Are you still storing your comics in regular boxes? Are you just dumping them in there and putting them up? Do you have a room that you’d like to give a little touch of your nerdiness too but haven’t found the best way to decorate it? Keep reading and I’ll detail a few things to better store your comics and ways to use them to decorate.
Now let’s start off with the cornerstone of protecting your comics: bags and boards. Now I know some collectors don’t bother with boards but I find them critical for keeping the comics straight when they’re in boxes. Now if you’re going to get some boards for your comics I recommend getting any that are acid free. Here is a good example of boards I use and would recommend, although get them wherever you can find them cheapest.
As far as bags go you could use any that your comic would fit in, but I prefer not to deal with tape every time I get a new comic or when I want to reread an old issue. I go with resealable bags like these for when I went to bag up my comics. As with the boards, make sure they are acid free as well. Most importantly, and this should go without saying, but make sure your boards will fit inside your bags.
Now if my musings on bags and boards haven’t given you an idea about how much of a stickler I am for order, let me tell you about how I use this site to keep a digital long box of my comics. When I get a new comic I always stash that issue under the title of the series. I know some like to group every character related comic into the same category, but that gets murky when dealing with group books. The folks around the site do a great job formatting the series titles and volumes so you can use their work as a guide when naming. One last thing, when a series renames itself but keeps the same numbering, I generally stash them together even though the title is now different. But, if you want a better idea of what I’m talking about you can take a look for yourself.
If you are a collector you are most likely familiar with long and short boxes, you most likely even own some yourself. But, if you’re like me, you know how difficult and inconvenient it is to dig out that back issue from a box that has 3 other full boxes stacked on top. That being said, if you invest in these boxes you won’t have to worry about that any more. These storage containers are great for keeping your short boxes in a neat filing cabinet setup. Once assembled these shells allow your boxes to slide in and out with ease and are able to stack pretty high without worrying about them collapsing if you remove the bottom box. You can also use actual file cabinets if you want something more secure and perhaps fire proof.
Maybe you have some space you would like deck out in comic paraphernalia but haven’t found anything worthwhile or feasible. Well if you have some empty areas on your walls take a look at these. Frames are a great way to put up some of your favorite covers or just ones you think are great looking. These frames don’t damage the comics and look really sleek when hung on the wall. As with anything price is important and these frames won’t break the bank.
If you’re looking for something a little higher end I found a nifty item on eBay. Now that’s a little out of my price range but that’s still a creative way to show off some of your collection. Not only will it display your comics, it also is capable of storing them. If you’re feeling really creative you could take a shot at building the cabinet yourself.
Well, that about covers what I personally have used to store and display my comics. If you have any other ideas or comments on how you do things, leave them below.
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Great article. I take my OCD a step further and organize my stash here by format first (digital – print), then publisher, and then series.
Although I’m storing my comics in just plain cardboard boxes right now, I plan to get some Comic Cubes (www.comiccubes.com) someday. And if you really want to spend some money, Geek Chic (www.geekchichq.com) makes high-end storage and display cabinets in addition to gaming tables.
I nabbed me some file style boxes a few years ago and it did wonders for ease of access like you said!
Another important thing about displaying your books is lighting. You want to be careful about direct sunlight hitting books on display in any room as it can seriously fade the color!
