Golden Age Collection 22 22

[BangZoom]

Incredible, just incredible. Words can't describe what i'm feeling right now.

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

 

The photo was in response to the many questions/requests I've received about whether I have many Timelys in my collection.

 

Actually, I have quite a few.

[BangZoom]

Those are amazing....and what more amazing is you still have them in those cheesy glad wrap bags

 

I know nothing about the subject of Mylar and backing boards.

 

Is there a universal standard (regarding mil thickness, etc.) used by most collectors in the hobby?

 

I'm willing to give them a try.

 

Who do you recommend I buy them from?

[mr.schomburg]

I for one have to say, thank you, thank you, thank you! I didn't see a #1...I am guessing you have one, but being the master of suspense(by the way, still waiting for your 3 to appear), you will most likely tease us for a while and then post it when we least expect it.

Love the Timely's, just love them!

[mr.schomburg]

I don't know about universal standard, but I recommend Mylite 2's with full backs from E. Gerber products. You can get them anywhere or direct from Gerber.

Paul

Edited April 26, 2007 by mr.schomburg

[BangZoom]

Okay BZ we need to see some up close scans of some of the first 10-13 issues, especially #9 which looks as fresh as any copy I have ever seen before. Unfrickinbelievable collection.

 

Don't forget the Paratrooper cover on #14

 

I'll begin posting some scans in a day or two. Number 14 is at the top of the list.

[FFB]

Those are amazing....and what more amazing is you still have them in those cheesy glad wrap bags

 

I know nothing about the subject of Mylar and backing boards.

 

Is there a universal standard (regarding mil thickness, etc.) used by most collectors in the hobby?

 

I'm willing to give them a try.

 

Who do you recommend I buy them from?

 

You can get mylar sleeves and buffered backing boards from www.comicsupply.com. Russ (the owner) is a fellow forum member and his service and pricing have been great every time I've ordered from him. He is usually a lot faster (and a little cheaper) than ordering direct from E. Gerber (the manufacturer of mylars and archival-quality back boards that Russ sells).

 

If you are going to use backing boards, make sure you ONLY use backing boards that are buffered with an alkaline reserve (3% calcium carbonate, usually). Unbuffered backing boards will turn acidic even if they were "acid free at the time of manufacture."

 

The buffered backing boards many people use are the "Full Backs" manufactured by E. Gerber & Co. (and sold at comicsupply.com). They are buffered with 3% calcium carbonate and are safe for long-term storage of comics. They are 42 mils (thousandths of an inch) thick, so they provide plenty of support for the comic book inside the mylar sleeve. This is the brand of back board that most people I know use. Gerber also manufactures 24 mil back boards called "Half Backs." Most people use these for less expensive books.

 

For mylar sleeves, most people use either the 4 mil Archives (open top mylar sleeves) or the 2 mil "Mylite2" sleeves (which look like a normal comic bag and have a foldable flap that you can fold over the opening in the sleeve. Whether you want Archives or Mylite2 sleeves is purely a personal preference thing. I prefer the Archives (4 mils thick), but quite a few people are satisfied with the Mylite2 sleeves. In any case, you want to make sure you go with the "Super Golden Age" size mylar sleeves and make sure the back boards are also sized appropriately. If you call Russ at the phone number on his site instead of placing the order through his website, he can steer you toward the right product numbers.

 

You probably already know this, but "mil" does not mean "millimeter." It means "thousandths of an inch." I mention that only because people who are not familiar with mylar sleeves hear "4 mil Archives" and they expect a thick, rigid piece of plastic. Not so.

[bigfiver69]

I use mylar on all my books, but man! Your books look so good I have to applaud you for taking such good care of them already... without mylar and all the bells and whistles. They look remarkably fresh. The general conditions where you keep them in your home must be fairly cool and dry. Some would say that is enough.

 

But me, I would still investigate the mylar and backing boards.

 

Again, what a pleasure to see such lovely books in such wonderful condition. I'm not a big Golden Age guy, but your collection must stand as the nicest to have come to light in many, many years.

 

NICE!

Shep

[The Black Hand ®]

Does someone want to tell BZ what happens to a high grade comic if you don't carefully insert it into the mylar. I'm having visions of much damage done to this collection.

[Timulty]

Yeah, that might be a good idea. I know, I have cut into a comic with mylar(good thing it was a Bronze Age book!). I am sure there are other forms of damage, if not properly inserted.

 

Again, I am a believer that if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[clarkkentdds]

Do you have a Supes #14 or 24?

[Aman619]

Those are amazing....and what more amazing is you still have them in those cheesy glad wrap bags

 

I know nothing about the subject of Mylar and backing boards.

 

Is there a universal standard (regarding mil thickness, etc.) used by most collectors in the hobby?

 

I'm willing to give them a try.

 

Who do you recommend I buy them from?

