My Newest Comic Hobby!

[JewishHobbit]

I posted this for my buddies over at the Contest of Marvels, but I thought, what the heck... let's tell all my other Marvel buddies about it as well. I don't know if anyone else around here does this, but I discovered another message board where people bind their comics into hardback volumes as they choose, and I grew curious. It's taken months for me to build up the money and courage to try it (since the comics become worthless after that, as they are cut in two and sewn together). I just got them back and I LOVE them.

They are three volumes of what I'm calling "The Spider-Man Saga." I'm binding spiderman (mixing all titles, some minis, and some guest stars) in a chronological reading order as detailed as I can. I am also separating the Volume count by titling eras (for lack of better words). This project is the first 3 volumes of an era I call "Nostalgia" because it's the era that first got me into comics back in the early 90's. These comics are very Nostalgic for me, so that's why I gave it the name. It will run 5 or 6 volumes until the "Clone Saga" era begins with a new volume 1. Each book is rougly 30 issues, and though there is minor gutter loss in places, it isn't enough to cause me a problem, and most of the books are perfectly fine. No words are cut out and only minor bits of art are loss from spreads. My only complaint with the volumes is something that was my own fault. There was a gatefold cover in volume 1 but I didn't specify that I wanted it bound so it folded out, and thus, it was kinda messed up in the binding (somehow cut so that the back part of the cover is alone and the other two fold out... though the pictures don't flow right as the first and last page are reversed)... no biggie though. I'm still pleased and instantly addicted. My whole comic collection will eventually be collected in volumes like this, though it will take quite some time. The reading orders of each book are below, followed by pics:

Nostalgia Book 1: Tales Of The Fallen (30 Issues)
Web of Spiderman 81-82
Amazing Spiderman 351-352
Darkhawk 2-3
Amazing Spiderman 353-358
Ghost Rider 16-17
Spectacular Spiderman 176-185
Web of Spiderman 83-90

Nostalgia Book 2: Of Life, Death, And Grudges Held (28 Issues)
Spectacular Spiderman 186-190
Amazing Spiderman 359-363
Web of Spiderman 91-92
The Hero Killers 1-4 (Spiderman and New Warriors Annuals)
Amazing Spiderman 364-367
Spiderman 24
Web of Spiderman 93-94
Spirits of Vengeance 4
Web of Spiderman 95
Spirits of Vengeance 5
Web of Spiderman 96
Spirits of Vengeance 6

Nostalgia Book 3: A Deal With The Devil (30 Issues)
Amazing Spiderman 368-373
Spectacular Spiderman 191-196
Spectacular Spiderman Annual 13
Spiderman 25-26
Fantastic Four 362
Daredevil 305-306
Web of Spiderman 97-100
Amazing Spiderman 374-375
Venom: Lethal Protector 1-6

On The Shelf:

Cover page of Book 3 (each volume has a similar page. You can't see it, but the top has "The Spider-Man Saga" in larger cursive letters.):

 

[WeaponZed]

Thats really cool. Don't think I would be trying it any time soon though.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

Damn, how long did that take you?

 

[PhotoJones]

The purist collector in me just cried out in pain.

 

[Kevin]

that is so awesome. Must've cost a bunch.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Damn, how long did that take you?

I actually had it professionally done.

that is so awesome. Must've cost a bunch.

Cost me $15 per volume and I pay for shipping to and from. Total I payed around $70 or so for the three. That's not including the cost of the comics themselves.

The purist collector in me just cried out in pain.

I used to be a purist and never would have done this a year or two ago. But since then I've found other things that I hold more dear (family, kids, etc) and the comics just aren't as 'valuable' anymore. To me, it's more about nostalgia and just good stories. I don't care in the silghtest what they're worth. Once that fully sunk in, I didn't mind cutting them up. If I have a comic in a white boarded bag, I may look at it once or twice a year max. If it's on my shelf in book form, I'll look at it once or twice a week, and thus, can more enjoy it. Not only that, but the boards and bags look kinda tacky out in the open on a shelf, whereas the hardback volumes look very nice and can be in any room and look decorative. I could put the comics in boxes and tuck them away, but then what's the point of them. Comics are to be read, not stored away and never looked at. This way, I can enjoy them, collect them in whatever read order I like, and they don't take away the appeal of whatever room they're in. I'm happy with it.

 

[Nasty-B]

I really admire that^

 

[SurfDUI]

Thats really cool. Don't think I would be trying it any time soon though.

Likely not...but maybe for some of my lesser titles or series. I almost have all the Savage She Hulk and I might try that w/ a couple of my limited series that I have doubles of... right on

 

[PhotoJones]

I used to be a purist and never would have done this a year or two ago. But since then I've found other things that I hold more dear (family, kids, etc) and the comics just aren't as 'valuable' anymore. To me, it's more about nostalgia and just good stories. I don't care in the silghtest what they're worth. Once that fully sunk in, I didn't mind cutting them up. If I have a comic in a white boarded bag, I may look at it once or twice a year max. If it's on my shelf in book form, I'll look at it once or twice a week, and thus, can more enjoy it. Not only that, but the boards and bags look kinda tacky out in the open on a shelf, whereas the hardback volumes look very nice and can be in any room and look decorative. I could put the comics in boxes and tuck them away, but then what's the point of them. Comics are to be read, not stored away and never looked at. This way, I can enjoy them, collect them in whatever read order I like, and they don't take away the appeal of whatever room they're in. I'm happy with it.

