I'm Tempted to do something very DUMB 3 3

[Math Teacher]

On 8/28/2023 at 2:41 PM, lostboys said:

Well, I've been thinking about cracking all my slabs because it will be easier for my kids to move my collection when I'm gone.

Well, it depends on what you mean when you say "move." If "move" means transferring your books from one location to another, then cracking them open isn't a bad idea. If "move" means selling your books, then cracking them open is a very bad idea.

I currently have approximately 230 slabbed books. I don't need to open anyone of them to read the issue; I have alternative ways of doing that. No one in my family has one iota of interest in my comic book and comic art collection. Keeping the books slabbed will make it much easier for them to sell my collection when the time comes. Of course, not all my books are slabbed, but I have very few books that have a value over $250 that are not already slabbed.

[JC25427N]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:12 PM, Cat said:

We are but their custodians. In my view, it is upon us to do what we can to treat them as well as possible for their next owners. 

 

Weak.  You owe it to yourself to crack open your AF 15 and take it into the bathroom with you like a real man (or cat, in this case)  

[grendel013]

If accessibility is all one craves then just put all the comics on a bookshelf. Finding slip cases that hold 10-12 books like the 1987 Comico Collection offered would help group and stabilize the books. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:32 PM, grendel013 said:

If accessibility is all one craves then just put all the comics on a bookshelf. Finding slip cases that hold 10-12 books like the 1987 Comico Collection offered would help group and stabilize the books. 

I know a store that uses those for magazines, and surprisingly over the years the books inside have held up. I'm just not sure how often they're flipped through. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/28/2023 at 2:41 PM, lostboys said:

Well, Ive been thinking about cracking all my slabs because it will be easier for my kids to move my collection when im gone.

 

Not the same thing, I know, but considering what Ive paid to have them graded/slabbed...still a pretty dumb idea to crack em, especially when you consider that I have reader copies or TPBs for all of em. Maybe ill crack em out when I get older.

 

In your case, I dont know man...what if you want the book at the bottom of a pile?

What if you accidentally tip a pile over?

I know youre not planning on selling but you should preserve them for the next generation.

 

 

An interesting read that may give you some other ideas 😜 it's the latest one anyway...

 

[Dr. Balls]

On 8/28/2023 at 3:41 PM, Ken Aldred said:

you can pinch magnify

I actually like doing this to blow up the art on the page - it's pretty cool to see a panel at 2X it's normal size to see everything the artist put into the art.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:08 PM, Dr. Balls said:

On 8/28/2023 at 4:41 PM, Ken Aldred said:

you can pinch magnify

I actually like doing this to blow up the art on the page - it's pretty cool to see a panel at 2X it's normal size to see everything the artist put into the art.

I've attempted to read online, once it automated, and once it jumped in the "reading order of word bubbles" when I tapped it. All giving an action type sequence. 

Is this a normal app thing? Or is it selective between books? I couldn't always get it to work is what I mean

 

[grendel013]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:37 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I know a store that uses those for magazines, and surprisingly over the years the books inside have held up. I'm just not sure how often they're flipped through. 

I think having them just nested in pocket folders and then maybe putting several of those in a binder works great too. Create your own library is what it's really all about. 

[MattTheDuck]

Two things.  1) I use the "blue" tape to minimize/avoid tape pulls.  Not sure it works because I haven't been dumb or clumsy enough to test it out yet.

2)  Since I may be in a position to buy your books in the unknowable future, I don't want them damaged so don't do it.

Ok, well 3) If there's really no one who is going to benefit from your collection selling for the best possible price in the future, do whatever you want.  I kept my comics in a dresser drawer, stacked just as you describe, from 1968 to 1992.  I don't think that fact did nearly as much damage as whoever owned some of these books before I did, or I did while reading some of them.  You should see my TOD #10 which I bought off the rack and spine rolled like there's no tomorrow.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:40 PM, grendel013 said:

I think having them just nested in pocket folders and then maybe putting several of those in a binder works great too. Create your own library is what it's really all about. 

Ya that's why I mentioned at first a brave new world, he could personalize it anyway wanted to his satisfaction, not limited to a stack in the corner where spills can be a factor and etc.

I know the tape pull thread mentioned stuff, but I think most of which has been mentioned again here already.

[rlextherobot]

I never use tape, I have converted my whole collection to reusable rectangular stickers about 1" by 3/4 of an inch. No more tape pills once I've removed the book from whatever bag and board situation it came in.

