collections
I think that we buy these things in order to connect. We are trying to connect to who we used to be. The 12 year olds that the mortgage and parenting have stomped out of existince. You are quite right in saying that we are buying household gods. Of course, it isn't just a 9 inch hulk figure that we worship, but we buy cars and houses that we hope connect us to ourselves and even our fathers and forefathers. And in the end...they don't.

Posted by bigdaddyhub2 on 2006-07-21 12:09:26
Knick-Knackery
Doesn't it creep you out a little when you visit somebody's home and you see absolutely no evidence that the guy didn't just move in an hour ago? Good God...even when the Government puts you into the Witness Protection Program they set up your new apartment with movie posters and snowglobes to help sell the idea that you've had this identity and personality for more than 48 hours...!

I think most people need to grow out of the Blind Acquisition thing over time. But still, the totemistic nature of certain stuff remains. It pleases you to have a bust of Jack Kirby. I have a tobacco card of PG Wodehouse up near my desk for the same reason. It's a Lovely Thing(tm), it reflects who you are, and if it give you one gram of extra inspiration or encouragement at the end of a really wretched day, it's earned its keep.

Posted by Ihnatko on 2006-07-21 12:51:07
interesting
another thing that I've found with it...or at least that I've found with my collection, is that it makes me think of certain traits that I somehow connect to or respond to. An action figure of Ben Grimm reminds me to be proud of who I am. The 6" Spiderman currently hangin from my desk and looking at me remind me to laugh in the face of adversity. I think one of my favorite figures that I try to keep close by is actually the 6" Kermit the frog figure that Palisades released 4 years ago who serves as a constant reminder of how good life can be.

Perhaps, the Jack Kirby bust helps serve as a reminder of why you do what you do.



Posted by beastmccoy on 2006-07-21 15:27:42
A Stone-like Resin
Generally, I don't decorate with comic book memorabilia. But despite this, I still have managed to accumulate a small cache of action figures. The Homiez (it is with a Z, right?) and Doctor Who stuff belong to my girlfriend. Other items decorated my cubicle during my dot bomb days. (I wasn't about to be out-geeked by my fellow UNIX sys admin who hung all his X-Men action figure boxes from the fabric of his cubicle walls.) These days, I'm too reluctant to take my Mage or Harvey Birdman 6" figures out of the box. Mostly, I use the unpackaged ones for visual puns. Pose him right, and Doctor Who seems to be measuring how tall he is compared to a Dalek (no, it's not to scale). By adding a detachable item from a Wild West figure, I formed my piece de resistance: Cinderella's shotgun wedding (literally) to the kneeling Prince Charming.

Wait, what was the question? Oh, right, what's the appeal? I don't know. If comics are the new mythology, then the graven image analogy is pretty much dead-on. Recapturing a lost childhood must factor in there as well. Although I'm not so sure that it was ever lost, in my case. These days, it's almost all instantly accessible via DVD or TPB. I guess what is more elusive is the feelings that these things gave me back in the day. Scooby-Doo will never seem as spooky as it did when I was seven. Garfield will never be as funny as he was when I was twelve. And I don't think I'll ever be able to understand my former fascination with Speed Racer unless it can be explained by the fact that I was sick and delirious and lying in a hosptial bed when I first encountered the show. (I'm reluctant to rent Star Blazers for fear that it won't live up to my fond memories.)

But I digress... again...

Why do I spend too much money on action figures? Um. Because they're cool? Yeah, I'm going with that.

Posted by Lonesome Pinky on 2006-07-21 19:30:06
Hey Pinky
Star Blazers IS as cool as you remember. But there again is a point. I first watched Star Blazers when I was 5 and I was being babysat while my family went to a funeral for a grandmother. I remember nothing about her, but I remember Tiny and the Fiery Phoenix! When I think of Star Blazers I think of a cool show, but I also think about my dad explaining to me where they were going. Gets you thinking, huh...

Posted by bigdaddyhub2 on 2006-07-21 21:29:44
comic stuff
i say you over think it why not just enjoy it. my son helped me remember why i played with toys, and now i get the ones he thinks are cool and i have a blast listening to him come up with roles for the toys that battle for french fries.

Posted by godtoh on 2006-07-23 21:31:54
Star Blazers, Speed Racer, and Mortality
Heh. It does get you thinking. I associate Star Blazers with visiting my grandparents, which is a positive thing. Getting to watch this cool show which wasn't being broadcast in my area was an extra perk of going to see them. Speed Racer I associate with a week-long hospital stay when I was eight years old, recovering from the double whammy of asthma topped with pneumonia . I was sure that I was going to die. In a time of daily IVs and nausea-inducing injections, Speed Racer is one of the few positive memories. And for that I owe it a lot.

Posted by Lonesome Pinky on 2006-07-23 23:20:42
When I was a kid, I'd always dream of action figures featuring the entire Marvel Universe. And one day, I saw Series 1 of Marvel Legends at Kay Bee. All of a sudden, a long lost dream became reality. What else was I supposed to do? I took the bait and have been hooked ever since.

Posted by meestercheeser on 2006-07-25 23:38:52
Bronze or bust!
By the way, Tom, which Jack Kirby bust did you choose? The solid color bronze one or the painted one?

Posted by Lonesome Pinky on 2006-07-31 20:11:52