I think I go through phases. Right now, I treat my comics like they are each worth thousands of dollars. I started out that way, bagging and boarding everything, and then I kinda fell out of comics all togther. When I got back in, I didn't care what they were worth. Now, I've recently found myself obsessing over them again, and I'm back to bagging and boarding everything.

I think it's pretty cool that you had that done, though. That's a nice way of remembering old stories. Not to mention they look better on a bookshelf, this way.

 

[Kevin]

I think I go through phases. Right now, I treat my comics like they are each worth thousands of dollars. I started out that way, bagging and boarding everything, and then I kinda fell out of comics all togther. When I got back in, I didn't care what they were worth. Now, I've recently found myself obsessing over them again, and I'm back to bagging and boarding everything.

I think it's pretty cool that you had that done, though. That's a nice way of remembering old stories. Not to mention they look better on a bookshelf, this way.

MY comics mean more than Life to me itself. When I think of the possiblity of a fire breaking out, I wonder how long it would take me to get them out and then my family. It's sad, really. I'm thinking of starting a ready to go comic bag.

And Jewhob, If it feels right, then do you.

 

[UK_Stu]

This is a nice idea. Recently through a lack of space for my comic boxes, I've been buying more and more TPBs, and as you say JH you do pick up books more often than comics(especially if they are bagged and boarded).

I guess if you don't have any really valuable comics or don't care about values its a good way to collect stories you might otherwise never see. I have the entire run of West Coast Avengers/Avengers West Coast (sad I know), which will never see life as a TPB. I've probably not read these books in years, but might do it this format.

Interesting...

 

[JewishHobbit]

If any of you guys are interested, let me know and I'll link you to another message board that's focused on binding of comics. You can see other examples and such. I'd post it here, but if memory serves they aren't too fond of linking to other message boards and such. Also, the company that bound these volumes for me are the cheapest I could find called "Library Binding Company." Feel free to look them up.

 

[ang_hulk]

awesome man!

 

[Union Jack]

cool,that'd be a good idea for marvel to do too anyway...i'm sure some classy looking comic volumes would sell well.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Okay guys... I've had a few questions and stuff about my binding and I've shown a few pics of some newer stuff and people seem interested, so I thought I'd bump this thread and update it. Images to follow:

Current book shelf:

 

[JewishHobbit]

Here's some interior pics from the 2 Avengers volumes. This is the run from the 90's where Operation Galactic Storm was a big deal and Proctor was a reappearing villain. It's the only time in Avengers history prior to Disassembled that they could keep me interested. I really liked this run, so I bound it all. The map is as follows:

Avengers Vol. 1: Operation: Galactic Storm
Avengers 343-344
Operation: Galactic Storm 1-19 (I don't feel like typing out each issue)
Captain America 301 (O:GS aftermath)
Quasar 35-36 (O:GS aftermath)
Avengers 348-351

Avengers Vol. 2: Gann Josin
Avengers 352-366
X-Factor 89-90 (only the Quicksilver/Crystal back up stories)
Avengers Annual 12
Avengers 367-368
X-Men 26 (Bloodties)
Avengers West Coast 101 (Bloodties)
Uncanny X-Men 307 (Bloodties)
Avengers 369-375

Then at the end of the volume I added some bonus things, such as some pin ups of the characters that's showed up throughout the previous issues and the X-Men/Avengers insert that promoted their 30th anniversary things, including the Bloodties crossover, the "Hunt for Magneto" contest, and other minis and ongoing news.

 

[random_havoc]

That's really cool

 

[JewishHobbit]

Now, the Marvel 2099 volume is the first of a series. I'm at least going to do 3 volumes through the Fall of the Hammer crossover, but as of now I only have the first one finished. I put the books in the most readable order instead of the order they were released. Cameos from Doom in a Spidey issue and Spidey in a Ravage issue made this a bit more awkward but this order made it feel right. Later volumes will include the first few issues of 2099 Unlimited (or at least the Hulk stories), X-Men 2099 1-5, and the 2099 Sketchbook. The Map for the first volume is as follows:

Marvel 2099: The Second Coming

Doom 2099 1-9
Spider-Man 2099 1-8
Punisher 2099 1-6
Ravage 2099 1-8

This image is a promo image I found in one of the issues and put in the end:

The back of that promo image had Stan Lee on it. Which is good because this Ravage cover is signed by Stan Lee and behind that I bound in the certificate of authenticity, just for fun.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Now for the 2 volume set of Mutant X. The spine, as shown above, states "The X-Men Saga", then specifies Mutant X below. I did this because I originally thought I was going to do a huge X-Universe set tieing in every X-Book and such. These were going to be stand alone in that set. However, I've since changed my mind and am doing the titles individually with tie-ins included in each run where neede (meaning I'll have to buy quite a few doubles, but I think I'll like it better). So Eventually I'm going to go back and have these rebound, lose the X-Men Saga part, and make the coloring a dark purple instead of Black so it's more individual. The map is as follows:

