A Better Foundation

I created a blog post sometime ago about Storage which involved switching my large collection of comics into shorter Drawer Boxes and it was a revelation in accessibility. This continued to work out great over the years. A few times I made the big decision to expand, purchasing a few more boxes to keep up with my growing collection. Usually this occurred during a move where I found myself with a little more space. I’m very cautious about this though because having a set amount of storage forces me to refine and sell off series that I might have lost interest in. It keeps me honest.

Still I could not resist a couple expansions and the boxes stacked higher. While technically they are stacked within the recommended amount, the wear and tear over the years was starting to show in concerning ways. The entire collection was starting to lean hard to the right even though I was occasionally swapping rows around. Almost equally concerning to me though was just how the whole thing presented itself. I’m in no way ashamed of my collection, but I wasn’t happy with how it looked.

To look for solutions I went to the internet. I did a lot of searches for Drawer Box comic shelves and was having trouble coming up with anything. I started to consider just buying my own raw materials and creating something when I finally came across a brief page on Pinterest about how the PAX closet system from IKEA was able to fit the Drawer Boxes pretty well. I checked the IKEA site and they conveniently had a very robust designer application on the website that allowed me to take the modular parts of the closet system and construct exactly what I need. The precise measurements allowed me to feel confident that it would work before I blindly shipped about $500 of materials to my place.

And so after two days of solid construction time during a week off from work, I was able to transform my collection into something that presents well and that I am much happier with. It also allowed me to take my favorite statues and move them all to the upper shelves where they can display more prominently. As an additional bonus there is an extra shelf that Alfie can use just below Galactus. In theory I could even use that shelf for two more boxes…

While I do love the results, I have a couple minor things that I would caution anyone else looking to upgrade their collection. The wider PAX shelves did start to bow under the weight of the comics immediately. I ended up using a lot of the cardboard they shipped in to shove in and bolster the shelves above to reduce this. If I had to order over again, I would have just gone with 5 of the smaller units since those shelves don’t have the issue. It is actually a better snug fit for the Drawer Boxes. The only drawbacks would be more construction time and a little less top shelf for displaying.