Comic Covers DVD - Comic Covers Q&A


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- Question of the Week -
08-07-2006

"What do you do for labelling your titles? Do you use purchased title dividers or do you make your own? Do you make title dividers for every single title or for comics that are one offs or that you'll never get another title of do you make a divider for "S Miscellaneous" for example?"
Cheers,
Chris

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Ron - (a.k.a. Rocket2600)

I have a question for you Chris, what do you do with old back boards that you replace with new ones? When I get in comics from Ebay I always rebag and board the issues. I keep the old backboards to use for various projects. In my collection, I sort comics by company then by title. So I printed up a list of several companies using a nice sized font. A few cuts on a straight edge and some shipping tape and viloa`. A nice, easy and cheap divider. [LINK]

I also have those rigid plastic ones that you can buy online and in most local comic stores. I bought a big stack of used dividers at a shop closing years ago. I just print out a label and place on the divider as needed. Here is a example pic of both methods. [LINK]

As far as how you sort your comics, well that is up to the individual collector. Some sort by title only and mix the companies together. Others sort by character, artist, writer or some other method. It's finding a sorting system that works for you.

So, you really don't have to spend a lot of money on the plastic dividers, if you are ok with using home made ones. Plan on sorting your books so you can find a certain issue with ease. Using a divider or place marker of some type is a good thing to use as your collection grows over the years.

Ron has been collecting comics since 1985. His collection has grown as in 2001 he decided to keep every comic issue he could get his hands on. His main interests include Marvel, DC, bad/good girl, and the "dead universes" from the 1980's & 1990's.

Karen - (a.k.a. klindsay)

I don't use any kind of divider currently for my collection. I have all my comics in short boxes, and have them numbered and labelled on the front with an index card toploader. (e.g. a card in the sleeve says "Box 3 BAT-BOO") Since they're small boxes, it's not hard to find anything.

I do, however, use dividers for another purpose. I've found that labelling them with the names of creators that will appear at the con we're attending helps me keep my books that need signatures organized. We put them in a short box as well, and it fits rather nicely in our rolling file cart.

Karen has been interested in comics since dinosaurs roamed the earth. She loves all genres including Horror, Superhero, Mythology, and Grant Morrison.

Sean - (a.k.a. thespectre)

*** See Karen's answer above as we share a collection.

Sean has been collecting off and on for 15 years, it was not untill he got married that he really found some one to share the hobby with and go all out collecting. He was a Marvel collector only but now is into all comic vendors. "I love to read and that's what's important."

Jeremiah - (a.k.a. Gambit80)

With labeling, organization also comes into play. I usually group all one-shots together and divide them into "X-Men related", "Sin City one-shots" and other such categories. In those cases I just use one divider for each. I bought some dividers but back in the day I made some out of old manila folders that had the tab on it used in filing cabinets.

I usually stick with by title, but that can get to be a bit arduous with the amount of individual titles one can have. For instance, I have "Frank Cho works" and under that I have all my "Liberty Meadows", "Shanna", "Small Press Expo" covers and other misc. pieces of his work.

For my "Sin City" books, I have a separate title label for "DHP" and for the one-shots, but the main label encompasses all the minis.

Different volumes can be a real hassle but if you have not too much of one of the volumes, then I say combine them into one; otherwise use two separate dividers.

I hope this was helpful, best of luck!

Jeremiah has been collecting comics since 1991 with a focus on X-Men, Sin City, the works of Frank Cho and studying the history of the comic art medium.

Clyf - (a.k.a. Clyfft)

I finally broke down and bought some comic dividers at the LCS. I had been making my own dividers for years (cardboard, posterboard), but they just didn't hold up very well (the top where the name was would bend when the cover was put on the box). I also use file folder labels to put the name of the title on. This way you can just rip off the old label and put on a new whenever you need to.

Right now, large runs that I own have their own divider and miscellaneous books are group by publisher. When I have more money to spend (and when I have all of my books in one state) I plan on organizing them by title.

Clyf started collecting in 1989. His interests mainly include Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. His collection is 5,900 strong and growing.

David - (a.k.a. Johnturned51)

I have used various systems over the years, but now i use dividers that line up with my DB program. So EVERYthing has a label. For instance, Amazing Spider-man Vol.1, Vol. 2, Vol. 1 again.... Annual, Then Mini Series: (And each mini has its own tab). To do all this, i use some heavy cardstock. I write down what the label should say, then cut it off and tape it to the top of the bag. This way I can fold them back or forward as needed, and stagger them to that they are all easily readable. Its also relatively cheap.

David came back to the comic medium in 2003, with emphasis on Marvel and creator books falling into the Sci-Fi, and Fantasy genres.

Charles - (a.k.a. CKillian)

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Charles has been collecting comics on and off for over 15 years. His interests lie in the artwork of the comic and is big on variants as long as the cover is cool. His tastes for comics vary as he find himself picking up comics just because the cover caught his eye. "Collect what you like, and you cant go wrong is my motto for collecting. Slabbing is a no-no in my opinion and grading is for investors not collectors."

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