Leafcasting Comic Books

[Ze-man]

Kenny,

 

Some of these look cleaner after the leaf casting. Have they been cleaned or are my eyes playing tricks?

 

Yeah, I had the same question. Does the process naturally clean some gunk off or are some of these books being cleaned in addition to the leafcasting.

 

And these are cool as all get out. Great job, Ze-man.

 

To be clear, most anything I leaf cast will have been washed on some level beforehand. Yes, any cover you submerge fully to leaf cast will be "water washed"

 

That does not necessarily mean it was cleaned well. Isolated stains,dirt, or shadows etc..etc

 

Any big book you see here was probably either solvent, or water washed, or both beforehand.(like the Supes 1) To deal with either tape removal, or stains. I mean, you might as well wash an item correctly if you are going to get it wet when casting the page.

 

Truth be told though, some of the loose practice pages/covers in this thread I did not spend much time washing them, as I was more concerned about refining the casting process itself.

[Ze-man]

Is leaf casting something you would recommend on a book that is brittle but complete?

 

All depends on the book.

 

Where it is brittle, and if the pages have enough overall integrity to withstand the process. An interior that is 100% toast, is probably always gonna be toast unless you seal it in japan paper and glue.

 

But an interior that has a brittle spine, and outer edges?..then THAT is where semi brittle/brittle pages can be repaired with casting to the point of being very functional again.

 

Then you have to factor in if the books value offsets the cost of work done.

 

Because when you have to cast 16 wraps of a GA comic...the hours add up.

 

Conservation labs have the luxury of conserving the item on hand to the fullest extent...because the item is typically 1 of a kind. With comic books, we have to temper what is cost effective with common sense.

 

And is honestly why I posted all the interiors in this thread, to not just show people whats possible. But hopefully they don't cringe when they see a leaf casted interior vs a pile of brittle chips in a mylar. Even if the leaf casted interior would get a purple label.

 

But that is a very long road to hoe with our community.

[Park]

Kenny,

 

Some of these look cleaner after the leaf casting. Have they been cleaned or are my eyes playing tricks?

 

Yeah, I had the same question. Does the process naturally clean some gunk off or are some of these books being cleaned in addition to the leafcasting.

 

And these are cool as all get out. Great job, Ze-man.

 

To be clear, most anything I leaf cast will have been washed on some level beforehand. Yes, any cover you submerge fully to leaf cast will be "water washed"

 

That does not necessarily mean it was cleaned well. Isolated stains,dirt, or shadows etc..etc

 

Any big book you see here was probably either solvent, or water washed, or both beforehand.(like the Supes 1) To deal with either tape removal, or stains. I mean, you might as well wash an item correctly if you are going to get it wet when casting the page.

 

Truth be told though, some of the loose practice pages/covers in this thread I did not spend much time washing them, as I was more concerned about refining the casting process itself.

 

Very cool.

 

And very interesting.

[Dark Knight]

Just purely amazing work by Kenny Thanks for sharing the pix! I hope this can be stickied at the top of the thread

[joeypost]

For anyone who has ever attempted to do leafcasting, Kenny makes it look simple. I have played around with this on and off for 2 years and while I get decent results it is an absolute nightmare to get to the point Kenny has.

 

Out of all the discussions relating to comic book restoration, none should be given more attention than this one about leafcasting. It represents the paradigm shift in the process of restoring any old document, but comics especially.

[Moondog]

I feel like this could be a t.v show called "comic book restorers" that would be on history or discovery. They would take rare golden age books that are in horrific condition, explain what they're doing to the comic and the steps during the show and then unveil the finished product at the end of it. Yea I watch that.

 

Yes, Zeman, we want a reality TV show!

 

Funny you should mention that, Gary C. was in town a few weeks ago to drop off some books. And as we sat there going over stuff,and I worked on a few things... he said he felt like he was watching a show on A&E about comic resto.

 

Then I zapped him with my M.I.B. mind eraser.

 

All he remembers now is having broasted wings at the Friendly Tavern.

 

 

All I remember is having to put on a gown, gloves and face mask and eating the best wings I ever tasted!

[Boba]

For anyone who has ever attempted to do leafcasting, Kenny makes it look simple. I have played around with this on and off for 2 years and while I get decent results it is an absolute nightmare to get to the point Kenny has.

