Preserving comics

[Marionette]

I was wondering what people do to keep rarer comics safe. Can you get mylar bags big enough for British comics? I now have a few old comics that have been poorly kept, and I don't want to just put them in a box to deteriorate further.

[stevezodiac]

I have hundreds of comics and magazines from before 1900 and i keep them in food/freezer bags available from those household goods shops. They sell larger bags which are good for all large comics apart from Beezer, Topper and Buzz. I have copies of Funny Folks, Ally Sloper and Scraps from the 1880/1890s which are still white and firm and very new looking. You don't have to make much of a fuss, just keep them dry and bagged when not being read. I used to buy the pro comic bags but with thousands of comics I found they contributed too much to the weight and were also very slip/slidey making it hard to stack comics. (as soon as you picked up a bundle they slipped every which way and ended up hither and thither). As a result i keep all my comics individually bagged but then put sets inside large polythene bags to keep them all together. I have bags that go back decades from shops that no longer exist like C&A and Woolworths and some of those old orange and white WHSmith bags. Not to mention Virgin megastore and Our Price records.

One thing that has occurred to me is how hard it is to get Tammy and Jinty sized bags. Lidl sell a nice box of food bags that are very good quality and will take Tammy and Jinty but with about an inch to spare at the sides. Most food bags are either old Beano or new Beano sized - perhaps they were aware of a second use for them.

[Marionette]

Thanks, Steve. I foresee a trip to Lidl in my future.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Pick up some of their rice pudding while you're there, it's even better than Ambrosia!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I live in a flat and with someone living upstairs, and I always make sure my most valuable comics are stacked on top of a wardrobe to avoid any flood damage if it occurs.

However there is still a chance of fire, and I've seriously considered getting a fireproof safe---but even here, really intense heat from flames could perhaps still manage to damage paper comics inside a safe---ah, isn't it such a fragile world we live in?

[dandy mad]

The only comics I have bagged up is a few 1940s Dandy comics the rest are au natural well them and a Dandy monster comic 1939 and that's just to keep it together as its falling to bits now and on the annuals I use those see through plastic dust jackets to protect the spine/covers plus I can read them instead of them being entombed in a placky bag

[philcom55]

As long as they're not stored in a damp garage or something I reckon most of my comics will outlive me with minimal deterioration. For the most part I find bags more trouble than they're worth (and some of the cheaper ones have a built-in biodegradability that could actually be harmful).

- Phil Rushton

[matrix]

I have some in acid free folders, which also gives me the opportunity to have a look at them more easily everytime I need a comic hit. As I have mentioned before my wife does not have the same passion for comics, which means I have them put safely away or they could end up in the recycling bin!

I am thinking at a later date about putting some into volumes, although Im not sure on that one yet.

[Clark Kent]

I store my good old 50s comics in self seal comic bags with backing boards. The rest I store in xerox paper boxs which I cover in sticky back plastic from the £1 shop yes i was a blue peter viewer , you can store up to victor size comics in these and a lot of war library comics, I'm lucky that when I had a on suite built I had a comic store room built at the same time that's now filled so I have a large number of comics stored in my garage and workshop, I did start putting all my comics in comic bags but found the bags often cost as much or more than I had paid for the comic so I only bag the rare comics , that leaves me with more spare cash to spend on comics that I have to hide from she who must be obeyed

[stevezodiac]

I have comics that have been in food bags for about 30 years and no harm has befallen them....yet.

[philcom55]

I did start putting all my comics in comic bags but found the bags often cost as much or more than I had paid for the comic so I only bag the rare comics , that leaves me with more spare cash to spend on comics that I have to hide from she who must be obeyed

Of course the trick is to get 'she who must be obeyed' interested in collecting dolls houses or something, then she can't begrudge you the time and money spent on your own little hobby!

Your own collection sounds amazing. Do you favour British or American comics? Apart from the ones I read while growing up I used to be much more of an American comics fan, but nowadays I tend to collect both equally.

- Phil Rushton

[barrys]

I have mine in comic boxes on ikea shelving - takes up three walls in the spare room (though that also includes sci fi and football mags). Some are bagged but I have never been too convinced about the preservation qualities of bags (+ they mean less comics per box as they do take up room) - I comfort myself with the notion that my comics are growing old with me -

[TwoHeadedBoy]

I have ten of these stacked around the room:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Folding-Storage ... 217&sr=8-9

Each one's labelled with what's in it. Also a long cardboard thing from a comics shop, for my small collection of American comics. The big collapsable boxes do the job just fine! As long as the comics are stacked in them in an alternating way (right-way-up, upside-down), all's well. Most of my stuff's from the 1960s-1990s, save for a few issues of Streamline Comics from 1947, so don't really bother with bagging.