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Lost in collecting- Om's Journal by oldmilwaukee6er
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403 posts in this topic

The Lady Speaks. . .Wizard World Build Up and Con Fatigue?

 

The first part of this I wrote in July, right before Mighty Con.

 

Say it ain’t so! I think I’m getting con fatigue. Between the Burnham Bowls, the Mighty Cons, and the Wizard Worlds, I have attended something like 6 comic cons this year. Add to that the fact it’s festival season in Milwaukee and I have participated in street festivals, music festivals, and art walks and it’s not hard to see how someone might be a tad over the hyper focused consumption that a con demands. Sure, one could go to a con and not spend any money but I am not that person. There’s always some trinket, toy, game, graphic novel, miscellaneous object that I never knew I needed until the minute I saw it on the con floor. I am weak. And, being weak, I am nearly exhausted by the con scene.

 

On July 24, Mighty Con is setting up again at Serb Hall here in Milwaukee. They’re promising it’s going to be the hugest ever, which could be highly problematic given the relatively tight quarters of Serb Hall. At one point they were bragging that no hotel rooms were available in the area. Wisconsin Blood Center is setting up again, which means the large auction room will be filled with the bloodening. Om and I donated two weeks ago so I will not be bloodened this go around. Mighty Con is also promising 3 different cosplay contests, the last of which starts at 3pm (the three categories are Kids, Teens, and Adult).

 

So I’m not as geeked to go to Mighty Con as I normally would be. I know it’s going to be crowded, so crowded you can’t get into all the areas. It’s also going to be hellaciously hot. Serb Hall doesn’t have the best A/C during normal times and we’re in the midst of a heat wave (don’t laugh, it’s a serious heat wave with heat indexes hitting triple digits. It’s a legit heat wave!) Additionally, we have Wizard World Chicago in three weeks and I need to save money for that (I’m also going to closely compare Wizard World Chicago to Madison and determine which one is my favorite. Just for posterity). I like to cosplay but the warm temperatures have me rethinking that. And finally, and while this may seem irrelevant to the more con-hardened of you, Serb Hall’s food and drink amenities are weak sauce. Banal beer selection and basically stadium food (nachos, hot dogs, Tombstone pizza). Prices are good, but when you finish an hour before the rest of your con-roving party, it’s a little disappointing.

 

 

Update: I opted out of Mighty Con this past weekend. Part of me missed going, for sure, but a larger part of me enjoyed not going. I really hope that WW Chicago snaps me out of this con fatigue.

 

Part of the fatigue, as I said before, is that I have a hard time not buying stuff. There are so many unique things, R2-D2 items, books, trinkets, video games, and jewelry one can buy at a con. I don’t scour for back issues at these things, I leave that to Om. Sometimes I give him a greatest hits list that he can look for on my behalf, but mostly I leave him to his own list.

 

With no clear comic goals, that frees up my money for more impulsive purchases. And that leads to my biggest problem. I have no shopping agenda for Mighty Con. For Wizard World, I can plan what I want to buy and what booths I want to see. Mighty Con does provide a list of vendors, but it varies widely from show to show. This allows for a pure Id shopping experience that while fun at the time, leaves me going “What the hell did I spend X amount of dollars on?” and looking at bags of moderately satisfying goods.

 

Again, for the November show, this isn’t such a big deal but by the end of July it’s a different story. Every street festival and music festival also offers up a bevy of vendors hawking almost the same goods as you find at cons.

 

Wizard World Build Up (August, 2016)

 

By skipping Mighty Con in July and also skipping Brady Street Festival and State Fair, I feel like my con fatigue has waned and now I’m ready to hit Wizard World Chicago!

 

My Wizard World list is actually pretty small. I am definitely hitting Period Panties to buy more of those because they are the most comfortable and graphically pleasing undergarments I’ve ever encountered. I want a Night’s King Pop! Funko because he’s my second favorite character on GoT (in first place is still Queen Cersi). I’ll keep an eye out for some graphic novels on the cheap. Specifically I’m looking for Mouse Guard, Batman Beyond, and a few Grendels. Plus, I have a few more Essential X-Men to pick up. Because I can, I will also be picking up my commemorative Wild Bill’s Soda pewter mug which will grant me free refills all day long at one of the two soda locations. I did this at Madison and it was amazing.

 

Beyond that, however, I don’t have any specific goals. Normally, this would be a problem, but Wizard World is so expansive and carries so much merchandise beyond the scope of normal geek culture that it’s fun to browse. Also, unlike Mighty Con, Wizard World has wide aisles that allow for browsing without being suffocated, hit, shoved, or otherwise irritated.

