How to frame a comic book

To any dedicated collector, comic books are a prized possession. But rather than displaying them proudly, many choose to tuck them away in cupboards — to hide from sunlight, siblings, and other threats to their mint condition. On the contrary, we think that your favourite comics belong somewhere that they can be seen and enjoyed.

Using a comic book display frame is a great way to — ahem — marvel at their glory, and provide them with a robust layer of protection from natural forces. A framed comic book can serve as an office desk talking point, a decorative room centrepiece, or the perfect gift for a superhero-obsessed family member. This makes framing a great option for anyone with piles of childhood favourites sitting unloved in storage.

As with any valuable, we believe that your favourite comic should be invested in and cared for. Though you can attempt to frame a comic book yourself, this can be risky if you don’t have access to the necessary materials or know-how. Many of the standard acrylic and glass covers that come in shop-bought frames lack adequate protection to maintain ink colours over time, and DIY mounting techniques could damage delicate comic book paper. For valued collector’s items, this is a no-go — and this is why we offer framing services that meticulously fit each book in its own bespoke frame, mounted to best preserve their quality.

Here is a guide to how we frame comic books that can be displayed for years to come.

1. Chose the Style

With an in-person or remote video consultation, we begin by helping you to choose the best comic book frame design. We stock a range of over 500 styles to suit any aesthetic, and can spray frames with almost any colour code to match the comic’s cover. As part of our bespoke collection, you can choose from a range of different materials, from distressed crypt to polished aluminium.

Various mounting options are available, including coloured and textured mounts, text boxes, and engraving. You can ‘float’ the mount with a border of breathing space, or frame straight to edge and we’ll fit the comic to the perfect size that shows off its art from corner to corner.

If you have a more unique layout in mind, we’re happy to design odd shapes to fit your concept. You might fancy an open-book spread, choosing a comic book strip frame that displays each panel, or even a radial selection of your favourite books for an eye-catching wall design. At this stage, we can create mock-up renders of your comic book frames in various styles, to help you visualise the end result.

For inspiration, take a look at some of our more unique object framing projects here.

2. Complete the fit

We then tailor and cut the frame to match your needs. Any size of book is doable, from the varied dimensions of golden age strips to the standard 6 5/8″ by 10 3/16″ of modern comics.

The typical framing process involves sinking the book into a mountboard trough, before placing another mountboard over this trough gap with a slightly smaller aperture. This technique keeps the comic positioned in the frame, so that we don’t have to use any unnecessary taping or tags to hold it in place. 

We do this because oils in tape and other adhesives can damage the paper. Using our method, we ensure that your comic can be easily removed from the frame later without any harm.

3. Make the finishing touches

From start to finish, you have control over how you want your comic book display frame to look. We offer several different covering options that can provide various levels of clarity and UV protection.

For comics, we typically recommend anti-reflective glass with a high level of UV protection, for the utmost clarity and colour preservation. While glass can’t completely block UV rays, the high-grade option we use can provide up to 99% protection. This means that you’ll be able to enjoy your framed comic for many years, without hiding it away to never be seen. Different inks and paper qualities tend to vary in their rate of fading, but you can be sure with high-protection glass that any discolouration will be minimal over time.

Once the comic book frame is designed to your taste, we can help with installation. You might want one of our framers to visit and lend a hand in person, or you can use our hanging guide to do it yourself.

For more information about our framing services, or to book a consultation, please don’t hesitate to contact us.