The final, and biggest, step for this entire project was the repair and reattaching of the cover wrap to the interior spine. The book as it was no longer had any of the original wrap that covered the spine (as such it was missing the 25 cent price, title, and Marvel Comics Group label that ran down the spine) and even had some spine damage to it, so care had to be made to ensure the interior spine was strong enough to ensure it could hold the new wrap. This requires creating a support that will attach to the interior spine that includes two extensions/hinges - on which the front and back covers can be attached to (rather than mending the entire wrap together and then attaching the wrap directly to the interior spine. This method allows for the covers to be more securely attached). This is a traditional book repair technique you would find used to repair paperback novels, but as we can see is also applicable to square bound comics.

I have already cleaned the old glue & paper off the spine (see my previous journal entry), so to begin I cut out a rough cut of repair tissue (Japanese natural Sekishu). This rough cut of paper for the text-spine liner is placed over the spine and allows to me see how much of an overhang I need on the front and back (which will act as a support hinge that I can attach the covers to). Typically, a rough cut means the material is cut a bit larger than I need and will trim it after it is attached, but in this case I opted to cut it down before attaching since I didn't want this hinge to span the entire length of the book from top to bottom.

 

I clamped the book upright (between two glass sheets) and applied paste to the interior spine. I then placed the repair tissue on and let it dry. I then removed it from the clamp and attached the donor back cover (as well as the spine fold) by placing waste paper under the extension / hinge on the back (to prevent me from getting adhesive on the interior page) and applied paste.

 

I remove the waste paper, and then immediately replace it with a strip of waxed paper below it before lining up the back cover using my fingers at the corners. Once aligned I simply pressed down so the cover adhere to the hinge. I will then open the back cover to see how the hinge looks and smooth out any wrinkles with my bone folder (as well as dabbing away any excess paste that might have squeezed out along the edge). Once it looks good I close the book, leaving the waxed paper strip in for now while it dries. Once the back cover is dried partially I apply paste along the spine tissue and fold over the spine wrap. Let dry completely.

 

Once the back cover was secured I would repeat the base steps to attach the front cover to its hinge (place paper under hinge, apply paste, replace paper with wax paper, align and press on cover, let dry). Once all repairs were in place I would let it dry for a full 48 hours while under a light cold press (sandwiched between two glass sheets with a weight on top)