MargoTheMeek

Thank you all for your advice. Sorry for the delay in responding as I am still trying to move my dad out of the house. Good news is we found a second small stash in the den under a stack of old books in a desk. Not many, about 20-30 but among them is the only Green Lantern in the bunch. It's number 7 from 1961. It's a bit frayed along the edges and one corner is torn and hanging. Another thing my father pulled out of that desk is a box of trading cards of horse jockeys dated 1992. He asked if I wanted them and I said sure, you never know if there's a collector out there. Martin - Thanks for all the great suggestions! Thank you, Thank you!!! After painting the house we do have some painter's tape leftovers. Great idea! And I will tell my father about the book about the gold era since that's what he read when he was a kid. When I can I will be posting scans of them for grading and care suggestions to get a feel for the grading process. Oh dad just said (again because he tells me every time I mention comics) that he had .08 cent ones and he still misses them and wished he had them. He doesn't remember which ones they were, but he likes the crime fighting ones. Mostly a Batman and Superman fan. If fact, he's watching the old Dragnet series right now on YouTube. Spreads - I was looking for an index list of sorts where I can just copy and paste the list in a word file so I can highlight the ones I had easily. The site I happened to find was ComicBookRealm which also had a price listed next to the issue number. I was using that to help determine which are the key issues. I think they list the value if they were all in mint condition. I recently signed up for that page and they have their own checklist when you can enter what you paid for it and what grade it is. I entered some and since they are all different and I don't know the grades, I listed them as all 0.5 (poor). It adjusted the prices to reflect the grade I gave them. Some worth 50 cents, others 3 bucks depending on the issue. I'm not expecting my comics to come anywhere close to the prices listed, but was using it to know that "this" certain issue is worth more than the one one before and after it, meaning it's probably a key issue and should be bagged until I can take some scans and ask more questions. Thank you again everyone for helping me get off to a good start in preserving them.

We got a 50 pack of 8 inch 2 Mil Golden Mylites and 7 5/8 inch Golden fullbacks. It was 39 dollars and should be enough to cover the "key" issues as Martin called them. My father also decided to get that DC Comic book on the Silver Age. He used to read Superman back in the 40's and said he was given a box of random 8 cent comics but can't remember the titles, so he got nostalgic when he saw the Superman ones. There was one where one the cover Lois Lane and Superman were kissing and he saw it and said, "Kissin! Back when I read them, there was no kissin going on. It's all changed." I replied that perhaps Superman grew up and he just shook his head. I mentioned that book that was recommended to me that explains the history of it, so he wanted to buy it to find out what happened to his beloved, innocent Superman. I copy and pasted a list of the issue numbers and the value that I found on ComicBookRealm to highlight the issues I had. The stacks were all random so as I picked one off the stack to sort by series, I highlighted the issue number in my list. I haven't gone through to note which ones were in good or poor shape yet. I just wanted a list to do a head count of what had. Then I went back and deleted the issues from the list I didn't mark that I had. Now am going though the list again I made and am trying to choose which are the 50 more valuable ones so I know which ones not to pack away and to save for the bags when they get here. The issue I have now is to bag the older ones that are in generally worse shape (but would be worth more they were in good condition) or bag the newer key issue ones that look better but are not worth as much as the older ones. Again, I haven't noted down which were good or bad condition yet, I was just stacking them according to their series and noting the issue numbers. Some are missing not just the cover but the first couple of pages too, so I can't identify the numbers. I went through the list highlighted the ones one that ComicBookRealm said were 650 dollars and up and that totaled 37 books. I know a lot of those are the older ones are missing covers so I don't know if they are worth bagging at this time. I haven't had time to look up which ones are considered key ones. The only clue I have been going on is the listed value that one site has. Like for Action Comics there's a string of them from the 360's-370's that are valued at 80 dollars. But issue 373 is valued at $140, so I know it's a "key" one but haven't learned why yet. So I need to identify and mark 50 good ones to get the good bags. Then later I will do what you suggest and get the cheaper bags for some of the others. It's just too much to deal with right now with the move going on. I will probably post more later and ask more questions when I have time to evaluate each one.

