"Too long, didn't read" version: I like the idea of $25 books the size of Dilbert / Calvin & Hobbes / Far Side books.
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I think between 7 and 10 dollars per 100 comics in a volume is reasonable, since a book with 250 could work out to about $25.
The only problem is the layout. Just about every comic is tall and skinny. Personally, I don't like tall, skinny books because they don't fit on shelves easily (either they lie spine down so you can't read what they are or they get pushed to the back). Rearranging them into a more square configuration, or putting 2 strips side by side on a page, would solve that problem.
8.5 x 11 is a little tight. The side that gets bound needs more of a margin, because of the gutter that gets created when you open a book. (The dark ravine, for lack of a better term.) The comics could run on into each other if they're too close to the edge, and it won't look as nice.
http://bicostp.googlepages.com/qcmockup.pdfIn my opinion, 8.5 by 9 would be best. That's a comfortable size, most "daily strip" compilation books use it so it will sit on shelves nicely with the others, and the comics will still be large enough to read.
http://bicostp.googlepages.com/qcmockup2.pdf
Print the mock-ups at 100% size. They're all 150 DPI for file size reasons, and were made from the web versions of the comics, so they're not representative of what the real thing could be. For the second one (8.5 by 9), print it out and cut along the black lines on the sides. These were just quickly thrown together and I have no knowledge of printing standards, so they might have to be smaller.I think 250 is a good number, since that would make a book about 125 pages long (again, similar size to other comparable comic compilations), and call for a new book about every year (just like the big boys).
Good-size QC volumes for $25 - $30? Yes please.
