Keskustelujen arkisto

As I grow older I have taken some time to reflect back on what I've collected over different time periods. I have thought about what has personally given me the most pleasure and also what has given me frustration. For this I have sort of set up a few guidelines for myself, none of which I'm too consistant with, of course.

In regards to comics my favorite artists are Carl Barks and Don Rosa. I also like figures, lithos, original art, and nice books with my favorite stories in them. A lot of these items can get really pricey so I have to make choices over what I choose to buy. Especially in this economy, I need to limit myself and it's always good to have a plan. A few exceptionally very special quality pieces are nice to have but I'm not going to get caught up buying a lot of expensive items.

What made me ponder this some more were the topics of Boom comics with their multiple covers and the Dark Horse figures Series 2 which honestly I don't like as well as Series 1. I like the spirit of collecting what I think is cool and really like myself. Sometimes I like to think of collecting as if I was just a kid and collecting cool comics and toys and thinking nothing about the investment potential. It's odd, too, but usually, though not always, the items that are sold as immediate investments don't turn out to be good investments at all. If it comes on a marble base, is super fragile, has a certificate with it and cost $2000 that is not my thing.

If it's a figure I want to be able to touch it, hold it and move it around. I don't want to keep it in a glass case with my life savings tied up in it. I also want my figure to look like the character in the story. I used to collect Uncle Scrooge figures and at one point in time had every single Uncle Scrooge I could find regardless if he even hardly looked like Uncle Scrooge. When there got to be more and more Uncle Scrooge's I finally put a stop to that and got rid of most of my collection. I also tried collecting all the Barks' Scrooge figures but that got rediculously expensive, I stopped and sold them off.

It also got boring just collecting Uncle Scrooge. Now I have just a few figures, but ones I really like, and I also have some variety in my collection. For instance, as much as I like nice Uncle Scrooge figures, I have a Polistil Gyro Gearloose car with Helper which is just a cool piece. I also really like the Dark Horse Series 1 because these figures look like the characters and are fun to arrange and look like something you could have gotten when the first original stories came out. It's all about the fun for me now.

The same goes for me with comics. When I buy them online I like to buy them in mint condition so they won't be smokey, but I plan on reading them and know they'll get damaged. So what... I'm buying them for the stories. It's the stories and their cleverness that I get a kick out of. My collection might not be in perfect condition but I can really enjoy it. I've also been lucky enough to know Carl Barks and Don Rosa and when I read my comics this gives me a special pleasure as well.

I realized a while back that I can't have everything of what I like but I can sure get a lot of enjoyment out of what I do have. If I had everything the hunt would be over and the fun would be gone. It's fun thinking about what I would like to get, what I already have, and how much pleasure it is for me. The artists you get to meet, the friends you make while collecting, the hunt, and collection that you feel good about, without every single item that was marketed to you in there, is what's important. For me, it's all about the fun! I'd love to hear more of your experiences and what you enjoy collecting.

Patrick
www.PatrickHanifin.com
www.SqueakyCleanComedy.com

I was able to purchase Four Color 282, "The Pixilated Parrot," and the entire "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" Gladstone serial, plus 40 other Gladstone issues for 50 cents a copy!!! I always look for back issues but have never found such a stash of Disney books before. The ironic thing is that here in the United States, if you find them, Gladstone issues can be found very inexpensively since most folks here do not consider them to be collectible books. I buy every one I find as I know the joy of the stories/art and know that the print runs on the books are so extremely low in comparison to the latest "X-Men" book, etc. I wouldn't say that I hoard the Duck books but I do not enjoy seeing them "treated" so poorly by others - Ha! Every great book needs a reader. The joy of collecting is discovering the books that you enjoy and it doesn't really matter much if they are the latest "hot" book. In my area, of almost 1 million people, I am one of only two collectors of current Disney books that has a "pull list" for Uncle Scrooge and that includes every local comic store. I don't know if the interest will ever be the same as it was "back in the day" but I still enjoy the finds and reading the stories.