My entire long box of 90s X-Men comics got wrecked by a leak in the garage

Happened last Tuesday during that heavy rain we got. I had them in a long box on the floor in the corner, thought it was safe. Came out to find a slow drip from a seam in the roof had pooled right under it. The bottom third of the box was soaked, like a sponge. My copies of X-Men #1 from 1991, the whole Fatal Attractions crossover with the hologram covers, just fused together into a solid brick of pulp. I tried to separate a few pages and they just tore. I'm still mad about it. What's the best way to store a collection if you don't have a perfect basement? Plastic bins instead of cardboard?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_susan18d ago

Oh man, that "solid brick of pulp" line made me wince. I lost a short box of early Image stuff the same way, a slow roof drip I never noticed. My Spawn #1 is just a colorful lump now. I switched to those plastic totes with the snap lids, the ones meant for basements. They cost a bit more but cardboard is just a sponge waiting to happen.

hayden14418d ago

Ugh, that's the worst. @the_susan, did the mildew smell ever leave the room? I've heard that stink can get into everything else, even the books that were dry. Those plastic bins are smart, but you gotta check the seals aren't trapping moisture inside, right?

sarah_hart17d ago

Seriously, I used to think cardboard was fine if you kept stuff off the floor. Then my old yearbooks got that weird damp feel and I was done. Plastic bins with good air flow are the only way I'll store anything now.