Maybe coverless could be my release 2 2

[Coverdeath]

OK so... after 2 years in it i realize that like in almost everything in this life my ocds (linked to my autism) have took over on my capacity to appreciate the hobby  when i started i just wanted to get the books to read them but without surprise it quickly come to a great mistake about the condition, everytime I get new books I need to analyze them to be sure that they re satisfying to my eyes... and by evidence unfortunately plenty of my books still like in an "hesitation area" for weeks and weeks... without cannot take a decision if I'm OK with this freaking copy or if I want to get a better one... speaking about stupid books who worth a dollar or less, it's just a non sense, and put a lot of stress from something which was at the beginning a dream  

I cannot continue to act like that but I would never want to renounce to the hobby because I like to read comics and I like the original brand paper... so I thought to something... I think I'm not gonna be blamed for this considering that I m speaking of totally unvaluable books... what about removing the cover of all my books? Why not even make some custom tpb? And if I'm going into it I will be able to afford books that I would never have had the opportunity to buy with the cover... going to buy directly coverless or max 0.5 if I do not find a coverless. The few of my valuable books could be sold to  replace them by a coverless copy. 

Man I have like a feeling... I'm tired of it, I want to appreciate it for the reason i started, forget all the problems... 

What do you think?

Could it be a great mistake? Or a great decision? 

note: a day I said that I wanted to get all the comics published by dc... I know that It will never happen but at least i could be far more advanced on it with this way  

I always liked the sentence:

"don't judge a book to his cover"

I don't know if you use it in the US? 

J

[Coverdeath]

Please read it entirely and be comprehensive. 

[Sigur Ros]

If you are just wanting to read comics there are a number of ways to do so, whether paid or free.

I can delve further into that but in private.

The very few I ever read are on my tablet. I never open books. That's just not what I buy them for.

As for a coverless collection, I think I'd rather read them online and buy proper books.  Just less of them.

But that's just me.

 

[Coverdeath]

On 6/8/2024 at 11:07 PM, Sigur Ros said:

If you are just wanting to read comics there are a number of ways to do so, whether paid or free.

I can delve further into that but in private.

The very few I ever read are on my tablet. I never open books. That's just not what I buy them for.

As for a coverless collection, I think I'd rather read them online and buy proper books.  Just less of them.

But that's just me.

 

I read all the books I still not have on digital when I need but for me having the books physically in hands as he was originally printed several decades in the past is just a different thing, I never considered reprinted stuff... and I mean even without a cover is fabulous to have a 40s bat or supes book In your hands...

[Semicentennial]

Google custom coming book binding. It sounds like that's what you're looking for. 

[Ken Aldred]

On 6/8/2024 at 9:37 PM, BA773 said:

OK so... after 2 years in it i realize that like in almost everything in this life my ocds (linked to my autism) have took over on my capacity to appreciate the hobby

Interesting to discover there’s another autistic boardie here.  The OCD and ADD which can be associated with this creates a lot of stress and lack of impulse control towards condition mania and purchasing. Eventually, I began to interpret this as a vulnerability which needed to be addressed.  During the film speculation boom period I discovered the alternative digital pathway, and this helped me to appreciate the medium even more without the stress of condition chasing, the flavour-of-the moment hyperbole of the back issue market, and the physical and psychological stressors associated with autistic social interactions in convention scenarios. If anything, I can appreciate and delve deeper into the stories and artwork far more now on my tablet than I ever could back when I obsessed about the comic books as sacrosanct objects.

Look into it. It may or may not work for you.

Edited June 9 by Ken Aldred

[Coverdeath]

On 6/9/2024 at 3:51 PM, Ken Aldred said:

Interesting to discover there’s another autistic boardie here.  The OCD and ADD which can be associated with this creates a lot of stress and lack of impulse control towards condition mania and purchasing. Eventually, I began to interpret this as a vulnerability which needed to be addressed.  During the film speculation boom period I discovered the alternative digital pathway, and this helped me to appreciate the medium even more without the stress of condition chasing, the flavour-of-the moment hyperbole of the back issue market, and the physical and psychological stressors associated with autistic social interactions in convention scenarios. If anything, I can appreciate and delve deeper into the stories and artwork far more now on my tablet than I ever could back when I obsessed about the comic books as sacrosanct objects.

Look into it. It may or may not work for you.

I already read online because many series that i read are connected with some series that i dont want to collect... but as I said I love to have the physical copies with the real paper... but I'm at a point where I cannot enjoy it anymore because I'm focused on the cover and his defects... now my only preoccupation is if it could be considered as destroying the history to pull off the cover... (I will keep the covers don't take me for a madman to the point to throw them out LOL) 

[zzutak]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:37 PM, BA773 said:

Maybe coverless could be my release

Nope.  You'll only replace obsessing about cover blemishes with obsessing about page quality, shadows, spine splits, staple tears, etc.   

[vheflin]

On 6/9/2024 at 10:14 AM, BA773 said:

I already read online because many series that i read are connected with some series that i dont want to collect... but as I said I love to have the physical copies with the real paper... but I'm at a point where I cannot enjoy it anymore because I'm focused on the cover and his defects... now my only preoccupation is if it could be considered as destroying the history to pull off the cover... (I will keep the covers don't take me for a madman to the point to throw them out LOL) 

Yes, I say, with conviction, that tearing off covers is destructive.

Why not buy an inexpensive coverless copy and see how you like it?  You could print a new mint cover for it and wrap it nicely - no staples or tape.

[Coverdeath]

On 6/9/2024 at 4:20 PM, zzutak said:

Nope.  You'll only replace obsessing about cover blemishes with obsessing about page quality, shadows, spine splits, staple tears, etc.   