Thank you for the the advice. The issue I have is that I am trying to move my father who is a pact rat out of his girlfriend's house into his other house along with my belongings from where I lived. The house we are moving into is much smaller and my father has rented a big storage unit which is almost full. Then my brother in law came to visit and built us a big shed in the backyard which is also almost full and there is still more that needs to me moved over, including now this comic collection, which I cleared a corner inside the house for. Over the next probably couple of years we will be sorting through all his stuff because he knows he can't keep hanging onto it all, and now that he's 85 and there's a lot of stuff he hasn't used in years. I do plan to keep the comics at least a couple of years, perhaps longer once I know what I have and which are worth hanging onto. I already have a few Marvels I have been keeping in a small cardboard box since the 90's (but I currently don't know where that box wound up from the move) But I am too busy to go through them now and give them the attention they need. Before I pack them into a moving box to haul to the other house, I at least wanted to know what initial steps I could take to make sure I wasn't causing them any harm. I am even stressed about stacking them in the box wrong, leaving them as is or trying to dust them first, or maybe bagging a few of the more valuable ones before I pack them away. It maybe a few months at least before I can get the proper archival boxes for them. I think I will take your advice and will eventually get cheaper bags for the ones that are not that great of shape, or it would be sort of like putting a new coat of paint on an old junker car. My father is going to order a 50 pack of mylars today since he has Amazon prime so I can get the more important ones bagged right away before I stuff them in boxes. We are trying to get him moved out by next week and we keep having delays.

Martin, My father has Amazon Prime so he offered to buy me some bags and boards tomorrow to get the more valuable ones protected right away. We would have done it today but were too busy moving stuff to the other house. Dad's long time partner willed the house to the kids and they are going to sell it, but he still has his house across town which we had been fixing up and painting. It's going to rain the next couple of days so we were in a rush to get things done and more boxes moved over today. It's a good thing too because you have given me more information including that great book which we might decide to get along with those Mylites & fullbacks when we do order. I will do what you suggest with bagging them, and with my father's enthusiasm in them as well he might assist me. He keeps coming over to the little card table and TV tray (the larger tables are already moved out) to look at them. Perhaps I can get him to use a couple of smooth rulers, chopsticks or something to help hold open the bag open for me. Fortunately the pages are not brittle, but you are right that some are torn up and frayed and I fear would snag on the edge of the bags. I too have also been finding little pieces everywhere including the cabinet. A couple are taped heavily, and in one it looks like they didn't have tape handy, so they just stapled the pieces of the cover back together. *cringe* The good thing is that the ones that were not read very much (mostly the later 60's) were stacked up in the dark and pretty much forgotten about since the mid 70's, so that royal purple ink and other rich colors still pop and the covers are still glossy. The only major issue with them is the stains around the edges from the dust of the garage which by reading the forums, I don't think anything can be done for that. I just didn't want to start out on the wrong foot by packing and storing them wrong. Once I read that dust damages them, I was just going to use a paper towel to wipe them until I read the topic about it just embedding it in more, and to use a brush. There's just so much I don't know that I'm unsure what proper steps to take. So I really appreciate your knowledge and product suggestions. I didn't even know there was different types of bags and boards. And I will definitely spend some time on that site. It's great that they have scans to go along with the grades. I don't have any experience with how the grading works, or what the different colored labels mean but I am sure I will learn it in time... that is when I have time to read up on it. It's just a lot to take in. I'm still a bit in shock. I sure am glad I found this site. Thank you again so much.

Sorry for the confusion. My father agreed to pay for the collection for me until I can pay him back when I was able to get a job since I just moved 90 miles from my former home to be wit him now that he's alone. My dad knows what a rare opportunity it was. Also he was a partner to the children's mother for more than 30 years, they just never married. The kids consider us family, the grandson calls me auntie, so they probably would be willing to wait for payment if my father didn't agree with it. I was figuring about 10 cents for bags and boards per book based on back when I bought them for a few Marvels I purchased back in the 90s. I learned that the Mylights and fullbacks run about what you said, about 30-40 dollars for both, but I think that's for a 50 pack - at least that's the prices I have been seeing online. There are a little over 900 comics in the collection, far too expensive for me to afford to bag them all at this time. 40 dollars I could probably afford now to at least bag the 1st Batgirl and a some others, but I also need new work clothes depending on what job I am able to get. My last job which I had for 12 years, was at a plant nursery so jeans and sweatshirts were fine there since we always got muddy. I'm trying to hang onto what little money I have until I find a job and get settled in, hopefully soon.

