Question about storage of comics

[red05]

I hope I am posting this in the right place. I have recently started collecting comics again. I collected them when I was younger but stopped several years ago. I have between 1,500 and 2,000 in my collection. I just wanted to know how most of you stored you collection. Mine are currently in comic book bags with the cardboard backing. Then I store them in a large rubbermaid container. Does it hurt to lay them flat or should I get the cardboard boxes that store them upright? How do you all store them. Thanks.

[red05]

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[SamuraiJack]

I'm probably in a small minority here, but I store mine, bagless no less, in the standard cardboard comic boxes you can find in your LCS. Since I have no intention of reselling them or ever getting rid of them (I have two kids, ages 7 and 4, who LOVE superheroes and having daddy read to them) they're gettting no special treatment from this collector. Plus they get used so much that the concept of 'preserving' them in plastic bags seems silly IMO.

I think about it like toy collecting. I don't want to have it in the package, I want to USE it...

[Sorcerer Supreme]

I store mine bagged, boarded and boxed, with the nmore valuable ones bagged, boarded and in a couple of carboard backed envelopes.

Does anyone use Millcases or Drawerboxes, if you dont know what I'm talkin about, check these:

http://www.millcase.com/

http://collectiondr.temp.powweb.com/

The drawer boxes look awesome, I dunno about the milcases though.

[JohnMayo]

Does anyone use Millcases or Drawerboxes, if you dont know what I'm talkin about, check these:

http://www.millcase.com/

http://collectiondr.temp.powweb.com/

The drawer boxes look awesome, I dunno about the milcases though.


I've been using the Drawer Boxes for about a year now and love them. They are much sturdier than normal long boxes and much more convenient. I've got about 174 of them and I think that they are far superior to normal long and short boxes.

[dancj]

I'm probably in a small minority here, but I store mine, bagless no less, in the standard cardboard comic boxes you can find in your LCS. Since I have no intention of reselling them or ever getting rid of them (I have two kids, ages 7 and 4, who LOVE superheroes and having daddy read to them) they're gettting no special treatment from this collector. Plus they get used so much that the concept of 'preserving' them in plastic bags seems silly IMO.

I think about it like toy collecting. I don't want to have it in the package, I want to USE it...

You're obviously too well balanced for this board!

[Pheonix-NoRelation]

Does anyone use Volstor? They look really good. I don't know where to buy them though b/c I'm in America & it seems as though they only sell them in the UK.

[SamuraiJack]

You're obviously too well balanced for this board!

That's not what the therapist says, but I agree! I just wish more people could see it that way.

I need a life- or something...

[Paperghost]

i have all of mine, new and old, mixed in together, stacked in piles, in draws under the bed. only a few issues have any sort of plastic bag on them, and even then, its usually a larger one that contains a bunch of issues in one go. i have a large collection of old stuff now, but thats only because i went on some insane quest to actually collect up all the old issues i'd lost and then was so zapped by the nostalgia bug that i decided to complete some of the runs. jli ftw!

i read them so often that i don't see the point in bagging them up - plus, theyre not ancient....only from the late eighties / nineties. if one of my jla comics fell out the window or whatever, its not like there isn't a gigantic supply available from ebay.

[Erisu Kimu]

I'm probably in a small minority here, but I store mine, bagless no less, in the standard cardboard comic boxes you can find in your LCS. Since I have no intention of reselling them or ever getting rid of them (I have two kids, ages 7 and 4, who LOVE superheroes and having daddy read to them) they're gettting no special treatment from this collector. Plus they get used so much that the concept of 'preserving' them in plastic bags seems silly IMO.

I think about it like toy collecting. I don't want to have it in the package, I want to USE it...

I agree.

While I don't necessarily store them in boxes, I do store them in a stack in one of my drawers. I have some in those plastic bags with cardboard backs, but only because I bought them like that.

Basically, my Manga collection is shelved, while my graphic novels and comic books are stacked side by side inside the drawers.

I have nowhere near 1,000 to 2,000 comics though. I've only recently started re-collecting them again.

[Brian Cronin]

I should have them in boxes. I mostly have them in piles on bookshelves.

