What did you collect before comics?

[Kevin Boyd]

Before comics? Nothing.

 

I've been reading comics since I was three. I've been collecting them since I was about 7.

 

What else have I collected outside of comics?

 

Well, for a while I collected non-sports cards like movie cards (Star Wars, Superman, Jaws, Star Trek, etc.) and I have collected books by certain authors (Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, etc.).

 

In that late 1980's I started collecting movies on VHS and then got rid of them all in 1996 with the arrival of DVD. I used the money I got from selling my VHS collection and transferred it into my DVD movie collection... I've got about 1000 DVDs at the moment. I try to weed thru my collection every 6 months or so and remove the ones I don't want to keep.

 

In the early 1990's I briefly collected super-hero trading cards (Marvel cards series I & 2, Marvel Masterpieces) but got tired of that quickly. I tried CCG like Star Trek and Star Wars... not my thing either.

 

In the mid-1990's I got into buying collected editions and graphic novels of comics I liked, preferrably hardcovers, but also trade paperbacks. This is where I'm concentrating my comic collecting attention on these days. I also collect art books by artists I like (comics and non-comics).

 

I also collect original art... but at this point I prefer to do it haphazardly... if I see a piece I like at a price I like I get it. With the pricing on most original art these days I don't bother. If I have time I try to get sketches or commissions from artists I like at conventions. I also have a bunch of limited edition prints, some signed, some not.

 

Lastly, I collect full-size Bowen Marvel statues. I have a complete set of the ones released so far, although I tend to have only one if two versions were released at the same time (eg. I have the green Hulk, not the gray one in the same pose). Exceptions being that I have both Captain America statues (golden age and silver age versions) and both Spider-Man (red&blue version, black version). I did collect mini-busts for a while, but I didn't want to go back and spend hundreds of dollars on the first few ones released, so I get them only if I see them priced cheaply at a convention. I do also pick up the occasional full-size statue from other companies - such as the Black Cat, Green Arrow, DKSB Batman and Catgirl, Army of Darkness poster statue, Conan, Keown Hulk... the big Spidey head bust.

 

Almost forgot.. I collect reference information about comics as well. Magazines, articles, books, you name it.

[Mister_Comics]

I don't know if it counts as collecting, but...

I use to have a train set layout.

I use to have a slot car set.

I use to build plastic models of all sorts.

I use to have a record collection.

I use to have a beer can collection.

I use to collect American stamps.

I use to have a penny collection.

 

And why am I saving those new state quaters???

 

But comics was #1 from the start. All the rest came after.

[shadroch]

Before comics,I collected monster stickes and Man from Uncle cards. Along with comics, I've collected coins,artwork,antique maps,swords,cival war memrobilia,old newspapers and Marx playsets from the 60s.

Now my passions are collecting comics and dividend checks.

Am always on the hunt for late 60s muscule cars but have not owned one in years. One day,when I have a driveway,there will be a Judge sitting in it.

[FFB]

Before comics, I collected baseball cards. After I started collecting comics, I traded away every baseball card I had for six comic books.

[The Brain]

Before comics, I collected baseball cards. After I started collecting comics, I traded away every baseball card I had for six comic books.

 

what are those six if i may ask????

[jimm94]

I used to collect Star Wars and Star Trek toys. I recently sold off all but one of my vintage unopened Star Wars figures, but still own many plastic tubs full of vintage and newer toys. They are all in storage at my parent's house some 3000 miles away. Perhaps someday I'll have a house and the space to enjoy them again, but I have a feeling that I may eventually sell off the vast majority in favor of more comics.

[FFB]

Before comics, I collected baseball cards. After I started collecting comics, I traded away every baseball card I had for six comic books.

 

what are those six if i may ask????

 

It was not a good trade for me.

 

I got (all in VG-ish condition):

 

Journey Into Mystery (second series) #3

Crypt of Shadows #2

Legion of Superheroes #2

Avengers #56

Fantastic Four #57

X-Men #59.

 

I traded away: Full sets of Topps 1977 and 1978 baseball card series, plus some other odds and ends. Now that I think of it, I probably still had some 1982 and 1983 Topps cards left after the trade. Not sure what happened to them.

 

Actually, while the trade from a monetary value perspective was not a good one, I got a hell of a lot more enjoyment from reading and re-reading those books than I ever did from the baseball cards. If I had to do it again knowing what I know now, I'd have insisted that he throw in a lot more books for the trade, but I still would have made it.