Martin, Than you so much. You are so well informed! I must admit I did pick up a little knowledge when I used to babysit back in the 90's and he started collecting Marvels. His mother was single so she was always too busy working to take him by the shops so it usually fell to me to drive him around. He even talked me into taking a martial arts class with him just so he could go. The man that ran the local comic shop told us he inked a couple of comics here and there for Marvel and was giving the kid advice, not on which ones to collect, but what to look for when picking out one to keep. Like making sure the staples and pages are straight with no printing defects, certain artists like Jim Lee (I think that was the name he dropped), or 1st appearances. As I mentioned before I when I took the kid by I would usually pick up one or two Marvels for myself and have those stored away in a box... somewhere. So I know a little bit, but almost nothing about preservation. Knowing I had to get them boxed up to move, I decided to first make a checklist of what I am dealing with. figured they are going to be sealed away for later...but I want to have a list so I can start looking them up and learning about what I had when we took breaks from boxing up the garage. They were stacked in the cabinet randomly, so I looked for a website that had a list of issue numbers I could copy and paste in a word file that I could just highlight the issue numbers, as I worked to sort them all out. That brought me to that site ComicBookRealm that had them all listed along with the record high sell price for each one. I can't believe some of the prices, and know mine are no where near that condition or price, but at least it gave me an idea as to which ones were worth more than others and need special care. I've only collected a few Marvels in the past, so I need to take a crash course in collecting and especially in DC comic history... which brought me to this forum. My father once collected comics back in the 40's. He had them stored them away under his bed on ye 'ol chicken farm, but when he left for the Navy during the Korean War someone tossed them all out. He's still upset about it and said they were all eight cent'rs, but well read and tattered. But he still wonders what those old comics would be worth today. He doesn't like these, after looking at some of the covers (the one where Lois Lane used a machine to become black for a day) he shook his head and said they weren't the old ones he grew up with and that these are "too weird." But he still is excited about them. Well I will probably do as you suggest and just order bags from Amazon. We've been really busy trying to get everything moved over.... but all I want to do now just sit and work on them until they are all bagged, protected and looking as good as I can make them.... I guess the collector bug bit me hard, along with the dust mites. As for the Action Comic with the 1st Supergirl, no I don't have that one. drat! The earliest Action #'s goes like: 246, 247, 254, 255, 259, 263, 267, 268, 269, 276, 278, 279, 280... Most of the early ones are missing covers or if they are there, they're in bad shape. Oh and most of all the comics have a curious date stamp on the back cover so I wonder how they got there, if a store or comic shop did, or if the kid had subscriptions to them. I was wondering if they will effect the value? Here's a pic of a few from the World's Finest series that I'm currently dusting off with that handy brush I just got (which is already filthy). They tend to be in the upper right corner on the back, but a couple are on the front. They tagged #100 right over Robin's head. I fortunately have two copies of this issue, and both are tagged in the same place right over his head. The blue ink against the lavender background doesn't show up too good in the photo though. So far it appears the kid didn't cut out any coupons. There is one that has a cut out puzzle of some villain and another that mentions a two page pull out map of Krypton and they are still in there. So I'm hoping they are all like that. A few have been drawn on, but not much, mostly just tracing outlines of some letters. The kid had a couple of younger sisters that might be responsible for doing that. They were reading various Disney or Gold Key comics which were mixed in throughout the stacks. The now middle aged sister wanted me to pull the Disney's out for her grandson and of course I didn't complain since she just gave me all the DC's. Oh you told me to keep an eye out for Brave and Bold - there is a couple of them. #42 pretty worn around the staples and a little loose, and not so glossy; #63 and #68 which have a few little creases along the spine mostly, and #63 is a little dog-eared but they are still glossy. There is also a series called 80 pg Giant in the collection. I thought they were whatever the character listed on the cover was, so put Superman in the stack with Superman, Batman with Batman, etc. Then I began to have doubts because the numbers were really low, before the kid was even alive so I looked one up online and the covers didn't match. Confused I opened the cover and saw at the bottom it said "80 pg Giant Magazine" instead of the superhero on the cover. Ohhhh... So I Googled that title.... I have a lot to learn. For the 80 Pg Giants I have #'s 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12,13, 14. The spines of all of them are worn, a cover detached from one and missing from another. These are the only Justice Leagues I found #'s are: 4 (missing cover), 21, 55, 56 and 89 The other random ones in the collection I haven't mentioned before are these. New Gods #5 and 9; Supergirl #1 and 5; Shazam #2 and some all girl DC Special. The 2 Supergirls and New Gods look like they weren't even read, just aged. Again, thank you all for your advice, I certainly need it.

