My Goals

Trade collections of comics are one of the steady, if not growing segments of the comic book industry, but there is little talk of the process going into, and the final result of collecting comics. There is plenty of talk of content, but little talk of the trade design, and that’s where this blog enters.


After staring at my shelves of trades and OGNs (original graphic novels) I've decided I have to many opinions about the way comics are collected and presented to not start a blog about it.


While there are many blogs and sites dedicated to reviewing the stories found in these trade paperbacks, my goal is to take a look at the various trade collections that are released by publishers both big and small, with a focus on the design decisions made.

The only time I intend to delve into content is when looking at the publishers decisions on what to collect, and what has yet to be collected.

Whether it’s looking at the Marvel Omnibus line, Darkhorse's Hell Boy books, or the spines of Vertigo's DMZ, my focus will be on the trade itself. Its design, its "shelf appeal" and the materials that went into producing it (page stock for example).

Down the line I hope to talk to some publishers about their decision making process for how books are designed and produced. Top Shelf, a strong medium sized publisher, is in my backyard, and I hope to sit down with them in the future to talk "shop".

So I hope to see people checking back in as I start to chronicle my thoughts on these collected editions of comics and bound original comic work.