Overwhelmed 1 1

[MargoTheMeek]

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

 

[thehumantorch]

Welcome to the boards Margo.  Congrats on a cool find, most of us would love to find a hoard like the one you've found.

To remove dust you could try a swiffer or a very soft brush.  Sometimes if the cover still feels dirty I'll use a very slightly damp cloth to remove dirt but avoid that if you can, you're more likely to cause damage than improve the book.

You can buy cheap poly bags and basic boards for about 15 cents per comic at most comic book stores.  Go with Golden Age size.  You can also buy comic boxes at the comic store to store them for about $10 per box, once again go with GA if possible.

Figuring out value takes time.  I'd suggest you start on ebay.  There are a lot of overpriced books on ebay so when you search for a book  click the 'sold listings' check box to get actual sold item values.  I also like to sort the results highest price first.  Here's an example of the Detective 359 = first Batgirl - and the most valuable book you've shown us.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_sop=16&_nkw=detective 359&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Your copy isn't in high grade and is probably worth between $100 and $200, if it's complete.

 

[MargoTheMeek]

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

[thehumantorch]

Margo, where are you located? Your best option is probably to find a dealer or collector who will come by and buy it all. 

Some of the books are worthless especially if incomplete and unremarkable but at least 1 has value and many of the books pictured probably have a retail value of $5 to $10 each.  

[MargoTheMeek]

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.

[Mercury Man]

That is a neat find, with quite a back story.   I agree about trying to bag and board as much as you can.   From there you can decide to keep, sell a little at a time, or sell the whole lot to a dealer.   Those books have definitely seen better days, but I also agree that you probably have a lot of $5 maybe some $10 books in there, the first Batgirl being the exception. 

Edited February 27, 2018 by Mercury Man

[thehumantorch]

24 minutes ago, MargoTheMeek said:

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.

Thanks Margo.  It was fun looking at your books and learning about the origins of the books.  

If the time comes to sell your books perhaps come back here and we'll steer you towards a good dealer or collector near you to give you a valuation.

[MargoTheMeek]

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.

 

[Martin Sinescu]

Margo,

As others have already said, congratulations on a wonderful find and welcome to the boards -- there are plenty of vultures that would try to take advantage of an unknowledgeable person landing such a loaded collection, but generally the community here will steer you in the right direction.

The time period you have is definitely Silver Age and the good news is that DC Comics from the late 50's into the early 60's are generally pretty tough to find and sought after in almost any condition! It's scary to think how many of these collections might still be around that are teetering on the verge of being trashed. My mom recently remarried and her new husband had 27 long boxes of comics that have been through a fire, a small basement flood, and several decades of Georgia heat in an attic. He decided to let the books go a few months ago and I managed to get to them just an hour before the local comic shop guy came over to make an offer for the whole collection. It's mainly the same time period as what you have, but also had a balance of Marvel stuff. Chock full of great stuff and significant books! It's fun to go through and see the evolution of comics through this era as books "grew up" significantly from the late 50's to the mid 70's, so I'm glad to hear you plan on keeping them for the short term and have some appreciation for the art form!

Despite what you say, you do sound fairly educated about condition and you've already sniffed out some nice keys. That Detective 359 is probably closer to $500 or even better based on just the one photo and your description. That purple cover is very sensitive to color loss from wear and creasing, yet yours looks really clean (much nicer than my copy, I must say). That's something you'll likely want to have graded once you have some breathing room. A Batman 181, if it has the cover (another which is very sensitive to color loss) and the centerfold poster of Batman and Robin, will still get $2-300 even in rough shape (I know you said you're not thinking of selling right now and that's great, just important to know that these are expensive books and you will want to take good care of them). Other significant Batman books from that range are 139, 155, 171, 189, 200, 227, 232, but generally anything with a "known" villain on the cover (Joker, Riddler, Penguin) are all worth pulling. Heck, pretty much anything Batman in that era is going to be of interest to collectors. For Detective, again, almost nothing is just "trash", but any of the Batgirl issues or any major villains are stand-outs. 298 and 400 are pretty "key" books.

Check for Action Comics 252, that's the first Supergirl -- one of the most significant keys of that era! Seriously, just stop reading and go see if you have it!  And don't assume coverless books are worthless. As you've already seen, prices for books in the Very Fine to Near Mint range can be astronomical as these are incredibly tough to find in that condition, but that also means many collectors will pay good money just to have any copy of those issues.  I just sold a coverless Batman 121 for over $150 and something like an Action 252 will be a great book in any condition. Lois Lane 70, Jimmy Olsen 134, more books you likely have that are worth putting aside. You've already seen that Showcase can have some good stuff, keep an eye out for Brave and the Bold as well. Both were "tryout" books where DC would run a new character or team for a few issues to see if they stuck, so there are quite a few "firsts" in those titles.  Justice League 21 is an important book in DC history, good eye!

