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Is there a simple foolproof method?

No staples/glue binding, squared spine with printing including the title, author and ISBN number, 76 pages, no Volume or issue # in the indica, etc?

Kinda figured that had to be a tpb/graphic novel. What's the mising ingredient I should be looking for?

Have you read the descriptions in the Change Request Guidelines?

I can't recall exactly which CR you're refering to, but Cover Stock also comes into the decision. Many Prestige format books also meet the description above. One of the factors used to distinguish between a Prestige format book and a TPB/Graphic Novel is the cover stock. Prestige covers are thicker and heavier than a regular comic cover, bt not as thick and sturdy as a TPB cover. CCL groups the Prestge Books with Comic Books.

I'm still not sure what "prestige" is either. When the difference is getting down to thickness of a stiff cover meaning we have to carry around some type of micromeasuring device to determine paper thickness it's getting a bit silly in terms of differentiation.

Got a staple it's a comic/magazine.

Hurts when you drop it on your toe, it's a hardback.

None of the above graphic novel/tpb/softback

Time to go yard saling

Actually it's not that bad and if you look at some examples, you'll see what I'm talking about. The new "DC Comics Presents" line are a recent example. The covers are thicker than regular comic covers, but once you look at them in person it's really hard to call them Trades.

EDIT: The problem with using stapled vs glued spine as the yardstick is that a lot of the old giant-sized books had glued, square spines (some with staples, some without) and they are definitely comic books.

Many annuals also have square spines. It's mostly a judgement call. 76 pages sounded prestige to me.

This is off the top of my head, and is not meant to reflect CCL policy.

It seems to me that a factor worth considering is whether the publication is periodical or not. I would tend to group periodicals into the comics category, and non-periodicals into the trade paperback category.

There are cases, though, where this distinction would fail to provide clear guidance. One-shot pamphlet comics could be argued not to be periodical, but I wouldn't call them trade paperbacks just because they are one-shots.

The distinction might be a bit easier if one considers traditional (non-direct) distribution. Publications that end up on the periodicals rack, even if not, strictly speaking, published periodically, would be comics. Publications that end up on the book shelves are trades or hardbacks.

Another thing you could do is check the fine print in the publication. Is there a periodical-style indicia, with a month + year publication date, and maybe an ISSN number? If so, I would tend to categorize the publication as a comic. Or is there a copyright page, where the month (if given) is only the month associated with the printing (e.g., "First printing: November 2012."), and is there an ISBN number? If so, I would tend to categorize the publication as a trade or hardback.

It wouldn't surprise me to find individual publications that fail easy categorization, even using these principles. If common sense contraindicates my suggestions, then I would recommend going with common sense.

Yard sailing failed to turn up anything today comic related ( 6 new pan w/lids for the kitchen, a new oil lamp and a wind up jeweled swiss alarm clock still needing investigating. ) but once I finish the last of the comic uploads there's a couple long boxes of assorted, not sure yet which category they fall under to work through and add to the database.

I remember those old Marvel annuals and Giant-sizes without the staples but those had thin standard paper covers and were clearly labeled Annual or Giant-Size to keep us from getting confussed. Here we've got stuff that looks like comics tossed over in the magazine section, stuff that looks like magazines tossed in the comic sections and all tpb/graphic novel stuff, some even labellled graphic novel, tossed everywhere. I know for ease of use losing the categorys entirely and just adding a descriptive something to the name like (TPB) or (MAG) or such would certainly simplify things and speed things up. With no simple way to tell where to submit something I'll keep on guessing. Now moving on to investigating that Phinney Walker wind up alarm clock.

I've been making that case for a couple years now - lump everything together for most purposes but give us some way to divide things up if we care.

I honestly think you're making it a bit more difficult than you need to.

TRADE PAPERBACKS are collected editions of books. "Collecting Punisher #1-12."

Most everything else, even if technically a GRAPHIC NOVEL, I think tends to be listed under COMIC BOOK. Technically, "The Pro" is a graphic novel, but it's listed under comics.

This is because a) a lot of people don't tend to list or look at the GN/TPB section unless they're specifically looking for a TPB. And b) it's better for sales, and for cataloging a collection. IMO.

There is also a debate between MAGAZINES and comic books, but that's an old fight, and returning to it is beating a dead horse. :D

http://www.rubylane.com/item/168670-HD1146/Vintage-Phinney-Walker-Blue-Rhinestone

That's the closest link I can find to the new clock although the jewel pattern is a bit different on this one and it appears to be older. Here's a rough scanner image I took just now.








Naw, changing topics entirely. My one track mind is on a totally different track now trying to figure out if the clock in hand is worth anywhere close to the $195 one linked above.