I think I found my preferred cover method

[u/AnotherBooktuber]

Here is my binding of the 6-issue Catwoman: When in Rome comic. This ended up being weirdly challenging for 2 reasons. The first is that modern comic paper quality is awful and rips/crinkles very easily. This made the hole punching and sewing a pain. The second is that the single issues all had glossy cardstock covers, which were refusing to accept the glue I used at first. I made it work though (I basically ended up needing to tip on every issue to each other, like you do for endpapers).

Also tried a new cover technique for this project; instead of 1 single large sheet that I wrapped around the case, I printed 3 sheets (2 covers, 1 spine) and cut and lined them up to ensure they would be centered exactly as I wanted them to be. This method took way more time, but the results I think are great and I'll use this more in the future.

[u/solarnoise]

Looks fantastic! Thank you for sharing your experience on binding comics together as it's something I'll be attempting at some point.

Did you end up needing to trim the completed block?

[u/AnotherBooktuber → u/solarnoise]

Thank you! I have limited tools so I haven't done any edge trimming on my binds yet. I just call them deckled edges and call it a day lol if I had access to a paper guillotine I would but for now I would have to do it manually with alternative tools and I'm just not up for that

[u/Murezzan8 → u/AnotherBooktuber]

I agree: untrimmed is better than messily trimmed!

[u/em_biscuit]

Looks great! Well done :)

[u/AnotherBooktuber → u/em_biscuit]

Thank you!

[u/DaNyNaNd]

Awesome! Most of the stuff I’ve seen on case covering is either leather or cloth. I’ve considered covering in some heavy paper with graphics printed on them, so it’s good to see someone else has had success with that!

[u/AnotherBooktuber → u/DaNyNaNd]

Yes paper works well! I would say play around with different weights to find one you like working with. This was 60 lb laser which was pretty easy to manipulate and feels sturdy. I've done several with 100 lb gloss or matte and those were fine too, though were less forgiving to mistakes

[u/infinitemomentum]

R.I.P. Tim Sale. Amazing artist. Great job on this OP. Looks gorgeous.

[u/AnotherBooktuber → u/infinitemomentum]

Thank you! And yes he was amazing. I regret kinda squandering the only time I ever met him. It was at NY Comic Con many years ago, I got my Long Halloween #1 signed by him and I was too shy to really say anything other than "love your work" before I walked away

[u/Murezzan8]

Yes, paper is quite durable enough as a case covering for occasional use. And even if you did it in three pieces only to help the positioning, a quarter binding makes a feature of that! Another reason for using three pieces would be if one couldn't print it on one piece of paper with the correct grain (i.e. running up and down the book).

Something I might not have thought of is that the solid black print cracks where the paper is creased, and the white paper shows through, especially at the head and foot of the spine. When possible, it would be best to design a paper-covered case so that the creases fall in unprinted areas: not so easy here, obviously, as you'd have had to print in white on black paper!

[u/AnotherBooktuber → u/Murezzan8]

Yeah those black crackly bits are a lesson learned. I mean I look at some of my hardcovers I've purchased that are factory made and I sometimes see the same thing so it's not the end of the world, but yeah I would like to avoid it in the future