Librarian Lou's Big Bad Voodoo Blog

Friday, October 09, 2009

Binding Comic Books #2: Starman, Sandman Mystery Theatre, Blue Beetle, American Century

After I got my complete Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League run bound into four handsome volumes by Library Binding Company in Waco, Texas, I immediately started planning my next comic book binding project. Combing through what was left of my collection, I prepped a few more complete runs by tearing out double-sided ad pages and back covers, coming up with enough material for nine new hardcover volumes.    




















When all was said and done, I had torn out three inches of ad pages -- almost two entire custom-bound hardcovers worth of pages!























This was a larger order so it took them longer to process, but I was thrilled to receive the finished products earlier this week. Of course, everything looked beautiful and came out great. I collected James Robinson's Starman, my all-time favorite series, into four volumes with all possible tie-ins placed chronologically in terms of the story. In addition to Starman #0, 1-80, and 1,000,000, I found places for the two Annuals, the 80-Page Giant, the Secret Files and Origins issue, the Shade miniseries, the Batman/Hellboy/Starman miniseries, the Mist one-shot, the Power of Shazam! crossovers, Stars and STRIPE #0 (as important to the Starman mythos as it was to the new Star-Spangled Kid/Stargirl character), a short story by Robinson about Jack Knight (Starman) taking a boxing lesson from Wildcat (from the All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant), and even a JSA All-Stars issue that came out after Starman ended, reteaming Robinson and artist Tony Harris on a Golden Age Starman story. (I placed that one at the end of the final volume since it came out most recently, despite being a flashback.) 


My custom Tables of Contents: 




Sandman Mystery Theatre came next, a Vertigo series focusing on the late '30s and early '40s adventures of Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman. This mystery man had a real sense of style, dressing in a suit, trench coat, fedora, and gas mask, and carrying a gas gun that put criminals to sleep. This crime-noir period piece was often dark and violent, but featured a tender and well-developed relationship between the bookish hero Dodds and his resourceful life-long lover and partner, Dian Belmont.


   



























In addition to the 70 issues and a single Annual, I included Sandman Midnight Theatre, an original graphic novel that tied the Mystery Theatre version of Sandman into Neil Gaiman's mythological dream king Sandman.




















I made sure to fit in the two short Sandman Mystery Theatre stories from Vertigo: Winter's Edge, a holiday-themed anthology. Here is the wraparound cover from Winter's Edge #2 by Mike Allred, one of my favorite artists:  





 
















I also collected Len Wein's complete '80s Blue Beetle series into one volume (24 issues preceded by Beetle's origin story in Secret Origins #2), and Howard Chaykin's gritty, sexy Vertigo adventure series American Century into one volume (all 27 issues). Note my snazzy custom Tables of Contents for Sandman Mystery Theatre volumes as well. 



 Anyway, here is my full library of custom-bound hardcovers, including my four Justice League volumes:








Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Custom-Bound Hardcover Library

***UPDATED 01.28.2024!***

BLUE BEETLE: The Complete Series
Secret Origins #2 (signed by Wein)
Blue Beetle #1-24

DEFENDERS: Indefensible (signed by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire)
Defenders #1-5

JUSTICE LEAGUE: The Giffen / DeMatteis Era
Volume 1: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL (signed by Giffen, DeMatteis, Maguire, Templeton, and McKone)

Justice League #1-4 (#1 signed by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire; 2-4 signed by Maguire)
Justice League Annual #1
Justice League #5-6 (signed by Maguire)
Justice League International #7-13 (7-12 signed by Maguire)
Suicide Squad #13
Justice League International #14
Justice League International Annual #2
Justice League International #15-25 (16-19, 22-24 signed by Maguire; 20-21, 24-25 signed by Templeton, 25 signed by McKone)

JUSTICE LEAGUE: The Giffen / DeMatteis Era
Volume 2: JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA (signed by Giffen, DeMatteis, Hughes, Templeton, McKone, Marzan, and Beatty)

