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The hobby of collecting comics is growing more day by day. And it was never better. With a lot of products in the market, we can now pursue this hobby more efficiently. So if you’re new to the comics world and looking for the best ways to store your comic then you’ve landed at the perfect place.
Today, I’m gonna share the most amazing solutions to your comic book storage problems. These methods will help you manage and organize your collection more effectively. You will be able to use free space in your place to its best.
Don’t worry even if you’re just starting and your collection is minimal. This post talks about everyone. No matter whether you are just starting out or already have a big collection. I have a suggestion for everyone. So without wasting time, let’s get started:
1. Bags and Boards
This one comes as the first step if you’re genuinely serious about collecting your comics and showcasing them. You have to bag and board your comics if you want them to last longer and stay in the best condition possible.
What you have to do is get some bags and boards from amazon and place your comics inside them. After that, you have to place a backing board behind that bag. Which will make sure your comics are flat and stiff keeping them in the best condition possible.
Please keep in mind that these bags might be too short for bronze again comics. So you need to keep that in mind. However, they are a perfect fit for current and silver age comics.
These bags prevent your comics from getting damaged no matter whether you are traveling with them or just storing them. Additionally, they will protect your comics from some level of moisture.
Remember these are a must if you have decided to make your comic collection. If you don’t have a lot of comics you can just keep them in these bags and wait until your collection grows bigger.
In that case, you should still be using them but then you have to use other solutions like after boarding them you have to store them in storage boxes or shelves and many more. Don’t worry I’m going to cover all of them in this article.
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2. Accordion Organizer
This one comes as one level up in your comic collections. If your collection has started to grow but is still a small one. This is probably your way to go. These Organizers are extremely durable and can even give your comics a decent look.
All you have to do is get one of these Accordion Organizers from amazon (you can opt according to the size of your collections) and put your comics inside them. While these are made for organizing legal files and stuff, we can use them to organize our comics more efficiently.
But remember, only buy these organizers if your comic collection is still small. Because there are more lucrative options available as your collection goes big. Which will make these organizers redundant.
3. Magazine File Holders
Magazine File holders are also a great solution for your comic book storage problems. If you’re new to the comics world and don’t have a lot of comics to store that I think this is the best solution for you.
With that being said, they cannot hold a lot of comics for you as it’s clear from the design. Magazine file holders can only hold a large handful of trade paperbacks or a few dozen single editions.
But as I said if you’ve just started with your collection then this might be your way to go. Additionally, they work best and look beautiful if you already have a bookshelf or something to show them off.
They are generally available in Black, Blue, and Red color only. So some of you might not like how they look. For that, I recommend you to do Découpage, a french word for the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts.
What you have to do is cut off the cover of your old comics and paste them on the cardboard of your file holder. This looks remarkably beautiful and decorative. You can search the web for more inspiration.
Where to get: Buy 5×5 File Holders from Amazon now.
4. Storage Boxes
This one is the next step in your comic book collection journey. When your collection starts growing or you already have a big comic collection you’re gonna need these boxes.
You can buy a pack of 10 of either short or long boxes from amazon. The difference is pretty much self-explanatory. The short boxes can hold up to 150-175 current and silver age comics. Yes, you might face difficulties with bronze age comics.
On the other hand, long boxes can hold up to 200-225 Comics. Remember if you are bagging and boarding them first (which I unquestionably recommend) that number can slightly get lowered.
These boxes are pretty firm and have been tested ok for carrying up to 200 lb weight. These boxes have double thickness handles and bottom. So you can carry them around with ease.
Additionally, this double thickness can also protect your comics from minimal moisture damage. So in short, if you don’t have too big nor too small of a collection these storage boxes are the way to go.
You also travel with at least one box quite easily. But if your collection is big, I don’t think traveling with them is a good idea. And if that’s the case, now is the time for you to start showcasing and displaying them.
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5. Comic Book Bins
While cardboard storage boxes are a great solution for your comic collection. And can even protect your comics from minimum moisture. Still, some things are left out in the cardboard boxes and that’s where Comic Book Bins comes in.
These are the plastic equivalent of cardboard boxes. While the capacity of these bins is roughly equivalent to those of cardboard boxes, the point is to provide extra protection to your comics.
You can buy this comic book bin from Amazon. These bins are extra sturdy (compared to cardboard boxes) and even provide some level of damage and water resistance. Which is truly a big deal if you have a big collection to manage.
However, the downside is these aren’t convenient to move around with. And they are a big no for travel purposes. Because of their molding process, these bins can have sharp edges which makes them difficult to move around.
So these boxes are only advised if you have a large collection and want to provide extra protection to your beloved comics.
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6. File Cabinet
From here, these options are what I called the ultimate level of the comic book collection. So if you have a large collection of comics now is the showtime.
From now on these options are not just about storing your comic book but instead displaying them and having them as a showpiece. One such option is the file cabinet.
You can store your comics in the same way how you store them in the storage boxes. But with much more sturdiness and protection along with lots of styles.
It is always advised to put strips of cardboard cutting or something like that to name rows in the filing cabinet to keep your comic collection neat and organized.
