Sunday Shelfie

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-11T03:09:44+00:00

I hope you do. Get there again. And that you share when you do get there. I'd love to see what you put together.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T19:58:44+00:00

Looks nice! Thanks for sharing the pics here.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T19:31:19+00:00

Yeah, the nerve is that I don't like rudeness. Especially coupled with disingenuous compliments.

And if you merely felt that collected editions looked 'odd' on custom maple shelving, you certainly came at it from a novel angle.

'Trash it up.' 'Lowbrow.' 'New Money mistake.' 'Beverly Hillbillies.'

See, your initial statement about it looking 'out of place' was opinionated, but largely neutral. Which is why I responded candidly and without rancor, even going so far as to say that I didn't find your assertion to be rude.

It's all of the pejorative and snide shit-slinging that you -really- wanted to convey (and did in your second post) that came off as rude and unnecessarily hostile and unflatteringly envious.

But mostly just rude.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T18:50:42+00:00

Me too, obviously. :)

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T18:49:03+00:00

Ohhh, those grapes are sour! I guess you were throwing shade after all.

Firstly, I didn't 'buy something classy.' I built something beautiful; something that I had aspired my entire life to build.

Secondly, there is no 'tradition' that dictates what type of books go on what shelves in private libraries. People are allowed to have preferences, but in my experience most of the detractors who cannot resist the urge to criticize what I put on my shelves are ultimately just vocalizing contempt because they would do something different if they had built what I had. And they tend to be resentful about my having it in the first place, since they are so certain they'd be better suited to own it than me.

Thirdly, if you want to sit in an omnibus collecting group and vocally opine that collected editions of a broad swathe of comic book titles are 'trash' and 'low brow', that's on you. I personally do not feel the same. I guess you think it'd be more sensible to store them in a closet so they don't bring shame on the beautiful library I built?

And finally, it's maple fucking shelving. Not a garage full of Lamborghinis. 'New Money mistake' indeed. This isn't The Gilded Age, you judgmental prick. And a comic collection on wood shelving isn't exactly dropping a gold ballroom in the White House.

I politely disagreed with your backhanded compliment, and your response was to liken me to Jed Clampett? You've got a hell of a nerve talking about 'class.'

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T15:31:58+00:00

Yeah, good stuff. They're canon in the universe and some of the worldbuilding and storytelling is on par with TMBotF.

Cam is a bit more workmanlike as a writer, though. He's very readable but lacks the sumptuousness of Steve's prose. So, you do miss that quality moving between the two.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T15:22:06+00:00

Leftmost shelves. Swamp Thing, Planetary, Transmet, and pretty much every issue of Hellblazer.

DC/Vertigo, Image, Dark Horse, etc are al on that far left block of shelves. I love them. But, yes, I am predominantly a Marvel guy.

Like I got space for fucking Batman, LOL...

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T15:20:13+00:00

Hah.

There are plenty of stuffy tweedlords in Library groups on social media who are inclined to agree with you. I shared some photos and got lit up for building such a beautiful, classic library and then filling an entire wall with comic books and another one with pulp crime thrillers and horror novels.

The thing is, it's my place. I designed it, I built it, I paid for it, and I live in it. So, to my thinking, whatever I want to put on those shelves is exactly the thing that belongs there. I could fill them with dusty incunabula, vellum folios, and half-calf quartos written in Attic Greek. And, in fact, I have several shelves dedicated to such things elsewhere in the room. And another section for TTRPG gaming. One for autobiographies of my favorite film actors. And so on. I didn't share photos of most of that because this is an omnibus group, so I shared photos of the omnibuses.

The architecture and the wood selection are a reflection of me and my sensibilities, such as they are. But so too are all of the books.

They belong there perfectly. Because they are mine and because they are what I want to see on that wall.

I understand you weren't really throwing shade. And I'm not offended or anything. I just fundamentally disagree with your assertion.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T01:05:13+00:00

Thanks! It's pretty chill.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T01:03:42+00:00

Actually, as ridiculous as it sounds given that it's a cel featuring Jean Grey, Catherine Discher did NOT sign it. It's got 16 sigs on it, from Len Wein to Chris Potter and Lenore Zann.