If they are no writing or torned missing piece I don't care... I'm not obsessive in everything's I'm obsessive on specific things

[Coverdeath]

On 6/9/2024 at 4:46 PM, vheflin said:

Yes, I say, with conviction, that tearing off covers is destructive.

Why not buy an inexpensive coverless copy and see how you like it?  You could print a new mint cover for it and wrap it nicely - no staples or tape.

I have more than 1000 books... and do you really think it's an easy business to find coverless 90s stuff? 

It's destructive but plenty of guys make some custom tpb, omni... in a way its killing the books too. 

[vheflin]

On 6/9/2024 at 11:03 AM, BA773 said:

I have more than 1000 books... and do you really think it's an easy business to find coverless 90s stuff? 

It's destructive but plenty of guys make some custom tpb, omni... in a way its killing the books too. 

ahh I see, 90s, have at it!

[Robot Man]

Maybe something like this? Just kidding. Don’t destroy books. Maybe have them bound like previously suggested.

Too many folks lose sight of what got them into collecting in the first place. The “condition thing” comes into play later. The books themselves are what is really important…

[Buzzetta]

On 6/9/2024 at 10:14 AM, BA773 said:

I already read online because many series that i read are connected with some series that i dont want to collect... but as I said I love to have the physical copies with the real paper... but I'm at a point where I cannot enjoy it anymore because I'm focused on the cover and his defects... now my only preoccupation is if it could be considered as destroying the history to pull off the cover... (I will keep the covers don't take me for a madman to the point to throw them out LOL) 

If you think the defects on the cover are distracting then how will you be able to ignore that the books are incomplete once you tear off the covers.  Even TPB have images of the covers.

[Ken Aldred]

I just hope the OP can find something that causes him a lot less stress.

That was really the point of my post.

Edited June 9 by Ken Aldred

[Yorick]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:37 PM, BA773 said:

make some custom tpb?

I have plans to bind some 80's/90's series' into hardcovers.  There is no need to remove the covers, just the staples.  There are a lot of instructional websites on book-binding.

[themagicrobot]

Hi @BA773 I see you closed your other thread on this subject. Don't give up on comics. Life is full of ups and downs and regrets have to be put behind us.

Aged 11 I used to cut the back covers off my Odhams Fantastic comics and pin them on my bedroom wall. The editors actually encouraged you to do so, calling the back page a "Pin Up". (Gold Key did this too). Those back pages looked colourful and hid the damp patches but in hindsight it wasn't the best decision I ever made.  

How exactly did you remove the covers of your comics? Did you carefully remove the staples and then replace them? If so then you can still put them back together and bag and board them and they will look fine. Or if they have now lost their appeal then sell the complete comics. You often see ads for comics with the proviso "cover detached". There will always be millions more comics you can buy.

Or as @Yorick mentioned you could find a company that binds ten or twenty comics within a study cover. They usually trim the edges too.

And if old floppy comics don't give you joy what about a nice row of paperbacks or hardbacks on your bookshelf? They are easier than floppies to read without damaging them too. Panini, Hachette etc have produced numerous part works over the last decade.

Here is what I have just pulled out to read this week. We current comic collectors are just custodians of them for a period. Like people with antiques or classic cars at least some of our comics will survive whatever condition they are in and hopefully find their way to new owners when we are no longer around.  

[Coverdeath]

On 7/22/2024 at 11:33 AM, themagicrobot said:

Hi @BA773 I see you closed your other thread on this subject. Don't give up on comics. Life is full of ups and downs and regrets have to be put behind us.

Aged 11 I used to cut the back covers off my Odhams Fantastic comics and pin them on my bedroom wall. The editors actually encouraged you to do so, calling the back page a "Pin Up". (Gold Key did this too). Those back pages looked colourful and hid the damp patches but in hindsight it wasn't the best decision I ever made.  

How exactly did you remove the covers of your comics? Did you carefully remove the staples and then replace them? If so then you can still put them back together and bag and board them and they will look fine. Or if they have now lost their appeal then sell the complete comics. You often see ads for comics with the proviso "cover detached". There will always be millions more comics you can buy.

Or as @Yorick mentioned you could find a company that binds ten or twenty comics within a study cover. They usually trim the edges too.

And if old floppy comics don't give you joy what about a nice row of paperbacks or hardbacks on your bookshelf? They are easier than floppies to read without damaging them too. Panini, Hachette etc have produced numerous part works over the last decade.

Here is what I have just pulled out to read this week. We current comic collectors are just custodians of them for a period. Like people with antiques or classic cars at least some of our comics will survive whatever condition they are in and hopefully find their way to new owners when we are no longer around.  

Again the reason why I started to collect comics is only to get the original paper... I hate reprint, and I read online everything I want to read but not collect or can't afford or find. 

The binding was exactly the idea as I mentioned... but here is now the concernation about clean corners and stuff... as I said.

[themagicrobot]

Can you read a newspaper without worrying that it has creases? When I was a child we read comics and passed them between friends until they were destroyed. Comics were folded in half and stuck into back pockets. Competition coupons were cut out. Names were written on the covers. You name it. They were enjoyed and disposed of like a bar of chocolate. There would be more next week.

I’m enjoying the afternoon sunshine on the lawn. I have just swatted a fly with an Action Comics. The Boys World has come apart and blown over the hedge. Comics (at least the ones with minimal value) can be enjoyed as the ephemera they are. If you prefer reading real comics as opposed to paperback reprints then relax when you read them and treat them like you would a newspaper or a magazine and concentrate on the content.