While I’ve been reading comics for over twenty-five years, I’ve only been “seriously” collecting them for about eighteen. I put “seriously” in quotes because I’m not as anal retentive as many fans when it comes to care and storage of my various comics. I stray from the pack in that I protect my comics so that when I reread them years down the line, they’re still in excellent condition. I don’t encase my stuff in slabs of plastic so that I can make a profit; I’m honestly only interested in enjoying the stories. In fact, when buying old back issues, I’m much more likely to buy a slightly worn copy at a lower price than a near-mint one. I’m going to read the damn thing, not frame it!

However, I have been considering revamping some of my storage policies lately. First off, I’m thinking of adding backing boards to all of my comics. I’ve always bagged new comics as I buy them, but I never got around to boarding them as that takes up extra space in the storage boxes (trust me, it adds up quickly). Back issues I’ve purchased from my local comic shop and online retailers always come bagged and boarded, so a good chunk of my collection has already taken the plunge, so to speak. The rest hold up just fine in bags, but once in a while, I’ve noticed that some of them slip and bend a bit, especially in boxes that aren’t full. This is often fixable, but it shouldn’t happen in the first place. And if months go by with a comic stuck in a bent position, it could irrevocably damage it.

I also keep all of my comics in shortboxes, like the kind pictured at the top of this post. I briefly thought of switching to longboxes, which are about twice as long, but those won’t fit in my closet properly. Yes, I keep my comics in the closet; there’s prebuilt shelving in there, and my shortboxes fit perfectly underneath them. Longboxes would result in less boxes and more books from a single series in each box, hence better organization…but where the hell would I put them? There’s really not any room in my storage space in the basement, and I’m sure as hell not going to leave them out in the open like a lazy piece of shit.

So, the big question remains: should I start boarding my damned comics?