Justice League America #26-30 (#26-29 signed by Templeton, 28 signed by McKone)
Justice League America #33-36 (33-35 signed by Hughes, 35 signed by Marzan)
Justice League International Special #1
Justice League America #37-42 (37-40 signed by Hughes, 41-42 signed by McKone, 40 and 42 signed by Marzan)
Justice League America Annual #4 (signed by McKone)
Justice League America #43-52 (43-45, 51 signed by Hughes; 43-45 signed by Marzan; 46-50 signed by Beatty)

JUSTICE LEAGUE: The Giffen / DeMatteis Era
Volume 3: JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE (signed by Giffen and 
DeMatteis)
Justice League Europe #1-5 (signed by Sears)
Justice League International Annual #3 (signed by McKone)
Justice League Europe #6 (signed by Sears)
Justice League America #31 (signed by Hughes)
Justice League Europe #7 (signed by Sears)
Justice League America #32 (signed by Hughes)
Justice League Europe #8-19 (8-12, 15-19 signed by Sears, 14 signed by Marzan)
Justice League Europe Annual #1 (signed by Marzan)
Justice League Europe #20-28 (23-28 signed by Sears; 20-22 signed by Rogers)

JUSTICE LEAGUE: The Giffen / DeMatteis Era
Volume 4: JUSTICE LEAGUE: BREAKDOWNS (signed by Giffen,
 DeMatteis, and Maguire)
Justice League Quarterly #1-3 (3 signed by McKone)
Justice League America #53
Justice League Europe #29 (signed by Sears)
Justice League America #54
Justice League Europe #30 (signed by Beatty)
Justice League America #55
Armageddon 2001 #1 (signed by Jurgens)
Justice League America Annual #5 (signed by Maguire, Templeton, and Marzan)
Justice League Europe Annual #2 (signed by Templeton)
Armageddon 2001 #2 (signed by Jurgens)
Justice League Europe #31 (signed by Beatty)
Justice League America #56
Green Lantern #18
Justice League Europe #32 (signed by Beatty)
Justice League America #57
Justice League Europe #33 (signed by Beatty)
Justice League America #58 (signed by Sears and Beatty)
Justice League Europe #34
Justice League America #59 (signed by Sears)
Justice League Europe #35
Justice League America #60 (signed by Maguire)
Justice League Europe #36
Secret Origins #33-35

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE Volume 1 (signed by Wagner)
Sandman Mystery Theatre #1-16 (#1 signed by Wagner)
Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual #1
Sandman Mystery Theatre #17-24

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE Volume 2 (signed by Wagner)
Sandman Mystery Theatre #25-36
Sandman Midnight Theatre graphic novel
Sandman Mystery Theatre #37-48

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE Volume 3 (signed by Wagner)
Sandman Mystery Theatre #49-56
Vertigo: Winter's Edge #1 (excerpt)
Sandman Mystery Theatre #57-68
Vertigo: Winter's Edge #2 (excerpt)
Sandman Mystery Theatre #69-70

STARMAN Volume 1 (signed by Harris and Von Grawbadger)
Starman #0-11 (0 signed by Harris and Von Grawbadger)
Showcase '95 #12 (excerpt)
Starman #12-19
Showcase '96 #4-5 (excerpts)
Starman #20-23
Starman Annual #1

STARMAN Volume 2 (signed by Harris)
Starman #24-35
Shade #1-4
Starman #36-37
Starman Annual #2
Starman #38-39
Power of Shazam #35
Starman #40
Power of Shazam #36
Starman #41

STARMAN Volume 3 (signed by Harris and A. Robinson)
Starman Secret Files and Origins #1
Starman #42
Batman / Hellboy / Starman #1-2
Starman 80-Page Giant #1
Starman #43
Girlfrenzy: The Mist #1
Starman #44-47
Starman #1,000,000
Starman #48-60

STARMAN Volume 4 (signed by Harris and A. Robinson)
Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0
Starman #61-74
All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1 (excerpt)
Sins of Youth: Starwoman & the JSA Jr. #1
Starman #75-80
JSA All-Stars #4 (signed by McKone)

