The guy at the comic shop told me to bag everything in Mylites... he was right

I started collecting manga about two years ago, and I just kept everything in the plastic bags they came in. A guy at a shop in Austin told me to switch to Mylites with fullbacks or the pages would yellow. I thought he was just trying to upsell me on something. Fast forward to last month, I pulled out a volume from 2022 and the cover had this weird dullness to it compared to one I bagged later. He was totally right, and now I'm slowly re-bagging my whole collection. Has anyone else had advice from a shop employee that actually saved your stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

baker.simon13d ago

Nah I kinda gotta disagree with you on this one. I've been collecting for like 10 years and I've got old stuff from before I even knew what Mylites were. Some of it is in regular poly bags or even just stacked on a shelf. Yeah some edges get a little yellow but nothing crazy. I think the whole "your pages will turn to dust if you don't use archival stuff" is mostly fear mongering for people who think their manga is an investment piece. Unless you're storing them in a sunny window or a damp basement they're fine. I mean if you notice a difference that's cool but I don't think it's some universal rule.

maxpalmer13d ago

Funny enough, I had a buddy who kept his whole collection in those cheap cardboard boxes from a move. Moved three times in five years, never bagged a single volume. His copies of Battle Angel Alita from the 90s look like they've been through a war, but they're still readable. Pages are kinda tan and some spines are busted, but nothing fell apart. I think people overestimate how fragile these things actually are unless you're literally storing them in a puddle or next to a radiator. You really gotta be doing something wrong to ruin a book in under ten years, so I'm with you on this being overblown.