Originally published at Comic Book Daily under my Bound Together column.
Fan Expo 2010 is done for me. None of my Sunday goals were reached and the show remained packed; no last day slow down. It’s solid for the retailers but as a buyer I like bargain hunting at the end with dealers who don’t want to haul merchandise home.
I wasn’t able to track Tim Bradstreet down so no sketch from him. Ethan Van Sciver still had a long list of sketches …

Originally published at Comic Book Daily under my Bound Together column.
Saturday at Fan Expo was crazier than usual: the crowds were so intense all afternoon there was a long line waiting to get in. If only the deals were that crazy…
I dedicated the day to getting various hardcovers signed. Two options: snag a signature at the creator’s booth or at one of their signings. Some like Olivier Coipel and the Kubert brothers were only signing for one hour at a signing area; …

Originally published at Comic Book Daily under my Bound Together column.
Fan Expo 2010 started today at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  The early bird package had a 2:00 PM entrance and there were hundreds lined up to get in: I’ve never seen a crowd that large buying a premium VIP three day show pass.  Media and vendor passes are a beautiful thing.  Art prices are continuing their dramatic increase while vintage hardcovers are scarce.

My focus was artist alley and acquiring sketches from my favourite artists.  Paolo Rivera was set up …

Originally published at Comic Book Daily under my Bound Together column.
In 1989 Marvel decided to give some Joe Simon and Jack Kirby works the deluxe treatment in the form of hardcover reprints.  The Fighting American, Captain America and Boys Ranch were reprinted as hardcover volumes outside of the Marvel Masterworks program that was in full swing.  At the time Masterworks were focusing on silver age Marvel works so these 1940s and 1950s works didn’t fit.

Captain America The Classic Years was published in 1990: two 7.25×10.25″ hardcover volumes in a …

Originally published at Comic Book Daily under my Bound Together column.
It was 1989 and DC comics was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Batman.  They had started slowly publishing reprint material in softcover trade paperbacks but hardcover editions were left to Warner Books, Graphitti Designs and with these volumes Longmeadow Press.

The Complete Frank Miller Batman collects three stories: Batman Year One, Wanted: Santa Claus Dead Or Alive and The Dark Knight Returns.  The only new material for this volume is an introduction by Richard Bruning, then DC design director.  Batman …

I enjoy the art of Carlos Pacheco: he has a great style that has worked across the board for Marvel and DC.  Sight unseen I ordered Ultimate Comics Avengers: Next Generation Premiere Hardcover.  I’ve read previous Ultimates titles and knew the universe: basically a retelling of Marvel characters in a new universe, familiar names retooled.  Here’s the publisher’s blurb:

Guess who’s back!! That’s right, kids, MARK MILLAR (THE ULTIMATES, WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN) and superstar artist CARLOS PACHECO (AVENGERS FOREVER, X-MEN) blast into the Ultimate Universe for a mind-blowing, heart-pounding and …

Originally published at Comic Book Daily under my Bound Together column.
Before I dive into this fascinating and edge-of-your-seat topic a little background information may be in order.  Welcome to the first column of Bound Together, a look at comic book trade paperbacks and graphic novels in all their shapes and sizes.  I have been a longtime collector of limited and hard to find comic book hardcovers.  I don’t really know why, other than it was a small and mostly affordable area of interest that, as all hobbies go, eventually …

My family and I were on vacation the last three weeks and one of our stops was Paris.  While wandering the streets we came across Album, a comic shop with their windows filled with statues.  I took a look around was shocked to see Frank Cho sitting at a table drawing sketches.  A quick check revealed you needed a previously attained ticket to get a full sketch so I hung around and chatted with people until I had a chance to purchase a book and have a quick signature and …

While perusing last weekend I spotted this gorgeous faux suede hardcover: The Abominable Charles Christopher Book One by Karl Kerschl.

I knew the bare minimum: this is a weekly web comic that just received it second Eisner nomination.  What caught my eye was the overall quality of the book: thick stock, that amazing cover, excellent printing.  I chatted with Karl and he sought out the printer, laid the entire thing out himself and worked closely to make sure it turned out as he wanted it.  Well done.
The story fits the …

Today and tomorrow at the Toronto Reference Library branch is the annual Toronto Comics Arts Festival, or TCAF.  It’s been running for several years but this was my first time attending the show.  It’s a small press independent kind of show and I’m really a mainstream kind of comic reader, but there were enough points of interest to draw me there.
The big item for me was to see Charles Vess, who has just released a new illustrated book with Neil Gaiman called Instructions.  I’m a fan of his comic work …