Comic Book, TPB, and Graphic Novel Library

***UPDATED 2.25.2024***

1963 #1-6 (Moore)
52 Vol. 1-4 TPBs (signed by Johns, Rucka, Waid, and Giffen), #52 (1st chronological Beetle/Booster meeting)
Action Comics #1000 (signed by Bendis, Garcia-Lopez, King, Mann, Tomasi), Annual #1 (A. Adams)
Adventures In the DC Universe #8 (Beetle/Booster)
Adventures of Captain America #1-4 (signed by Nicieza and Maguire)
All-New Atom #14 (Beetle; signed by Simone)
Amazing Screw-On Head #1 (Mignola)
Amazing Spider-Man: The Short Halloween (Bill Hader/Seth Meyers; signed by Maguire)
America's Best Comics 64-Page Giant #1 (Moore)
Americomics #3 (pre-DC Beetle)
Americomics Special #1 (pre-DC Charlton heroes)
Armageddon: Inferno #1-4 (Ostrander/A. Adams; return of JSA after Last Days)
Astonishing Ant-Man: The Complete Collection TPB (Spencer)
Astro City #1/2 (Busiek)
Avengers #273-277, 280 (Stern/Buscema; "Under Siege")
Awesome Holiday Special #1 (Moore; Youngblood)
Batman #603 (Brubaker/Phillips)
Batman Chronicles #5 (Ostrander; Oracle origin)
Batman/Doc Savage #1 (Azzarello/Noto)
Batman: Ego and Other Tails TPB (signed by Cooke)
Batman: Gotham Noir OGN (Brubaker/Phillips)
Batman/Grendel TPB (signed by Wagner)
Batman: Hush TPB (Loeb/Lee; signed by Loeb)
Batman: Year One TPB (Miller)
The Beats hardcover (signed by Piskor)
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1-6 (signed by Cooke)
Birds of Prey #1 (signed by Dixon and Land), 15, 19, 25 (15, 19, 25 signed by Dixon and Guice), #37 (signed by Dixon)
Blue & Gold TPB (signed by Jurgens, Maguire, and Hamner)
Blue Beetle #1 (Modern Comics; '70s reprint of Charlton)
Blue Beetle (1986 series): see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Blue Beetle Companion (TwoMorrows)
Booster Gold (1st series): #1 (signed by Jurgens)
Booster Gold (2nd series): Vol. 1-5 TPBs (all signed by Jurgens, Vol. 1-2 signed by Johns, Vol. 3 signed by Dixon, Vol. 4 signed by Giffen), #6, 0, 7-10, 1,000,000 (Johns), #26-27 (Blackest Night w/Beetle), 32-43 (Giffen/DeMatteis; all signed by Giffen), 44-47 (Jurgens/Flashpoint)
Booster Gold/The Flintstones #1 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams HC (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
The Broccoli Agenda OGN
Building Stories box set
Captain Atom (1st series): #83 (Modern Comics; '70s reprint of Charlton; 1st Beetle)
Captain Atom (2nd series) #1 (signed by Broderick), 20 (Beetle)
Catwoman (Brubaker): Vol. 1-4 TPBs (Vol. 1 signed by Cooke), #32 (Brubaker/Phillips)
Charlton Bullseye #1 (Beetle/Question)
Checkmate (2007 series) #6-7 (Suicide Squad; signed by Rucka)
Chew Vol. 1-12 TPBs (Layman; all signed by Guillory)
Chronos #1-11, 1,000,000
Chu Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Layman)
Civil War II: 2016 FCBD (Bendis)
Civil War II: The Accused #1 (Guggenheim; Daredevil prosecutes Hawkeye)
Cloak and Dagger #9 (A. Adams)
Cobra: The Last Laugh HC (Gage/Costa/Fuso)
Cobra: Serpent's Coil TPB, Cobra Civil War Vol. 1-2 TPBs, Cobra Command: The Complete Collection TPB, Son of the Snake TPB, Oktober Guard TPB (Costa/Fuso)
Comic Book Tattoo TPB (Tori Amos)
Convergence: Blue Beetle #1-2
Convergence: Booster Gold #1-2
Convergence: Justice League International #1-2
Countdown To Infinite Crisis #1 (signed by Johns, Rucka, and Reis)
Coup D'Etat: Sleeper, Stormwatch, Wildcats 3.0, Authority, Afterword one-shots
Criminal: Vol. 1-6 TPBs (Brubaker/Phillips)
Daredevil (Miller): Frank Miller/Klaus Janson Vol. 1-3 TPBs, Born Again TPB, The Man Without Fear TPB
Daredevil (Bendis): Vol. 4-7, 9-13 TPBs (all signed by Bendis and Maleev)