Even if they are worthless, to me they are a part of history and pieces of art. I posted the 1st Batgirl because it was in fairly good shape compared to some of the others, and I knew 1st appearances are always worth something. But I believe there might be one or two more in there that are worth a little more than 5 or 10 bucks, I just spotted Batgirl because her arrival was announced on the cover. I also have the 1st Poison Ivy, but I don't remember if it had a cover or not. So I might run across another dusty gem. There is some issues missing out of each series, but they run as: Action Comics from about #250-470; The Adventure Comics #260-410; Batman #130-240; Detective Comics #270-410; Superboy #80-200; Superman #130-330; Lois Lane #20-130; Jimmy Olsen #50-150; World's Finest #100-210 - and a few random issues in other series. Oh and a couple of big comics. Listed as C-25 and C-26. One is called 1st Edition and is reprint of the 1st appearance of Superman in Action Comics. The cover has a gold background. And the other is a big Batman. They are about double the size of a normal comic big. Do they have bags that big? There's only two of them. I will probably be making more posts later on asking about individual comics with issues. Such as these below. Justice #21, Showcase #10 and Showcase #33. I looked around on one site called ComicBookRealm. They had what I assume is near mint condition or the highest sell price. For the Justice #21 it's like 1 or 2 grand. The middle one, Showcase #10 is the second appearance of Lois Lane, they have that one listed at like 6 grand or some unbelievable number, and the other Showcase I don't remember. Of course these here are in sad shape and the 2 Showcase are missing covers. So I don't know if they are worth anything at all or how best to preserve what is left. The kid obviously had his favorites which he read to pieces and others which look like he read only once or twice and are still glossy and very little creases. And some look like all the other kids in the neighborhood borrowed it to read because they have old tape holding pieces of the pages and/or cover together, very yellowed and a couple have been re-stapled. That's why I titled this post overwhelmed. I don't know how to deal with it all, especially the ones that have seen better days. And I don't really have the time to give them the attention and bags they need right now. It does help to talk to knowledgeable people about it. I'm glad I found this site.

I'm in California. I just learned the collection belonged to one of the children who was wheelchair bound due to muscular dystrophy. I mentioned to my father that the collection seemed to stop about 75 or 76 and he told me the boy died from his disease about 1976. His sister, the one who told me twice now to take them for free, is having difficulties with all the memories being uncovered in this old house as everything was saved and stored away, so I have been helping her and my father sort through it all. I will probably hold on to them a couple of years, at least wait until the family has forgotten about them before I decide what to do. It feels sort of like I would be re-gifting if I turned around and sold them right away. The cabinet was against the garage wall which is not insulated, and its legs sat right over a screened vent in the west corner, so that area probably got up to 100 degrees in summer and down to mid 30's and damp in winter. I'm surprised they are not brittle or moldy. I don't know much about collecting, but I know to handle them as little as possible and keep them in a stable dry condition, so they are definitely going into new house, probably the closet. We do have a fireproof gun safe I might keep the more valuable ones in, because it the safe has a 'goldenrod' which will keep the interior moisture free to prevent a gun from rusting. I just wanted to start off right by learning how to clean the dust off and pack them in boxes. It might be a few months before I can get bags for them. My dad suggested when I do go to handle them again to bag them, to also at that time make scans of them so I don't have to touch or open them again. Thank you again for all the information.

thehumantorch, Sorry for the bad grammar before, it was late and I was tired. My father is 85 and alone now, so I have moved 90 miles to be with him and I'm trying to adjust from a big city to a small town. And all the stuff from both houses are being crammed into a much smaller house, so space is running short and stress is running high. Thank you for the advice! I didn't know there were archival boxes. I found old family photos that I will probably store in the boxes too rather than the shoe boxes they are in now. Unfortunately, there's no comic shops in this town, the nearest one is about 15 miles, others 25 or so miles. All I have at the moment are packing boxes that we bought at Lowe's but I will transfer them as soon as I can get to a comic shop and some time. We are trying to finish all the moving by next week. I'm not sure about all the bags and boards at this time. I'm in between jobs because of the move and funds are lacking right now to protect all of them as I wish, so right now I have to guess which ones are more valuable and need a bag asap. That's why I posted a couple of pics. I'm uneducated and don't know one value from another. The older ones are in worse shape, and the oldest missing covers, but since they are older are they still valuable even in that condition? I don't know what Golden Age means. When I looked up some of the comics some said Silver Age. So I'm assuming Golden Age are older? I also assumed the Batgirl was the most valuable I ran across so far because it was a 1st appearance. I haven't opened it but believe it's complete. There are no tears around the staples or loose pages, and just minor creases along the spine. However there are a couple of other comics I happened to open... well they were in such bad shape they fell apart, that had pencil drawings inside. But that issue is a question for a later time. I will probably be posting more questions later if I cannot find answers in the other forum threads. Thank you again for the information! Margo

