Paper quality amongst the different publishers....

[bye-migration]

I just recently picked up my first Atlas book and one thing that stood out is the paper in the cover and the interior seemed to be a heavier weight (thicker) than other publishers like EC and the like. Anyone have thoughts on this ?

[ciorac]

I just recently picked up my first Atlas book and one thing that stood out is the paper in the cover and the interior seemed to be a heavier weight (thicker) than other publishers like EC and the like. Anyone have thoughts on this ?

 

No, but I can tell you that Timely paper, by and large, hasn't held up as well as the other publishers.

[adamstrange]

I just recently picked up my first Atlas book and one thing that stood out is the paper in the cover and the interior seemed to be a heavier weight (thicker) than other publishers like EC and the like. Anyone have thoughts on this ?

 

The variation is not just the weight of the paper but also in the tint of the paper and the quality. As you've noticed, not all paper going into comics is the same, it can vary significantly. It can vary from publisher to publisher and can vary from year to year. There are times that it can vary from issue to issue, and, in the case of giants, paper of different quality may be used within the same comic.

 

This is a round-about way of saying that the simple question you are asking requires either a more specific question (which publisher and which month to compare against which Atlas issue) or a lengthy answer to try and describe the history of paper used in comics. I've not heard anyone try to comprehensively document page quality -- though if you look through a few thousand books from the 40s and 50s you will start to get a sense of it.

[The Black Hand ®]

This is a question that has always interested me and I imagine that comic book restoration professionals would have a lot of information about paper stock and the types of inks that were used.

[bye-migration]

Its the Astonishing #15 and you have a copy so do you notice a difference ? I dont have any other Atlas books to compare it to.

[adamstrange]

Its the Astonishing #15 and you have a copy so do you notice a difference ? I dont have any other Atlas books to compare it to.

 

I don't think I have any ECs from that time period to specifically compare it to.

[The Black Hand ®]

I had multiple copies of certain books and because of different storage It sometimes seemed like completely different paper. Some pages would feel thinner and some thicker etc.

[adamstrange]

I had multiple copies of certain books and because of different storage It sometimes seemed like completely different paper. Some pages would feel thinner and some thicker etc.

 

This is true -- I've done comparisons with friends where we've looked at 5+ pedigree copies of the same issue at the same time. It's also why you want to look at thousands of books.

[shiverbones]

I think books in a more humid environment feel thicker because of added, though very slight, water retention. That adds too all the variables previously posted I think.

[Koko]

Listers,

I've had my hands on lots of comics from lots of companies, a page at a time. Wartime paper is pretty standard. The early Fox books seem to have a heavy weight to the pulp, and are very durable, much better than National from the same period.

More interesting is the cover stock and printing,

I've Theakstonized lots of covers, and can tell you that National Comics during the War years is much better than Timely. Again, Fox cover printing was outstanding. Not so much with Famous Funnies. Quality had strong cover printing during this period, as well.

In the '50s, things were all over the place.

M.E. and Harvey used a cover stock which was a fuax gloss. Basically, it was a standard mid-grade paper coated with a fine glaze of white clay. Cheaper, I suppose than hot-pressed, or varnished paper. When wet, the ink floats off the cover because the clay lets it go. I tried to bleach a Frazetta WHITE INDIAN cover and was horrified to see that the image had literally melted off the paper!

By the mid-'80s, the newsprint was as close to toilet paper as you can get. As a result, the ink bled badly. Give me a 1940 Fox page to retouch as opposed to a George Perez JLA page any day. Did one of those and it was a nightmare.

Most interiors were produced by the same printers, so the comics from any given period are pretty standard.

Since Comics were printed on standard newspaper presses, using lead plates, books from the same title and number vary wildly. When printing a million copies of a book the lead plates begin to flatten, adding weight to the linework. Sometimes I work from two copies of any given book and the variations are marked. Not positive, but I'm pretty sure the lead plates were restruck from time to time during these huge runs too keep up the quality. Another problem is a mis-guaged plate. The bottom is sometimes a little higher than the top, and it takes a beating as it passes over the ink roller, then the paper. I'm working on a Father Time splash-page from Marvel's upcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA Masterworks, and it's so bad I can only guesstimate what the artist intended. One of the reason's I'm the top retoucher in the biz is because I'm an artist as well, and can reconstruct the black mess in the style of the original artist, even if it's only an approximation.

