Its and Addiction Folks. But Thats OK.... posted by bagofleas

[CSJournals-migration]

Everyone has a vice. Why not CGC comics?

 

Its funny how people can latch onto different things for a feeling of purpose or meaning in life. Its even more funny how sometimes those things are nothing but fragile materialistic things that could be destroyed in an instant if something horrible were to happen.

 

Yet here we are. Collectors of paper with printed images on them.

 

They are only as valuable as what we are willing to pay for them and THAT is totally dependent on whether there are enough of us willing to put a high demand on a particular issue AND how many of that same issue there are available in the first place.

 

Geez thats a long sentence.

 

In other words the law of supply and demand is VERY prevalent in this hobby of ours and because of our fascination with the history and details of the hobby we just cant help ourselves but to keep pushing forward in our attempts to complete what we set out to achieve and sometimes that can change as we grow older and start seeing things differently.

 

Geez thats ANOTHER long sentence.

 

But the real point here is that the ideas and concepts and stories and characters and art represented in these images have captured our imaginations and given many of us the escape from reality we needed when times were really tough and inspired us when we just needed to be strong through a particular situation and THAT is what really matters to us.

 

Geez thats........ never mind.

 

Anyway have you ever really looked deep into yourself and wondered why you pursue so hard to acquire the items you do in life whether its comics or cars or baseball cards or stamps or coins or bottle caps or whatever it is you happen to have latched onto as the thing you want to not only collect but collect as much of as you can possibly manage in your lifetime?

 

Geez that one is even longer! I gotta stop doing this.

 

Sometimes I think that the Collecting Bug is not just a frame of mind but a real creature that goes around biting people on their rear ends and making them jump at the first sign of a possible addition to their already overblown collections. But then I fall right into the same category as the rest of you so I have no room to talk.

 

We get this endorphin rush like you wouldnt believe when we spot something we have been waiting to show up and we cant move fast enough to buy it before someone else does. Did we have enough money in the bank for that purchase? We may not be sure but we will find a way to get the money if not because WE NEED THAT ISSUE. We just cant stand missing out on getting it.

 

If we hesitate and someone else buys it before we can it is like the world just came to an end. We berate ourselves for not making the move fast enough. Why did we wait? We should have just got it while it was available. Why didnt we check the internet just a few minutes sooner?

 

AAAARRRRHHHH!

 

Ive had a moment when I was paying attention to the internet and took a twenty minute break before going back to check again only to find out that something I was dying to get my hands on had not only shown up in that time frame but had already been purchased! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Holy cow! You have got to be very attentive in this hobby sometimes or you just may miss out on THE ISSUE you are looking for.

 

Luckily I was able to get my hands on another copy of that issue later on but at the time my heart just sank. I was SO frustrated I just wanted to scream! Sometimes I look back on times like this and think to myself that I must be crazy to make such a big deal out of this but I JUST CANT HELP MYSELF.

 

There is no question that it is an addiction. However it is an addiction that is rooted in nostalgia and appreciation for the talents of the people involved in the creation of these awesome pieces of art and stories.

 

I may have gone off on a tangent with this journal but Im sure there are others out there that feel this way as well and Im equally sure that when it comes right down to it most of us CGC collectors are ravenous collecting beasts that would buy every issue we could get our hands on if possible.

 

Anyway heres an unusual image for all of you. This is the one and only graded copy of First Comics Graphic Novel number 2. Whats significant about it? Nothing really. Except that I DID manage to get my hands on it for a grand total of ONE DOLLAR AND SIXTY SEVEN CENTS!! This may not be the most sought after item on the face of the planet but for THAT price...... why the heck not? I have had this thing for quite a while now but it doesnt exist in the registry yet so this is the only way for me to put the image out there.

 

Lets keep up the addiction everybody!!!!!!!!!!!

 

See more journals by bagofleas

[graffix13]

Good post, and I agree 100%.

 

I went to a con this past weekend...and spent WAY too much. I mean, I knew that I would probably spend every cent I took (and specifically for the con) but until you actually do spend it, and the initial "high" wears off....you have to ask yourself, did I just spend all my money on COMICS?!?!?

