We store comics to keep them valuable. Air pollution, ultra violet light, dirt and oil from fingers as well as rough handling all contribute to the deterioration of a comic. Storing a comic properly is essential to keeping it valuable. There are 3 major storage components to proper comic storage. They are a comic bag, a comic backing board and a comic box.    


Putting your comic in a properly sized comic bag not only keeps dust, dirt and finger oils off the comic book surface, but helps prevent scuffing which can bring down the value of a comic book considerably. The three most popular comic bag materials are polyethylene, polypropylene and Mylar. Bags Unlimited carries New Comic Bags, Regular Comic Bags, Dell & Silver Age Comic Bags and Golden Age Comic Bags as well as Treasury Comic Bags in all three of these materials. All three materials are considered to be archival-meaning that there is nothing in the composition of the material that can contribute to the breakdown or destruction of the comic being stored in it. Mylar is considered to be the most archivally sound and is the choice of most museums and archivists as it has the longest shelf life of the three materials. Every day comic collectors can feel comfortable using polyethylene comic bags or polypropylene comic bags. Our comic bags come with a fold over flap that can be taped on the outside of the bag. We also carry comic bags with a reseal tape on the body of the bag (vs. the flap), so the tape doesn't catch on the comic and cause damage to the comic.     

Backing Board

Comic Backing Boards come in different thicknesses and acid-free properties. The basic purpose for using a backing board is to give the comic some stiffness, which helps keep the comic pages from bending, creasing or wrinkling. When a backing is placed in the center of the comic it protects the comic book spine from crushing. The second purpose for using a backing board in a comic is its potential to neutralize acid in the comic book paper. Acid in the paper that the comic is printed can cause the deterioration of the comic. Using an acid-free backing in your comic can potentially trap and neutralize acid in the paper. The three types of comic backing boards we offer are: economy comic backings, standard acid-free comic backings and archival comic backings. The economy comic backing should be used for short-term storage and stiffening purposes only. It does contain acid and can contribute to the breakdown of the comic. People generally use this board for quick sale items. The standard acid-free comic backing material is acid-free and can be used for long-term storage (over 100 years). The archival comic backing material is acid-free and buffered with calcium carbonate, which means that it will remain archival for 100's of years. Our comic backing boards are sized to properly fit into our comic bags.

   

Corrugated

All of our Comic Boxes are super strong and come with sturdy well-fitting lids and handle holes that can be left in the closed position for storing or pushed open for carrying. They are properly sized to hold a comic in a bag with a backing board. Our comic divider cards (used for categorizing) fit in our comic boxes with the lid on. All of our comic boxes ship flat which takes up less storage room. They fold together when you are ready to use them without glue or tape. Storing your comics in a properly sized box helps protect your comics from corner and edge damage. Putting your comics in a comic box also protects the comic from being exposed to ultra-violet light. Ultra-violet light causes inks to fade. Our comic boxes are made form either Corrugated Plastic or Corrugated Cardboard and come in several different lengths for your various storage/display needs. Comic storage boxes do not need to be acid-free if you have your comics in bags. For short tern storage the most popular material choice for comic storage boxes is corrugated cardboard. It is sturdy and reasonably priced. Corrugated plastic comic boxes are an excellent choice for long-term comic storage because the material is acid-free, water proof, vermin resistant and extremely strong. They are more expensive than the corrugated comic boxes, but the material properties of the plastic corrugated material make the extra cost worth the investment for long term archival comic storage.

Corrugated Plastic