I turned 50 in September and it's given me cause to reflect on my life. I've come to the conclusion that life is too short and that I should really get round to doing all the things I've been wanting to do. One of them is to travel around England this summer, which is still on my to do list, but the other was to start collecting superhero figurines. I already had a couple, obviously one of Dredd and another small Thanos figure, but the ones I really like are in Forbidden Planet. I would have started collecting years ago but they are so expensive for what they are, but I've finally bit the bullet and shipped one over from America, saving over £100 on the FP price.
It was the die cast Iron Man Mark III. I feel such a geek at 50 for buying it and I don't have any children, so how do I explain this to my friends and family when they visit?
It actually feels like one of the best things I've bought in recent years. I have it on display in the living room and I'm loving it but I still feel a bit silly.
What do you guys think? Am I too old? Or do you have any similar guilty pleasures?
Tarantino
Nonsense! I turn 50 next year and I'm avidly awaiting my Dredd & Lawmaster, plus Fear & Mortis. I also resisted for many years because these things are stupidly expensive, but I've got no kids or mortgage, so what the hell.
tell your mates that they are valuable collectibles and offer to leave one to them in your will.
I wont comment on whether this stuff is a lot of tat which a grown man should know better than to waste his money on but I will say that 50 is way too old to be giving a flying fuck what anyone else thinks.
No chance it will be buried with me.
Tarantino
Quote from: Tarantino on 30 March, 2016, 12:42:30 PM
What do you guys think? Am I too old? Or do you have any similar guilty pleasures?
Well I'd be amazed if anyone on
this board started judging you for buying action figures!
I do know what you mean though. I turn 31 tomorrow and for a few years now I've started wondering if I ought to still have figures and comics on display in my bedroom. I think the odd semi-guilty pang of 'Is this still okay?' is fairly natural.
Ha! I've just read my own post back - rather coy for a man who's building himself a Mek-Quake!
Fuck 'em, do what makes you happy.
Well, i'm 43 and similarly have just got into hot toys (bought myself a lovely sandtrooper this month). I do have kids, but they aren't going anywhere near them! I also have an extensive star wars toy collection, and far too much lego. Can't wait for my dredd on lawmaster, to go along with death ams my two mezco dredd 's (they're
Great).
I stopped caring what other people think a few years back, just do whatever makes you happy.
Quote from: SIP on 30 March, 2016, 01:18:27 PM
Well, i'm 43 and similarly have just got into hot toys (bought myself a lovely sandtrooper this month). I do have kids, but they aren't going anywhere near them! I also have an extensive star wars toy collection, and far too much lego. Can't wait for my dredd on lawmaster, to go along with death and my two mezco dredd 's (they're
Great).
I stopped caring what other people think a few years back, just do whatever makes you happy.
Quote from: SIP on 30 March, 2016, 01:18:27 PMI stopped caring what other people think a few years back, just do whatever makes you happy.
This.
No-one would bat an eyelid if you had some expensive porcelain animal or other 'grown-up' ornament in your living room, but pop culture is still seen as being inherently juvenile in nature. Hell, perhaps it is juvenile, but that doesn't mean it's without value.
I feels a bit weird ordering £100 Lego sets (modular buildings), because they are toys. But some people would merrily burn through that in no time in terms of smoking (I don't smoke), whiskey (I can't drink), or some other 'acceptable' activity. (Perhaps console gaming, which is somehow now OK when you're above 20, even though when I was 20 computer games had somehow morphed from youth and adult entertainment in arcades to things 'for children'.)
So, yeah, do whatever the hell you want, as long as it's not hurting anyone else, including yourself. Life's too bloody short.
Also, people posting here might enjoy this: Don't be embarrassed by your favourite games, telly and music — just like what you like (http://www.stuff.tv/features/dont-be-embarrassed-your-favourite-games-telly-and-music-just-what-you).
Just to chip in.....I'm 45, read comics, still get the odd action figure and still play video games. I don't and will never, care what anyone thinks!
(Oh, I also have a young daughter, who doesn't go without :-). )
I'm always amazed at how much men will spend on 'replica' football kits and session tickets and no-one bats an eye at that, but spend the same on comic stuff?! Outrageous!
Tell them that you like it and if they don't they can all fuck off and die in a fire.
or hide it before you answer the door.
Whatever you prefer.
You want, you buy. That's all there is to it.