Hello all, This is my very first post and please let me explain what has brought me to this site. In the 90's I used to babysit a boy that reached young teens and started collecting comics. His favorite was Gambit from X-Men. I used to take him to the comic shop as a reward and I would occasionally pick up one or two for myself as well (including the first appearance of Gambit). I put them (under 50 total) in protectors in a box in the hopes of one day they might be worth something. So I have don't really consider myself a collector as I don't have the budget. Last year my old father lost his long time partner. She had health issues and they both are/were pack rats. Her will left the house to her children by an earlier marriage so I have been helping my father move out and clean the house of clutter to help the kids so it wouldn't be so difficult to deal with. It's all good though, that old house needs a lot of work and he has a house of his own. Anyway, while helping clean out the garage we uncovered a 5 foot tall cabinet that according to my father, hasn't seen the light of day since the late 70's. He informed me that years ago his now deceased partner told him it contained her children's old comic books. Of course that gave me a tingling adrenaline rush, wondering what I would find inside those closed doors covered in cobwebs and 40 years of dust. (Cabinet in the garage, last opened in the 70's. One stack sitting in a pan from an ice box) I pulled a couple of stacks out of the cabinet to take inside the house to sort through. Then afterwards I thought to take the photo above, so originally the shelves all the way across had comics on them. After looking through them on a few sites to get an idea of what there was, I made an offer of 300 dollars for the collection. I actually have no idea what the value is, just guessed that they are probably worth at least 300. The eldest daughter balked at the price, telling me there was some old Disney comics in there that she wanted for her grandson.... but that was all she was interested in. So I could just box up the dusty old books and take them... for free. So the past few days I have been very carefully separating them out by series and writing down the issue numbers in a word file to keep a list going. They are all DC comics, a very few from the late 50's, most from the 60's and some from the early 70's. I'm trying not to handle them much or even open them, and fortunately the years spent forgotten in a dark cabinet have not made the pages brittle. But the dust has darkened the covers of the ones resting on the tops of the stacks, and along the edges of others. And there's a few long dead carcasses of spiders and other bugs. I still haven't boxed them up, but have to soon to move them over to the new house. So I think the next step is to clean off the dust before I pack them up, because I don't know how long it will be until I can get back to them to do more to preserve them. But I don't know how best to go about any of this, which led me here to this site. On another post there was caution about using a towel on them, that it could embed the dust in more, and to get a soft brush instead. I just bought one tonight for that task. (a little over 900 total - organized by series late 50's to mid 70's Top shelf L-R: Action Comics - Adventure Comics - Batman - Detective Comics 2nd shelf L-R: Superboy - Superman - Jimmy Olsen (which is hidden from view in back row) - Lois Lane with a few random series sitting on top - and World's Finest) My question is how is it best to dust and pack them? I was thinking alternating them every 10 comics so the staples are not all on the same side to help them remain flat and reduce curling, which some of them have already. One moment I'm helping move old motorcycle parts, the next I'm dealing with about 900 comics. I wasn't expecting this at all. I'm completely overwhelmed, but giddy, and lost as what to do next. I have no clue what all I have or what it's worth. I don't think I am going to sell them, at least not at this time. I don't even know how I'm going to find the room to store them. Any ideas what to do next or how is the best approach to preserve this dusty mess? Should I bother getting them graded them if I plan to keep them awhile? Are they even worth grading? I haven't looked up prices yet, but I'm guessing I won't be able to afford to buy those fancy protectors for all of them. Would sheet protectors work? Should I even bother? Any advice would be very appreciated! Thank you so much for your time and advice, Margo Here's a couple of pics from the collection to show the various conditions they are in. Superman Annual Number 1 - 1960 - It's in bad pretty shape but some are even worse, with missing the cover and the first page showing the issue and copyright information so I don't know what issue number they are. There's about 4 or 5 Justice League's in the collection and only one of the Flash (I think #122) and one Aquaman, #4. Detective Comics - 1st Batgirl