Inspired by Chris Mautner (I envy his built-ins), photos of the Carlson collection, which spans 5 rooms of the house. First, there’s the library/former dining room.

From the top, that’s the Justice League statue with Starro. (We’re afraid to unbox it — no place to display it.) Then come 2 ½ shelves of DC Archives (most all of them, I think — the yellow-and-red spines are the Spirits), a selection of Showcase volumes, various books on artists, and on the bottom shelves, Absolutes and other oversized hardcovers. The packing box in the front is something we keep meaning to unpack “someday” — I think it’s been there at least two years now. This bookcase faces a 6×8 foot handmade companion, not shown, that contains the “real” books.

In a nook off the main living room lives another four shelves. Here’s two of them. (The other two have books on TV, animation, and classic comic strips, but they’re positioned in such a way I couldn’t get a picture.) Up top are some Lulu Archives and other oversized volumes (DC gift sets, some Comic Journal collections). This is all DC, with superheroes in the top left down to the complete Paradox collection in the lower right. Vertigo has a couple of shelves, WildStorm and ABC have one, and there’s also some stacks of the novels based on the characters.

Where’s Marvel, you ask? The Masterworks (the ones that aren’t on DVD-ROM) are in a bookcase in the converted garage, with all the boxes of single issues. (Except for the Archies — they take up 25 or so short boxes in an upstairs windows alcove.) I’m not allowed to go in there, because the stacks make me hyperventilate. Anyway, back to the shelves. Let’s go upstairs to my office.

Here’s the indy shelf. Mostly just my favorites at this point — I’ve set a self-imposed limit on myself that I can’t overflow this space. If something new comes in, something not as enjoyable may have to go out. The top has Wonder Bear (a gift from an old friend), Bouncing Bear (a gift from KC), a couple of kit-bashed Shrinking Violet figures, and Lost Girls. To the right is my desk.

The half-size bookcase contains digest-sized books (like Oni) and smaller, so they don’t get lost. The glass-front antique to the right has the current manga series I’m following and the best of the perennials. (The rest are in six boxes in the closet.) It’s a lovely place to work, in front of the windows, but most of the time, I write in the master bedroom, since I can have old movies going on the TV at the same time. Which is the location of the last shelf.

This one is my working setup. From the bottom up, it’s reference books and those about craft (Understanding Comics, Manga! Manga!, Trina Robbins’ books, and more). The sideways shelf has magazines I’ve appeared in and some scanning projects (someday!). Then comes books I’ve bought and want to read, followed by books that have been sent to me to cover (two shelves plus the top, with some minicomic stacks as well).

I’m actually doing much better this year, based on a resolution to keep the review piles manageable. I’m only looking at work from last year at the oldest, a definite improvement.