Image Comics Paper Quality

[InformationGeek]

Marvel paper quality is awful and it's even worse because they usually charge you more for it (lower quality products for higher prices. Wonderful). My old Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics from the 90's have paper quality better than them.

[Groo Odyssey]

But Marvel - ugh! Flimsy paper, and I have how the ink runs when holding them... I now have quite a few recent comics with my fingerprints to prove they are mine. And the worst part is NO ONE at Marvel will acknowledge it or even attempt to provide any sort of explanation, so I'm definitely going cut back on their books in the near future and just keep the books I consider essential.

I've cut all marvel floppies entirely. Last week Savage Hulk came out with art by Alan Davis and I wanted to pick that one up so bad because I'm a big fan of Alan Davis' art. I held the book in my hand and just couldn't buy it, the quality is just so terrible. I will wait for the trade or hardcover to come out and buy it then, but now people here are saying that the collected marvel editions have poor paper quality too LOL.

[TotalSnorefest]

Boom Titles paper quality varies from comic to comic. Most of the time its nice card stock and thick inside paper, but every so often you get the same paper stock cover as inside paper stock.

Yup, some of their publishing lines, like Boom!Box and the Archaia/Boom! series have slightly sturdier covers around more flexible pages. But then the Adventure Time issues are more flexible and have more in common with Image floppies.

I've cut all marvel floppies entirely. Last week Savage Hulk came out with art by Alan Davis and I wanted to pick that one up so bad because I'm a big fan of Alan Davis' art. I held the book in my hand and just couldn't buy it, the quality is just so terrible. I will wait for the trade or hardcover to come out and buy it then, but now people here are saying that the collected marvel editions have poor paper quality too LOL.

Yeah there truly are very few reasons to keep reading Marvel in floppy format. The trades come out very fast, have no ads, paper quality tends to be better, and I think they're sliiiightly cheaper too compared to buying the single issues? Besides it's not like the single issues contain a lot of interesting bonus material or even regular letter columns, so you don't miss those either... Not that I'm complaining, mind.

[Deviancy]

I've found I have to go through a CS's entire stock of current issues of TWD and Revival before finding one with the least amount of cover dings, creases, etc. But back when I was reading, "No Place Like Home", which was an Image series, every copy I got was perfect. Speaking of No Place Like Home, it just vanished which is sad since it was a pretty good comic. But from what I remember reading awhile back, the guys who do it have day jobs and other things that cause them to be rather busy. Shame, if more people bought the comic maybe they could quit doing slave labor and devote it entirely to the comic.

[Groo Odyssey]

I've found I have to go through a CS's entire stock of current issues of TWD and Revival before finding one with the least amount of cover dings, creases, etc. But back when I was reading, "No Place Like Home", which was an Image series, every copy I got was perfect. Speaking of No Place Like Home, it just vanished which is sad since it was a pretty good comic. But from what I remember reading awhile back, the guys who do it have day jobs and other things that cause them to be rather busy. Shame, if more people bought the comic maybe they could quit doing slave labor and devote it entirely to the comic.

That's another topic entirely but yeah, some of the sales on Image titles are not where they should be. I look at a title like Sheltered and it's absolutely criminal that it only sells 6000 copies a month, just criminal. That's why we have this forum though, lots of great posters here recommending really great comics. We also have the Image Comic of the Week thread that hopefully new readers will read and get some good recommendations on books they should be reading. Image is doing fine but for the quality of books they are putting out, their readership should be a LOT higher.

I am not currently reading any Dark Horse or Boom titles, but if there paper quality is similar to Image's I may need to get a list of quality titles to check out from those companies. How does Vertigo paper quality compare with Image's? I am reading Fables and American Vampire in hardcover.

Definitely check out Dark Horse and Boom titles, also don't forget Oni Press. They focus on putting fewer titles a month but what they do is top quality. Some people like Vertigo's paper that they use. It's more like a sturdier newsprint paper which I don't like. I tend to favor the glossy pages in books like Starlight, makes the art very vibrant and just beautiful. I don't get the same wow factor when I read Vertigo books.

