Do all old comics smell?

[schwamp]

Heat, light and humidity can effect the breakdown and rate of deterioration of older paper preoducts like comics and newspapers that were never intended to last. I know there are charcoal inserts and other products offered that absorb ododrs and acids that naturally occur with older pulpy type items. also, I love the smell of older comics and books, for the most part.
Mold always just smells like mold tho.

[Aaron King]

Привет,вы можете подробнее ответить?

Нет данных для русских шпионов!

[prince hal]

First, my apologies...

Do all old comics smell?

(A) Only the ones drawn by Tony Tallarico;

(B) Not as bad as new ones;

(C) Compared to what?

(D) No, just the ones that Myron Fass published.

Rimshot, please.

Be kind to your waitress, I'll be here all week, try the veal, etc., etc.

[zryson]

Hi Eric, from your original reply it looks like the smell is spreading so I would remove the comics. Also as the divider you mentioned also now seems to have the same smell I would remove the box or container they are housed in as well and put them in something new. A good way to check if its mold, is to wipe the affected areas with a white tissue and see if there is any black powder on the tissue afterwards.

[zryson]

Hi Eric - I would also check the surrounding comics for all tell-tale signs of damage, be it mold, mildew, some foul smelling odor. Chances are if its quite strong on the nose and its a new smell, and you haven't smelled it before, it could very well be mold. In that case, remove the comics as it would spread. And given that you spend money on your comics, you want to look after them as long as possible without having to worry about further damage. Also when buying comic books off ebay, if you are spending a reasonable amount and the seller has good feedback, query them as to whether the comic books smell because many sellers will reply in courteous manner. And chances are, they might mention some damage that wasn't otherwise specified.

[Eric Draven]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Zryson.

I found tiny black marks on certain pages and wiped them as hard as I could without damaging the book but nothing came off. The weird thing is though, Issue 6 which I got separately and which has no bad smell also has some of the same kind of marks. So I'm not sure if its ink or something not mould. I've now removed the books from the box along with the divider that was touching them and will pop up a new box tomorrow to replace the current one just in case.

I just don't know what to do with the issues themselves now

[zryson]

Tiny black marks could be a number of things - ink which has bled, as well as mildew/mold (it might also be cigarette ash as some people smoke and the ash from the end sometimes gets on the pages). If it is smelly its a good idea not to keep them - use them as readers or place them in bags away from the rest of your collection until you can replace them. The problem often arises in how people store them - sometimes in not so well ventilated basements. I remember buying a comic collection from a reputable seller who had lots of comic books for sale. They kept them in the basement. Their feedback was good so I thought I will buy from them too. Only it was not a very well ventilated basement and many of the comic books arrived with black powder stuck to the bags and pages of the comic books so I ended up throwing them out because even though it might hurt to have spent good money on something its better than the alternative of having it spread to other things in your collection and risking contamination.

[Mace Dolex]

I guess it depends on how their stored, I still comics from 20 years ago that still have that nice comic smell, but I also have some discount bin comics that smell really old but in a good way I suppose.

Interesting I think maybe it has to do with the paper used, I have a Batman TPB from the UK publishing called Titan that has a rather unusual almost "urine" kind of smell but the pages are pristine white still.

[MRP]

Ok the smart alec in me wants to say no comics can't smell, they lack the olfactory senses to do so, but some have an odor that I and others can smell

As others have said, it is a matter of the paper stock used, the chemicals used in the printing process, the environment they were read in, and the manner in which they were stored. I have found old comics that reek of tobacco, cigarettes or cigars, having read by a smoker and kept in a smoker's home, others have had mold or mildew issues, or just a general mustiness. I have also found comics that have smelled of mothballs and even some that smelled of cedar as they were stored in a cedar chest for an extended period of time. Other comics have smelled of incense, patchouli, and other various aromas found in places where I bought comics or from the homes of previous owners.

Some papers and inks will degrade over time, and the chemicals used in them may give off an odor as well. Sometimes they are kept in plastic bags with older boards that have begun to degrade and that can affect their odor as well.

Some of the odors can be pleasant, most often they are not. Removing the odor is possible in some cases, but usually required identifying what the source of the offending odor is. Most paper is absorbent to some degree, which means it will absorb some of what is in the air around it leading to the various aromas old comics have.

-M

[verslibre]

The best old comics smell like money. Unfortunately, I don't have many of those.

Some of my old comics smell, but smell good, since I store them in a cabinet that's loaded with perfume.

LOL!

[dupersuper]

I love old book smell like I love freshly cut grass smell.