Storing comic books: ditching a short box for a showier display

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BCW short comic book storage box
BCW short comic book storage box
I have to believe that out there somewhere are some offbeat homes with comic book collections that are well-displayed. I would love to see some pictures of what people have done with them, besides shoving them in long or short boxes or stacking them on bookshelves.

I’ve longed to find a way to honor this part of my husband (because throwing them away or selling them on ebay behind his back would end our marriage). – Liz

Here are some of our ideas…

IKEA Spontan magazine racks holders
IKEA Spontan magazine racks holders
3 pocket wall file starter set, letter, clear
3 pocket wall file starter set, letter, clear
IKEA Expedit shelves and bookcases.
IKEA Expedit shelves and bookcases.
Spinning magazine racks.
Spinning magazine racks.
Alexandria Codex storage drawer: “A dragon punch to the balls of the white cardboard box”
Comic cubes.
Comic cubes.
Acrylic magazine holder by U.S. Acrylic
Acrylic magazine holder by U.S. Acrylic
Modern-style magazine racks.
Modern-style magazine racks.
Decorative ledges.
Decorative ledges.
Make a wall of comics with Safco plastic literature displays
Make a wall of comics with Safco plastic literature displays

Offbeat Homies: What are your best ideas for storing comic books in a way which adds interest to a room? If you’ve got photos, share a link in the comments!

Comments on Storing comic books: ditching a short box for a showier display

  1. As a fiance of a comic book lover, you have no idea how freaking giddy I was when I saw this post. Right now my comic loving hunny has about 11 LONG boxes full and they are in my guest room closet. I want to use that closet for storage of items NOT comic book related. This has given me hope. I have a fantastic idea to spruce up him comic book room and give me back my closet.

  2. I collected comic-books for a long time, and while I had to give up “the habit” for finance reasons, I still love the books I have.

    One thing I did to make my comments more accessible, but ditch those pesky boxes, is get huge-heavy duty three ring binders. I then slid my comics in to sheet protectors and placed them in the binder.

    If you were able to get some really great binders, in nice striking colors with, say, linen covers (I know they have these at Staples) I can see them looking really nice on a shelf, sort of Urban/Mod/Semi-Industrial if you did it the right way.

  3. I’m sure my husband would love to display some of his comics, but we too, are short on ideas.

    However, for storage purposes, we’ve managed to come up with a solution to give us more room.

    I picked up a set of “bed risers” that the legs of the bed sit on. It raises our bed an extra 6 inches off the floor, which is the perfect height to slide the long boxes under with clearance.
    Slide the long boxes under & close together and you can get a dozen or so underneath a queen sized bed.
    Get a king size bed skirt/dust ruffle, and it’ll give you extra length to reach the floor with the added height.
    All your long boxes are hidden and stored safely out of the way…unless your husband is like mine and has enough to hide under 3 or 4 beds!

  4. Hey y’all,

    I just came across this site via offbeatmama.com and am truly in love with these sites already! I too am a big dreamer for how I’d love to honor my belongings.

    One of my favorite solutions of displaying periodicals was at my college, PNCA. They have these fabulous magazine display shelves that lift from the bottom to reveal back stock!
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnca/4644747437/in/photostream/

    Sorry this image doesn’t display the shelf in all it’s glory… but I could imagine it making a really neat room divider if you have the space. Especially back-to-back.
    Also, I don’t have the name of the manufacturer, but I was coming across some close to it when I searched for magazine display shelves in google. They’re metal. I’m pretty sure they’re floor mounted, perhaps they have some ceiling anchors too, can’t recall.

  5. With the idea to have all of my Comic Book/Graphic Novel/Action Figure collection in one area, and make is somewhat pleasing to the eyes….I chose to stick with the book shelf look, but change it so it wasn’t just a “generic” book shelf appearance.

    I purchased various bookends to spread out my Graphic Novel collection, bought magazine racks to hold my monthly issues, and spread out my action figures/statues across the top and on some of the shelves. I already have framed posters on the walls, so I wanted to stay away from a generic wall-hanging magazine rack (which; btw, any comic book collector will tell you damages the books over time and makes them worthless).

    I think the parent or significant other who may not be interested in Comic Books, but respects their loved ones love for the genre, can appreciate a nice-looking, space-confining idea like this for the bedroom or spare room.

    My total cost for 2 book-shelves/racks/bookends….$150. Do it with one book shelf for half that and take up less space. If you want to see a pic of my work, go to:

    http://superheroreviews.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-comic-book-corner.html

    Hope this idea is inspiring for some of you!

  6. Hey! I know it’s kinda late, but I just found a great way to display comics! Using a Vinyl J-Channel from any hardware store, I nailed the channels to the wall, and presto! The 5/8 inch channels worked perfectly for my bagged + boarded comics, and even some of the thicker volumes.
    Here’s a link: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202666289/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=5/8%20J%20channel&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202951349

  7. Hey, I know it’s been over a year since this was posted, but I work in retail on a remodel crew – so I’m always coming across old fixtures, racks, and the like that are on their way to the dumpster. check out what I did with some old pegboard and panty hose racks:

    http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/550799_10150790242618793_590071925_n.jpg

    http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/530634_10150790240683793_1187537001_n.jpg

  8. I’ve been searching for an answer to this for quite sometime. As a daughter of a furniture manufacturer I’m a bit snobby about furniture, (even though I could never afford what he makes) so most comic storage solutions are not my taste. Since my husband’s and my collection are fairly small I’ve resorted to clear 3 ring comic sleeves to store each comic in clean binders on my shelf. My fav binders are Russell and hazel. Though I was thinking of making my own similar binder from raw cardboard and creating a “binding” from a vinyl sticker of the artwork from the comics enclosed in each binder. (Russell and hazel uses vinyl stickers as some of the binding on their folders so u get the idea).
    Problem is I bought mine for their art not the story and would like to display some without going crazy framing them all or destroying their integrity.

  9. I’m currently looking for a new way to showcase my comics that I have and I remember when I was a kid my mom got me this plastic sheet that you hang up on your wall with pockets in them for your comics (similar to way you store baseball cards). I have been looking for something like that again because it does exactly what I want, display them, access to read them and not to have to buy plastic bags and backing for them and they take up zero space. Anyone know where i can get them?

  10. I have been trying to find something that can help me organize better while looking good as my wife probably doesn’t want the boxes around. The comics need to be stored right or then what is the point of keeping them. I came across this and I think this might be a great thing to do if you or your husband has any woodworking skills or even know someone that does.

    http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/viewer-projects/rays-comic-book-storage-cabinet/

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