Expert: Nicolas - 2/24/2005

Question
Hi Nicolas

I am very interested in how you keep your old books in good conditions.   I have boxes of old comic books but when I take them out to read, I can see and and feel little bugs on the books and jumping onto me and sucking my blood.

What should I do to get my old comic books clean and how to prevent them from growing little bugs?

Thanks

HT

Answer
Hi :

You need to put your books in plastic bags and back them with backing boards. Both of them need to be acid free of course.

Plastic bags and backing boards vary in size. Check the size of your books and pick the right size. You can find them in most comic shops. Alternatively, try to google  Bud Plant Comic Art and/or Bill Cole on the web. These are two major providers of comic book supplies.

For high value books, I would recommend to use mylars, which are rigid plastic bags of archival quality. They are used to preserve very old books, fragile posters, etc.

Finally, I would advise to take them out of the boxes, get new ones since the bugs may be attracted to the old cardboard.

Hope this is useful.

Best

Nicolas