[Geralt of Rivia]

I've cut all marvel floppies entirely. Last week Savage Hulk came out with art by Alan Davis and I wanted to pick that one up so bad because I'm a big fan of Alan Davis' art. I held the book in my hand and just couldn't buy it, the quality is just so terrible. I will wait for the trade or hardcover to come out and buy it then, but now people here are saying that the collected marvel editions have poor paper quality too LOL.

For the life of me I just cant do that. I love the books Im pulling from them too damn much and Im the collecting type, yet if things continue like this I might bail entirely when the next big creative shift a la Now comes around.

[_GB_]

But Marvel - ugh! Flimsy paper, and I have how the ink runs when holding them... I now have quite a few recent comics with my fingerprints to prove they are mine. And the worst part is NO ONE at Marvel will acknowledge it or even attempt to provide any sort of explanation, so I'm definitely going cut back on their books in the near future and just keep the books I consider essential.

Glad that happened to someone else, I was beginning to think I had weirdly greasy fingers. When I read Miracle Man i can't touch it or it'll leave fingerprints on the back cover, no matter how careful I am. So I put it on a flat surface and read it without holding it. The quality would be poor for any comic but considering it's a $4.99 book I think it's really bad. I'd drop it and trade wait, but I just love the story too much.

Image is much better in this regard. Alex + Ada has great feeling paper that doesn't mark at all, at least in the process of normal reading, and is only $2.99.

[Tom Badguy]

I think a lot of it is down to personal preference, but if you're able to compare a few different comics (maybe at a store) a few things will stand out. Try feeling a copy of Saga (very glossy) and then compare it with a Marvel comic, like Ultimate Spider-Man or whatever. The Marvel ones tend to have more texture and feel a little rougher, like it's lower quality paper. Although I seem to remember them being 'better' in the past?

So, rougher might show poorer quality? They don't use a certain type of paper to add a little grip when turning pages? Ever since this thread was created, I've been paying more attention to the paper of what I read. I feel with more glossy pages, I have a have more difficulty turning the pages(I'm not talking an EPIC STRUGGLE or anything, I can just notice the difference). I think you're right when it comes down to personal preference and I guess the only way to know the quality of paper would be to either get with a specialist or just ask the distributor directly.

This is a very interesting topic and as I read more comics, I will totally share more of what I notice.

[TotalSnorefest]

So, rougher might show poorer quality? They don't use a certain type of paper to add a little grip when turning pages? Ever since this thread was created, I've been paying more attention to the paper of what I read. I feel with more glossy pages, I have a have more difficulty turning the pages(I'm not talking an EPIC STRUGGLE or anything, I can just notice the difference). I think you're right when it comes down to personal preference and I guess the only way to know the quality of paper would be to either get with a specialist or just ask the distributor directly.

This is a very interesting topic and as I read more comics, I will totally share more of what I notice.

Yeah I mean ultimately this is a super-nerdy thing to discuss in an already pretty nerdy niche. I don't work in the print industry or anything, so can't tell whether rougher/textured paper is really much cheaper. But I think there's a reason newspapers are printed on thinner, rougher paper that bleeds ink much easier (they're a disposable product for one-time consumption which needs to maximise its profit margin) than say your average magazine. The Marvel books feel closer to newspapers than they do to magazines, in my opinion. Since magazines are much more expensive than the average newspaper, I'm gonna assume print costs are a factor there...

But which type of paperstock you prefer is of course largely subjective... That said, from the responses here I do get the idea that many people prefer the smoother, glossier pages used by several Image series. (Could be because this is on the Image sub-forum, of course.)

However I don't think it's a huge leap to assume that Marvel tries to produce its product in the cheapest way possible (less story pages, more ads, flimsy paper, the recent switch to thinner trades) in order to maximise its profits. That's not to slag off Marvel, I read several of their titles and enjoy them! But it would fit in their business strategy, right? (Flooding the market with new #1s as much as possible, running several series of the same characters so fans will buy 2 issues of Wolverine per month rather than 1.)