How to Size Your Comic Books for Proper Storage

Comic books have been a popular storytelling medium since the mid-1930s. Although the hobby of collecting comic books is not quite as old, it has spawned an industry of providing collectors with bags, boards, and boxes to preserve their comics in. For the best use of these preserving materials, it's important to know how to size your comic books for proper storage. The steps below provide you with guidelines in choosing the right size of storage materials for your comics collection.

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1
Know the difference in "standard" comic book sizes. The earliest comic books of the Golden Age contained 64 pages, enough to support 4 or 5 adventures within their covers. As the cost of paper gradually increased, the number of pages was reduced to 48, which accommodated up to 3 graphic stories, and then to 32, which usually meant a maximum of 2 stories. Also, while comic books consistently kept a height of 10 1/2 inches (26.7 cm), their width narrowed from the Golden Age dimension of 7 3/4 inches (19.7 cm) to a Silver Age width of 7 1/8 inches (18.1 cm), then widened to 7 1/4 inches (18.4 cm) in the 1970s and 1980s before narrowing to 6 7/8 inches (17.5 cm) in the 1990s. Bags for regular comics are thus broken into the following sizes:
- Golden Age: 7 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches (19.7 x 26.7 cm). This size accommodates Golden Age comics from 1943 up to Silver Age comics published in 1960.
- Silver Age: 7 1/8 x 10 1/2 inches (18.1 x 26.7 cm). This size accommodates some late Golden Age comics published in 1951 as well as Silver Age comics published as late as 1965, including annuals and 80-page giants published during that period.
- Regular: 7 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches (18.4 x 26.7 cm). This size accommodates comics published after 1965, including the late Silver Age and Bronze Age comics of the 1970s to mid-1980s.
- Current: 6 7/8 x 10 1/2 inches (17.5 x 26.7 cm). This size accommodates comics published since 1990.
- As there is some overlap in years in the above list, be sure to measure your comics horizontally and vertically before purchasing bags and boards for them.
2
Note that some comic books have been published in magazine format. Although most comic book series have been published in 1 of the sizes described above, some comics have been published in larger magazine formats, particularly from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. Bags and boards are available for these magazine comics in these sizes:
- Magazine: 8 1/2 x 11 inches (21.7 x 27.9 cm). This size will accommodate Warren Comics titles such as "Creepy," "Eerie," and "Vampirella," and Curtis' black-and-white adaptations of Marvel titles such as "Conan, the Barbarian" and "The Rampaging Hulk," as well as issues of Mad Magazine.
- Thick Magazine: 8 3/4 x 11 inches (22.2 x 27.9 cm). This size will accommodate the color comic "Heavy Metal" as well as issues of "Playboy" and other men's magazines.
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Treasury comics are larger than magazine-sized comics used for reprints, such as DC Comics Famous First Edition reprints of the Golden Age comics featuring first appearances of its major characters, Christmas story reprint anthologies from both DC and Marvel, and special issues such as DC's "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali." Treasury sized bags and boards measure 10 5/8 inches ( cm) across by 13 1/2 inches ( cm) high.
Comic book preservation supplies are available from your local comic shop or from an Internet retailer. Comic book bags are made of any of several kinds of plastic: polypropylene, polyethylene, and Mylar. Polypropylene and polyethylene run cheaper than Mylar, but typically must be replaced every 3 to 5 years, along with the backing board, so the comic remains preserved. Mylar, in contrast, does not need to be replaced as often, but not all dealers carry Mylar bags in all sizes.

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Question
How do I store thick comic books from the Silver and Golden Age?
Community Answer
if you're referring to the 100 page spectaculars that were typical in that era, you will find they fit snugly but fine in a standard Golden Age comic book bag.
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How do I fit old comics for storage?
Community Answer
In order to store comic books in the best condition, people typically use large boxes. No special type in particular, but a box. If you really do want to keep the comics in the best condition, then you might want to seal them in bags before putting them in boxes.
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What is the 6 5/8" x 10 1/4" comic book size called?
Ayla DeWeese
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That's commonly known as "digest size." This format was popularized by publishers such as Archie Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s for titles like "Betty and Veronica" and "The New Teen Titans." Digest size comics are smaller than standard comic books (which are typically around 6.75 x 10.25 inches) and are often published in a thicker, book-like format. They are still produced today by some publishers, particularly for children's titles and manga.
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Tips

Boards can be used behind a comic inside the bag to keep it stiffer and prevent damage from bending. Boards used for this purpose should be clean, stiff, and made of a material that is described as "acid-free" and/or "buffered against acid", and/or "pH neutral"; this is to prevent discoloration of the comic or deterioration of the paper, as contact with extra acid can break down paper and cause a type of discoloration called "foxing".
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Many "mat boards" used for picture framing, or extra-thick cardstock for cardmaking and scrapbooking, can work well in a pinch to safely "board" a comic, but the average comic book retailer will also carry packages of buffered paper board and/or plastic boards for this purpose; these are usually precut to fit perfectly into the standard comic book bag sizes, and often come in packs of 100, for a cheaper price per board than the other mentioned supplies would be. However, some of these are advertised as "buffered on one side"; make sure only the coated side is facing the back cover of your comic, just in case!
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Many comic book retailers and online retailers also carry what are referred to as "longboxes" or "shortboxes"; these are durable cardboard boxes (usually corrugated cardboard) made to be perfectly sized for comic book storage, so that the comics can be stored and organized without significant movement that may damage them (the only difference between a "longbox" and a "shortbox" is that one is longer in length, which can accommodate more comics). Longboxes and shortboxes can usually store dozens and dozens of comics (most shortboxes can hold 100+ comic books), and at some shops you can even find thick plastic dividers sized to fit within them to help organize the books.
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Warnings

Be aware that not all comics are equally valued by collectors. Comics produced from the 1980s onward were produced in greater quantities than those prior to that time and therefore are less valuable (and first issues, first appearances of popular characters, or iconic and well-liked stories, tend to sell better than later stories or less-famous characters or stories). With rare exceptions, modern comics almost never rise in value much more than their cover price; even beloved variant covers rarely become worth more than $20, even given a few years' time, without other factors. Nonetheless, if you value your comics for the stories and art inside them, there is nothing wrong with preserving those comics by placing them in bags of the correct size.
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