Ze-man

Welcome to the Boards.. my advice...run away now, before you get hooked. Otherwise you will be trapped here in this Online Bermuda Triangle along with the rest of us. btw, Nice books Ze-

I hope for posterity's sake he has the book scanned and photographed 100 times over(safely and professionally). While this book may be his, it is bigger then him, me, you.. anyone. Of course it his right to do with as he pleases. But I hope for the sake of comicdom it has been recorded visually for future generations to see and enjoy. Comics were meant to be enjoyed, yes the value of certain books makes them less approachable, but keeping them in a vault.... never to be seen is just a shame imho. Then again great art collections have always been that way. Museums hold a fraction of the great art in the world. But private collections, seen by only a chosen few hold unknown treasures only dreamt of by art lovers. We are not so different it appears. Ze-

With respects to everyone, I have to agree. Over on the WTB forum, one guy is looking for high grade Superman's from 1-300. Check out some of the negative responses there? What is so hard about being civil to people? Oh wait, this is the internet. Silly me. That's what I'm talking about. You don't unleash your inside jokes, innuendo, dirty jokes on someone new. Imagine acting like that at a department store or library or whatever with someone you have met for the first time. Now, greggy on the other hand, he deserves a good kick in the floppy saggies once in a while. But that's just my opinion. To be perfectly honest with you Roy, Dave is no different then anyone else here. His pants go on same as ours do. Whatever books he might own is just a bonus. That he chooses to not share them is his decision, but I am sure not going to waste 1 second fretting about why he may or may not post his grails with the rest of the class. There are plenty other quality collectors in line to fill that gap here. He was the one who came here and made a very lengthy post declaring his side of an obviously personal, and sticky situation, then immediately left. Leaving more then a little room for people to either fill in the blanks, or read between the lines, or make off topic comments. And if somebody actually had a question that may or may not have been pertinent to the topic at hand.. well we will never know because Dave came on here and left in royal FDQ fashion. Being chased away by things yet to happen. I can understand if he did not want to wade through the comments that were less then civil, or on topic, but why come in the first place if he doesn't care what we have to say, why should we care about him? I considered his post a kind of slap in the face to a place that I think has merit. Brad was not far off in his observation if you ask me. Although I agree that everyone should think twice before making a post. As Cowboy Bob said " If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all" I try to, but sometimes fail to follow those words just like everybody else here. Ze-

I do not think I have ever said it before , but after reading your response all I kept thinking was. That and welcome to the boards. Ze-

Kudos to Mad Dog for prompt payment, and being an all around great person to deal with. Ze-

Kudos to Shiver for mailing me a stupid little Giveaway Toy Prize from a Captain Crunch box from my youth. It was a toy I remember my dad digging around the ceral box on a Saturday morning to find. 30 years AGO. And now, I have that same toy in my hand for my daughter to play with. The boards, and the people here never amaze me. Thank you Matthew. Kudos X 3 Kenny , thnx Divad for pointing out my error.....add "fail to" after, never.

To Andy, (October) for a nice deal on 2 DC Specials. Terrific condition overall, and even better shipping. Thnx again Andy. Kenny

I cannot believe it. I went from collecting SA Marvel, to BA DC Horrorr, then found myself seriously looking at silly books with Rich kids, Friendly Ghosts and Hot Devils, Now I gotta add Archie to the list? WTF, would you stop posting books please. What is happening to me? Whats next? Ze-

What a great Christmas book! Terrific gloss on that puppy. I bet it looks even better in person. That Life With Archie cover, is that actually of a serious tone? I admit I dont know much about Archie, but that cover looks almost like an adventure book, with people in real peril. Not your typical Archie cover, is it? Ze-

More is coming , sooner then later

Wow, thank you Dr. Stoopid for that obvious to everyone breakdown. Next could you please tell us where babies come from? Is there any one reason in paticular why you are being a total ignorant buttmunch about what I am doing here? You seem to have taken a liking to trolling me with negative comments. Having fun? How is that going for you? Is it fun being bitter all the time? Besides, who ever said I wanted to become an expert in the restoration fiield? I am only concerned about 1 area PRESSING, and even said as much. Restoration is a art form as much as it is a science. Pressing is more about applied skill. I suppose it is all a form of mad scientist alchemy Sure people who are willing to show the techniques that they employ to others, helps those who want to learn and become proficient much more quickly. But dont for a second think that everybody goes about the same thing, the same way. And last time I checked, how the f did you become such an expert at knowing what MY backgound was /is?..or who I am working/speaking with? I was not aware I published that yet. And fyi you already mentioned what I consider to be one of my "mentors" See this for what it is if you can Shad, My only goal is to try and learn what I can and pass that along to the boards It's gonna take time I dont have alot of. I am not opening up shop. You dont like or condone that,well big whupty freakin doo. dont let the door hit you..k? Ze-

