COMIC BOOK COLLECTING SUPPLIES

If you are planning on hanging onto comic books rather than just reading and tossing away, it is important to take some basic precautions to stop avoidable damage and deterioration happening to them. I purchase comic book collecting supplies trying to keep my collection in decent shape. So, while they may not be pristine they all still look good if I want to flip through them for a read and can get me a middle of the road price if I ever want to part with them. 

A box of comic book collecting supplies, I purchased for my hobby just arrived from my go to vendor BCW. Take a look at what I bought for my comic book collection in this unboxing video:

COMIC BOOK BAGS

Keeping your comic books free of elements that can cause degradation is very important. Dust and dirt exposure can take a toll on the quality of pages. Also acidy, chemicals and pollutants in the air can negatively impact the books' paper. Even oils from your skin touching a comic book can have a negative impact. Not having a protective shield around comics also opens up opportunities for scuffing that you want to avoid. Bagging your comic books in plastic sleeves provides a protective shield around them that minimizes harmful exposures.

Comics have been printed in different sizes during the years so you will want to look for sleeves that match the era a book was published in. The Golden Age of comic books, 1938-1956, is when these publications first began to become popular and widely circulated. They were produced at a standard size of 7 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches.

The Silver Age of comic books was 1956-1969, which was a time were the superhero characters of the Golden Age lost popularity and stories about crime mysteries, horror and monsters, romance and westerns were the focus of publishers and readers. While DC Comics and Marvel are the powerhouse publishers of today, during the 1930s - 1970s, Dell Comics was the most successful comic book company based upon it having the licensing rights to Disney and Warner Bros cartoons as well as popular radio shows, television series and movies. Dell and Silver Age comics tend to be sized 7 1/8 x 10 1/2 inches. 

Modern comic books are from the 1970s to the present and their stories have a renewed focus on superhero adventures. These comic books tend to be about 6 7/8 x 10 1/2 inches. You can see the height has remained fairly standard but over the years the width of comic book pages has consistently been shrinking as publishers reduced production costs by limiting size.

Being that sizing differentiates make sure you know the width of your comic books so your bags have the proper fit. Comic book bags are made out of three different types of plastic: polypropylene, polyethylene, and mylar. Polypropylene is the least expensive of the three but affords the least protection. These work just fine if you are a casual collector looking to store them in bags for 5 - 10 years though. 

If your comic books are more of an investment than polyethylene is a bit of an upgrade adding more thickness for security and a longer recommended shelf life of up to 25 years. If you want a museum quality collection, mylar is archival quality and the most secure of the three for protecting the integrity of comic books. Mylar is what the Library of Congress uses to protect documents! That being said, mylar also has a hefty price tag compared to polypropylene and polyethylene. For me, polypropylene works just fine for my comic books, but my collection is mostly mid-grade quality so I am not looking to preserve monetary value as much as nostalgia when it comes to the hobby.

COMIC BOOK BOARDS

Comic book boards add stiffness when storing your issues. This helps avoid bending, creasing and wrinkling. Whether you are keeping comics for your own personal enjoyment or as an investment you don't want to have your books pages looking terrible with imperfections on their covers and pages. Therefore, boarding comics is very worthwhile and really makes a difference in preserving the quality of a collection. Make sure to purchase certified acid-free boards though or else instead of protecting your comics a board could damage a book.

COMIC BOOK BINS

Ultraviolet rays from light are a comic book's worst enemy. Storing your collection in a bin that prevents light exposure is an important aspect for preventing the degradation of comics. Plus, a good bin will keep comics secure so they aren't getting dinged up by being loosely stored or jostled around. I prefer getting "short boxes" because they are easier to store and move around compared to "long boxes" which as the name implies allows you to store twice as many comics within the bin. I also prefer plastic bins compared to cardboard for increased protection against potential moisture exposure.

Of course, you could skip the need for buying these comic book collecting supplies via buying digital comics. For me though there is a pleasure in flipping through pages with the feel of paper in your hand. Plus, I like to go to my local comic book shop to peruse what is stocked on store shelves and to chat with staff and other comic fans. So, it is a print comic book life for me!

I wasn't paid for this endorsement and spent my own money to purchase the featured BCW products. Opinions expressed are honest and my own.