How to Protect Your Comic Book Collection

If you are collecting comic books as an investment or if you just want to keep your books in their best condition, comic book care comes right after you read the book for the first time. Protecting your books will benefit the resale of your comics if that is what you intend to do. There are simple things that can be done to preserve the condition of your comic books while helping to keep them organized and easy to handle.

Many comic book shops offer immediate protection for the books you buy. For new books, mint condition is still practically impossible to rank, but you can retain a near mint status, even if you read the book a couple of times.

Bag Your Comics. As stated, many comic book shops do this for you. Their new comic books are pre-bagged, saving you the cost of a bag and keeping them safe and unread while on the stands. Back issues are almost always bagged.

Bagging does a couple of things. It protects your books from rubbing against each other or other things in storage. It also protects the books from dust and other airborne bacteria that can deteriorate the books over time. With comics printed in the 80s and earlier, the paper tends to yellow over time, and bagging the book may stave off the discoloration longer.

The bags used by the comic book industry are clear mylar bags, so you can see the cover of the book. These bags can be purchased at your local comic book shop or ordered online - just search for "comic book bags".

Also use backing boards. Backing boards usually come in the form of white cardboard, cut to a size just slightly smaller than the comic book bag. Place your comic book on the board and slide it into the bag. This reduces the amount of oxygen trapped in the bag and keeps your book as flat as possible. It also gives your bagged comic book a little durability and is less likely to fold. It also helps when storing your books, giving you more room to pack the comics.

Use comic book boxes. These can also be purchased at your local comic book store or online. They come in the form of long boxes and short boxes. Comic book boxes are narrow, white boxes that pack your comics upright. This enables you to thumb through the books and easily see titles and issue numbers. Long boxes can hold up to 250 comics and a short box can handle about 40. Both sizes usually come with lids for protection.

Instead of boxes, you can also purchase comic book drawers, which look similar to long boxes, but these are stackable drawers you can open from the front like a filing cabinet. This product is usually special order, but can be found online by searching for "comic book storage drawers".

Temperature. Lastly, keep your books in a climate-controlled storage environment. If you leave your books in high heat for a long period of time, the books will begin to buckle and possible stick to the bags.

These are some simple tips every comic book collector can use to keep their investment or hobby in good condition for years to come.