Daredevil (Brubaker): Devil Inside and Out Vol. 1-2, Hell To Pay Vol. 1-2, Cruel and Unusual (signed by Rucka), Lady Bullseye, Return of the King TPBs, Annual #1, Blood of the Tarantula #1
Daredevil (Waid): Vol. 1-5 oversized HCs (all signed by Waid; Vol. 1 signed by Paolo and Joe Rivera; Vol. 2 signed by Mike and Laura Allred), #17 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Daredevil (Soule): Vol. 1-8 TPBs (all signed by Soule; Vol. 1, 3-6 signed by Garney), #22
Daredevil (Zdarsky): Vol. 1-7 TPBs
Daredevil and Batman #1 (Chichester)
Daredevil: Dark Nights TPB
Daredevil: End of Days TPB (signed by Bendis)
Daredevil: Love's Labors Lost TPB
Daredevil: Redemption TPB (Hine)
Daredevil/Punisher: Seventh Circle TPB (signed by Soule)
Dark Circle Comics 2015 FCBD
DC Comics Presents #92 (Superman/Vigilante)
DC Comics: The Art of Darwyn Cooke TPB
DC Cybernetic Summer #1 (Beetle/Booster story)
DC Nation #1 (2018; signed by Garcia-Lopez, King, Mann)
DC New Frontier Vol. 1-2 TPBs (all signed by Cooke)
DC Retroactive: Justice League America: The '90s one-shot (JLI; signed by Giffen and Maguire)
DC Universe Legacies #10 (Blue Beetle variant)
DCeased: A Good Day To Die #1 (Beetle, Booster, Miracle, Barda)
Deadshot: Beginnings TPB (Ostrander)
Deadshot: Bulletproof TPB (Gage)
Defenders (Giffen/DeMatteis): see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library 
Devil's Reign TPB (Zdarsky)
Dr. Mid-Nite #1-3 (Wagner)
Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem (signed by A. Adams)
Fade Out Vol. 1-3 TPBs (Brubaker/Phillips)
Fantastic Four #347-349 (A. Adams)
Fantastic Four Vol. 1 TPB (signed by Fraction and Mike and Laura Allred)
Far Sector TPB (Jemisin/J. Campbell)
FF Vol. 1-2 TPBs (signed by Fraction and Mike and Laura Allred)
Firestorm #64 (Suicide Squad), 87 (Janus Directive), Annual 5 (Suicide Squad)
Five Fists of Science graphic novel (Fraction)
Flash #19 (Rogues), 182 (Johns/Captain Cold origin), 212 (Johns/Mirror Master origin)
Formerly Known as the Justice League TPB (Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire; signed by Maguire; JLI)
Fortune and Glory TPB (signed by Bendis)
G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Costa/Fuso)
G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra TPB (Costa)
Golden Age TPB (Robinson/Smith)
Gotham Central Book 1-4 TPBs (Brubaker/Rucka/Lark; signed by Rucka)
Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame OGN (Gaiman; signed by Wagner and Mike and Laura Allred)
Hawkeye Vol. 1-4 TPBs (Fraction/Aja/Wu; signed by Fraction), #19
Hawkeye: Private Eye TPB (collects Vol. 1-2), Vol. 3 TPB (both signed by Thompson)
Hawkman #27 (Brubaker/Phillips)
He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood HC (nonfiction; Box Brown)
Hip-Hop Family Tree Omnibus, 2014 FCBD, 2015 FCBD (Piskor)
Human Target Vol. 1-2 HCs (King/Smallwood; JLI)
I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League TPB (reprints JLA Classified #4-9; Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire; signed by Maguire)
Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Brubaker/Fraction/Aja; both signed by Fraction; Vol. 2 signed by Chaykin)
Incognito Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Brubaker/Phillips)
Incorruptible/Irredeemable 2010 FCBD (Waid)
Infinity, Inc. #30 (Last Days of JSA denouement; McFarlane)
Injustice 2 #5, 21, 33 (Beetle/Booster; all signed by Taylor)
Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2-3 TPBs (signed by Fraction)
JLA 80-Page Giant #1 (Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire; Beetle/Booster; signed by Giffen and Maguire)
JLA: Incarnations #6 (JLI; Ostrander)
JLA-Z #1 (Beetle/Booster)
JSA All-Stars #3 (Dr. Fate; Cooke)
Judgment Day: TPB, Sourcebook (Moore)
