Can Poly Bags Ruin Your Comics? Plus Mylar Questions Answered

[@spencerwelchii573]

I put my 13 longboxes into a Las Vegas storage unit in 1999 in bags and boards from the late 80s & early-mid 90s and when I took them out in 2011 to go through and get rid of/rebag & board only about a Baker's Dozen had ANY damage from the low-budget bags & boards I had them in - they mostly had wrinkles in the bags (and a few bags had 'yellowed' a bit)...and the 'damage' was mainly the back cover image had leached onto the board - heck I even had about 15 boards that were brown on the back and those had ZERO picture leaching. The books I plan to MAYBE use Mylars on are my 'Key' Jokerfam appearances. My LCS sells ComiCare supplies and I get the 'Current' sized bags (not sure on the dimensions) and boards ( 6 3/4" x 10 1/2")

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Those bakers dozens could have been books worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Also, if your poly bags are wrinkling, that means they are exposed to oxidation. If your bags are exposed to oxidation, that means your books themselves are exposed. So, even though your human eye might not notice any "damage," I can guarantee the overall quality of the pages of your books took a toll. This is why you can see older books that can still look near mint, but their pages are browned and brittle. I'm definitely glad to hear that you are keeping your keys in Mylar. I currently cannot afford to put all of my 16k books in Mylar, but I'm trying to shift over as many as possible, and I usually focus on my older books, even if they aren't keys. Thanks for the comment and personal experience.

[@DONCOMICBOOKJUNKIE1971]

great video, im currently switching my x-men books over to mylar, baby steps lol. like you with a large collection to costly to do all at once. but i do plan to switch everything over. thanks for the shout out

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Yes! Baby steps for sure! I've also been trying to save up money and buy in bulk from the company websites. I've been trying to get all of my silver and bronze age stuff over to Mylar, especially my Cap run and my ASM run.

[@josephbarbera9220]

Thanks for you input! I will definitely purchase Mylar to use for my more expensive books.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ivancruz5735]

Gonna start using mylar, they make the books look beautiful and I too hate the wrinkling on the poly bags, looks dirty to say the least. Keep up the content please

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Thank you! And yes, Mylar really does make those books pop!

[@monksden467]

I use mylar for all of my "Key" issues with Gerber Fullback boards. For some reason, I find that the Fullback baords just look and feel better than standard backing boards. Do certain backing boards, ph level, play a role in the longevity and preservation of a comic as well?

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Full backs absolutely look and feel better! I'm starting to use more for my keys as well. Having acid free boards definitely play a role in preservation, but honestly, probably not in our lifetimes. I always say, the biggest thing you can do for preservation isn't what bag or board you use, but has to do with the actual environment that you store your books in (temperature, humidity, light exposure, etc.).

[@oldman-gamers303]

Environment has All to do with it.. The Big difference in my Collecting Experience is Polybags contain more Water in there Makeup as opposed to Mylar.. This is Key and where Extremes in Environment comes into Play.. but Mylites Only Preserve Better than Poly.. How we Store our Books can Have All Difference... A New Collector just Starting Out should Go for the Mylites if it can be Budgeted.. Collectors like yourself with Large Collections Well again.. it's Budget.. When I jumped into the New 52 Kick recently although Modern Books I Used Mylites.. Excellent Video Chris..

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Thanks Chris! Yeah, environment... I wish I could have central heating in my room. It sucks because I had a crew come out to quote how much it would cost to extend my central heating and air into the playroom we built, and they couldn't do it because I didn't pull a permit when I built the room! Now I'm scared to call the city out because if for some reason something isn't up to code, I'd be screwed.

[@hermanmelville8151]

great video!i have many moden age comics and i would like to put them in poly bags,which size do you suggest me? current size comiccare?is it worth it? or should i choose silver age size? we are talking about modern age books and some bronze age

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Sorry for the late response to this! Great question though. I have actually done a couple videos discussing the size bags and the size boards that I use for different types of comics. You can find those videos in my Comic Tips section. For Mylars, I use a 7 1/4 inch bag with a 7 1/8 inch board for books released prior to 1974. For anything 1975 - today, I use a 7 inch current Mylar bag with a 6 7/8 inch board.

[@comicbook_crackhead9194]

This was awesome and I agree the environment is key and one more question how many backing boards do you use per comic?