I turn 50 soon. Gulp. At least my mid-life crisis is far behind me now.
Got to say my interest in comics has seriously waned in recent years and I have little to no interest in collecting action figures. I only have one 2k figure and that was a prize for having a letter published in the prog.
When my time is done they're going to need a landfill site to deal with all the junk I've accumulated so I have to limit what I collect.
What troubles me somewhat is the dark thought that enters my mind: have I outgrown comics? Blasphemy, I know! I would argue with anyone who clained that comics are for kids but I'm just not interested in the stuff I would devour in the past but I would be lying if I said that thought does not pop up from time to time. It tends to happen when I leave a comic shop empty handed.
Having said that, I blame 2000AD as not much compares. Even short stories seem like they end weakly if they don't have a Future Shock type finish. Guess I need to look up some of the recommendations threads again.
Quote from: Proudhuff on 30 March, 2016, 01:35:22 PM
I'm always amazed at how much men will spend on 'replica' football kits and session tickets and no-one bats an eye at that, but spend the same on comic stuff?! Outrageous!
Football's a funny one. I love it, but in recent years I'll be watching when a metaphorical blinding light will split the sky and I will realise with nauseating clarity that grown-ups are running around in shorts, kicking a ball, and it all means absolutely nothing. This then passes.
And if you're a comics fan but the edge is going, shift your focus. None of them are compulsary, 95% of them - like everything else - is shit. Make your own. They're ace. I'm rambling now.
Enjoying the thread :)
I'm feeling much better already 😀
For some reason it is seen as far more acceptable for a older man to get into train sets and the minutiae of what used to be a juvenile passion. I think the pop culture of the 60s and later is now going through a period of gradual acceptance and I really do not see any problem with you buying figurines based on works of art you admire. Like indgioprime says - it is fine to collect porcelain figures.
What you are doing is creating the antiques of tomorrow. All you need is an heir and for everyone else's collection to get lost in landfill. ;)
Quote from: staticgirl on 30 March, 2016, 03:45:20 PMAll you need is an heir
Careful what you wish for, though. Mini-IP screams like a banshee when 2000 AD plops through the letterbox and she doesn't get to keep it for herself. I shudder to think how the Prog would end up in her 21-month-old hands for any length of time.
Hey, Tharg: any plans for 2000 AD stories for toddlers on thick card stock? WOULD SUBSCRIBE!
Heirs are not necessary.
A Viking longboat on which to burn your belongings and your body will ensure a good time in Valhalla!
Quote from: Tarantino on 30 March, 2016, 12:42:30 PM
I turned 50 in September and it's given me cause to reflect on my life. I've come to the conclusion that life is too short and that I should really get round to doing all the things I've been wanting to do. One of them is to travel around England this summer, which is still on my to do list, but the other was to start collecting superhero figurines. I already had a couple, obviously one of Dredd and another small Thanos figure, but the ones I really like are in Forbidden Planet. I would have started collecting years ago but they are so expensive for what they are, but I've finally bit the bullet and shipped one over from America, saving over £100 on the FP price.
It was the die cast Iron Man Mark III. I feel such a geek at 50 for buying it and I don't have any children, so how do I explain this to my friends and family when they visit?
It actually feels like one of the best things I've bought in recent years. I have it on display in the living room and I'm loving it but I still feel a bit silly.
What do you guys think? Am I too old? Or do you have any similar guilty pleasures?
Tarantino
Season tickets for Manchester United start at £722.
-pj
Quote from: SuperSurfer on 30 March, 2016, 02:28:38 PM
You want, you buy. That's all there is to it.
I turn 50 soon. Gulp. At least my mid-life crisis is far behind me now.
Got to say my interest in comics has seriously waned in recent years and I have little to no interest in collecting action figures. I only have one 2k figure and that was a prize for having a letter published in the prog.
When my time is done they're going to need a landfill site to deal with all the junk I've accumulated so I have to limit what I collect.
What troubles me somewhat is the dark thought that enters my mind: have I outgrown comics? Blasphemy, I know! I would argue with anyone who clained that comics are for kids but I'm just not interested in the stuff I would devour in the past but I would be lying if I said that thought does not pop up from time to time. It tends to happen when I leave a comic shop empty handed.
Having said that, I blame 2000AD as not much compares. Even short stories seem like they end weakly if they don't have a Future Shock type finish. Guess I need to look up some of the recommendations threads again.
