Quitting/putting collecting on pause

[gpmartin414]

Overall, I’ve actually gotten more joy this year from rediscovering figures long packed up vs. new releases, especially for Marvel Legends and the McFarlane DC line. With ML, my collecting is more like a habit at this point for much of the line. Sure, there have been some major wishlist figures released in the last few years, but a lot of it I’ve been lukewarm on. And the McFarlane DC line has just impossible to collect.

I have really enjoyed Mondo’s releases and the NECA TMNT stuff, though.

I do think the heaviness of the world and US politics in particular have affected the joy I get out of the hobby and really much of life in general.


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[RichardSimmonsRobot]

Is there somewhere to sit around the other side once you turn the corner on that book case? I'd think you'd want to sit and be amongst your treasures and read or have a tv or something back there in your Nerd Nook?

 

[Xavion2025]

There’s something about the word “Comics” appearing directly under the word “Wholesome” that I find sadly ironic in the 21st century.

 

[gpmartin414]

Is there somewhere to sit around the other side once you turn the corner on that book case? I'd think you'd want to sit and be amongst your treasures and read or have a tv or something back there in your Nerd Nook?

Yes! I have a little reading nook with a chair on this side. I took out the closet door and put in another smaller bookshelf and have a chair and reading table (since many of my books are huge hardcovers).

I also have a work desk with chair and monitor that doubles as a small smart TV.

I’m on video work calls at least half the day, so had to arrange my view in back to be only books. Don’t want to explain the action figure thing to colleagues and clients.


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[gpmartin414]

There’s something about the word “Comics” appearing directly under the word “Wholesome” that I find sadly ironic in the 21st century.

This is a comic spinner rack that was a Kickstarter about a decade ago. It’s intentionally supposed to be like an old school comic rack you’d find in like a grocery store or pharmacy in the past.


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[Xavion2025]

This is a comic spinner rack that was a Kickstarter about a decade ago. It’s intentionally supposed to be like an old school comic rack you’d find in like a grocery store or pharmacy in the past.

Unfortunately, I’m old enough to have walked into convenience stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies as a kid in the mid 70s and my parents purchased comics off those racks for me. (On maybe I should say “fortunately” given the direction the world seems to be headed in.)

If I had 7 to 12 year old children today, I wouldn’t let them near a contemporary comic unless it was specifically “all ages”. I don’t think children need to be reading about superheroes finding their girlfriends mutilated and stuffed in refrigerators…although to be fair, they’ve probably seen worse thanks to the internet.

I love the spinner racks themselves though. They remind me of the days when comics really were wholesome…or at least PG.

 

[gpmartin414]

Unfortunately, I’m old enough to have walked into convenience stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies as a kid in the mid 70s and my parents purchased comics off those racks for me.

If I had 7 to 12 year old children today, I wouldn’t let them near a contemporary comic unless it was specifically “all ages”. I don’t think children need to be reading about superheroes finding their girlfriends mutilated and stuffed in refrigerators…although to be fair, they’ve probably seen worse thanks to the internet.

I love the spinner racks themselves though. They remind me of the days when comics really were wholesome…or at least PG.

I'm 40, but those spinner racks were still around at local pharmacies and grocery stores where I grew up in the Midwest in the '90s. I have lots of nice memories of immediately making my way to those racks when going to the store with my mom. A trip to the grocery store or pharmacy usually meant a comic or two.

 

[TheGillMan]

I definitely have nostalgia for the spinner racks. and I specifically remember a convenience store I used to go to that had one that said "wholesome comics" at the top like that. It sticks out in my mind because my mom made a snarky remark about it when she saw an issue of House of Mystery featuring I...Vampire on said rack.

 

[joshsquash729]

I don't honestly remember many of the spinner racks in my time, but one of my LCS still has one for their new kids' stuff, which I've always found cute.

Your room looks great, though, GP! Just watch those figures behind the arm of your desk chair! If that was me, I'd constantly be knocking them over by spinning too much. As someone who's still stuck in a small-ish NY apartment, I definitely envy the space! My dream is to just have more space to spread things out and pose a bit more intricately.