-Brian

[Reptisaurus!]

Boxes here, too. Or else pile on the floor. They do get a little bendy, which is sort of annoying. But I'm too lazy to stick cardboard backers on all of them.

My "expensive" comics are in kind of bad shape, but I've got a few books in the 50-100 buck range even counting that. Those usually just get bagged, 'cause I don't have any boards big enough for them, but I do try to stuff enough other crap in it so that they stay upright.

[Dan Apodaca]

I should have them in boxes. I mostly have them in piles on bookshelves.

-Brian

Take out the bookshelves and you've got my situation.

[Brian Cronin]

Take out the bookshelves and you've got my situation.

Really?

Wow - how the heck do you keep them from falling?

-Brian

[Dan Apodaca]

Really?

Wow - how the heck do you keep them from falling?

-Brian

I pretty much don't. They're definitely piles, and not stacks.

I live in a very messy house.

[SamuraiJack]

*re-reads above posts*

Glad to see I'm not the only well-balanced person here!

[sePL]

I use longboxes. Recently I started to not put my comics back into the bag after re-reading, because I have the feeling that they are starting to smell strange after being polybagged for several years.

[Hulkamaniac]

I use both long and short boxes (depending on the runs and contents of the box) and I bag and board all my stuff inside those boxes and double board certain issues depending on value and how much I love that comic:D .
Most of my stuff are in boxes but like 5% are out in stacks, drawers etc. and a small percentage of that are not boarded.

[daletron]

no one puts them on a shelf?

i have a really small room in my house next my bedroom that i believe was made to put towels and other stuff in there (i really dont know). but they have shelves so i put all my comics on there

[Brian Cronin]

I put them on bookshelves! Does that count?

-Brian

[ValhallaComics]

Well, I must say... the future looks pretty bright for those of us collectors that actually take care of our collections. ;P muahaHAHAHAHA

To answer the question, though:

I store all of my comics, bagged and boarded, in long boxes (some short). The Drawer Boxes seem like a really good idea, IF you have a lot of room to stack. I have about 7000 comics, so that's not going to work for me, unless I get myself some warehouse/office space in a remote location (coming soon!). ;P

I keep all books in the same way. New books are bagged/boarded, old books are bagged/boarded, etc, etc. This is done for organizational purposes. All books are kept in alphabetical order, as well. I've been keeping them in order or release date, lately, though... too lazy to insert new comics where they should go, etc, etc. It's a lot of work. =/

[The Xenos]

I put issues in bags and boards. I finally got all my comics sorted into boxes, regular short boxes. I have about 41 boxes of issues. I also have some boxes of trade paperbacks and graphic novels as I need to get new bookshevles for them. We're rearranging the house, so hopefully I will finally get shelf space to put all my trades and also my manga and smaller sized graphic novels.

I do have a number of older comics piled up in paper bags. Some are in bags/sleeves and some are loose. All are in paper bags from the newstand or comic store I bought them at. They're piled up in a what used to be a liquor cabinet. Those could go into boxes after getting bagged and boarded.

Oh wait. I also used to store comics in binders with plastic sleeves, no backings. Not too keen of that in hindsight. I have a number of those around that I should transfer into bags and boards. I have a row of them in a bookshelf.

[Darkwave]

I use these boxes, from the Container Store: http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74545&PRODID=10017276
They fit about 200+ books each (unbagged/unboarded)

I think they look a little classier than the standard long box. I've labelled each box with a P-Touch, indicating what books are inside. I then keep the boxes on shelves, along with my trades and hard covers.

I don't generally bag and board, except for the occasional book that I think will potentially have some real value.

[The New Fate]

All mine are bagged, backed, and boxed. I'm looking foward to getting some millcases for some of them and then on to display they go.

[DeeSnider]

Hmmm, have to say I'm suprised by how casually a lot of you store your comics. I recently got back into collecting after a 10-15 year hiatus, and have been sturggling with where to store mine. They're all bagged and borded in short boxes, but where to put those boxes is starting to be an issue. I can't leave them unboxed (if they're bagged) because I have two cats who like to eat plastic more then tuna. A few chewed up comics on the floor taught me that lesson quick.
I've got a short box on my desk that all new comics go into, and whenever I feel like reading, I sit down and pull some from that box. Every month or so I file the ones I've read into the big collection.