 

As per usual I will write up a full con report containing many miscellaneous nuggets of information that many of you won’t know you want to know until I tell you. Things like: What kinds of video games were in the arcade? Classic? Retro? Console? How many booth babes were on site? How short were the shorts and how full were the tops? What kind of food vendors did they allow in? And my personal favorite, how many weapons vendors (fictional and real) were set up?

 

Last year I cosplayed as Ezio from Assassin’s Creed. This year, I’m going as a low-rent Spider-Gwen. Om is going as a Mr. Robot protestor (or as I call him, Mr. Gobot).

 

I do own the long-sleeve hoodie version but to wear that in Wizard World would lead to overheating and crankiness. Also I have a mask that came with the long-sleeved hoodie but I couldn’t find an image of it and I’m too lazy to take a picture of it.

 

Edited by TheLadySpeaks
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went to Serb Hall Fish Fry once when we lived there. Good food, but I think I recall it was pretty busy. Last two Milwaukee fish fries I have had were at the Final Approach by the airport. Highly recommended.

 

Have fun at WW Chicago!

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The Lady Speaks. . .Wizard World Report

 

General observations

 

I’m going to bleed out my con report over the next week or so because, quite frankly, the entire thing is almost six pages. So today I’ll give you my general observations and my haul followed by more specific observations related to vendors, artists’ alley, and cosplay.

 

In retrospect, I think it’s possible I still have con fatigue. I came home yesterday with 25% of my budget still in my wallet and that simply never happens.

 

Right off the bat one of the biggest changes is that they check your bags and run you through a metal detector before you enter the Rosemont. Additionally, we were hit with security when we exited the parking garage into the Aloft hotel. They didn’t check closely and clearly didn’t care that people were bringing in outside food and drink. You could probably have smuggled in a brick of weed and a six pack and they wouldn’t have noticed. I guess they were mainly checking for weapons related to cosplay and bombs. Or something. It wasn’t a bad experience, but it was new.

 

Strollers are the bane of my existence. It seems that every year more and more strollers are on the scene. I think it’s great that families see the con as a way to spend time together and I think it’s awesome that we’re creating a new generation of geek culture, but I wish they’d leave the darn strollers at home. There is just no graceful way to manage them and it’s not like they are part of anyone’s costume. If they were, I’d probably be more forgiving, quite honestly. That being said, this was a well-behaved group overall. The children were not a nuisance.

 

For it being Friday of the con, the floor never seemed that crowded. Many vendors commented on the fact that it was insanely slow for them. The cosplay area between the two main halls, however, was packed. They had a DJ spinning and it was pretty packed. In the two halls that housed vendors they were playing a 90’s play list and that was pretty awesome because people were walking around singing along to the songs without even noticing they were doing it. Certain songs would come on (like Champagne Supernova or Sublime) and people would just smile and sing along. It kept everyone in good spirits, I like to think.

 

There were two main halls for vendors. The larger hall had all the major comic book dealers and Artists’ Alley. The larger hall also had the caricature area setup. The smaller had the tattoo set up, overflow vendors, and the celebrity autograph section. In general it felt like there were fewer vendors this go around. Not that there were empty tables, it just felt like maybe they’d accepted fewer vendors in order to beef up the autograph section. A common lament this time around was that Wizard had sold out to celebrity and the con has become less fruitful for collectors. A lot of people were talking up C2E2.

 

I sat for an hour and just talked with random people, something I usually never do but my feet really hurt. We were reminiscing about the old days of Wizard World (like 1998 when I first went) when you would see Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, etc set up. You could see Terry Moore and get a signature with little fanfare or Peter Gross (Books of Magic) who had no one at his booth and talked to me for 30 minutes. I guess this is what C2E2 offers up. I think Om and I really need to make an effort to make it to that con.

 

At around 4:30pm the fire alarm went off. No one freaked out, mainly because you could see Rosemont and Wizard World staff laughing about it. It went off for a good 8 minutes before PA guy came on to tell people not to panic. That was funny because no one, absolutely no one was panicking. But he made the announcement five times and each time he was more dramatic about how nothing was wrong. Om said he didn’t even hear the alarm, he only heard the PA announcements.

 

 

My Haul

Big Daddy Statue

 

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I've been eyeing this statue for two years now at both WW Madison and WW Chicago. Yesterday I just decided to do it and spend the money. He was under $100, stands 11 inches tall, and weighs quite a bit.