Sadly enough, I'm feeling the same way Supersurfer.......I am still a subscriber but have lost the desire I once had to read comics regularly. I find the prog and megazine just accumulating in a large unread pile for months on end. I find it quite sad really, also lost my mojo for drawing comics a few years back too. Hoping it will kick back in one day.
The only comic reading I'm doing now is with my 7 year old son, reading through classic dredd. Half way through the day the law died. Zarjaz!
Funnily enough this is something I've recently been thinking about a lot, too.
I've definitely been noticing in the last few years that, as geek culture has started to dominate mainstream pop culture, my own interest in it has started to wane. I've become a bit of a workaholic, and more and more of the little leisure time I have is given over to things like travel and outdoors activities rather than things like comics and videogames. As crazy as it sounds I honestly find it hard to even sit down for two hours to watch a movie (let alone plough 100 hours into a videogame) because I find there's always something 'more productive' I could be doing. A lot of things I used to think were awesome I now find juvenile, and I'm finding that I'm more excited about food, or buying some new camera equipment or a new pair of hiking boots than the latest videogames console or graphic novel these days. I still draw, but am steadily losing interest in the usual subject matter of zombies and sci-fi for other inspiration. I'm genuinely wondering whether this is just a phase, or whether I'm finally 'growing up' like my family always told me I would...
It's weird, and honestly a little sad, to lose touch with things that up until now have to an extent defined your personality... I guess its all just part of getting older.
As for collecting stuff, I would say do whatever makes you happy, but I'm going the other way entirely. I've never been one for collectibles or action figures but even so, in the last few years I've started to get this kind of existential panic, and increasingly feel more inclined to minimise and have a massive clear out of all my accumulated junk. As others have said, it's all just future landfill. The thought of a tidy, minimalist flat gives me the same feeling of comfort that an enormous shelf stacked with complete collections of graphic novels used to.
Quote from: Darren Stephens on 30 March, 2016, 01:33:59 PM
Just to chip in.....I'm 45, read comics, still get the odd action figure and still play video games. I don't and will never, care what anyone thinks!
(Oh, I also have a young daughter, who doesn't go without :-). )
me as well, but swap "odd" for "many" and my black series stormtrooper who lives on my table next to the sofa says its ok as well...and as many have said sod the rest of them. your life, your happiness.
My mighty 1:6 scale Mongrol (eternal thanks as always to some wonderful forumites, you know who you are) has been in pride of place in our living room for some years now, joined by Ro-Jaws (thanks to Ming for his assistance) in good time. Not once have I felt foolish. Most visitors, including in-laws, have commented on their essential beauty. I don't care what the silent types thought. I bet I can out-appreciate the average person on prehistoric, classical and medieval art, so if they can't appreciate a wonderful 3D interpretation of some peerless 1970s designs, then feck them.
Changed circumstances have lead to a precipitous drop in geekquistion over the past 7 years, so I'm all the prouder of the things I do have.
Have to agree with what The Cosh says, the idea that at 58 years of age I would be bothered by what anybody else thinks makes me smile (apart from the wife, of course!). I have lots of comic book art on display all over place.
Quote from: Old Tankie on 30 March, 2016, 08:58:48 PMHave to agree with what The Cosh says, the idea that at 58 years of age I would be bothered by what anybody else thinks makes me smile (apart from the wife, of course!).
And even then, I think too many people make assumptions about what other people in their lives will like. On the Lego thing, the number of blokes I hear from feeling foolish for buying one of the modular kits, who then find their other halves get so into them they want to get more, is surprisingly high. (My own missus ended up cajoling me into getting one I wasn't even considering, because she thought it looked fun.)
I turn 48 in a few months.
What I am currently wasting my money on;
The World of Batman panini stickers
Euro 2016 panini stickers
Build a Millenium Falcon (£40 monthly)
Marvel Graphic Novel Collection (£20 monthly)
DC graphic Novel Collection (£20 monthly)
Star Wars Helmet collection (£18 monthly)
Mega City Judge Dredd book collection (£20 monthly)
Numerous shit old horror films on Blu ray (about £50 monthly)...Plus loads more assorted tat.
But it makes me happy, it's my money, and I just checked my shed where I keep my fucks and I seem to be all out of fucks to give.
Do what makes you happy. Not what makes other people happy.