B.T.W. ALEX TOTH: EDGE OF GENIUS is about to got to press containing most of his work from 1952. You might enjoy it, so look for it in about three weeks.

Regards,

Greg Theakston

Pure Imagination Publishing

[Scrooge]

B.T.W. ALEX TOTH: EDGE OF GENIUS is about to got to press containing most of his work from 1952. You might enjoy it, so look for it in about three weeks.

 

Greg, thanks for the update on Toth: E of G. I pre-ordered my copy via Diamond. I have the Toth Reader Vol. 1. How much overlap is there going to be if I can ask for this first volume? and how much do you expect for the other volumes if you do go ahead and publish them?

[Koko]

B.T.W. ALEX TOTH: EDGE OF GENIUS is about to got to press containing most of his work from 1952. You might enjoy it, so look for it in about three weeks.

 

Greg, thanks for the update on Toth: E of G. I pre-ordered my copy via Diamond. I have the Toth Reader Vol. 1. How much overlap is there going to be if I can ask for this first volume? and how much do you expect for the other volumes if you do go ahead and publish them?

 

 

 

Here is the line-up

 

“Nothing to It” from HEROIC COMICS #47 (Mar. 1948)

“Randy” from SUGAR BOWL #1 (May 1948)

“I Struck it Rich” from PERSONAL LOVE #11 (Sep. 1951)

“My Stolen Kisses” from BEST ROMANCES #5 (Feb. 1952)

“Black Market Mary” from JOE YANK #5 (Mar. 1952)

“Appointment With Love” from TODAY’S ROMANCES #6 (May 1952)

“Shattered Dream” from MY REAL LOVE #5 (June 1952)

“Terror of the Tank Men” from BATTLEFRONT #5 (June 1952)

“The Blood Money of Galloping Chad Burgess” from THE UNSEEN #5 (June 1952)

“Bacon and Bullets” from JOE YANK #6 (July 1952)

“Show Them How to Die” from THIS IS WAR #5 (July 1952)

“The Shoremouth Horror” from OUT OF THE SHADOWS #5 (July 1952)

“The Phantom Hounds of Castle Eyne” from ADVENTURES INTO DARKNESS #5 (Aug. 1952)

“Triumph Over Terror” from FANTASTIC WORLDS #5 (Sep. 1952)

“The Invaders” from FANTASTIC WORLDS #5 (Sep. 1952)

“Alice In Terrorland” from LOST WORLDS #5 (Oct. 1952)

“Phantom Ship” from OUT OF THE SHADOWS #6 (Oct. 1952)

“Routine Patrol” from THIS IS WAR #6 (Oct. 1952)

“Too Many Cooks” from THIS IS WAR #6 (Oct. 1952)

“The Boy WHo Saved the World” from FANTASTIC WORLDS #6 (Nov. 1952)

“The Egg-Beater” from JET FIGHTERS #5 (Nov. 1952)

“Outlaws of Space” from LOST WORLDS #6 (Dec. 1952)

 

Some of the material has seen reprint, but keep in mind that this is a chronological survey, and the material is in context. Between 1952 and '54 Toth shed his caccoon and became the artist we really know.

Regards,

Greg Theakston

Pure Imagination

[Scrooge]

Here is the line-up

 

 

Some of the material has seen reprint, but keep in mind that this is a chronological survey, and the material is in context. Between 1952 and '54 Toth shed his caccoon and became the artist we really know.

 

Thanks for the list. I can't wait for it to it the stores now. Incidentally I was reading your piece in the most recent Alter Ego last night so I have a better understanding of the juncture Alex was at over that '52-'54 transition period. That was a very nice article.