If you are just starting with this option and only have a small collection you can opt for a Two-drawer vertical file cabinet available on amazon. And then as your collection grows you can go for a bigger one.
Or if you want to be future proof you can go for a 3-drawer cabinet. While this solution is expensive but as I said this is the next level of building your comic collection. So this option is only advised for comic enthusiasts.
You can also go for a second-hand cabinet to cut the cost. Additionally, you can also check out some classifieds and used office furniture stores, where you might be able to grab one at an even lower cost.
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7. Binding
This is probably the most creative way out there for storing your comic book collection. What you need to do is get issues for a particular event and bing them into a hardcover. It’s like making your omnibus of a storyline.
After binding, the book can then be easily stored on the shelves and it also looks amazing. As far as prices are concerned they are quite expensive considering you will also lose the value of the individual issues.
But if this is what you’re interested in and wanna pursue as a hobby then this might be the solution for you. There are two major players in this market namely Houchen Bindery and Herring and Robinson.
The binding will cost you anywhere between $25-30 including shipping for about 18-25 issues. You can then show them off on your shelves which I am gonna talk about next.
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8. Comic Books Shelves
This one’s one level up from the file cabinet and if you decide to go with this one. It probably means you are serious about collecting comics and showcasing them. You can go for a lot of creative ways of storing your comics on bookshelves.
Including installing your customized shelves according to your need. You can buy an IKEA shelf from Amazon. But generally, IKEA products are a bit expensive and you wanna cut down the cost you can opt for this beautiful 12 cube shelf from ClosetMaid available on Amazon. If you think that’s too much they also have smaller variants.
You can find a lot of inspiration around the web on how to decorate or store your collection. I am also gonna share some of the collection of fellow Redditors so that you can get a general idea of how to display your comics effectively.
The Best Ways to Store your Comics:
Here is the summarization of the top 8 best ways to organize and store your comic book collection. This not only keeps save space and protects comics but also looks beautiful:
- Bags and Boards: This is the first step in your comic book storage collection journey. You have to put your comics in slip bags and then board them.
- Accordion Organizer: After bagging and boarding you can keep them in these kinds of organizers which provide your comic books and an extra level of protection. Only recommended for small collections.
- Magazine File Holder: Similar to Organizer but more decorative and can probably store more comics. Looks great on shelves and is recommended from small to mid-level of collection.
- Storage Boxes: Once your collection starts growing you can go for these storage boxes. You can either opt for short or longer boxes depending on the size of your collection.
- Comic Book Bins: This is a plastic equivalent to the cardboard storage boxes. While the capacity is nearly the same in both of them the difference is of quality and providing extra protection to your comics.
- File Cabinet: These legal file cabinets are great for storing your comic collection. While this option is a little expensive it’s quite effective. Besides you can always go for a used cabinet.
- Binding: This is by far the most creative way of showcasing your collection. The idea is to take 18-25 issues and then bind them together. Which later can be displayed on shelves.
- Comic Book Shelves: Advised only if you have a large collection of comics. Besides if you already have a bookshelf you can make some space especially for storing your comic books.
Some examples of Comic Book collections
In this section, I am gonna share some beautiful comic collections of people from around the world. Take these as an inspiration on how you can display your comic book collection effectively I am also gonna discuss what products they used in their collection.
This is a collection of a Reddit user u/Pudddy. As you can see he is using a bookshelf to store and display his comics. But first, he puts his comics into the Magazine file holders and then he keeps those holders on the shelves.
Additionally, he has also découpaged the Magazine file holders as explained above. No doubt this collection looks amazing and beautiful.
Now, this collection looks incredible. And it is extremely expensive but if you’re into this it is pretty achievable. This is an IKEA shelf and on the bottom shelves, you can see he is using Magazine file holders. And then he is using integrated lighting.
Don’t worry you can buy these LED light strips from Amazon. Installing them is another story but you can find a lot of tutorials on the web. Anyways for displaying the single issues he is probably using a stand. You can find stands like these on amazon pretty easily.
This one’s a rather simple collection of u/jm001. He is using a simple bookshelf. However, he has also done some work on binding comics, and on top of that, those action figures give extra charm to his collection.
Things to avoid while storing Comic Books
- Avoid Floor Level: You should always avoid keeping your comics books on the floor. Even when you are using storage boxes. Because that way the moisture can easily enter through cardboard boxes and destroy your collection.
- Avoid stacking more than 4 storage boxes: Another thing you need to be careful about storage boxes is that don’t ever stack more than 4 boxes one over the other. While they can probably still take that level on strength. It’s always great to be on the safe side.
- Avoid exposure to heat/moisture: In general this is the best advice and thing you need to avoid if you want your comics to last longer. Just Avoid your collection from direct exposure to heat/moisture. So avoid places like basements, garages, right next to the window, etc. You know your place better than me. So just act accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Legends have it that you will speed more time looking at your collection rather than reading your comics. Anyways Jokes apart! Make your collection in a way such that you can reach out to any issue in a click and start reading right away.
Which means you have to organize them neatly. And if you’re building from scratch don’t rush out things. Just follow step by step procedure. Only spend big on your collection if you take this as your hobby.
Let me know what are your thoughts on this or share your method of organizing and storing comics effectively in the comment section below.