Mutant X (Vol. 1): I Remember Dying
X-Factor 149
Mutant X 1-8
Mutant X '99
Mutant X 9-16

Mutant X (Vol. 2): I Remember Living
Mutant X 2000
Mutant X 17-31
Mutant X 2001
Mutant X 32

I thought about adding in the 3 issue Paradise X: Heralds mini with Bloodstorm and the Uncanny X-Men issue where Havoc shows up again in a coma but felt they added nothing to the story, so I left them out.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I already posted images and such from the first 3 volumes of Spidey that I've done, so I'll focus on the rest. This is the majority of the Spidey stuff from this time period. I did take out 2 or 3 arcs from the 90's Spider-Man series that I just never liked, as well as one from Web of Spider-Man. The purist in me now is wishing I hadn't. But I just about everything else is in here. The Nostalgia volume is up to volume 6. Then the clone saga goes on from here.

Spider-Man Nostalgia (Vol. 4): A Bout With Madness
Amazing Spider-Man 376-377
Amazing Spider-Man Annual 17
Spider-Man 27-28
Spider-Man 32-34
Spectacular Spider-Man 197-200
Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage 1-14 (individual issues)
Web of Spider-Man 104-106
Infinite Crusade 6 (it bugged me not putting in the entire series, but this was necessary to finish up the WoSM tie-in)

Spider-Man Nostalgia (Vol. 5): Old Foes Returned
Amazing Spider-Man 381-382
Spectacular Spider-Man 204-206
Web of Spider-Man 107-108
Spider-Man 38-40
A J.J.Jameson story that ran in the back of some of the issues compiled together.
Spectacular Spider-Man 207-210
A Black Cat story that ran behind one of the Spec. issues.
Amazing Spider-Man Annual 28
Spider-Man Unlimited 3-5
The Shroud 1-4
Spider-Man: The Mutant Agenda 1-3 (and the cover to issue 0)
Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadow Games 1-3

Spider-Man Nostalgia (Vol. 6): Peter Parker No More
Amazing Spider-Man 383-385
Web of Spider-Man Annual 10
Inserts of several stories and sketches of Peter and Mary Jane's new apartment
Web of Spider-Man 109-111 (This should have come later due to a continuity error, it bugs me)
Spider-Man: The Arachnis Project 1-6
"Echoes" backstory from a previous issue with Chameleon
Pursuit crossover 1-4
Spectacular Spider-Man 212
Amazing Spider-Man 390-393
Spider-Man 46-50

Spider-Man The Clone Saga (Vol. 1): The Exile Returns
Spectacular Spider-Man 215-216
Power and Responsibility crossover 1-4 (main story)
"Birth of a Spider-Man" crossover 1-4 (back story of Power and Responsibility)
Back from the Edge Crossover 1-2
Spider-Man Unlimited 7 (Spidey/Cardiac story)
Back from the Edge Crossover 3-4
The Exile Returns Crossover Part 1
Spider-Man Unlimited 7 (Ben Reilly story)
The Exile Returns Crossover 2-4
The Web of Life Crossover 1-4
The Web of Death Crossover 1-4
Spider-Man: Funeral For An Octopus 1-3
Spider-Man: The Power of Terror 1-4
Spider-Man Unlimited 8
Then in the end I put the "Birth of a Spider-Man" covers that wasn't used earlier. The cardboard covers make flipping a bear, so I only used the first one toward the beginning and the rest are here.

Spider-Man The Clone Saga (Vol. 2): The Spider-Men
Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil One Shot
Smoke and Mirrors Crossover 1-3
Players & Pawns Crossover 1-2
Amazing Spider-Man 400
Spider-Man 57
Spectacular Spider-Man 223
The Mark of Kaine Crossover 1-5
Web of Spider-Man 125
Amazing Spider-Man 402
Spider-Man 59
Spectacular Spider-Man 225
The Trial of Peter Parker Crossover 1-4
Spider-Man: The Jackal Files One Shot
The New Warriors 61 (vs Spidercide)
The Maximum Clonage Crossover 1-6
Then in the end I added some pin-up images from through the previous issues.

 

[JewishHobbit]

 

[JewishHobbit]

 

[JewishHobbit]

And one more random picture from the first Spidey volume that I have on my photobucket:

 

[JewishHobbit]

And that is my entire collection thus far. I have TONS more planned but it's a financial income thing. As in my wife says "no". Therefor, I have to wait until we come accross some more money. Hopefully though, I'll be sending out at least 10 volumes within the next few months, possibly including Bendis' run on Daredevil in 2 volumes, 2 more Clone Saga volumes, maybe a Death's Head II volume, and some X-Men stuff starting at the 90's relaunch. Here's hoping.

 

[Punisher RULES]

Pretty cool, sir!