Justice League (Giffen/DeMatteis): see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Justice League 3000 #11-15 (Giffen/DeMatteis; Beetle/Booster; signed by Giffen)
Justice League America (Giffen/DeMatteis): see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Justice League Europe (Giffen/DeMatteis): see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Justice League: Generation Lost Vol. 1-2 HCs (JLI; signed by Lopresti; Vol. 1 signed by Giffen)
Justice League International (Giffen/DeMatteis): see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Justice League: New Frontier Special #1 (signed by Cooke)
Justice League Quarterly #7 (Beetle's HS reunion); see also Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Justice League Unlimited #5 (Beetle), 8 (Question), 36 (Question), 43 (Beetle/Booster)
Justice Riders OGN (J.H. Williams)
Last Days of the Justice Society of America #1
L.A.W.: Living Assault Weapons #1-6 (Beetle/Charlton heroes)
Legends HC (Eaglemoss edition; Ostrander; Suicide Squad & JLI)
Love and Rockets 2016 FCBD
Losers Vol. 1-5 TPBs (Diggle/Jock; all signed by Jock)
Love Is Love TPB (signed by Simone and S. Snyder)
Madman: The Oddity Odyssey TPB (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Madman Adventures TPB (Oni Press edition w/"Creatures of the Id" story; signed by Mike and Laura Allred), Ashcan edition (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Madman and the Atomics TPB (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Madman Atomic Comics Vol. 1-3 TPBs (all signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Madman Comics Vol. 1-4 TPBs; issue #7 (signed by Allred and Darrow)
Madman: In Your Face 3D Special #1 (w/3D glasses; signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Madman/Jam #1-2 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Madman/Superman Hullabaloo TPB (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Manhunter ('80s) #6 (Suicide Squad)
Manhunter ('00s): Vol. 1-5 TPBs, #27-28 (Beetle; #27 signed by Chaykin)
Martian Manhunter #24 (JLI; Ostrander)
Marvel Team-Up #74 (Spidey and original SNL cast; signed by Claremont and Hall)
Maus Vol. I-II TPBs
Millennium #4 (Suicide Squad)
Mister Miracle #7-8 (2nd series) (Beetle/Booster)
Mister Miracle TPB (signed by King and Gerads)
Modern Masters Vol. 16: Mike Allred (TwoMorrows; signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Mr. T and the T-Force #1 (N. Adams)
Multiversity: Pax Americana #1 (Morrison/Quitely; Charlton heroes)
New Avengers (1st series) Vol. 1-3, 5-13 TPBs (all signed by Bendis; Vol. 1 and 3 signed by Finch, Vol. 2 signed by McNiven, Vol. 3 signed by Cho, Vol. 5 signed by Chaykin and Cheung, Vol. 5-7 signed by Yu, Vol. 6 and 10 signed by Maleev, Vol. 8-9 signed by Cheung, Vol. 13 signed by McKone)
New Avengers: Illuminati TPB (signed by Bendis and Cheung)
New Mutants Special Edition (signed by A. Adams)
New Teen Titans #23 (1st Adrian Chase), 26-27, 29-30, 33-35, Annual #2 (1st Vigilante)  (Wolfman/Perez; all early Adrian Chase appearances)
New Year's Evil: The Rogues #1
Nightwing #63 (Beetle; signed by Dixon)
Nightwing Vol. 1 TPB (Taylor/Redondo)
Parker: Martini Edition OHC (Cooke)
Parker: Martini Edition: Last Call OHC (Cooke)
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1 (Zdarsky; signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Planetary Vol. 1-4 TPBs, Planetary/Batman (Ellis/Cassaday)
Point Blank TPB (Brubaker)
Power Girl #18-21 (Justice League: Generation Lost crossover)
Public Domain Vol. 1 TPB (Zdarsky)
The Question (2005) #1-6 (Veitch/Edwards)
Red Rocket 7 TPB (smaller Image edition; signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Rex Libris Vol. 1-2 TPBs
