Ever wondered how to keep your Superman collection, Archie
books, and other collectible comics in great shape for future
generations? Whether you're keeping comics for sentimental value or
as an investment, their value in both departments is affected by
how well you store them.
Steps
Handle the comics properly. Wash your hands with
soap and water before handling comics. This will remove any oils
from your hands, which can cause staining on the cover or interior
pages. Ideally, you should wear gloves when handling the comics.
Never handle comics by the stapled edge, rather, pick them up at
the open edge, top or bottom. The fewer spine stress marks, the
better.- Place each comic in a bag with a backing
board. Use supplies created specifically for archival
storage.
- Mylar sleeves are considered the premiere bag or sleeve of
choice (see Tips). While it may be superior, it is probably not
essential, if ordinary care is taken to check the books
periodically and change the bags when or if any yellowing is
noticed.
- Back boards are important to provide support and will prevent
spine stress and corner/edge wear. As long as the backer board is
white all the way through, you can use it forever as it is acid
free.
- For everyday use, ordinary bags and boards are less expensive
and work fine. Unless you're using Mylar with virgin,
alkali-buffered backer boards, however, you should plan on changing
the bags and boards every 7 years or so.
- Get your comic books in order. Organize your
comic collection and find an acid-free box to store them in. A good
storage box is one made of acid-free cardboard. You can also buy
smaller archival storage boxes from archival and conservation
supply stores online.
- Store your comic boxes in a cool (70 degrees F or below
is ideal), dry (50-60% relative humidity), and dark location, where
humidity and temperature do not fluctuate. Interior
closets are usually the best places to store comics in a typical
house. Do not store comics in a basement if you can avoid it, as a
burst pipe can result in flooding, which will ruin your comics. If
you must store comics in a basement, make sure that the boxes are
at least one foot off of the ground so that if any flooding occurs,
you can minimize the possibility that water will reach the comics.
Moisture is a comic book's second worst enemy; right next to fire.
Also, if you plan on storing your books in a basement you should
consider storing them in a plastic container, as if you do have a
flood, water will not leak.. (and it might even float, but
hopefully you wont have that much water.)
- Check up on them regularly. Check for bleeding
of colors onto the boards, yellowing, and mold or mildew. If you
notice ANY odor of mildew, remove the books from the contaminated
location, set them out to air dry, and check again in three days.
If you still smell mildew around the books, re-bag and board them
immediately. Finally, if the mildew smell lingers, it is best to
amputate - destroy the infected books, or at least remove them from
contact with the rest of your clean collection. Mildew is a living
thing and will migrate right through even Mylar to destroy your
books (not to mention their value - the barest whiff of mildew will
send a prospective buyer running).
- Insure your collection. Comic books are NOT
covered under your homeowners policy, even if part of a collection
- they require a separate insurance rider. If your collection is
extensive or valuable, talk to your insurance agent to get
appropriate coverage in case of fire or theft.
- Consider having good quality, older books
professionally graded by a known, respected company. This
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