I already did last year They are still under the books. I also put a few books in a homemade "press" to see it that accelerated the process. All with before and soon to be after photos. I dont imagine I will see defects removed. Just flatter books. This thread is kinda part two of my thread from earlier last year. Back then pressing was new to most of us outside a certain circle of people. What's funny is how far we have come regarding pressing since then, yet we still dont really know much about the act of pressing itself outside of a certain circle of people.. Ze-

To be fair, I dont actualy know, but if a person were to pay Matt for his service, I imagine they would be told what was done to the book. I did not, nor did the people in the other pressing thread pay for his service. Perhaps I will just pay him..

He can keep his trade scerets I have said as much many times. I just wanted to know of the different types of pressing processes available which ones did he employ on any paticular book in his educational pressing experiment thread. If a book has a corner crease, does he press the whole book?..If he doesnt uses heat..is mositure involved? When a book has spine roll does he normally take it apart to work on it ..etc Stuff like that. He can take his secret pressing process to his grave if that is his want, I happen to disagree with him,he is protecting his livliehood I suppose. But inquiring what types of pressing might be used on various types of flaws is not akin to asking coke for it's secret recipe. I never took it to such preposterous lengths, why did you? Ze-

Now, onward. To be clear. While the Heat experiment I did last night was done on a whim, it was not done haphazardly. I have done similar pressings many many times before. I knew how it would behave, and used the same method I came up with to best achieve the results with those crude tools. I did this first because it is obviously the easiest and most readily available form of pressing out there. Anyone can do it, not well perhaps.. but everyone could at least try to do it. I plan to also show examples of what happens if you use too much heat, and or moisture the wrong way. So everyone (including myself) can see what bad press jobs look like and avoid possibly buying books that share similar traits. That's what this is all about. Not showing everyone how to press books. But rather to see the results of different types of pressing. This will obviously take ALOT of time, and effort. But it interests me. Even if all of this is only self serving, if others want to read about it, here it is. If not.. skip to the next thread. I understand. I also plan to see what possible methods can be used see what exactly is being done to the paper fibers once pressed. Who knows, maybe an electron microscope will show the papers fibers are damaged on a level that we cannot see. That is what interests me. Finding out more,and the only way to start ..is to take the first step. Should be fun if nothing else. I have meetings planned with various experts to see if their chosen proffessions skillset can be useful. Probably will not pan out to be much of anything, but everytime I speak with someone asking them if they would be interested they jump in with both feet. Or they recommend me to someone they know who might be of help. Ze-

Shad, you crack me up. How do you think people in the restoration business got to the point where they are called professional? They spent alot of time, and ruined alot of books, that's how. Those who get better at it are the ones who learn from their mistakes. We are all guilty of being ignorant of diffrerent things until we spend the proper steps required to be considered otherwise. Mutilating comics?... rank beginner? The Thrill of it?.. ...you crack me up! Shad, I was once rank I suppose...but I have around 30 hours of actuall on hand pressing experience under my belt already.I have made paper from scratch during my art school days, I have read as much as possible about this topic. I am only doing this with the sole purpose of learning more about it through different types of pressing excersises, there is no thrill involved. I am taking it to the next logical step...when do I qualify to become a full jedi?..let me know your criteria, ok? Your analogy comparing pressing books and drawing comics is laughable at best. Drawing takes skill, even other forms of real restoration takes a degree of artistic skill. Sure you can get better at both with practice, but I know for a fact I could spend 5 hours a day drawing and never draw anything of worth...On the other hand pressing comics is more about tools, and the knowledge of how to best utilize those tools...oh.. and practice, practice, practice. I work with my hands, I have a way with tools. Pressing involves tools and materials I am familiar with.. Why is that so hard for you to understand? I know my limitations, this is not one of them. You should know yours too and stay out of my threads unless you actually have something worthwhile to contribute. And thnx for my 1 star rating!! Ze-

I conducted similar experiments over a year ago, the books are the same now as the day I pressed out the flaws. No change. From what I can tell once paper is coerced into its new position either through heat or moisture it stays that way. Spine roll might be a different story since it involves more then 1 sheet of paper. Ze-

