Protecting Comic Book Trade Paperbacks

To a comic book collector, a trade paperback (TPB) is a thick comic bound with a cardstock cover. These are usually the same width and height as current comic books, but are thicker than traditional comics as they have significantly more pages. A TPB might be a series of comic books or a given story arc, originally published as individual comics that have been combined. A “graphic novel” might classify as TPB, but a graphic novel could be larger or have a hardback cover. The term “omnibus” refers to an even larger bound collection of comics which were previously published as individual comics. An omnibus is more likely to have a hardback cover, and hence larger than “current comic” width and height.

For collectors who want to protect their trade paperbacks from the elements, BCW offers bags and boards. As TPBs are thicker than traditional comics, understanding what size of bags and boards are needed can be confusing if you don’t have lots of samples for testing. Below are common examples of TPBs to help you determine what bags and boards you need for your collection.

BCW only recommends polypropylene bags for these thicker comic books, as poly bags are flexible and can easily wrap to the depth of the TPB. Mylar bags are not a great solution for TPBs, as the Mylar is less flexible and will not wrap around the trade paperbacks properly.

The trade paperbacks shown above are a common size. They’re “current” width and height, and their depth (thickness) ranges from 1/8″ to 1/4″. For their protection, we recommend Current Backing Boards, along with Resealable Silver Age Comic Book Bags. While the Silver Bags are larger than the Current Boards, the bags get filled by the thick TPBs, so the end result is a perfect fit.

The thicker TPBs and hard-cover TPBs shown above range from 5/16″ to 1/2″ in depth. For these, continue to use Current Backing Boards, but use Resealable Golden Comic Bag. The Golden bags are even larger that the Silver Bags, allowing for the extra depth of these TPBs.

If you have a super thick omnibus comic book, measure to book to get the appropriate storage solution. If the omnibus is a paperback, you can select the proper backing board. If the omnibus is a hardcover, a backing board is not needed. A Resealable Golden Comic Bag, Magazine Bag, Graded Comic Book Bag, or Book Bag may be needed, depending on the scale.

To determine what size of comic bag you may need, add together the thickness of the book and the width of the book. This is the width of the comic bag you’ll need. Likewise, sum the thickness and height of your book to determine the height of the comic bag. Admittedly, there is a wide margin of possible dimensions, so you’ll need to find the closest fit without being too small.

If you want to learn more about the available sizes of comic book bags and boards, view the chart found here. For a chart of larger bags and boards for magazine-size pieces, view the chart found here.