Saga Vol. 1-9 TPBs (Vaughan/Staples)
Sandman Mystery Theatre: see Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Secret Avengers: Run the Mission, Don't Get Seen, Save the World TPB (Ellis, signed by Maleev)
Secret Invasion TPB (signed by Bendis and Yu)
Secret Origins #2 (Blue Beetle), 28 (Nightshade; Suicide Squad tie-in)
Secret Six Vol. 3: Cat's Cradle TPB (Suicide Squad; Simone/Ostrander)
Seven Soldiers of Victory #0 (Morrison/Williams III)
Sex Criminals Vol. 1-6 TPBs (Fraction/Zdarsky; Vol. 1-5 signed by Fraction) 
Sex Criminals: Sexual Gary #1
Shade TPB (Robinson; signed by Cooke, Hamner, and Harris)
She-Hulk: Complete Collection by Slott Vol. 1 TPB
She-Hulk Vol. 1-2 TPBs (signed by Soule)
Showcase '94 #2-4 (Beetle)
Siege TPB (signed by Bendis)
Silver Surfer Vol. 1-5 TPBs (Slott; all signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Sleeper Vol. 1-4 TPBs, Season 1-2 TPBs (Brubaker/Phillips)
Solo #4 (signed by Chaykin), 5 (signed by Cooke), 7 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Spider-Man/Deadpool #6 (Aukerman)
Spider-Man's Tangled Web #11, 21 (Cooke)
Spider-Woman Vol. 2: New Duds TPB (Hopeless)
Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears Vol. 1-3 TPBs (Hopeless)
Spirit Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Cooke)
Spirit: The New Adventures #1-2 (Moore, Gaiman)
Starman #81 (Robinson); see also Custom-Bound Hardcover Library
Suicide Squad Vol. 1-8 TPBs (Ostrander)
Suicide Squad: From the Ashes TPB (Ostrander)
Suicide Squad: War Crimes #1 (Ostrander)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man Vol. 1-3 TPBs (Spencer/Lieber)
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen TPB (Fraction/Lieber)
Supreme Vol. 1-2 TPBs, #52a-52b (Moore)
Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Infinite Crisis #1 (Beetle)
Tales of the Human Target #1 (King/Smallwood/Maguire; signed by Maguire; JLI)
Tales of the Teen Titans #53-54 (Vigilante/trial of Deathstroke)
Terminal City: The Compleat Terminal City TPB (Motter/Lark)
Terrifics #27 (Beetle)
Thunderbolts Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Ellis/Deodato)
Tick: The Complete Edlund TPB
Top Ten: Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Moore; both signed by Ha)
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #4-5 (signed by Bendis and Mike and Laura Allred)
Uncanny X-Men Annual #9-10 (both signed by A. Adams), 12 (A. Adams), 14 (A. Adams)
Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual '96 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
V For Vendetta TPB (Moore)
Vertical #1 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
Vigilante #1-50, Annuals #1-2 (Wolfman/Moore/Kupperberg), Vol. 1 TPB (contains #1-11)
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #1-4 (Robinson)
Villains United TPB (signed by Simone)
War of the Gods #3 (Suicide Squad)
Wasteland #1-18 (Ostrander/Close)
Watchmen TPB (Moore/Gibbons)
Web of Spider-Man Annual #2 (A. Adams)
West Coast Avengers Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Vol. 1 signed by Thompson)
Who's Who: Update '87 #1 (Beetle/Booster)
WildC.A.T.s: Alan Moore's Complete WildC.A.T.s TPB
Wildcats (2nd series): Vol. 2-4 TPBs (Casey/Phillips)
Wildcats 3.0: Year One, Year Two TPBs (Casey/Nguyen)
Wolverine and the X-Men #17 (signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
X-Factor (1st series): #41-42 (A. Adams)
X-Force Vol. 1-2 TPBs (Milligan; signed by Mike and Laura Allred)
X-Statix Vol. 1-4 TPBs (Milligan; all signed by Mike and Laura Allred; Vol. 2 signed by Cooke)
Y The Last Man Vol. 1-10 TPBs (Vaughan/Guerra; all signed by Marzan)
Youngblood #1-2 (Moore)

