That time a guy at a con told me I was reading comics wrong

I was flipping through a back issue bin at a small show in Portland last year, and this older collector tapped my shoulder and said I was holding the book by the spine wrong. He showed me how to support the cover and pages with both hands instead, and honestly my old comics from the 90s have less creasing now.

3 comments

3 Comments

dakotacraig23d ago

Are you supposed to pinch the spine or cradle the whole thing with both hands?

theaward22d ago

Makes sense to cradle it with both hands, like you're protecting the spine... @dakotacraig it's one of those things where we overthink simple stuff that feels natural.

xena_kim22d ago

Yeah I actually read somewhere that cradling the whole thing with both hands spreads the weight evenly so the spine doesn't get that stress crack. It sounds fussy but it really does help if you care about keeping books in nice shape. I tried the pinch method for years and always ended up with those little creases near the staples. Found out the hard way that pinching puts too much pressure on one spot. Now I just hold them flat and open and my back issues look way better for it.