 

But what makes me feel better is that I think of everyone else on this planet, and the money they "waste" (relative term) on the things they just HAVE to have. Just think about all the money our wives/girlfriends spend on make-up alone. This is an expense that men don't have to worry about. Not to mention that my girlfriend LOVES to shop. She literally will buy a new article of clothing every few days....and is SO happy about getting it. I may see her wear said article of clothing once or twice, but after that....it's in a (growing) pile in our closet. Is that money better spent on a piece of clothing worn once or on a comic book?

 

Point is, we are all here on this earth once. Do what makes you happy. As long as you can provide for yourself and your family, then buy what makes you happy. The means to get to that end are irrelevant.

[surfer99]

I struggle with this somewhat. Our passion and purpose in life should be Christ. Period. With that said, there's nothing wrong with having a hobby like collecting comics of which I'm a BIG fan.

 

If I'm honest though, I do find myself thinking about and spending more time/money on comics at times than I do on my walk with God and that's not healthy. God doesn't love me any less when that happens, but it does create a distance between us that I hate- if you're not feeling close to God, guess who moved?

 

So that's when it's time to take a personal inventory like bagofleas did, realign my priorities to recreate a healthy balance between my God and my hobby, and move forward. Will I find myself out of balance again at some point? Of course, I'm human, but that's the beauty of grace isn't it?

 

 

 

[bagofleas]

I am completely with you on that. I too am a very strong christian and sometimes struggle with what I spend most of my time on. I go to church, I'm a musician on the praise and worship team, I spend time in the Word everyday, but sometimes this hobby of mine can become quite enveloping.

 

I feel that if you are spending some time with the Lord most everyday, tithe like you should, pray for and care about others, take care of and provide for your family, and involve yourself in service to the Lord in some way, then having a hobby like this is ok. But if it ever starts making you shun your more important responsibilities in life then it becomes a sickness that needs to be cured.

 

Most preferably by the Big Man Himself!

[surfer99]

Well said my friend, well said!

 

 

 

[Stevenrams]

Just like to add that some people on the boards are of a different political persuasion. Some of us are secular; some are even atheists. Personally, I'm Jewish and though I admire Christ's words and philosophy I do not subscribe to the belief that he is the Son of God. After all, he was born a Jew, lived a Jew and died a Jew. I will add that as a comic book collector that I take pride in the fact that many in the industry were Jewish: Simon and KIrby, Schomburg and many others. Leaving religion aside though, I too have the addiction and have been collectiing books since the early sixties and its still hard to stop. Sure, I buy books online, on the boards, but the most fun is going to conventions and meeting all the comic book collectors, talking comics and feeling like a kid again. However, remember this: It's Okay to look back but just don't stare! Or as Jonathan Swift so tersely put it: No wise man wishes to be younger.

 

SLR

[phampton1737]

Hi Steve:

 

As one who might call myself a Christian Buddhist if pressed for a label, I appreciated your note as a fairly diplomatic reminder of religious and philosophical diversity. I could not support more strongly people's "living faith" and its place in their hearts, nor honor more fully freedom of worship, expression, and being. I recognize as well the real benefit of sharing those things with the like-minded in “daily life” situations and questions.

 

Along those lines, I want to specifically affirm that I find nothing even vaguely inappropriate or inherently offensive in the above dialogue of our Christian colleagues. They are acting, in every sense, in good faith, and I see no cause for blame, or recrimination. Truly, I would not want to plant seeds of discord in the garden of this forum.

 

I do feel that they may not be aware of how their Christian sharings might make other people feel, and I’m not referring to conviction in the Spirit, etc. The exclusionary impact of the Christian "way of speaking" and, ultimately, thinking, cannot be denied. Really, the exact faith does not matter: fill in the blank. Anyone of any faith who claims a proprietary approach to the Great Mystery, or presumes to “speak for God,” has effectively ended ongoing meaningful dialogue with fellow Human beings.

 

For that reason alone, perhaps a thread might be set up (if there isn’t one already) in which Christian comic book collectors might more fully and deeply explore their faith as applied, share ideas and offer encouragement, etc.

 

If, however, “feel good” individual right of expression is valued above the comfort and ease of the larger membership in the forum, and that spirit of friendly respectfulness most likely to engender meaningful, free, and open dialogue, the situation may be left status quo.