[ACertainMrDoe]

I read my comics and put them on a shelf. In times where even golden age material is reprinted for cheap, and where even moderately successful series get republished in TBP, I don't see any need for collecting comics and putting them in plastic bags where the poor things can't breath and slowly but surely die of loss of social interaction and human attention.
But then I'm the type of reader who wouldn't even think in my wildest dreams of spending more than 40 bucks for ANY kind of comic (and even then, i would want to have at least 400 pages!). Why should I buy a 30 year old printing of an old title, when i can get a new printing in higher quality of it?

[dancj]

But then I'm the type of reader who wouldn't even think in my wildest dreams of spending more than 40 bucks for ANY kind of comic (and even then, i would want to have at least 400 pages!). Why should I buy a 30 year old printing of an old title, when i can get a new printing in higher quality of it?

Damn right. I get mosts of my books of eBay these days where I pretty much never have to pay more than £5 for a GN

[daletron]

do any of you guys NOT bag and board your comics?

because lately.. it's been more of a chore than anything.

one side of me says i should bag and board all my comics because for the most part i'm not going to read them anytime soon and just in case if i ever wanted to sell some stuff on ebay i can.

then there's another part of me that says man none of these new comics i buy every wednesday are ever going to go up in value, just put them in the comic box and even though it may "degrade" in 20 years, it should still be fine.

of course i'd bag and board anything i'd consider valuable.. just talkin bout the modern comics

so what do most of u guys do?

[daletron]

oh and i'm a little twisted on how i store my comics, i seem to change my mind every few weeks or so. but at the mean time, i bought 8 of these comic drawer short boxes here

http://www.comicsupply.com/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=40870&osCsid=fe594752947c6a20f0ab6e006c6694f3

i guess they're imitation to the other infamous one, but i prefer short boxes over long boxes. well i think i have more than 8 boxes worth of comics so i think i'm going to be in a dilema

i previously stored all my comics on a shelf, but the thing is, it's a huge shelf so if i pull out comics in the middle of it, everything starts to collapse and fall over and it gets real messy. can't seem to find a good solution for it atm, any suggestions? ^__^

[ACertainMrDoe]

... to solve your storage problem:

for 32-page-comics simply get yourself a hole-puncher and a big folder... ;-)

NAAAA! Even me wouldn't recommend that to anyone! Please don't quote me! ;-)

[dancj]

I generally bag my comics, but I have huge sections in my collection without bags

[Pyro]

I generally keep my comics on my bookshelf, categorized by title and type (i.e. all Ultimate books together, all DC books together). Or in a pile on the floor in my room for easy access. I only bag the ones that I like the most, and just recently I bought a set of boards and boarded a lot of them. It's kind of annoying because I read them over so often and don't particularly like dealing with the bags, but I also get very anal about the condition of my comics and don't want them to get messed up/torn/folded...Fingerprints! I hate fingerprints!!!

[Ben320]

Daletron....what do you think of the 8 box drawers you bought from comicsupply? I am having trouble deciding on what size short box to put in the drawer. Comicsupply has a nice height to theirs. Other sites are only 10.75 high and am afraid they will wobble, slant when pulling out. Comicsupply's short boxes are more pricey then the 10.75 inch high though. Any info on how you like the drawers would be most appreciated.

[galtarandthemagiclance]

I limit myself now. I used to buy everything. First I was loyal to a character, then a publisher, then as I got older and more discriminating, I realized how there were so many
crap comics were out there. Nowadays, I go by creative teams --Writers and artists I like. I read digital comics first. Then, if I like it, I buy a print copy and store them in millcases. The top stuff I put in a bookcase, the rest I put in short boxes (the long box is too heavy and unwieldy) So I've basically refined my buying in this manner so I just surround myself with stuff I like.

[Ferago]

I keep them in short boxes. I always have a pile of comics on top of my boxes and when it gets to the point that it looks like it might tip over I sort them. Two issues per bag back to back and no boards.