Comic Care Question

[BobMarket]

1. Do you bag and board your comics?

2. If you do, have you ever encountered this problem that I am encountering and what's to be done about it?

Now, this problem is also, only with new comics for some reason, never when I buy old back issues.
Once I put the comic in the bagged and boarded bag, the cover gets all warpy, like wavy.

I mean, then I pile all the comics in a...pile and Usually it flattens them out over time, but wtf is that? Why does that happen? I know it's not 'cause im putting in the boards the wrong way, 'cause when I switch 'em around it's the same thing.

Is it the dealer I'm buying them from? They way they are shipped the covers get all "wave-y" in the box and then just need time to flatten out? Anybody have any ideas?

[darkkeeperjr]

moisture get in the bag? where do you keep this pile? by the heater or hot room or moist bastment?

[BobMarket]

Nope. I keep them far from moisture and heat and everything. Its so weird, 'cause it's just with new books. Never back issues.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Are you taking about monthly saddle stitched comics or trades that are perfect bound?

The card stock of trades can become "wrapped" after reading.

As for the saddle stitched comics, how is the retailer you are buying from storing them? On a shelf? In a comic box?

[dupont2005]

1. Do you bag and board your comics?
yep
2. If you do, have you ever encountered this problem that I am encountering and what's to be done about it?
nope
Now, this problem is also, only with new comics for some reason, never when I buy old back issues.
Once I put the comic in the bagged and boarded bag, the cover gets all warpy, like wavy.

I mean, then I pile all the comics in a...pile and Usually it flattens them out over time, but wtf is that? Why does that happen? I know it's not 'cause im putting in the boards the wrong way, 'cause when I switch 'em around it's the same thing.

Is it the dealer I'm buying them from? They way they are shipped the covers get all "wave-y" in the box and then just need time to flatten out? Anybody have any ideas?
probably because of the type of paper used in modern comics. have you had that problem with your older comics? i only own about 6 recent marvels. the cover stock seems like the same exact thing as the interior pages. thin slips of syran wrap with ink on them

[BobMarket]

It's the weekly comics. Since I have a box there, I usually get them just straight out of my box, but otherwise, he bags them, not boards them. The warping isn't serious serious, like, no creases, it's just that i bag and board them to get that smooth look, but it's not. I don't know. And like I said, the waviness goes away over time, I just don't get it.

[Brandon Hanvey]

It's the weekly comics. Since I have a box there, I usually get them just straight out of my box, but otherwise, he bags them, not boards them. The warping isn't serious serious, like, no creases, it's just that i bag and board them to get that smooth look, but it's not. I don't know. And like I said, the waviness goes away over time, I just don't get it.

Most likely since your retailer is only using bags when storing the comics, the comics are warping a little in the box due there being no rigid back to keep them from stacking up on each other.

[BobMarket]

Most likely since your retailer is only using bags when storing the comics, the comics are warping a little in the box due there being no rigid back to keep them from stacking up on each other.

That's probably it. Thanks. I needed to talk it out to figure out what was going on, and it's been driving me mental. I can't really fault the guy though, since he gives me a killer discount.

[The Confessor]

Once I put the comic in the bagged and boarded bag, the cover gets all warpy, like wavy.

I mean, then I pile all the comics in a...pile and Usually it flattens them out over time, but wtf is that? Why does that happen?


I know exactly what you're talking about here. I've noticed the same thing. When I first get my new comics on a Thursday, they are kind of wavy. It's almost a bit like water damage but it isn't that at all because water damage doesn’t disappear. Once my comics have been bagged and boarded, this waviness disappears within two or three days and they become totally flat. My LCS guy also bags but doesn't board them but I don't think that can be the root cause because this initial waviness is still present in comics that I buy straight off of the shelf too.

I stack my comics upright in long boxes once they're bagged and boarded, so it's not the weight of other comics on top of them that causes them to become flat either, it's something else. I just assume it's something to do with the type of paper modern comics are printed on.

Still, it is a curious phenomena.

[Brandon Hanvey]

My LCS guy also bags but doesn't board them but I don't think that can be the root cause because this initial waviness is still present in comics that I buy straight off of the shelf too.

I stack my comics upright in long boxes once they're bagged and boarded, so it's not the weight of other comics on top of them that causes them to become flat either, it's something else. I just assume it's something to do with the type of paper modern comics are printed on.



It's not the bag. It's the lack of board. Even on the shelf, the comics are being stacked on top of each other without a rigid separator. This can cause them to wrap due to the weight on other books on top on them.

When you store comics vertically without a board or other rigid separator, they tend to slant slightly which can cause the wrapping effect.

[Paradox]

BobMarket wonders:

1. Do you bag and board your comics?

Nope. In fact, if I get a comic that's already bagged and boarded, I treat the bag and board like a candy wrapper.

[The Confessor]

It's not the bag. It's the lack of board. Even on the shelf, the comics are being stacked on top of each other without a rigid separator. This can cause them to wrap due to the weight on other books on top on them.

When you store comics vertically without a board or other rigid separator, they tend to slant slightly which can cause the wrapping effect.


Sure, but how would being sealed in a bag with a board behind it for a day or two cause it to suddenly become flat? It's not just the board behind it making it look flat either because when I take the comic out of the bag after the waviness has vanished they are genuinely flat...no waviness at all.




Nope. In fact, if I get a comic that's already bagged and boarded, I treat the bag and board like a candy wrapper.


[[[ Shudder ]]]

I tell you, it's people like you that make this world such a terrible place. :wink:

[thespianphryne]

Nope. In fact, if I get a comic that's already bagged and boarded, I treat the bag and board like a candy wrapper.

Sometimes, I'll use my comics as a table mat for hot food or as a coaster for my drinks. The reverse side, though - keeps the cover art unsmudged.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Sure, but how would being sealed in a bag with a board behind it for a day or two cause it to suddenly become flat? It's not just the board behind it making it look flat either because when I take the comic out of the bag after the waviness has vanished they are genuinely flat...no waviness at all.


That is because by putting them in a bag with a board you are bending the comic slightly. The stiff board and tight bag flatten it out and corrects the bending that was done while on the shelf or in a box just in a bag.