[bluehorseshoe]

You started this thread. Things really dropped off right from that moment as far as I can tell.

[Ken Aldred]

On 8/29/2023 at 12:18 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I've attempted to read online, once it automated, and once it jumped in the "reading order of word bubbles" when I tapped it. All giving an action type sequence. 

Is this a normal app thing? Or is it selective between books? I couldn't always get it to work is what I mean

 

Only aware that Kindle / Comixology does this, which they call ‘Guided View’. Maybe others. For my Humble Bundle books I use an app called Chunky, good upscaling but doesn’t do that.

[southern cross]

I have my books slabbed or in mylar snugs so there's no flap to tape down.

I do have my May 1972 books sitting raw in my spinner rack. Some issues are two to four deep in the rack. Grades range from VG - NM.

[Cman429]

I have about two long boxes of what I’d consider my PC, the ones I’d never sell. Some of them have been bagged and boarded for over a decade and a half, almost two. I’m thinking about redoing them as my winter project but I face a similar dilemma to OP.

I don’t think I’d leave them in piles but I hate tape too so I’m thinking redoing them all in those fancy cool self sealing  bags. Except those aren’t really considered the “standard,” mylars are. And I do like the look of mylars better. But that requires taping them all. And again this is my PC and I don’t care that regular Poly bags break down or aren’t “archival” bc 25 years from now I’ll prob be in a home gumming applesauce.

I feel for the collectors in this thread. It’s hard getting older. 

[AJD]

I had bound copies made up of some books I thought I'd go back and read multiple times. None of the books were high $, although there's a second print of Sandman 75 in one. THE EC comics volume is a collection of reprints. This was kind of expensive at $50 each, but the result was terrific.

 

[FlyingDonut]

On 8/28/2023 at 5:31 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I love the way my books look in mylar or slabs. I also have something like 2 TB worth of comic books in digital format. On the off-chance I have time to read, I simply load whatever I want onto my iPad. 

As a kid, I used to read my comics on the floor on or the bed. I still do the majority of any reading I do on my bed at night. Crumpling up my comics, or having a stack on my nightstand, etc is not what I'm interested in. Having them on the iPad and reading as many issues I want with the lights off is pretty cool. I'd buy an old used iPad, do some research on comic apps (there's lots of them) and do that before getting rid of your bags and boards.

And it's not that intimidating - if you can be patient to see how the apps work, you'll be just fine.

This is the way.

[s-man]

On 8/28/2023 at 3:29 PM, Mark Warren said:

I'm never, ever going to sell my comic collection, so proper storage isn't quite as pressing an issue for me as it would be for someone who regularly flips their books ("Making the hobby pay for itself!" as all the Youtube investors collectors are always advertising at us saying.)

So, as I look upon my collection of gold, silver and bronze age books all snug in their short boxes and hermetically sealed in their Mylites and backing boards, I can't help but be slightly irritated at the fact that each one of them is now its own little individual inconvenience to read, what with having to lug a short box to a table and un-scotch tape a book out of its Mylar bag every time I feel like looking at one. (And before anyone says that bagged and boarded comics all standing vertically in a box aren't inconvenient to read at all, let's remember that trade paperbacks essentially owe their entire existence to this.)  So, even though it's dumb, a silly part of me is tempted, in my old age, to simply free all of my comics from their vertical Mylite / backing board / short box prisons, and just keep them all lying flat in piles on a shelf somewhere, Edgar Church style. 

I understand that this idea is dumb. But they're my books, I'm never going to sell them, and shouldn't I be able to enjoy them once in awhile? And remember when we were kids just reading these things for the enjoyment of it? Who bothered with bags and boards and boxes back then? I just kept all my books in a pile somewhere. 

As long as you don't roll around naked in them, (which is probably not sanitary)..I say do whatever makes ya happy! 

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

On 8/28/2023 at 3:52 PM, Lightning55 said:

People still read comics?

Mine are all as yours, safely secured in plastic prisons, hard or soft. Which is perfect for me. I've read exactly 3 comics since 1970, around the time of Amazing Spider-Man 80. And no, there was nothing special at all about the 3 comics, just a whim.

Read them until you can't read anymore!

[lostboys]

On 8/28/2023 at 4:22 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

Ditch the tape. When you're pressed for time and craving a quick hit before bedtime, tape can be enough to put you off. Not sure if I would put them in a pile but removing the tape may be enough to make quick casual access more of a pleasure. Isn't it all about the pleasure?

I know that most folks hate them but I switched to resealable bags a few years back and I really like them.