Enjoy! :D
I have decided the the general consensus was to tell everyone who laughed at me to go fuck themselves. So I had my whole family round for dinner last night and when they laughed I told them to go fuck themselves!
So you guys are my new family and I thought I'd share a pic of my growing collection and if you don't like it you can go fuck yourselves ;)
Quote from: Tarantino on 30 March, 2016, 03:05:36 PM
I'm feeling much better already
Quick! Someone start ragging on how many Prog 1s someone need own!
Nah. It might get tiresome if you find yourself justifying it to anyone who snarks so maybe don't bother. Laugh it off.
Then punch 'em in their stupid mouths. Telling people to go fuck themselves is just plain rude.
Whilst forging myself an ever growing comic book collection I often wonder if i'll regret it some years from now, then I realise I should just leave tomorrows problems to tomorrows me.
I like to buy my Action Figures from supermarkets and put them in a basket along with baby food and nappies etc.
When I get to the checkout and the cashier says "That will be £34-00", I look in my wallet and say "Oh, I've only got £25" and then ask them to put back the baby food and nappies.
Quote from: radiator on 30 March, 2016, 06:24:27 PM
Funnily enough this is something I've recently been thinking about a lot, too.
I've definitely been noticing in the last few years that, as geek culture has started to dominate mainstream pop culture, my own interest in it has started to wane. I've become a bit of a workaholic, and more and more of the little leisure time I have is given over to things like travel and outdoors activities rather than things like comics and videogames. As crazy as it sounds I honestly find it hard to even sit down for two hours to watch a movie (let alone plough 100 hours into a videogame) because I find there's always something 'more productive' I could be doing. A lot of things I used to think were awesome I now find juvenile, and I'm finding that I'm more excited about food, or buying some new camera equipment or a new pair of hiking boots than the latest videogames console or graphic novel these days. I still draw, but am steadily losing interest in the usual subject matter of zombies and sci-fi for other inspiration. I'm genuinely wondering whether this is just a phase, or whether I'm finally 'growing up' like my family always told me I would...
It's weird, and honestly a little sad, to lose touch with things that up until now have to an extent defined your personality... I guess its all just part of getting older.
The thought of a tidy, minimalist flat gives me the same feeling of comfort that an enormous shelf stacked with complete collections of graphic novels used to.
Funny this ^^^ is a far bit of what I've went through, and being one of the oldest C***s on the boards I can tell you it
is a strange feeling, but I like to think of it as becoming more selective and refining my tastes rather than slipping into my dotage.
The thought of 'wasting' entire days/nights on a Game now horrifies me, but I happily set aside a whole day to climb some Borders hill.
Mind you, a nice minimalist flat with a well stocked and ordered GN bookshelf would be heaven :D
I like that Dredd on the left - which company is that? I don't think I've seen that one before.
Quote from: Hawkmumbler on 31 March, 2016, 12:16:27 PM
Whilst forging myself an ever growing comic book collection I often wonder if i'll regret it some years from now,
If you do, you'll just have a new e-bay income stream - that's the way I look at it. If I lost my job tomorrow I reckon could survive for months just by selling my stuff!
Quote from: Dandontdare on 31 March, 2016, 01:01:24 PM
I like that Dredd on the left - which company is that? I don't think I've seen that one before.
Sorry I can't remember and the box is in the attic :(
don't worry, I'm certain someone else can enlighten me!
Quote from: Dandontdare on 31 March, 2016, 01:01:24 PM
Quote from: Hawkmumbler on 31 March, 2016, 12:16:27 PM
Whilst forging myself an ever growing comic book collection I often wonder if i'll regret it some years from now,
If you do, you'll just have a new e-bay income stream - that's the way I look at it. If I lost my job tomorrow I reckon could survive for months just by selling my stuff!
There IS that, I reckon my Cerebus phonebooks could keep me in bread for a few months alone.
Quote from: Dandontdare on 31 March, 2016, 01:01:24 PMIf you do, you'll just have a new e-bay income stream - that's the way I look at it. If I lost my job tomorrow I reckon could survive for months just by selling my stuff!
It's so random though. I sold a piece of obsolete audio kit the other day, for the amount it, an amp and two speakers cost a couple of years ago. Bonkers. But then things like comics and books are tough to offload. Or at least I've found that with my piles of trades and 2000 ADs.