Comic Book Collecting - Comic Collectors

Comic Collectors

Comic Collectors are people who collect comics or comic books. Many comic readers keep their comics for an indefinite period and have large accumulations, but a true collector differs in enthusiasm and degree; collectors will generally at least seek past issues rather than being content to read what new comics come along.

Comic collectors have undergone as many changes over the years as the medium they love, as westerns and pulp horrors have given way to super–men and mutants, and comics have moved from disposable newsstand monthlies to collectibles from specialized stores and now to trade paperbacks available at major–chain bookstores all over the country. Although sometimes portrayed negatively by popular media (such as the depiction of the character of Comic Book Guy in the TV show The Simpsons), comic book collecting is a wide–spread hobby, and popular venues such as the San Diego Comic-Con attract more than 80,000 fans over a four day period each year.

As comic book characters become more mainstream through adaptations in other media (primarily television and film), in recent years celebrities, particularly actors, have professed to be comic book collectors, such as:

• Actor Nicolas Cage, who changed his original last name of Coppola (part of an extended family working in film, including his uncle Francis Ford Coppola) to the stage name "Cage", based on the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage, to avoid the appearance of nepotism when he entered the film industry. A longtime comics fan, Cage amassed an impressive collection over the years, but in October 2002, he auctioned off most of his collection for combined proceeds of over $1.68 million through Heritage Auctions. Heritage sold Nicolas Cage's remaining comics privately over the next year for approximately another $325,000, and in 2009 they also auctioned part of Cage's Movie Poster collection. Cage also starred the 2007 film Ghost Rider and its 2012 sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
• Actor Ben Affleck, who has named Daredevil as his favorite comic from his childhood. Affleck played that series' title character in the 2003 film of the same name.
• Writer, director and actor Kevin Smith, whose love for comics has been reflected in much of his film work in the so-called "View Askewniverse", particularly the film Mallrats. Smith has also written stories for comics published by Marvel and DC; as a nod to his work on the Daredevil comic, he had a cameo in the film adaptation as a morgue worker.
• Actor Samuel L. Jackson is a reader and collector well into his fifties, stating as recently as a July 2006 interview that he was reading currently published comic books. Jackson gave Marvel Comics permission to use his likeness for the re-imagined "Ultimate" version of Nick Fury, and later played a similar version of Fury in the 2008 film Iron Man, the 2010 sequel Iron Man 2, the 2011 films Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, and the 2012 crossover film Marvel's The Avengers.
• British TV and radio presenter Jonathan Ross is a long time collector of comic books. He donated his copy of Amazing Fantasy no. 15 to charity, and presented a TV documentary on Steve Ditko called In Search of Steve Ditko.
• Jimmy Jacobs, the handball player who later managed Mike Tyson, owned one the world's largest comic book collections, including six copies of a rare 1938 Detective Comics issue.