Thursday, 15 January 2015

Inspirations

A few people have been showing the contents of their bookcases online so I thought I'd do the same. The books we collect inspire us, and in my case, as with most comic artists, they reflect my tastes in comics and in the history of comics. (Plus a few DVDs.) These are only some of the books I have. Others are on shelves that need tidying up before I photograph them, or stored in comic boxes. (Or lying around my 'studio' amongst piles of reference comics.)

I've shown a few of the books in more detail over on my other blog recently. If you're interested you can see those posts by clicking here and here.

I'm in the process of sorting stuff out and moving books around, which is why there are gaps in some shelves. (I'll probably get rid of those 'Essential Hulk' and 'Captain America' books once I've read them too.) The top shelf in this next pic needs a few more books added to straighten things up a bit. I took some out for reference a while ago and never replaced them.




I understand the term for posting photos of one's books on the Internet is 'shelf porn'! I think the nearest thing to actual porn there is the Jane At War paperback which reprinted wartime Daily Mirror strips. Lots of bare ankles on display in that one. 

Anyway, thems me books. You might see a few you have yourselves. 

14 comments:

John Pitt said...

What a beautiful sight, Lew! It would be like paradise for me to be in there with them! But I wouldn't sell your Essentials. You may well regret it afterwards!

TwoHeadedBoy said...

I counted about fifteen that I have out of that lot, not including the annuals (can't tell what a lot of them are from the spines!).

Those are some tidy shelves though... I've got four book-cases, and they're all stuffed full, with more books on the floor. Might have to re-arrange the flat a bit to try and fit another book-case in!

Lew Stringer said...

I have books and comics all over the place Ryan. Those shelves are just the tidy bit of my house. :)

Click on the photos and you should be able to read the spines better. The annual with the missing spine is the first Smash Annual. The books shelved sideways are Black Bob books which are landscape format.

Lew Stringer said...

Oh I never regret selling comics and books published after 1975 John. I know I'm unlikely to ever read them again so will have no problem getting rid. Those particular Essentials reprint 1970s Marvel strips and they're a bit of a chore to read to be honest. The Cap stories have plots all over the place. Haven't read the Hulk ones yet.

Gareth said...

Nice! What are the really old books at bottom left?

Unknown said...

Nice collection I have been clearing out my comics (mostly 80s and newer titles) and was thinking of picking up more of the Essentials series, but as good as they are I agree with you Lew they are a bit of a chore to read (would have loved them as a kid/teenager though) , so deciding on picking up the slimmer better printed Epic collections (though at £20- £25 a pop I'll keep that too the real classics ie Ditko Spider man etc) - I have about 5 of the books you have and see a few that ring a bell from years ago (a SF book in the second last picture) and o Ooooh those Odhams books look really nice - strange although you have had blogs on horror titles for some reason I wouldn't have thought you would have a lot of horror collections (good ones though)

Lew Stringer said...

They're bound collections of The Windsor Magazine (1896) and The Strand Magazine (1902) that belonged to my great-grandfather Tom Smart. Those issues of The Strand contain the first publication of Hound of the Baskervilles. The books aren't actually worth much though.

Lew Stringer said...

I love 1950s pre-code American horror comics with a passion, Paul. (Not keen on modern horror or gore though.) The book I'm reading at the moment (not in the picture) is 'Howard Nostrand's Nightmares', another of Craig Yoe's excellent books on 1950s horror comic artists.

John Pitt said...

The first book on comics I ever bought was the 1980 Overstreet and for a while it was my bible. Not for the prices, but as a database. Since then I have amassed quite a few myself, but they are all stacked away in cupboards. For many years I was a member of BCA's Fantasy & SF book club, which is where the majority of my geek collection came from.

Lew Stringer said...

I bought the 1979 Overstreet book, John. As you said, excellent for reference.

John Pitt said...

If that's the one with Captain America on the cover then that's the one I was looking at in a secondhand comic shop that prompted me to order a copy.
I was also after a Ferret price guide for a list of every UK comic, but was never able to find one.
Even all these years later and with the internet, there is STILL no definitive list of ALL UK comics. There is always something committed, like Marvel UK or the adult comics, etc.

John Pitt said...

Saw my mistake too late as the message disappeared! Predicted messaging had changed "ommitted" to "committed"! GRRR!

Raven said...

Interesting how you line them up Manga reader style - volume 6 followed by volume 5, 1969 followed by 1968, etc. everything in reverse. That'd send me a bit discomknockerated!

Lew Stringer said...

Well, if they were laid flat, or filed in a comic box, they'd have the earlier volumes at the top/front so I just use the same system. We don't 'read' a shelf, so having them go right to left doesn't bother me.