Expert: Grant Hudson - 2/10/2009

Question
 My boyfriend asked me to find out if he can store his comics(some are from the fifties)in his garage. We live in the mid-west so the weather changes a lot. Does that have an effect or not?

Answer
It all depends on how well you want to store them and what condition you want to maintain them in. Proper plastic sheaths for comics are now available commercially, which protect comics from any kind of environmental fluctuations, but you might not want to get that into it.

I have stored thousands of comics in a shed for years in both the superheated Australian outback and a very changeable English climate and it has had no noticeable effect on their overall condition. However, I have also had the bad experience of storing them in a  garage in London and having them suffer badly from water damage due to damp. Failing the full plastic sheath treatment, my advice would be to store them in boxes and up off the floor and away from walls -but no guarantees!

Grant