 

But back to Steve: I wanted to touch a bit more on the subject of the enrichment and vast contribution to the comic book field by Jews. Let's start with that pair of kids from Cleveland, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and the "Superman" that they gave birth. In many ways that singular contribution to modern American mythology has always set the "gold standard" for all superheroes to follow, and become interwoven with the American culture to an amazingly intimate degree, by Jew, Gentile, Muslim, and all other, alike.

 

I have seriously pondered whether the outcome of WW II might have been different if we’d not had Superman on our side. And I do not write in jest; the troops' mood or spirit of confidence was of utmost strategic importance, and had to be positively affected by those dramatic images of Superman riding that dropping missile ( a la Strangelove), or cutting the waves right toward that Nazi periscope, etc. And not the troops alone, but the entire nation needed in that time nothing more than hope, courage, and encouragement. It found all of these things (plus a little humor, which never hurts) in those Golden Age comic book covers.

 

And the line of superheroes either grabbing Hitler by the scruff of his neck or punching him in the nose would be a long one...

 

But back to the Man of Steel and his Jewish roots: first, his parents Jor-El and Lara both bore names resembling the Hebrew. Even more so with Kal-el. Here’s a non-scholarly treatment:

 

actually the name Kal-El is more of a Hebrew word than anything. The creators of superman were Jewish so they probably got the name from the Hebrew for "VOICE OF GOD." EL is Hebrew for of God; this can be seen in such angel names as Gabriel. This is part of the many biblical references that Joe Shuster used to relate to his religion.

 

However it is true that his first name is Kal and he's from the house of El. it is incorrect that his name means nothing as someone else wrongfully answered …His name is Kal and he is from the house of El.

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120127120829AATnN7B

 

Second, and this one's more profound: is it possible that those Jewish kids in Cleveland who wrote of a planet imploding, and the imminent death of an entire people and their culture, and of a parents' noble impulse to send AWAY to safety their only son, might have had any inkling whatsoever of the darkness and destruction to come, referred to in Nazi thought as the "Final Solution," and now called the Holocaust?

 

Just think of the parallels. The idea of Superman may have been first born in '37; I'm really not sure and have no more time to Google. As of that hour the Holocaust itself had not yet taken shape, but the handwriting was on the wall, and quite literally on the street, with the sea of broken glass of Jewish-owned storefront windows in a watershed event of terrible portent called "Kristalnacht." That evening, for the first time, the State failed to apply its clear rule of law in protection of its Jewish citizenry. The meltdown had begun.

 

Food for thought.

 

One last thing: no treatment of the Jewish contribution to the field, no matter how short, could be complete without acknowledgment of Jack Kirby. If you've never seen him speak, visit YouTube Jack Kirby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jULJyZnSsXo&feature=related (The one featuring Neal Adams speaking of Kirby’s work is also really cool.) Beyond his artistic gifts, he was an absolutely beautiful soul.

 

Thanks for listening--

 

[Hamlet]

Whenever people start talking religion to me (any religion), I am reminded of Jack Nicholson's response in "As Good as it Gets"--

 

"Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here."

[gyro-1]

Good post, and I agree 100%.

 

I went to a con this past weekend...and spent WAY too much. I mean, I knew that I would probably spend every cent I took (and specifically for the con) but until you actually do spend it, and the initial "high" wears off....you have to ask yourself, did I just spend all my money on COMICS?!?!?

 

But what makes me feel better is that I think of everyone else on this planet, and the money they "waste" (relative term) on the things they just HAVE to have. Just think about all the money our wives/girlfriends spend on make-up alone. This is an expense that men don't have to worry about. Not to mention that my girlfriend LOVES to shop. She literally will buy a new article of clothing every few days....and is SO happy about getting it. I may see her wear said article of clothing once or twice, but after that....it's in a (growing) pile in our closet. Is that money better spent on a piece of clothing worn once or on a comic book?

 

Point is, we are all here on this earth once. Do what makes you happy. As long as you can provide for yourself and your family, then buy what makes you happy. The means to get to that end are irrelevant.

+1

[matter-migration]

Satan is my master! Suck it Jesus.

[Dr. Balls]

Whenever people start talking religion to me (any religion), I am reminded of Jack Nicholson's response in "As Good as it Gets"--

 

"Sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here."

 

+1

[Clouded9]

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