Thursday, July 09, 2009

DVD Library

***UPDATED 1.31.2024***

Blu-Ray:
Bridesmaids
Gone Girl
Inception
Mulholland Dr. (Criterion Collection)
A Perfect Getaway
A Simple Favor
The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart

DVD:
Arrested Development (Seasons 1-3)
Casablanca (Special Edition)
Chicago
Childrens Hospital (Seasons 1-3, 6-7)
Dark City (Director's Cut)
Dollhouse (Seasons 1-2)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fight Club (Special Edition)
Ghostbusters
Goodfellas (Special Edition)
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Knocked Up (Extended Edition)
L.A. Confidential (2-disc Special Edition)
Last Man Standing
Limitless
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Portishead PNYC Live
The Prestige
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
To Live and Die in L.A.
Transformers: The Movie (20th Anniversary)
The Venture Bros. (Complete Series box set)
The Wire (Complete Series box set)

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Binding Comic Books #1: Justice League International

I don't really buy new comics anymore. I may pick up a few trade paperbacks a year (only when they're heavily discounted), and I rely on inter-library loans to furnish me with others, but the days of waiting for new comic Wednesdays, scouring the spinner-racks, buying, reading, bagging, and boarding comics are over for me. I've sold or donated boxes and boxes of comics over the last few years, and just don't have the interest I used to. 

That said, even though I've greatly downsized my collection, I still have a few complete runs that I wouldn't ever want to part with, sentimental favorites from years past. But I noticed that while I'll often reread trade paperbacks on my bookshelf, I almost never delved into my remaining longboxes to reread bagged and boarded single issues, even the really terrific ones. Sure, sometimes they get reprinted in trade paperbacks, but who wants to repurchase things they already own (albeit in an inferior format)? Not I. And half the time the new TPBs are expensive (and only reprint four or six issues in a shot), or they skip issues or reprint things out of order, and they always seem to trickle out slowly. At least I know I have all the good stuff already. 

That's when I had an epiphany: what if I had my all-time favorite comics bound into collected editions of my own? That would eliminate longbox clutter, allow me easy access to old classics, and even create one-of-a-kind new collectibles. Like so many great ideas, it had already been done... but that made it even easier for me to move forward with it. To start with, I envisioned binding the classic Justice League International run co-written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis into four hardcover volumes. The first volume would be Justice League International, followed by Justice League America (the same series with a title change), Justice League Europe (a spinoff book that ran concurrently, starting when International changed its name to America), and finally, Justice League: Breakdowns (a crossover that ran back and forth between the two titles, leading to the end of the Giffen/DeMatteis era on both). I had all the comics, including Annuals, Specials, tie-in issues from other series, random crossovers, and whatever else was needed to make these volumes truly complete. 

But who could help me make this happen? Library Binding is based in Waco, Texas, and they specialize in the kind of comic binding projects I had in mind: http://librarybinding.com/comic-books.php . Their prices are amazing: $15 (plus shipping) for binding a stack of comic books into a simple, sturdy, no-frills hardcover book with custom text stamped into the spine. We pick the cover and text colors, which are included in the base price, and they trim the edges nice and smooth and even remove the staples in the process. Special features like fancy fonts, front cover stamping, and custom logo dies cost extra. I corresponded with experienced bookbinder James Jasek several times via e-mail with all of my questions and concerns, and the man had the patience of a saint. 