 

You can get mylar sleeves and buffered backing boards from www.comicsupply.com. Russ (the owner) is a fellow forum member and his service and pricing have been great every time I've ordered from him. He is usually a lot faster (and a little cheaper) than ordering direct from E. Gerber (the manufacturer of mylars and archival-quality back boards that Russ sells).

 

If you are going to use backing boards, make sure you ONLY use backing boards that are buffered with an alkaline reserve (3% calcium carbonate, usually). Unbuffered backing boards will turn acidic even if they were "acid free at the time of manufacture."

 

The buffered backing boards many people use are the "Full Backs" manufactured by E. Gerber & Co. (and sold at comicsupply.com). They are buffered with 3% calcium carbonate and are safe for long-term storage of comics. They are 42 mils (thousandths of an inch) thick, so they provide plenty of support for the comic book inside the mylar sleeve. This is the brand of back board that most people I know use. Gerber also manufactures 24 mil back boards called "Half Backs." Most people use these for less expensive books.

 

For mylar sleeves, most people use either the 4 mil Archives (open top mylar sleeves) or the 2 mil "Mylite2" sleeves (which look like a normal comic bag and have a foldable flap that you can fold over the opening in the sleeve. Whether you want Archives or Mylite2 sleeves is purely a personal preference thing. I prefer the Archives (4 mils thick), but quite a few people are satisfied with the Mylite2 sleeves. In any case, you want to make sure you go with the "Super Golden Age" size mylar sleeves and make sure the back boards are also sized appropriately. If you call Russ at the phone number on his site instead of placing the order through his website, he can steer you toward the right product numbers.

 

You probably already know this, but "mil" does not mean "millimeter." It means "thousandths of an inch." I mention that only because people who are not familiar with mylar sleeves hear "4 mil Archives" and they expect a thick, rigid piece of plastic. Not so.

 

whats your take on Bill Coles products? My understanding is that he had licensed Gerbers "invention" many years ago. But when it expired, Gerber went back into business making and selling Mylar products now in competition with Cole. I dont know if Cole had to come up with a comparable knockoff product or continued to make and sell Gerber's patented Mylars in some fashion. Do you?

 

Also, in the beginning, quality control at the new Gerber was lousy, with many many sleeves splitting up the sides and often with two stuck together by the edges!! Have they cleaned up their act since then?

[Scrooge]

Also, in the beginning, quality control at the new Gerber was lousy, with many many sleeves splitting up the sides and often with two stuck together by the edges!! Have they cleaned up their act since then?

 

Funny you should mention that. Last night, I noticed for the first time one of my Mylite 2 with a split side. But! I have bought only Gerber products since 2001 and never has this happened before nor have I seen 2 stuck together. It would seem that the early production problems have been fixed.

[mr.schomburg]

I don't know for sure if Mylar is the end all for perserving comics, but I can say this. When I stopped collecting in around 1987 I had bagged and boarded my whole collection and placed them in comic boxes. The comics that were in Mylar snugs or mylites(the original flimsy ones 1 mil) as opposed to standard poly bags and boards did retain more gloss and extreamly white pages. This was across the board after 15 yrs of storage, the big thing was page quality, the poly bagged comics had more of off-white to white page look, and the mylar books had stunning fresh printed white pages.

Of course I don't know if this means anything. Looking at BZ's books make me wonder, they seem to have extreamly high gloss with almost no color loss or any at all. I can say that the mylars do add a stiffness to the comic which enables it to remain crease free easier.

I really prefer the Mylite 2's with Full backs. They provide a wide range of sizes, and give extreamly good viewing quality. On top of that the are extreamly stiff with the full back and another half back can be added to provide a more solid holder. The closable flap also keeps dust out and deters pests. One of the items I like best is that they still remain plyable enough to make comic insertion easy and safer than conventional snuggs, but care should alway be taken when placing a comic in a bag. Oh, and one more thing, I have noticed that Mylar snugs the 4 mil version often scratch very easy and viewing is diminished over time. I have been using the Mylite 2's for about 4 years and have converted all of my collection over to them aside from graded books and at this time have seen no scratching issue and so viewing is clear and scratch free.

The Gerber's did however have a spliting problem at first, but I have had none of these issues in the last several years.

Paul

[BangZoom]

Do you have a Supes #14 or 24?

 

Yes.

[Aman619]

the thing i dont like about Mylites is that they exhibit friction against each other. That is, sliding a comic between 2 other comics pressed together in a tight box just wont go smoothly. The Mylites cling and stop the comic half way down into the box... Both Bags and Mylars snugs slide more easily.

 

maybe I just have too many books in a box! : )

[clarkkentdds]

sweet- can we see 'em ... pretty please

[mr.schomburg]

Yeah, I hate that. I also know exactly what you are talking about. That clingy friction seems to go away after a couple of years, but for sure it is an issue with me as well. You have to admit that they look amazing for viewing your comic in.