 

Out of all the discussions relating to comic book restoration, none should be given more attention than this one about leafcasting. It represents the paradigm shift in the process of restoring any old document, but comics especially.

 

I've seen the results first-hand! This process and how Kenny wields it, is nothing short of incredible.

Older restored book with rice-paper reconstruction might even benefit to have the restoration re-done using this process.

[GoldenPRGuy]

Archie 1 outer wrap.

 

 

 

That's amazing Kenny! I wish I could see how this looked once the art was complete. Some people see restoration only, but I see conservation here. Your are making these pieces whole again!

[Ze-man]

I feel like this could be a t.v show called "comic book restorers" that would be on history or discovery. They would take rare golden age books that are in horrific condition, explain what they're doing to the comic and the steps during the show and then unveil the finished product at the end of it. Yea I watch that.

 

Yes, Zeman, we want a reality TV show!

 

Funny you should mention that, Gary C. was in town a few weeks ago to drop off some books. And as we sat there going over stuff,and I worked on a few things... he said he felt like he was watching a show on A&E about comic resto.

 

Then I zapped him with my M.I.B. mind eraser.

 

All he remembers now is having broasted wings at the Friendly Tavern.

 

 

All I remember is having to put on a gown, gloves and face mask and eating the best wings I ever tasted!

 

The face mask made it really hard to eat those wings though.

 

[Ze-man]

For anyone who has ever attempted to do leafcasting, Kenny makes it look simple. I have played around with this on and off for 2 years and while I get decent results it is an absolute nightmare to get to the point Kenny has.

 

Out of all the discussions relating to comic book restoration, none should be given more attention than this one about leafcasting. It represents the paradigm shift in the process of restoring any old document, but comics especially.

 

Thanks Joey, seriously.

 

Although early on, years ago, I did not exactly have everything dialed in either! Had more failures, then success's early on.

 

What??, you mean it isn't supposed to fall apart like this?

 

What?.. this is exactly what I was going for. "Easy off casting"

 

 

 

[Silver Surfer]

Kenny every time I come back to this thread the color matching of the pulp seems to get better and better. I'm seriously thinking about sourcing out some cheap restored books that would benefit from this process.

[DeliBebek]

For anyone who has ever attempted to do leafcasting, Kenny makes it look simple. I have played around with this on and off for 2 years and while I get decent results it is an absolute nightmare to get to the point Kenny has.

 

Out of all the discussions relating to comic book restoration, none should be given more attention than this one about leafcasting. It represents the paradigm shift in the process of restoring any old document, but comics especially.

 

Thanks Joey, seriously.

 

Although early on, years ago, I did not exactly have everything dialed in either! Had more failures, then success's early on.

 

What??, you mean it isn't supposed to fall apart like this?

 

What?.. this is exactly what I was going for. "Easy off casting"

 

In the face of all the well-deserved praise, I was going to point out that you were no doubt showing us only the most successful efforts. It's nice that you've addressed the learning curve by showing that your skill in this art is not acquired easily but through many long hours of trial and error.

[The_Captain]

Found this very interesting video on leafcasting a few days ago. Pretty cool to get an idea of how it works.

 

[Ze-man]

Found this very interesting video on leafcasting a few days ago. Pretty cool to get an idea of how it works.

 

 

Wouldn't that be dandy?...just have somebody else build you a casting table to your specifications!

 

Why didn't I think of that?

 

 

 

 

[Ze-man]

For comparison, here is a professionally conserved interior that utilizes japan paper and wheat starch. Done years ago, and done very well.

 

And while very similar in nature(both have non original papers added), the difference between this approach vs leaf casting is night and day

 

Aesthetically, and structurally.

 

Japan papers, mending tissue and wheat starch.

 

 

And a leaf casted interior.

 

 

 

 

[Ze-man]

Just a fun cover to repair.

 

 

[GoldenPRGuy]

Possibly a silly question, but what is the general consensus on restoration removal for books that were done within the last 10 to 12 years with Japan papers? Is it worth re-doing high-grade keys for their long-term survival?

[Illustrious]

Possibly a silly question, but what is the general consensus on restoration removal for books that were done within the last 10 to 12 years with Japan papers? Is it worth re-doing high-grade keys for their long-term survival?

 

I'd like to know your thoughts on this as well Kenny.

[Wilson3d]

Great thread. Thanks for the info!

[Johnny545]

MF 52 interior.

 

 

This blows me away..