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Complete Restoration Experiments

Started by Hero Restoration,

469 posts in this topic

Sal

Sal

Posted
Posted
Mike has come a long way since his Hulk 104 three years ago. There definitely is room for another talented restoration professional.

 

Oh man, you had to bring up that Hulk #104. When I think back to those days and that book sometimes I do this :facepalm: and sometimes I just have to :roflmao:

 

In a way it was good I did that book and posted it as it taught me early on what not to do.

 

It was very good that you posted that book, but it was also good that your reaction to a lot of harsh and sometimes hostile criticism was to make a serious effort to get better and do it right. A lot of people would not have reacted that way; they'd have gotten in fights, dug their heels in, and would have kept on doing lousy hack-storation instead of putting in the time to learn professional techniques.

 

It's been fun to watch you get better as time has gone by. I know that 6.5 isn't a grade that would get label chasers hot under the collar, but most paper conservators would be impressed and even stunned if they saw what you did with that book, as would any of the comic restoration professionals working in the industry today.

 

Absolutely. (thumbs u

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DR.X

DR.X

Posted
Posted

:applause:

 

I have to give this man alot of credit. He took alot of heat when he first joined these boards, and it did not let up for some time. He took it like a man and took every scrap of info he could pick up around here and improve his methods and means. He came along way since he joined and it shows in his work. Congratulations. (worship)

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Hero Restoration

Hero Restoration

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Mike has come a long way since his Hulk 104 three years ago. There definitely is room for another talented restoration professional.

 

Oh man, you had to bring up that Hulk #104. When I think back to those days and that book sometimes I do this :facepalm: and sometimes I just have to :roflmao:

 

In a way it was good I did that book and posted it as it taught me early on what not to do.

 

It was very good that you posted that book, but it was also good that your reaction to a lot of harsh and sometimes hostile criticism was to make a serious effort to get better and do it right. A lot of people would not have reacted that way; they'd have gotten in fights, dug their heels in, and would have kept on doing lousy hack-storation instead of putting in the time to learn professional techniques.

 

It's been fun to watch you get better as time has gone by. I know that 6.5 isn't a grade that would get label chasers hot under the collar, but most paper conservators would be impressed and even stunned if they saw what you did with that book, as would any of the comic restoration professionals working in the industry today.

 

Absolutely. (thumbs u

 

Yeah, the criticism was so hostile at one point that I figured if I showed up at a con that I would have got jumped in the parking lot. (:

 

It would be great if most paper conservators and restorers would be stunned from the results of the All-Star #3, I would like to think that my abilities go beyond the average work that is done and that I bring something special to the table. I hope to push the envelope even farther with some of the future projects I have waiting to be done.

 

 

:applause:

 

I have to give this man alot of credit. He took alot of heat when he first joined these boards, and it did not let up for some time. He took it like a man and took every scrap of info he could pick up around here and improve his methods and means. He came along way since he joined and it shows in his work. Congratulations. (worship)

 

You know, I look back at those days and even the present and I am glad for all the feedback I received both positive and negative. When I first started out, I though since the book looked better than before the mission was accomplished and I found out that was not the case. Perspective can be a great deceiver, I think as others who have tried to restore, have thought that the work was good when it wasn’t and hearing from others really helped me realize that the expectations of results required more skill and experience than one gets just starting off.

 

Speaking of perception, I have found the feedback from the forum absolutely invaluable. While I have been pleased with some results and disappointed in others I received feedback that is often the opposite. Since it is you, the collector/customer that is important to me, knowing what you like and dislike has been the best tool in my work as a restorer.

 

I can’t wait till the next batch of books come back from CGC to show you that hasn’t been posted yet which is why I haven’t show much new lately. It may be a little while, most of you know the time delay with CGC but as soon as they get back I will post from start to finish how they came out.

 

I want to thank all who have visited this thread and especially those who have posted responses. Over 55k in views is a lot, looks like 3rd most in this section of the forum; I almost hate to start a new thread eventually.

