In terms of the subjective study, comic preservation cover these general areas:
Proper Handling of Comics
- Keep your hands clean and dry when handling comics.
Proper Archival Level storage of a Collection
- Use acid free comic books boxes for long term storage.
- Use the proper comic encapsulation method, that is appropriate for ones’ economic resources.
Proper basic comics cleaning (non toxic chemical)
Proper assessment and treatment options for structural damaged to a comic.
- The subject of comic preservation can be a heated one, among those devoted to the reading and collecting these graphical storybooks. The main issue in the debate is not whether ones comic should be preserved, but rather what is preservation and when does it become restoration. The general notion of preservation involves two ideas:1. The first idea is that one wants to prevent decay of what they have at present.
2. The second idea is that a person wants to maintain whatever they have, in the condition, in which they have it at present.
Both ideas must be linked like the concept of yin and yang, if ones collection is to survive the long term ravages of time and decay caused by varying environmental conditions. The notion of maintenance and prevent from decay in the comic world, are not yet so blended together. The main problem is a lack of education, limited grasp and or interest in dimensions of paper documents preservation.
Another problem is a lack of understanding of the difference between preservation and restoration. In truth there is a fine line between the two ideas. There are two general types of comic restoration.