Bagging and boarding?

[J.Smith]

Alright, so hopefully a few of you can help me out here.

First thing's first, I won several lots of older 2000AD comics on eBay a months ago, about half of which from the one seller are all bagged, which I'm quite happy with keeping that way - unbagged that is - as they fit rather snuggly into their storage boxes. Plenty of places selling those bags, so no problem there. However, part of the other lot that I won includes the point in which the format of the comic was changed, sometime shortly after Prog 500 I believe, and they're awkwardly taller and wider than previous issues; and I have about 250 of the comics from that point onwards.

Anyone know of anywhere selling bags for those? In the places I've checked I've not had any luck, the bags are either being for the Progs prior to that or the modern ones. However, I'm not even sure it's worth doing so for them anyway, as I think they also become glossy paged around that time(?), so I was wondering if a few of you who bag / board these things could perhaps advise me on what they did with those.

There's also the possible problem that they may not actually fit inside the boxes I'll be buying anyway, which are these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291095584242?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT.

The other thing I'm looking to do is of course also bag and board my small collection of the modern comics, and all I wanted to ask on that is - yay or nay? For some reason I feel all protective of them, particularly since I nearly ruined a bunch of them after putting them in an acidic cardboard box instead of an acid-free one, but if it's true that you need to re-bag them every couple of years to keep them in good condition, I may not bother. Though if that's the major exaggeration that I imagine it is, then I'd be quite happy to buy something like these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PACK-OF-100-X-2000-AD-COMIC-BAGS-AND-BACKING-BOARDS-/390151757159?pt=UK_Books_comics_Magazines_UK_Comics_ET&hash=item5ad6db5d67

Of course, any other suggestions of where to buy these things if I decide to do so would be quite smashing too. Either way, thanks for any help in advance.

[Frank]

I nearly ruined a bunch of them after putting them in an acidic cardboard box instead of an acid-free one, but if it's true that you need to re-bag them every couple of years to keep them in good condition, I may not bother. Though if that's the major exaggeration that I imagine it is ...

I started reading the comic around 1987, and all my progs from then on (and whatever older back issues I've bought since) have been stacked on top of each other in piles on book shelves, without bags, boards, or being boxed. They're all still fine.

[J.Smith]

Well, I know I definitely will be at least getting those storage boxes or ones like them because part of the reason I'm considering doing all this in the first place is to make some more room in my, um, room - but that is good to know, so thanks.

[Colin YNWA]

I have only bagged and boarded the first 500ish issues and used the stuff from Silveracre - which I'm sure you'll have seen and don't seem to cater for the post 520 spell. So no help there BUT what I was going to say is while you might get told to change you're bags and boards every couple of years I've never found if necessary in the least.

The best example I can think of is I have a copy of Bone issue 1 which I've kept bagged and boarded from back in the day when I got it. That one remained in its original BnB for, what at least 17 years before I changed it and suffered not a jot that I can see.

[ZenArcade]

Same here, I retreived my old 2000ads from my dads attic which had been bagged and left there since late '95 . They were grand. Z

[J.Smith]

Aye, I thought it sounded like nonsense. Like Zen, some of the comics I've taken from my dad were kept in the loft for years before I brought them down, sometimes without being stored in boxes at all, and they're perfectly fine.

Thanks guys, think my mind's made up on the older Progs in my collection. Will bag the few that I'm missing (I meant to say they were unboarded in my first post - isn't there an edit button here?) but end that little ritual with 520 onwards. Hell, the guy I bought the latter off of, as I say, hadn't had them bagged and they're all in remarkable condition.

But the modern stuff I am thinking of having bagged and boarded, though I fear that that may just be because I'm possessive towards them. :x

[Recrewt]

I have seen stuff come out of attics that look immaculate and other stuff that looks like trash.  Keeping your comics tucked away out of direct sunlight and without too much humidity is the key.  Beyond that, its down to personal preference.

I think you see a lot more bagging and boarding with US comics as it is cheaper.  There are lots of progs to buy and if you want to bag and board each one then you will end up spending quite a bit of money.  There are some things you can do to reduce this such as using two comics per bag with a board in between or some folks even put four comics in each bag and they don't tend to then need a board.  Then again, some folks just have the comics in a box and that still looks good and if stored in the right place will keep perfect for many years.  I have plenty of old 2000ADs from the early 90s that have been stored in a box with no bags and they look the same as the day I put them in there.