Eventually, I was ready for what most comic book collectors would consider a nightmarish scenario. I started tearing pages out of these beloved old comics. Needless to say, I wanted my custom-bound books to be as nice as possible, so I figured I would prep my comics for binding by removing all the double-sided ad pages and back covers. Nobody likes ads breaking up a story, which is one more reason trade paperbacks are so much nicer than single-issue comics. Plus, this would decrease the size of the volumes I had planned, allowing me to fit more issues into each bound book. I went through over 100 comics and very carefully tore out every offending page, which constituted a real history lesson in the comic books, video games, and junk food of the late '80s and early '90s.



 


























This isn't a great picture for showing you the size of the stack of ads I tore out, but it's the only picture I took. Trust me, there were a LOT.  I only wished some really fastidious fanboys could have seen me in action, as they surely would have panicked and gotten offended. It seemed counterintuitive, ripping out pages -- essentially "destroying" the priceless collectibles we've gotten conditioned to think of comics as. But I've moved past that. The best comics are reading material first and foremost, deserving to be accessible for revisiting at any point, like good friends. Instead of destroying these old issues, I saw myself creating something new. Something better. Something that could be displayed proudly on a bookshelf instead of taped up in mylar and surrounded by cardboard, shielded from the light of day. In the end, I had my four volumes planned out, and divided the comics into four stacks to get them ready for Library Binding.



 




















I filled out their binding slips with everything I wanted and sent them off. Was I nervous? You better believe it! But I had seen samples of the beautiful work Library Binding did, and I knew my beloved Justice League International comics were in good hands. About a month later, I received a package at work. The books were ready! How did they come out? See for yourselves!




 




























I added custom Tables of Contents to each volume:



 












And the books lay open flat, unlike most "official" published trade paperbacks: 



Thursday, April 30, 2009

My Want List

Here are items I would love to get eventually, either for good prices or via trading.

***UPDATED 3.17.2024***

Toys and Collectibles I want:
Super 7 Ultimates Beastie Boys (Sabotage): Nathan Wind, Vic Colfari, Alesandro Alegre
Executive Replicas: Reuben Flagg, Rocketeer, Grendel
Marvel Legends:
  • Matt Murdock (Spider-Man: No Way Home wave),
  • Daredevil (from Amazon exclusive Defenders 4-pack), 
  • Daredevil (from Spider-Man "VHS" 2-pack with Hydro-Man), 
  • Daredevil (from 3-pack with Bullseye and Elektra), 
  • Daredevil ('90s costume from Spider-Man retro wave), 
  • Daredevil (new black and red costume from Marvel Knights wave), 
  • Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), 
  • Moonstone (Walgreens version)
Simpsons World of Springfield: Comic Book Guy
Indiana Jones Adventure Series: Indiana Jones (Last Crusade; the one with the necktie)
MAFEX: Daredevil, Batman (Hush)

TPBs and Comics I want:
Nightwing TPBs Vol. 2 onward (Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo)
Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost TPB (Charles Soule)
Man Without Fear: The Death of Daredevil TPB (Jed Mackay)
Daredevil and Elektra Vol. 1-3 TPBs (Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto)
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Vol. 1-10 TPBs (James Roberts)
Batman #400

DVDs and Blu-Rays I want:
The Nice Guys (DVD or Blu-Ray)
Streets of Fire (Blu-Ray)
The Long Goodbye (DVD or Blu-Ray)
The Big Sleep (DVD or Blu-Ray)
Pee Wee's Big Adventure (Blu-Ray)
Motherless Brooklyn (Blu-Ray)
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Blu-Ray)
Blade Runner 2049 (Blu-Ray)
Twin Peaks (any set that includes everything, including The Missing Pieces)

Does anyone prefer single issue comic books to TPBs?
I have the following comics as singles, but I'd gratefully trade them for the corresponding TPBs:
Coup D'Etat (Sleeper, Stormwatch, Wildcats 3.0, Authority)
Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice #1-4