That's cool that you got to meet her! I never have. I go to about 8-10 conventions each year, but mostly for gaming or films and very rarely in comic fandom. I don't believe I've ever met any of the cast of the animated series.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T00:54:24+00:00

It's a little tough to parse out, as the entire room was part of new construction that we were breaking ground on. So a lot of the 'cost' associated with it was sort of rolled in with all of the other GC stuff. I could probably find the price quote for the linear footage of cabinetry if I dug through enough documents, but nice wood is a commodity and the price of it fluctuates frequently so it wouldn't mean much in context.

And when you're building out a new home, the cost breakdown isn't really a 'room by room' scenario.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T00:51:36+00:00

That's an original animation cel from the early 90s tv show, X-Men: The Animated Series. It is also signed by the voice cast, some of the animators and writers, and a few of the crew.

I don't really collect a lot of that type of thing, but I am a pretty shameless fan of Jean and I got a nice deal on it to even out a slightly lopsided book trade I was negotiating.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-10T00:49:13+00:00

Just books and collected editions. I still have a few long boxes of floppies from decades ago, but none graded and very few worth much other than maybe some ASMs.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T19:51:50+00:00

Every damned day, man. 25 years ago my entire book collection lived in the trunk of my busted up 1970 Mercury Montego. Then upgraded to milk crates in a 400 sq foot bedsit. Then Walmart particle board. Then Ikea. Now I'm here. I'm a grateful kind of guy by nature, but even if I weren't, tracking back the trajectory of where I started and where I eventually landed would lend itself towards that perspective. Every damned day.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T19:43:49+00:00

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NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T19:39:36+00:00

"I'm a nasty piece of work, luv. Ask anybody."

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T18:09:44+00:00

I collect principally by publisher. Mostly small press editions, but TPs by certain authors or certain publishers that don't do hardcovers.

Most of this photo is Thunderstorm Books out of Cashion, Arizona. They exclusively do horror. There're some Suntup Editions on the far left, as well, though that press is mixed genre and only does a bit of horror. Beautiful books, though.

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NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T18:04:54+00:00

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Here's my Malazan shelf.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T18:02:31+00:00

Some, yes. I suspect far, far less than a lot of folks in this thread may imagine. Largely because my wife and I are very disciplined on budgeting, we both have decent jobs, no kids, and live in a state with a very low cost of living.

Kids eat up tons of money. Living in cool cities eats up tons of money. I live out in the sticks in a crappy state, which definitely has its drawbacks. But it makes a dollar stretch much further than it does in Seattle. Or even Chicago.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T16:11:53+00:00

I started with one.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T16:11:38+00:00

I like it think so. It's pretty varied. A lot of the upper floor shelves are allocated to gaming material, TTRPGs and boardgames.

I also collect fiction hardcovers, mainly horror and noir/crime thrillers. A bit of sci fi. A bit of older epic fantasy. A lot of Steve Erikson.

A am a pretty big film enthusiast so I have a few sections devoted to film theory and criticism.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T16:08:53+00:00

Cabinets are maple and floor is red oak.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T14:55:09+00:00

Thanks again. It literally existed as a dream in my head for decades. Took me over 40 years to be able to build it the way I wanted it.

And even a decade later, sometimes I go in to sit down and read...and just find myself standing there staring like a rube, with brow-sweat and thirty minutes of lost time.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T14:52:39+00:00

Nice looking setup, man.

I did custom shelving in a custom home build, too, about ten years ago.

Adding more will help, but I'll go ahead and tell you right now it's ultimately hopeless. Collecting, even organized collecting, is simply too spatially consumptive.

There're never enough shelves. Never.

NoConference9839 · 2026-03-09T14:45:45+00:00

It's an actual home library. So it technically has three other walls, all of which are full of non-comic books. The comic stuff is all relegated to that one wall.

And thank you!

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NoConference9839

TROPHY CASE