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

I only use one. My main reason for that is because I would fit less into each box double boarding, and I'm already running out of room lol. I mostly use BCW boards, and I make sure that the boards fit perfectly from edge to edge of the bag. I don't like when there is any space between the each of the bag and the board. This provides a nice tight fit, even with one board.

[@json3000]

I use comic care brand poly. I may be the minority but I think it holds up way better than any of the other brands. Mylites 2 is my Mylar of choice. I try to get anything newer with a nice cover in Mylar just for presentation. Also switching over bronze and silver age to Mylar. Pretty pricey though.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Comic Care... I will DEFIINITELY be looking for those. Do you buy them on line? Ultra Pro are weak, and BCW poly isn't that much better, but they do have a tighter fit than Ultra Pro and they tend to wrinkle and warp less. I too put any sweet cover books into Mylar, even if they are brand new or only worth a dollar. I personally don't care at this point about Mylar brand, I just go for what I can find cheaper. I can usually find BCW current Mylar 50 backs for $15 and free shipping. Silver Mylars are about the same between BCW and Mylites - around $18 to $20. I know Gerber is the big fish when it comes to Mylar "standard," but through my research, I cannot find anything that states that Mylites are in any way better or different than BCW Mylar. I even did a video comparing both brands. I should do an updated one because I could have used a better presentation. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@json3000]

@@JernosComicsPopCulture I put everything in silver age bags so some of the new stuff doesn't fit as tight. My way of thinking is that if I drop a book I would rather have some board on both sides to absorb the blow instead of the comic corners. I think comic care bags present the best and I have yet to have any start to wrinkle, whereas ultra pro bags seem like they wrinkle pretty quickly. I buy mine at my lcs but I'm sure you could find them on Amazon or eBay. I buy mylites on eBay.

[@2echopapa]

Is it ok to use silver age sized mylars for current comics? I only have a few silver keys and they dont really fit that well into current mylars. Also, I like look of the board framing the comic, but for some reason the current mylars/boards i have (BCW 7x10 1/2 mylar 2 mils, BCW 6 3/4x10 1/2 boards) barely stick out on either side of the current comics. Not sure if i have the incorrect size or what.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Jon, Please do not try to fit silver age comics into Current/Modern size bags. As for using silver age for modern books, that is totally fine. As long as you aren't handling them like crazy and the book is sliding around in the bag. For my modern books, I use the current 7 inch mylar bags, but I use a board that is 6 7/8 inch wide, and those fit perfectly and help "frame" the comics. You can find this size from BCW, and you can also get boards custom cut from E Gerber. If you do purchase from BCW's website, you can use the code JERNOS and get 10% off your order.

[@JasonPizzolato]

lmao. I am in a similar boat. I have 20 boxes of comics (4 of which are long boxes). There's no way in hell I'm gonna buy that many Mylar bags & acid-free backs! 😂 Ain't happenin'! I am, however, going to buy 100 or so Mylar bags & acid-free backs for my books that have some decent value to them. It'd be worth it.

[@JasonPizzolato]

You're spot-on about the environment, too. There are comics that I've had for 20-30 years in poly bags w/ regular backs & they look exactly like they did 20-30 years ago 'cause I've always kept them in the closet -- dark/cool. I noticed that a handful of the backs ended up w/ that funky look, but the books were just like I left 'em.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Indeed. Environment is everything! Though sometimes we cannot choose the best environment, so we have to be careful with Poly, but more importantly polyethylene, because those are the ones that are more likely to yellow your comic books.

[@Fredhalldirectedition]

Love the set up good info

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

thanks for watching!

[@chadkinsler9865]

Great video and content bro , thanks.

[@cha5]

For myself I keep all my Golden Age comics in Super Golden Age Mylars and Acid Free Super Golden Age Full Back boards, plus Acid Free boxes. (11 boxes so far) My modern comics I’m not that particular about, but I do value my Golden Age collection and want to preserve it.

[@thetoyboxthetoybox8305]

I switched all my comics to mylar. It was an expensive journey, but I look forward to never having to change the bags again in my lifetime.

[@toomanyhobbies8351]

Do you have to replace Mylar bags?

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Mylar bags can "technically" last forever. They can still get worn down though, just depending on if you're constantly handling them, or if you are keeping them exposed to negative storage conditions. Once and a while they will split, but that's rare. I've only had two or three split on me ever.

[@marcocruz7430]

I'm trying to get the answer to this myself but you said that it was boarded in a poly bag a poly bag come sealed how is there a board in it already that makes me think that it was just how the person took care of the comic in the first place

[@nighttigercomics7323]

I quit using polybags altogether. Prolines are a bit thinner mylites and come in a bag of 100 for $8.