I would recommend just ordering bags and boards from Amazon instead of waiting until you can get to a local comic shop. You would probably be fine with just ordering the Silver Age size, but the Golden Age (which are wider) might not be a bad idea to have in reserve. I've found a few comics in the collection I'm sorting to have too much spine roll or were bound too sloppily (the comic's pages are kind of splayed out, making it much wider) to fit in the Silver Age bags. Ultimately, you may want to move on to nicer bags and boards for the big keys (Mylites and Fullbacks are the gold standard for preservation and protection), but your books should be fine for now just in regular ones -- just know that many of these cheaper bags/boards aren't recommended for long-term storage of more than a few years. The larger books you mention are generally referred to as Treasury Editions or just Treasuries. They have some value even though they're reprints, especially if you have the hardcover versions. I don't know if they have bags for these as they're bigger than magazines, but referring to them as treasury editions should help you find some. Otherwise, look for bags made for "Life" magazine as, of course, these are collected and any bags big enough for a copy of Life should fit the Treasuries.

Also know that there are folks in the hobby who can clean your books for you as the state you've found these in is common enough that there's a need for this service. You'll want to deal with someone reputable, so definitely check back here for suggestions if you go that route.

People here have opinions on storing books in gun safes, but generally these collectors are storing incredibly expensive and/or incredibly high-grade copies. Your books have already taken the worst of what they'll get in their lifetime, so almost anything closer to a controlled, clean environment will be a godsend for them! 

Congratulations again and just take it slow n' steady with the collection. It's definitely overwhelming to manage that many books, but just try to get them moved safely, then look at it as a long-term project you can chip away at over the next few months. 

And, by all means, post more photos!!! I'm sure we're all very excited for you and we love to experience these opportunities through others!!!!

[faster friends]

You will have quite a few gems in there

[MargoTheMeek]

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. 

[spreads]

You could always sell the books here, do a reverse auction and lower the price - people here will buy them, if you feel capable (willing) to ship them.

I'm a bit confused about the part where you said you didn't have the means to buy bags/boards?  You offered $300 on the collection but couldn't spend $30-40 to bag/board them?  

Edited March 1, 2018 by spreads

[Martin Sinescu]

On February 27, 2018 at 5:16 PM, MargoTheMeek said:

As for the Action Comic with the 1st Supergirl, no I don't have that one. drat!

Drat, indeed! I was really rootin' for ya!!  It's alright, you've still got a pretty killer haul just on the Batman stuff and it's Free! You still win! Also, it's really great that you're helping with this as a relief to the family and that's what's most important. I'm sure they're more overwhelmed than you, but it's great that you already had a little taste of comic collecting and were able to take care of these for them along with the larger project.

As far as the date stamps you asked about, they're almost definitely the arrival stamps that the newsstand would've ker-chunked on the covers "back in the day". Reactions are a little mixed on those, but I think most folks that collect vintage books not only love them, they actively seek them out -- there's just something about seeing that date on the cover that really connects you with a specific point in the past. As far as the grade, it won't detract from it generally, but the presentation or placement of the stamp may influence pickier collectors (for example, seeing a bold stamp with no smudging against a clean background versus a stamp on the main character's face and/or smeared... you can understand the effect these two differences might have visually even if it doesn't affect the technical grade). Just like you mentioned with the local comic shop owner talking about homing in on staples, pages, etc. (something I wish I'd been shown back then), it's very much about a combination of subjective aesthetics and technical perfection that makes up the true "cream of the crop" in this hobby.

For your supplies, I'd recommend going with these bags and these boards. Again, they're not the gold standard, but that's what I've been using to bag up the non-key books in the collection I'm working through. I originally ordered the BCW Bag and Board combo Amazon has, but the boards are too thin. I doubt they'll provide more protection than a Kleenex. In fact, feel free to double-board the better books so they will have a sturdier backing (if the boards have too much of a curve in one direction and look like they might flex the comic, I would double-board them with the curves opposing so they offset). Also, there's a bit of an art to bagging and boarding. Everyone here probably has their own tried-and-true technique. I usually place the comic on the board for support before inserting into the bag and hold it in place with my thumb from the top, then I lead into the bag with one corner of the bottom of the board first with the comic an inch or so away (higher) from the leading edge of the board. That way the board kind of gets the bag worked open first before you put the comic in. You'll want to be particularly careful of this as many of your books are probably dog-eared or torn and you'll be frustrated when you see how often the comic seems to want to get hung up at the opening of the bag (which can, of course, tear the paper). Watch any of those frayed areas as you continue into the bag with the comic out and start to straighten it in and try to be mindful of folded corners, too. Go ahead and try to get them to lay flat as you put them in the bag so that they will be stored that way over the next few years.

Your Justice League 55 and 56 are a couple of other pretty good books as it has the Justice League meeting the Golden Age heroes of the Justice Society (your Justice League 21 was the first time they met, which is why it's an important book). You say you want to dig into some DC history? Look up Earth-One and Earth-Two, that's what's occurring in these issues. DC explained the change from their Golden Age (app. 1938-1955) heroes to new Silver Age (1956-1970) incarnations (like Flash and Green Lantern, who are totally different characters in each age) by establishing parallel universes for each era which occasionally crossed over. It's a plot device that DC has utilized countless times over the years and those Justice League issues are some of the earliest to introduce this concept. Cool stuff, albeit mighty confusing.

