiple issues of a magazine is called a "library binding", in fact).