[@azb-comics]

I do not think poly bags can ruin comics I use them and my comics are stil great . How can I keep a stable from rusting ??

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Staples will last forever if they never come in contact with moisture or water.

[@azb-comics]

@@JernosComicsPopCulture great! There is only one book in my collection that has a 1rusty stable. But hey I got that book for an Amazing price and it is a 4.5 to 5.0 in my opinion. Tales of suspense 58 is a great book and a classic . Reading it just reminds me of how good stan is with righting story's and creating characters. But this is the only book that will e er have a rusty stabel in my collection 😂. As long as I'm happy.

[@boombapdoom493]

Mylar are 🔝 awesome but yea kinda pricey.. I only plan on putting my fav (key) books in mylars

[@BUBSWORLD181]

I'm always looking for a resaealable mylar bag. That is the only reason I am still using polly. I hate tape.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

Good point! And you know it's interesting...… I buy from Midtown often and they always send books in resealable poly bags, and I noticed that those poly bags seem to be of higher quality than the standard BCW or Ultra Pro poly bags. I have assumed because maybe they are a polyethylene instead of polypropylene? I honestly am not sure. Resealable Mylars would be awesome though!

[@izzydarkhart4144]

I believe most people drawn to these videos are beginners trying to get into collecting with no more then 10 comics so it makes sense to focus primarily on 2m mylar and 4m mylar for important parts of your collection, and there are also some good slabs you can get now a days if you do not want to go the cgc direction for your really really important stuff. Well long time collectors it just does not make sense financially to primarily focuses on mylar in general and instead use poly for regular and just use 2m for important stuff and 4m is pointless and might as well slab those if they that important.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

To each they own. I wouldn't categorize this for 'newbie collectors.' I've been collecting for almost 35 years, own over 18k comics, and I'm not just buying mylar for a handful of books. But it definitely boils down to budget for sure. I know it's hard for collectors to afford putting everything in their collection in mylar. I still use poly for my modem books.

[@sattoriemei3210]

For me if you have a $500 book SLAB IT!

[@johnsherrill326]

Poly bags blow. Mylar all the way.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

lol you ain't lyin!

[@DrMJJr]

4mil Mylar are a REAL PITA, even if they are thicker…2mil Mylar are the only way to go AFAIC.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

I agree 100%

[@BlackCroLong]

You are all crazy. Polypropelyne is ARCHIVAL. They can't damage your book. They are completely acid free.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

A bag is only as good as the environment it is stored in. Even Mylars are not full proof. Even if you store your books in Mylar, if the environment is bad, they can only do so much. Now polyethelyne bags can absolutely break down and damage your books.

[@BlackCroLong]

@@JernosComicsPopCulture and what is "Mylar" exactly? "BoPET (biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyETHYLENE terephthalate". Again: Polypropylene is used for archiving old documents in libraries, cause it's 100% neutral, permanent and document quality. That's because they have no plasticizer (softener) in it, like PVC. Polypropylene bags are the best you can do. It's the closest thing to having your comics floating in the air, touching nothing. The comic can't and will never "react" with the polypropylene bags, nor will the bags start to corrode and damage your comic. To this day, there still isn't an option that is better than Polypropylene bags to archive anything.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

@@BlackCroLong Okay. So what is the point you are trying to make? This is an old video, so I don't remember everything I said in it, but where did I ever say that there was anything better? Obviously the Mylar poly is better than your standard poly bags. Are you arguing against that? The bottom line is that a book can be ruined in even the best bag out there.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

If you're arguing that basic poly bags are better than Mylar, then I'm definitely not the crazy one here. Also, the standard polyethelyne bags are the worst because they can literally melt down into your comics.

[@JernosComicsPopCulture]

@@BlackCroLong I watched the video lol. I did say that current polypropelyne are not archival. I was wrong. Honestly, I believe I mixed up propelyne with ethelyne, and you probably noticed I said "ethynal" by mistake as well. I have verbal dyslexia and often mix words up like this. But you're right, current polys are indeed archival, but they don't beat Mylar, and also, it doesn't mean they are going to keep every outside element from getting into the book, because poly bags aren't sealed air tight.

[@stevenlupanko2983]

The best thing you can do is grow up and stop reading comics. I read comics when I was 8 then I grew up. They are not books , books are what adults read you have comics, for kids.