[The_Wolverine]

hmmm..started collecting comics..

 

I lost interest then started collection custom made masks like the ones in this website www.deathstudios.com but they are a bit pricey when buying 3-4 at a time..now i'm back to collecting comics!!!!

[Darthdiesel]

Before comics, I collected action figures - Star wars figures,GI Joes,Smurfs, Go-bots and Transformers; then after comics, I collected Simpsons figures, CD all thru out college, DVDs, Playstation games, PSX2 games.... I've cut the serious collecting down and buy mostly comics now while the rest collects dust I have started giving away some of my old toys to neighborhood kids who would enjoy it and although it may seem weird for a 30 year old to convers with young boys about video games, I try to talk about the latest in Gameboy Advance pursuits these kids are all about. I even try to work in when I played the original Activision games on my atari, when now they all fit on one game disc or cartridge

[chromium]

although it may seem weird for a 30 year old to convers with young boys

 

[mrwoogieman]

I collected non-sports cards like Grease, charlies angels, star wars, etc. Used to love the wacky packages stickers (I put them all over the mirror on my dresser). I also used to clip out advertisements (I was a kid, what do you want?) and save them.

[Darthdiesel]

although it may seem weird for a 30 year old to convers with young boys

 

 

In this country, that puts you up as Public Enemy # 1 on the pedophile lists

[garthgantu]

First thing I ever collected was bottle caps, back when I was 7. Talk about a collecting "phase" based entirely on fun and the thrill of finding something you don't already have...

 

Then started collecting comic books around age 10, and at the same time started collecting baseball cards. This was in 1974, so by 'collecting' baseball cards I mean buying 'em a pack at a time, trying to complete the latest set from Topps

 

Later got into coins somewhat, but comics are the only real collecting passion that's lasted ...

[Larryw7]

Comics were the first thing I ever collected, though I have collected movie posters and 16mm/Super 8 films from time to time. Now the only other thing I collect are DVD's, but they are so common they don't really count as a collectible IMHO.

[Kevin Boyd]

Now the only other thing I collect are DVD's, but they are so common they don't really count as a collectible IMHO.

 

Now we are back to the debate on what is a "collectible".

 

Is it (a) Property such as rare coins, artwork, and antiques that you collect as an investment. or (b) a thing considered to be worth collecting (not necessarily valuable or antique)

 

I tend to go with (b).

 

The investment potential of an item is not a factor when I collect something. Usually it's other factors... interest, art appreciation, etc. that go into my decision to collect something.

 

IMHO DVDs are as collectible as the next thing.

[Solar]

Now the only other thing I collect are DVD's, but they are so common they don't really count as a collectible IMHO.

 

There are some extremely rare and valuable DVD's.

 

Here are a few examples for your perusal:

 

John Woo's HK flicks from Criterion

 

a bit cheaper but still better than retail...

 

and the mother of them all

Pasolini's uber-whacked Salo - Again from criterion

[Larryw7]

There are some extremely rare and valuable DVD's.

.

 

 

True, and I guess I was wrong about DVD's. Certainly they're collectible, and are a real treat for those of us who don't want to thread movie projectors every time they want to watch BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN or STAR WARS. But I can get that coveted INDIANA JONES set at Walmart when I'm buying dog food, and that makes for an unexciting hobby in some respects.

[mr_highgrade]

I used to collect Baseball cards, Wax boxes, Sets, etc. I still have most of them including some Tobacco cards. I used to also collect Wacky Packages, Baseball magazines, Yankee yearbooks, Baseball games ticket stubs (mostly Yanks ) Mad magazines and Overstreet price guides. I also have tons of action figures, including the rare Invisible Woman and Penguin from Batman The Animated Series.

[Crowzilla]

MOVIE POSTERS

 

[Jeffreykli]

I started collecting comics in the mid 70s when I was a kid, and played with Star Wars toys. In high school, I ended up trading the loose figures at a comic store for some decent Adventure Comics with LSH.

 

Other than comics, I've collected stamps (briefly), as well as buffalo nickels (again briefly). I didn't get any enjoyment out of them, so I stopped. I've also collected sports cards, and have winnowed the collection down to just one box.

 

It's funny about DVDs, especially Criterion ones. I have the Criterion version of John Woo's Hard Boiled, not because it was collectable, but rather because it was one of my favorite movies, so just bought it when I got a DVD player. Same with Wallace and Gromit DVD (first version) which was briefly expensive until it was re-released.