That’s a wrap. All the Outland books are finished and en route to their forever homes. Farewell my lovelies!
#bookbinding #smallpress #readmorecomics #makemorecomics #heavymetalmagazine
When I found out @kevineastmantmnt was coming back to Az and going to be at @azcomicartsfest , I wasted no time in putting together the ultimate TMNT rebind. Collected in this volume are the original 7 Mirage trade paperbacks comprising the first 29 issues (and 4 micro series) in glorious black and white on pulp paper. To cap it off, I also included issue 30 so that all of the Rick Veitch material could be in one book. Veitch’s original wraparound cover design also allowed me to utilize that cover as a snazzy fold-out! The text block was completely hand sewn, as were the silk headbands. The spine is made out of premium goatskin leather and the covers/slipcase wrap are giclee canvas prints. #bookbinding #tmnt #readmorecomics #makemorecomics
Catching up on some re-bind projects now that I’ve cleared all the Bomarc Service News books off my workbench (Don’t know what that is? Check my pinned post. It’s awesome). First up is Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell’s From Hell. This project started out when I acquired an unused signature sheet from the From Hell:The Compleat Scripts limited edition. I disassembled the trade editions of both From Hell and the companion volume and then sewed together all three into a single text block. The book itself is 3/4 bound in goat skin leather and hand marbled paper. I was thrilled to discover I had enough of the marbled paper leftover to make a matching slipcase (leather capped and velvet lined, natch). I’ll post some process photos this weekend. #bookbinding #readmorecomics
It’s been over a decade(!) since I started The Optics Press, a personal art project where I design, print, and hand-bind (along with everything in between) books that for various reasons will never exist. Now I’m super excited to let y’all know what I’ve been working on for the 10th book…
It’s Katsuhiro Otomo’s Domu! It’s going to be incredible!
Here’s a sneak peak at what to expect:
* Oversize (naturally) - page size is a whopping 10” x 14.25”
* Contains all the color pages from the original serialization
* Presented in the original right-to-left reading format
* Unaltered artwork: All hand drawn sound-effects remain intact
* New English translation/adaptation and lettering
* and more! Stay tuned…. #makemorecomics #bookbinding #readmorecomics
Here’s a little teaser showing off what I’m working on for the 10th Optics Press book. I’ll be sending out an official announcement to my mailing list in the next week or so. Be sure to sign up if you haven’t already (link in bio).
#bookbinding #readmorecomics #makemorecomics #smallpress #
Had some great mail days this past week here at Optics Headquarters. The new Wally Wood artist edition from @sdunbier ‘s @act4_publishing has arrived and it is glorious! I can’t stop staring at the Spawn of Venus 3D pages! I also finally picked up the impeccably designed Mars Attacks trading cards book which makes these officially the tallest and shortest Wood books in my collection (My own BIg Book of Wood is still the heaviest!). And the newest issue of @kirtburdick ‘s phenomenal Death of Power is here. It’s so fucking good. #readmorecomics
I just discovered that my website has been down since last week! Luckily, I have skills in the field of computers (see photo for proof). I apologize if you tried emailing me this past week and just got an error message. Everything is back up and running now. And if you haven’t checked out my website in a while, do it! (link in bio) Signing up for my mailing list is the best way to get the inside scoop on my upcoming projects.
Here’s a commission I’ve been working on as I wrapped production on Outland. @evanhusney reached out to me wanting to bind together all of the Ditko/Lee Dr. Strange stories. Since those stories were back-up features in Strange Tales, that meant I had to remove those pages from the original issues. Evan took great care in sourcing the issues making sure that paper and printing quality were the most important factors when choosing. Rebinding Silver and Golden age comics can be tricky and sometimes downright impossible if the pulp paper has aged terribly and turned into a crumbling mess. There were no such problem with these and I was able to sew the pages together with minimal gutter loss and still plenty of margins left after trimming. These Ditko issues, along with Steranko’s Nick Fury, and Kirby/Lee’s Fantastic Four are my favorite Marvel comics ever. But even having read all those Dr. Strange issues in various reprints, seeing these stories in their original format and colors was a revelation and super inspiring. #bookbinding #readmorecomics
Steve Ditko’s Dr. Strange is my favorite comic run of all time. Originally published as backup stories in Strange Tales (1963–1966), Ditko’s hallucinatory dimensions and cosmic abstractions forecasted the psychedelic era years before it went mainstream. For countless artists and bands, these issues weren’t just an influence, but their first gateway to another world.
I’ve always wanted to read Ditko’s run sequentially, without the other Strange Tales stories interrupting the flow. Reprints were never an option for me. Marvel has historically done a shameful disservice to the original color work, and the newsprint, four-color process, even the smell of the pages, are essential to the experience.
@opticsbinding made this dream real. After tracking down the best possible copies of each original issue, I sent them to Andrew, who created this stunning custom hardcover bound volume collecting the entire run. Each Dr. Strange story was carefully extracted and rebound on its own. We preserved many of the original ads to keep the stories in context, and included a gallery of the original Strange Tales covers featuring Strange.
I can’t thank @opticsbinding enough — the stunning craftsmanship is masterful. It’s more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Perfect companion to a stack of psychedelic records.
Now… what to bind next?
#drstrange #steveditko #ditko #marvel #marvelcomics
Status update on Steranko’s Outland: Finished! The last big step was getting the dust jackets printed. I used the same method that I experimented with on the last Optics Press book (Bomarc Service News). It consists of printing on laminate, laminating that on to another sheet of laminate, and then mounting that to a sheet of Mylar. This results in the ink being sandwiched between the plastic so it can’t be worn off from rubbing. It also makes the jacket extra durable and I love the way it feels to the touch. Once I got those all trimmed down and folded the only thing left to do was to sign and number them. Only 15 copies of this one. #bookbinding #heavymetalmagazine #readmorecomics #makemorecomics
Only one more step: printing the jackets! The 9th book from The Optics Press is Steranko’s Outland like you’ve never seen it before! Check out the YouTube link in my profile for a virtual flip through #bookbinding #makemorecomics #readmorecomics #heavymetalmagazine
The Optics Press no. 9 update: Got the last batch of Outland books in the press and am now building the slipcases. The finish line is in sight! #bookbinding #readmorecomics #makemorecomics