 

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dicjones

dicjones

Posted
Posted

Hey Mike,

 

I'm kinda torn on whether I should be happy about the level at which your skills have increased. On one hand, I'm very happy for you and I am glad to see all the hard work you have invested and all the heat you took has paid off. On the other hand, I have a feeling it's going to cost me a bit more for any work I need done. I'm kidding of course, great job on that sub-mariner book and great job on everything I have sent you, it has always been greatly appreciated.

 

Alan

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Hero Restoration

Hero Restoration

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Book #29 Pushing the limits

 

When you look at the outside of the book first impressions would be that it doesn't need to be restored, it isn't in great shape but not the worst either.

 

IMG_0001-6.jpg

 

IMG_0002-6.jpg

 

So, you might be asking yourself why restore this book, in fact if I was just to restore this book because of the cover I probably wouldn't even bother posting it as people don't seem to get that excited over covers in this condition.

 

So, here is the reason why the book was sent to me;

 

DSC05332.jpg

 

 

DSC05331.jpg

 

:o

 

Not only would this book end up getting a .5 but it would be labeled incomplete as well. Because the book isn't too valuable the owner didn't want to spend much and understandable so. The original deal was to just do a color copy but recent research indicates that the book would have either got an amateur for excessive color copies or get a .5 as incomplete. I didn’t know this at the time and how I found that out is another story for another day. While this book was waiting to get started on I had been running through my head about using a color copy and just didn’t like the idea, some because it would just be a color copy but also because I didn't think it would look good. After some time I decided I would recreate the missing art by hand and do it pro-bono as a experiment but how was I going to get-r-dun? The details of that will remain a trade secret but it wasn’t too dissimilar from how the artist, colorist and the letterer did it originally, I just had to be all three of those guys in one.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what the page looked like after I did a full immersion leaf casting.

 

DC66ba1-1.jpg

 

DC66ba2-1.jpg

 

I didn't want the whole perimeter casted because the other side was in good condition so I blocked that area off before I did the full immersion leaf casting.

 

So once that was done I did the daunting task of doing all of the art work by hand and here are the fruits of my labor.

 

DC66ba14-1.jpg

 

DC66ba15-1.jpg

 

 

DSC05405.jpg

 

 

DSC05386.jpg

 

 

This was an experiment for me, I have recreated small amounts of art before by hand, I have done a coupon using an ink transfer process but I never had to do this much work by hand including all the writing.

 

Here is the finished product:

 

DC66ba5-1.jpg

 

 

DC66ba6-1.jpg

 

DC66ba12-1.jpg

 

DC66ba9-1.jpg

 

DC66ba10-1.jpg

 

 

DC66ba13-1.jpg

 

IMG_0001-7.jpg

 

IMG_0003-1.jpg

 

As I was restoring the cover something was bothering me but I just couldn't put my finger on it, it was like having a splinter in my mind but I went ahead and sent it to CGC and here is the scan CGC sent me after grading.

 

195965_o002.jpg

 

I was looking at this scan when it finally hit me what was wrong with the cover. I did some check with other covers and confirmed my mistake. doh! Looking back at it I feel stupid, a rookie mistake and then some. Needless to say after all my efforts on the page and the grade which isn't bad, I was pissed as this was going to be a great center piece for me.

 

Now, I could point out my mistake to you all but I am curious how long it will take before someone catches it, so I am going to let you all play the "where's Waldo game" to see who can figure it out if anyone can.

 

 

 

 

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JazzMan

JazzMan

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Posted
nicely done (thumbs u

 

 

as far as the error on the cover..in case others want to guess

 

the front bottom edge of the cover is wrong

 

I thing you're on to it. Looks like Mike overdid the black at the bottom.

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Hero Restoration

Hero Restoration

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nicely done (thumbs u

 

 

as far as the error on the cover..in case others want to guess

 

the front bottom edge of the cover is wrong

 

I thing you're on to it. Looks like Mike overdid the black at the bottom.

 

Yes, that was the mistake.

:facepalm:

 

It makes me feel bad that others seem to notice this quickly but somehow it not only slipped by me but I am responsible for the mistake as well.

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