[Timulty]

I don't know for sure if Mylar is the end all for perserving comics, but I can say this. When I stopped collecting in around 1987 I had bagged and boarded my whole collection and placed them in comic boxes. The comics that were in Mylar snugs or mylites(the original flimsy ones 1 mil) as opposed to standard poly bags and boards did retain more gloss and extreamly white pages. This was across the board after 15 yrs of storage, the big thing was page quality, the poly bagged comics had more of off-white to white page look, and the mylar books had stunning fresh printed white pages.

Of course I don't know if this means anything. Looking at BZ's books make me wonder, they seem to have extreamly high gloss with almost no color loss or any at all. I can say that the mylars do add a stiffness to the comic which enables it to remain crease free easier.

I really prefer the Mylite 2's with Full backs. They provide a wide range of sizes, and give extreamly good viewing quality. On top of that the are extreamly stiff with the full back and another half back can be added to provide a more solid holder. The closable flap also keeps dust out and deters pests. One of the items I like best is that they still remain plyable enough to make comic insertion easy and safer than conventional snuggs, but care should alway be taken when placing a comic in a bag. Oh, and one more thing, I have noticed that Mylar snugs the 4 mil version often scratch very easy and viewing is diminished over time. I have been using the Mylite 2's for about 4 years and have converted all of my collection over to them aside from graded books and at this time have seen no scratching issue and so viewing is clear and scratch free.

The Gerber's did however have a spliting problem at first, but I have had none of these issues in the last several years.

Paul

 

Yes, I have even seen the splitting problem. The way I see it with BZ's storage method(and why it seems to work) is that books are stack horizontally and the weight from the books helps to compress air out and possibly impeded page degradation(hence the reason that Church's books held up). This usually leaves the problems with the top most books and spine edges having damage. But since the books are in baggies, it probably helps with that as well. Though, I would expect the top most and bottom most books to not be the same quality as the books in the middle of the stack. Still, a bottom or top stack book in one of BZ's stack still out classes what a great many collectors have in their GA collections.

[ciorac]

I don't know for sure if Mylar is the end all for perserving comics, but I can say this. When I stopped collecting in around 1987 I had bagged and boarded my whole collection and placed them in comic boxes. The comics that were in Mylar snugs or mylites(the original flimsy ones 1 mil) as opposed to standard poly bags and boards did retain more gloss and extreamly white pages. This was across the board after 15 yrs of storage, the big thing was page quality, the poly bagged comics had more of off-white to white page look, and the mylar books had stunning fresh printed white pages.

Of course I don't know if this means anything. Looking at BZ's books make me wonder, they seem to have extreamly high gloss with almost no color loss or any at all. I can say that the mylars do add a stiffness to the comic which enables it to remain crease free easier.

I really prefer the Mylite 2's with Full backs. They provide a wide range of sizes, and give extreamly good viewing quality. On top of that the are extreamly stiff with the full back and another half back can be added to provide a more solid holder. The closable flap also keeps dust out and deters pests. One of the items I like best is that they still remain plyable enough to make comic insertion easy and safer than conventional snuggs, but care should alway be taken when placing a comic in a bag. Oh, and one more thing, I have noticed that Mylar snugs the 4 mil version often scratch very easy and viewing is diminished over time. I have been using the Mylite 2's for about 4 years and have converted all of my collection over to them aside from graded books and at this time have seen no scratching issue and so viewing is clear and scratch free.

The Gerber's did however have a spliting problem at first, but I have had none of these issues in the last several years.

Paul

 

Yes, I have even seen the splitting problem. The way I see it with BZ's storage method(and why it seems to work) is that books are stack horizontally and the weight from the books helps to compress air out and possibly impeded page degradation(hence the reason that Church's books held up). This usually leaves the problems with the top most books and spine edges having damage. But since the books are in baggies, it probably helps with that as well. Though, I would expect the top most and bottom most books to not be the same quality as the books in the middle of the stack. Still, a bottom or top stack book in one of BZ's stack still out classes what a great many collectors have in their GA collections.

 

True enough, but what worries me is the lack of backing boards. Full backs should be high on his list. With his stuff, a bend here or there would mean thousands of dollars. Not worth the risk. He obviously loves his stuff and seems to go through the collection often. Moving books around in poly bags with no backers is an invitation to disaster.

 

4 mil mylars and full backs all the way. I usually go one step further on anything worth more than $1000. I put the comic in a Mylite with no board. Then insert it into a 4 Mil Archive with a full back.

[moonpool]

I"ve really enjoyed seeing all these comics, even though I'm not much a comic collector. In your paperbacks, do you have a readers choice lib 34, Challenger Crossword Puzzles? Thanks again for all the great scans.