Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dc, entertainment, marvel, paper

Made In America – The Problem With Marvel And DC Paper Quality

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2014 09:00:23 -0600

Last updated Sat, 22 Feb 2014 14:01:29 -0600

A recent post on complaints over quality of the paper and printing production methods on Marvel's Infinity hardcover have seem to spread since publication.

One retailer sent in a look at how new Marvel comics are looking to him, from his shipment of Black Widow #1.

But Kris Shaw must take the biscuit for his coverage of paper quality over recent years and was the fellow responsible for those comparison videos we have run before.

He tells Bleeding Cool,

Yes, Marvel's paper has gotten thinner and wavier on some of their new hardcovers. It is, however, inconsistent from one collection to the next. While the newer, thinner Omnibus paper is also chintzy feeling, it is not wavy. Their Premiere Edition hardcovers have differing thickness in paper stock from one book to the next.

It should be noted that ALL of these wavy paper books come from the same printer, listed in the indicia.

This wavy paper is not exclusive to Marvel. Some of DC's Before Watchmen hardcovers suffered from this too. And in that review he wrote,

US paper mills use trees which are not allowed to cure properly once cut, which means that the trees are green when they are made into paper. The result is shitty, warped paper like the stuff found in very front and the very back of this book. My books are all stored in a climate controlled environment, and yet this one has warped paper all over. Books made in China from virgin Amazon rainforest trees do not have this problem.

Or on Avengers Vol. 3- Prelude To Infinity HC

The paper looks shriveled up, which annoys the piss out of me since all of my books are stored in a climate environment. I keep telling y'all that these US paper mills are using green trees and don't allow them time to properly cure, and this is what we get.

So, is this the price you may for not shipping paper across the world and relying on home grown product… maybe they could have a word over curing time for the trees they use? It's either that, decimating the rainforest or, you know, suffering wrinkles.

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