Rant: A veteran collector told me to stop bagging my key issues in Mylar

I used to put every semi-valuable comic in a Mylar bag with a full back board, thinking I was protecting them. Then a guy at a convention in Chicago last month pulled out a Silver Age book that was perfectly flat and told me my Mylar was actually warping the spines on some of my moderns because I was using boards too thick for the bags. He said the combo was making the covers curl inward near the staples. So I switched to standard polypropylene bags with half-back boards for most stuff, and only use Mylar for heavy hitters like my first appearance of Wolverine. Now my newer books lay flatter in the short box and don't look like they're fighting to get out. Has anyone else noticed their books getting bent from premium bags?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly.dylan2mo ago

Is it really that dramatic though?

mason_flores212mo ago

The whole car scene at the end took like 8 minutes of screentime. I get that some people think it was overkill, but to me it actually helped drive home how bad the situation was for everyone involved. And the way the lighting changed after that made the rest of the episode hit way harder for me lol.

schmidt.grace1mo ago

@kelly.dylan you're seriously underestimating how much of a difference bagging makes. Mylar with thick boards is a known issue that can mess up modern books over time. That veteran collector gave solid advice whether people want to hear it or not. Poly bags with half backs are way more forgiving for the average issue, and they don't fight the natural shape of the comic. Even a slight curl near the staples adds up after a few years in a box. If you disagree, try pulling a book that's been in tight Mylar for a decade and see if it still lays flat.