Safeguarding Your Collection: What is the Best Way to Store Comic Books?

It’s a small matter really what type of comic book you are collecting. Whether you are building a Silver Age shrine, a Walking Dead library, stockpiling DC or Marvel issues, or whatever floats your boat, you need to take some steps to protect your collection and your investment. After all, comics do not cost thirty-cents each anymore (or even two dollars).

There are a lot of general rules governing a collection, but it boils down to each collector doing what they like. Some bag and board everything, others bag most and board the expensive issues, and still others ditch the board entirely. Some folks even deploy those really cool comic booksized top loaders for pricey comics. Don’t forget though, all that card board and fancy protectors take up room in those glorious short and long boxes.

By the way, those boxes are designed for comics, which is a huge advantage over the whole Tupperware or plastic storage bin argument. I like short boxes because they are easier to move around, but the longs are nice for storing massive runs of books. Others favor the drawer boxes, which allow the advantage of stacking large amounts of boxes in a pyramid or such and still being able to open the box to get to the comics without unstacking the entire box. It’s a personal thing after all.

Of course, bags, boards, boxes, and more all cost money, which means many collectors can have serious cash tied up in storage solutions and protective bags. Those bags are important, because they keep the comics safe from any number of potential harms. The tape on the bag is also important because nobody likes a snag putting the issue in and out, sadly it happens though.

Once in the box, the books need to be stored in a proper environment as well to prevent mold, moisture, and other problems from developing. Granted, it’s less of a problem with the higher quality paper being used today, but those from the 1990s and prior offer a bit of challenge. Paper offers a number of problems for long-term storage.

The point is that collectors and hobbyists should do what they are comfortable with and can afford. However, some storage precautions need to be taken less all those first appearances and key issues risk being lost forever to general aging problems. Bags alone can make a world of difference.

Personally, in three decades I've seen things with collections that make no sense, and I've seen things that make perfect sense. The best way is pretty much the way you want to do it, but bagging and boarding seems to offer the most protection for the long-term collector with a long box or short box serving as the storage medium in a typical humidity free location.