Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/10/25/books-bound-in-human-skin-gett.html
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Something, something, judge a book, etc.
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…depends on the people
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I plan to put a time capsule in my coffin. Actually, I am thinking I should start a business marketing this…
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Hmm actually, that would be cool to bound a book in my flesh when I am dead… I just haven’t yet made anything worth binding in such a book…
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You need a reason other than a book bound with your own skin?
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Yeah, but what is IN the book?
I don’t want to be some hack with what amounts to one of those fancy gimmick comic covers popular in the 90s.
I want what is in side to be WORTHY of my skin.
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Hmm… that will be plan B…
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Star Wars Fanfic?
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Curious if they’re doing any genetic testing on the ‘skinned’ books?
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are there any guidelines for what part of the “hide” they use for these covers?
Could you prearrange what volume you would be covering and then get the title tattooed in the appropriate place?
Curious
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Once you slap out of a couple of variants and a holographic skin version, you’re set - the inside could be Donald Trump’s 50 Shades of Gray and it’ll sell like hotcakes!
Or did the comic-book market crash? I haven’t really looked at it since the early 90s.
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OH yeah - it crashed hard. Really hard. I got out in the mid 90s, but I dip back in now and then. But more or less everything I collected back then has little to no value. There are a few notable exceptions, like I had the first appearance of Deadpool I sold a few years ago (shoulda waited until the movie came out - but I had no idea at the time.) I did manage to get some silver age Green Lantern in OK shape, most noteably GL #76 where Neal Adams starts his historic run with Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Got it signed by Adams. I also have issue 87 which is the first appearance of John Stewart who was the first black super hero for DC comics, becoming the 2nd Green Lantern of earth. Might get that signed if he comes back.
They still do the variant covers. OMFG - thank god that I am not collecting now - because my OCD/Completest complex would head me to be broke. I have been picking up some new Shadow comics from an indie publisher and depending on the series they will have 4 variant covers, plus black and white version and “virgin art” with no text on the front. Some of these you can only get if the store orders X number of copies. Some of the really large stores will get custom covers made for them because they order X number of copies.
I bet someone skilled at tanning could use anything, and stitch anything together to make it work. But I bet the torso would make the best due to the large size. Still, the upper arm would work for a smaller book and that is often where tattoos are.
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Well, at least Superman hasn’t changed!
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OH I guess I should mention, while NEW comics have crashed as far as sales go, OLD comics, Golden Age, Silver Age and some Bronze Age have gone up significantly in value. Like I said, my GL 76 was like $40 when I bought it in that condition, and I saw a similar conditioned one for $350 at comic con. More if it was near mint. So the old classics have sky rocketed in valued. Action #1 with Super man was “only” $100,000 for a high condition copy, and recently one sold for over $3 Million.
So market wise, the good condition old stuff, and key issues, are still a good investment.
They also now have officially graded comics that come slabbed in a plastic vault you can’t readily get into it. This “locks” in the condition, and they keep track of how many the certify. So a 9.8 graded issue might only have 10 other graded that way, which leads to an idea on their scarcity and value at that grade. Even NEW comics that are high grade, even the elusive 10, will bring a premium. Because grading is sort of subjective, in the past some guy claiming an issue was a 9 when you think it is an 8, might lead to disagreements on price and being ripped off if you mail ordered it. But now if CGC (the grading company) says it is a 9.1, it is a 9.1 and you can buy with confidence everyone will agree on that.
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Back in the mid-90s when I was reading comics regularly my mother would drive me to the closest comic shop because it was the only reliable way to follow a particular series. After a little while she started collecting what she called “the pretty ones”: holographic covers, sparkle, embossed foil covers, stuff like that. It didn’t matter what was inside, just what the cover looked like. She had something like thirty or forty odd by the time that shop closed down and I moved over to subscriptions for the last couple series I followed.
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I too picked up a few because I liked the way they looked. Some of them were blase with holographic stickers and/or printed on that reflective holographic card stock. But some of them really did have very cool elements that were more than just cheap gimmicks, they had thought put into them related directly to the story/character.
I still have and love this cover, where the cuts in the file are actually die cut and the paper underneath shows through.
Or this glow in the dark cover for Ghost rider.
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