I totally get the desire to not have to explain the toys to people; it's kinda inescapable in my place, and there's been a handful of times where I'm on a Zoom call for work or rehearsal and someone inquires about them. It's so silly; part of me also dreams of the day where I can give a tour of all my stuff to a friend, but whenever anyone inquires, I feel all weird.

 

[Reno]

I’m on video work calls at least half the day, so had to arrange my view in back to be only books. Don’t want to explain the action figure thing to colleagues and clients.

This is me too. My organization uses Teams so it's easy just to use one of their generic backgrounds so no one can seek the geekdom that is my home office. All of my hardcovers and trades are hidden behind packaged figures.

 

[gpmartin414]

I don't honestly remember many of the spinner racks in my time, but one of my LCS still has one for their new kids' stuff, which I've always found cute.

Your room looks great, though, GP! Just watch those figures behind the arm of your desk chair! If that was me, I'd constantly be knocking them over by spinning too much. As someone who's still stuck in a small-ish NY apartment, I definitely envy the space! My dream is to just have more space to spread things out and pose a bit more intricately.

I totally get the desire to not have to explain the toys to people; it's kinda inescapable in my place, and there's been a handful of times where I'm on a Zoom call for work or rehearsal and someone inquires about them. It's so silly; part of me also dreams of the day where I can give a tour of all my stuff to a friend, but whenever anyone inquires, I feel all weird.

Yeah, there are a lot of things I miss about NYC but I was there 15 years, so feel like I got the full experience. Having space in general has been amazing, and not just for action-figure-display reasons.

I actually never knock off those figures. My desk has a support leg that prevents my chair from making contact with that bookshelf.


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[altcunningham]

We had spinner racks in all the post exchanges and convenience stores on bases. And then in civilian world, every grocery store and drug store had them up until the early aughts.

 

[Xavion2025]

I'm 40, but those spinner racks were still around at local pharmacies and grocery stores where I grew up in the Midwest in the '90s. I have lots of nice memories of immediately making my way to those racks when going to the store with my mom. A trip to the grocery store or pharmacy usually meant a comic or two.

Now you’ve got me wondering when the last time I saw a spinner rack “live” was. I had quit reading/collecting in 1983, so I wasn’t paying much attention after that, but I do remember buying a few comics at a pharmacy in 1997 when I got back into it again. I just can’t remember if it was off a spinner rack or a shelf. Most of my comic purchasing from the 80s on was done at comic stores.

I definitely have nostalgia for the spinner racks. and I specifically remember a convenience store I used to go to that had one that said "wholesome comics" at the top like that. It sticks out in my mind because my mom made a snarky remark about it when she saw an issue of House of Mystery featuring I...Vampire on said rack.

My parents balked at the horror titles as well. “Son of Satan” definitely wasn’t going to fly.

Oddly enough, the only comic I had that they had a serious problem with was an early issue of Howard the Duck that I had gotten in a three pack. I didn’t object. I can appreciate Steve Gerber’s unique brand of genius now, but it wasn’t really my bag at 8 years old.

 

[gpmartin414]

This is me too. My organization uses Teams so it's easy just to use one of their generic backgrounds so no one can seek the geekdom that is my home office. All of my hardcovers and trades are hidden behind packaged figures.

My books are totally visible and you can see they say Batman or Captain America or whatever. I feel like the jump from explaining a large graphic novel collection to having a room full of toys is pretty big, though, so never talk about it with colleagues or clients. I do show my space to any houseguests, though.


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[altcunningham]

As a 90s adolescent, my dad and stepmom used to look sideways at the Bad Girls and even Marvel women, but never said anything were supportive of the hobbies.

I have to imagine every time my dad saw Avengelyne and Witchblade and just thought, "Okay, he quit sports and just wants to draw and play guitar, but there's no way he's gay with those posters and comics, so we got that going."