I have before, and yes I made it large so it was easy to see, large or small they would behave the same if bent the same way. Ze-

You asked the first question, so I will answer you first. I only bent the lower right corner of the cover. The rest of the book was untouched. Here is another photo. I used no heat setting, I turned the iron on,let it heat up slightly then turned it off to the point is was barely hot. No water, no steam, as I said the iiron was completely off. Ze-

Well I am tired of secrets, tired on not knowing so I am taking it upon myself to figure out exactly what pressing is. I will be contacting everyone I can find who knows paper, restoration, and pressing to find out for myself what the f is actually involved. This is my first step towards that goal. To my credit I am what is considered a master craftsman so to speak. I am quite good at cutting glass and making leaded windows. Pressing paper ephemera should be a breeze. This will be an ongoing experiment. I promise to divulge everything I learn along the way. The sole purpose of which is self education, and anyone else who cares to join in... I welcome all and any feedback. Instead of person_without_enough_empathying about pressing(which I have done in spades) I want to figure it out for myself. It aint rocket science folks, just alot of trial and error. It involves paper, and various methods of manipulation. All due respect Matt, you are a very skilled at what you do. I will never be you. I realize you are not to be held responsible for all things evil about pressing.You just happen to be here, and showed your face,it is easy to single you out. I do not for a second take that lightly. I really dont have the time, nor the resources to devote what is needed to dedicate myself to such a task, but what I do have is desire. A desire to understand what up to now has been a trade secret. For todays consideration I took a comic, bent a corner and pressed it out in a matter of minutes. I took household tools and spent only a few minutes.. but what I did worked. It involved heat. So I guess we call this HEAT experiment #1 I took a comic, bent a corner. Took my iron, turned it on, then off. Placed some paper on either side of the cover...pressed the iron down as hard as I could, moved it around, pressed some more, then placed a heavy book on top for 1 minute. Thats it. This was meant to be very simplistic, and it was. Any dealer can do this. Its scary. Here is the book after 2 minutes. End result, the crease was still there, barely. And the paper was only mildly warped from the heat. I did this in about 5 minutes. On a whim. This is of great interest to me,I have no idea if I am alone in thinking this way. More to come Ze-

I included a note with the book saying who it was from. you did,If BK wants to fess up, he can do so himself. I didnt want to embarrass him publicly. Oopps... I said BK.. dangit! Ze-

Kudos to Andy(October) for the Sweet Marvel Tales #2 He wont tell me who paid for it though. Said it was gift. Aint the forum grand?

Harry, excuse the butchering your post, to me these thoughts sum up very well where we are regarding everything under the pressing umbrella. I dont know how many times we can say it, CGC does not consider NDP type pressing to be restoration, nor would they label it as resto even if they could detect it(or would they?). I dont see them ever changing their stance based on this one fact alone. Overstreet views pressing differently because they dont have to wear blinders tailored to suit a specific product. As was so aptly pointed out by Shad recently, disclosure only goes as far as the next guy. It bears repeating Seller X discloses book was pressed to buyer Y Buyer Y does not do the same when he sells it. The original disclosure is then lost. Buyer Y probably makes a tidy profit. Seller X says "well f me for trying" Sure you could ask the seller if a book was pressed, and based on his answer dig around for the history of the book to see if you can track down recent ownership. But in the end too many books will slip through the cracks and be sold without disclosure of any kind. Either by the original seller, or the second seller, or the third..and so on, and so on. It is all well and good to try and redefine pressing,restoration or conservation to better suit the current playing field. As well as identify/label the various forms of pressing as Red mentioned(especially in terms of how invasive it is). So perhaps one day isolated pressing will carry less of a stigma vs whole book pressing when disclosed by the seller. But in the end... as you said, what does that leave us with? No matter how we define, or label it..we will still be left with those who choose to disclose pressing of any kind will be applauded for doing so, and hopefully rewarded for it. And those that choose not to, wont ever be known unless they are caught red handed in a resub that can be traced. I dont see what else we can really do about it. I am at a loss of what to do personally except alter my buying habits based upon all we have learned to date. Figuring out ways to inform and educate the public seems to have the best shot at moving this issue foward. Instead of trying to get the big guns to change their stance on NDP pressing. Ze-

For you, a bucket of luv... And yes this photo is only 3 minutes old. ...5 o clok somewhere...right?