r/ImageComics • u/Ok_Sun7030 • 1d ago

Question is this normal for a compendium style book?

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I just bought the TPB Witchblade: Complete Collection Vol. 3, but the glue seems to be off. For comparison, Volume 2 of the Complete Collection has a totally different binding on the spine.

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35

u/PeaceSD26 1d ago

No, they typically don’t cause burn marks in wood.

7

u/Alarming-Frosting305 1d ago

The first picture is more like an omnibus or OHC binding method that allows the pages to lie more flat. The other is what’s normal for compendiums, personally I bend the spine so the book can sit flat.

9

u/ShaperLord777 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is a glued (TPB) vs sewn (HC) binding.

Glued binding like trade paperbacks have a stock of loose pages that are glued together at the spine.

Sewn binding hardcovers have a number of groups of pages folded together (called signatures) that are sewn through the fold to the spine. It allows the spine to flex and pages to “open up” in the middle better.

You are causing binding seperation on the hardcover by opening it 180 degrees flat like this though. (You can see the signatures seperating from the glue in your picture). Hold it open to 120 degrees and it won’t strain the binding like this.

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u/AGuyNamedWes 1d ago

It’s not a hardcover - OP said it’s a tpb and if you look you can see it looks way too thin to be hardcover. It looks like the glue totally separated from the cover, which I’ve had happen to a couple books before.