My mom is getting a jump-start on some serious house cleaning. She’s hosting Christmas this year and is expecting a house full of people. This will be the first year in almost a decade that we (all of my siblings, their spouses and children) will be spending Christmas together at my parent’s home in Hawaii (we usually come in waves during the holiday season; rarely are we all there at the same time). Needless to say, she is in overdrive trying to purge the spare rooms that were turned into “storage areas” after we left for college.
I spoke to her last night and she told me that in doing so she came across my brother’s old comic book collection. While I loved to read about Archie and the Gang (you remember Betty, Veronica, Reggie and Jughead), my brother was seriously addicted to Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and Batman comics. He kept them all in cardboard boxes. My mother found several of them in a closet last night and opened them up. While some of them were wrinkled, tattered, ripped and stained, others are still in pristine condition. She said my brother didn’t want them anymore and asked if I wanted them. (Go figure? I don’t even have a son.)
After I got off the phone I thought about selling the pristine ones on Ebay. I once read that the reason early comic books are so valuable today is not because of their seminal influence on pop culture, but because there are so few of them left. Hey, if “Spider-Man” No. 1 is worth hundreds of dollars who’s to say I couldn’t make some cash off of my brother’s stash. A comic book is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
I haven’t seen my brother’s collection, so I don’t know if it is worthless (or if a single copy is worth more than his initial 20-cent investment.) But, I do know that if you are looking to sell your comic book collection you will get more money if your copies are in pristine condition.
Here are some preservation tips:
· Store your comics in individual mylar (not vinyl) sleeves. While each sleeve can fit more than one comic, avoid the temptation to do so. Forcing multiple comic books into one sleeve puts stress on the book and keeps you from sorting them later.
· Most high-quality bags are re-sealable, which makes it easy to open and close. Cheaper bags need to be taped shut. Resist the urge to use masking tape or duct tape to do so. Also, be careful not to stick the tape to the comic cover.
· Include an acid-free cardboard in the bag with the comic. The white side of the cardboard is the treated side. Replace the board every five years.
· Store your comics vertically in a sturdy, specialized box. You can purchase one at a comic book store. They come in two sizes. The smaller one holds 100 comics, the larger one 300 comics. The short ones fit better in an average closet than the larger ones.
Store the boxes in a protected environment, away from light, smoke and humidity.