While you're on Amazon, you can also check this book out for more background on those shelves of comics you're going through: The Silver Age of DC Comics.

Another very useful site you can use in your research is MyComicShop. It's a dealer site, but they are an incredibly thorough go-to for researching and cataloging as they have every title and issue listed along with information and notes on the issues ("1st appearance of MargoTheMeek", "1st Jim Lee art", etc.). Their prices tend to be a little high (not a knock on them, but just something to keep in mind like with the other site you used in reference to what yours might be worth), but they will definitely give you an idea of which books are more valuable in a series. Plus, you'll be able to see their range of prices in various grades (both "raw", and professionally-graded) listed along with scans for many of them which you can click on (the magnifying glass by the price). That way you can also get a visual of a "very good" book versus "fine" versus "poor". Again, it's a great site and it seems like you have a knack for research as well as some latent collecting impulses, so you should get some good use out of it.

Also, Jim Lee was indeed all the rage back in the 90's (he's still around!). Those were fun times to be collecting! Lee's art was just astonishing -- it was one of the highlights of my comic reading back then to pick up his latest issue of Punisher or X-Men and feast my eyes on that artwork!

And thank you for sharing more photos!!! It's funny how many books in your collection are in my mom's husband's collection that I'm cataloging. I have those same 80-page Giants and they are literally falling apart every time I move them! I keep finding pieces of cover on the floor and I just hang my head in shame.

One last thing, that first appearance of Gambit has grown to be quite a valuable book itself! Better dig out that 90's Marvel stash, too!!

[MargoTheMeek]

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. 

 

[MargoTheMeek]

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.

 

[spreads]

10 hours ago, MargoTheMeek said:

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. 

 

I would advise against the Mylar/Mylites since you're looking to move them (not keep them long-term) anyway.  Also, I doubt you need to bag/board them all especially if the comics are pretty beat-up at this point anyway. 

By comparison a month ago I purchased a collection similar to this; 250-300 comics from the 40s-60s.  Most had bags/boards, but there were a big chunk of books that didn't (some of those like coverless books and classic illustrated even though they're very old I'm not going to bother put in a new bag/board since they have so little value anyway).  I used old bags/boards I had for the middle of the road stuff, and the few big-ticket comics in the lot I put in Mylar that I had.   The rest are going in standard golden age bags/boards, the total outlay is not that much.  If you can't afford to spend more than 30 or 40 then just prioritize the top 1-200 comics (or however many you can bag/board with what you buy)....it's not like the other ones are going to get that much more damage at this point unless you have some fishing trips planned.

[MargoTheMeek]

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. 

[shadroch]

What size bags did you order?

[MargoTheMeek]

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.

[Martin Sinescu]

Margo,

There's also a Golden Age DC book in that series as well as a Bronze Age (roughly "the 70's"), so your dad might want to check the GA one out as well. I have all 3 and they're great fun to look through.

Since you ordered the Mylites, one suggestion I'd like to make is to get a roll of blue painter's tape to seal each bag. Regular Scotch tape doesn't peel up or come off easily with the Mylites and, with the painter's tape, you can peel the tape off smoothly and completely to take the book out, then stick it back on when you close it up again. I strongly recommend not trying to remove a comic from the bag with the tape still attached as the tape will try to stick to the comic on its way out. Also, you'll find that the Mylar material is much sturdier than the usual flimsy comic bags, so once you get the book in the bag, you'll want to fold the top over and then run your fingers tightly across the top to make a sharp crease along the fold (they'll lay flatter that way, as the flap tends to puff out more if you don't). You can always go to youtube and look for some videos if you need to get a visual on any of these things as there are plenty of "how-to" videos out there. I think the presentation of the Mylites is stunning and they really help make the color pop as well as providing excellent rigidity for the book. That Detective 359 is going to look stunning in there!

Action 373 is a Giant-Size issue of Supergirl stories (all or most are reprints). Not really a significant book in terms of building the character, but Supergirl has been in high demand lately, so almost anything centered around her has seen a good bump in value over the last few years and giant-size books in general do tend to be valued higher than their surrounding regular-size counterparts. The DC Special 3 and Supergirl 1 you posted earlier get some interest as well. You may also have Action 334 which is another neat All-Supergirl giant issue and another good one to have. Action 285 is a more significant Supergirl book in her timeline in that it is the issue where she is finally revealed to the public (yes, Superman kept her hidden for many years as she learned to live on Earth, so she had to secretly "save the day" in all her adventures).

The Batman and Detective issues I mentioned earlier should definitely be in your 50 to bag and board. All are pretty good "money" books.  I'd love to see some pics of those if you get a chance.