 

Pop! Funkos

 

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I said I was going to buy the Night's King and I did! He wasn't at all the vendors and his price ranged from $15 to $10 so I had to be patient and find the right one at the right place. Alice is an impulse buy.

 

Neko Atsume

 

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I have been waiting for these toys to hit the scene. I found someone in Artists' Alley who was doing handmade ones that you could only buy in mystery boxes for $!5 a piece. That's how I got Bolt (orange stripes) and Mack (white with gray stripes). I really wanted Tubbs, though. Om found a vendor selling Tubbs (hence the official tag) and then he also bought me Conductor Whiskers from the same booth. They were $12.99 a piece. But now I have Tubbs!

 

TPB

 

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I found X-Men Essentials #2 (I just need 1, 3, and 9 now) for $5. Another shout out to Om for finding that booth! Then there's a novel I bought in Artists' Alley. At a different TPB vendor I found Grendel Omnibus 2 for $5. Apparently no one has ever seen #1. And finally, at Torpedo Comics' TPB booth I picked up The World of Dragon Age vol 1 & 2 for 1/2 off cover. Not bad, all in all!

 

Prints

 

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I had to have this Cersi print. The artist was super surprised I was buying it since all he'd heard was how much people hate Cersi. But I adore her and it will go in my office.

 

Not pictured

• A Star Wars t-shirt with R2D2 on it.

• A second t-shirt I bought in Artists’ Alley with an octopus on it.

• Three pairs of Period Panties. This time I bought the Cthulu-themed ones, a Camp Blood/Friday the 13th pair, and the Red Pool/Deadpool pair. All the others I already own.

• Yet another journal from Poetic Earth. I cannot help it, their handmade cotton parchment paper is so addictive, not to mention the magnificent hand crafted leather book jackets. I own four as it stands. Journals are an addiction of mine and they are something I simply cannot prevent myself from buying, no matter how hard I try.

[*] 3 other prints that I didn't want to unroll. One Skeletor, one Bioshock, and one Rorschach.

• My stainless steel engraved 32 oz Wild Bill’s mug which granted me free soda all day long.

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It's sad that Wizard World Chicago isn't what it used to be. I went twice in the early 2000's, and it was a good comic show. Too many shows are turning into Pop Culture shows or Cosplay shows, there was even a show here locally that had what was supposed to be a con, but they didn't even use the word "comic" in the description of the show, which was enough to tell me I had no interest in going. I talked to a dealer who set up and he said there were only two actual comic sellers at the show.

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It's sad that Wizard World Chicago isn't what it used to be. I went twice in the early 2000's, and it was a good comic show. Too many shows are turning into Pop Culture shows or Cosplay shows, there was even a show here locally that had what was supposed to be a con, but they didn't even use the word "comic" in the description of the show, which was enough to tell me I had no interest in going. I talked to a dealer who set up and he said there were only two actual comic sellers at the show.

 

I'd have to say that the complaint that Wizard has sold out to celebrity seems to be confirmed by the numerous online outlets that covered WW Chicago as though it was SDCC. io9.com, Laughing Squid, Blastr (run by SyFY) and others all had daily WW coverage.

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Lady Speaks. . .WW Chicago Vendor Observations

 

• It seemed much more homogenous this year. Everyone was carrying pretty much the same stuff. A lot more emphasis on classic properties and less trend following. Pokemon Go is probably the largest exception to that rule.

• There was far less classic or vintage toys and gear. Easily 90% of what was for sale was new/reproduction.

• Star Wars merch remains king. Star Trek was barely visible.

• Supernatural merchandise was not nearly as prevalent as in previous years (or even WW Madison, for that matter). The Vampire Diaries has all but disappeared.

• Other television properties that are maintaining their popularity are Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Who, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch version), Futurama, and Game of Thrones. Archer and Bob’s Burgers continue to come on strong. Personally, I’m waiting for BoJack Horseman to hit the scene.

• There were at least 6 weapons vendors, most of whom were in the smaller hall. Io9 has a great article about a gun dealer whose booth was shut down on Thursday. http://io9.gizmodo.com/why-the-hell-was-there-a-gun-seller-at-a-wizard-world-1785538453

• Compared to last year, there were far fewer non-pop culture related vendors. The Lasik people were present, the people who want your blood for science (I gave mine at Madison), a gluten free chocolate vendor, two booths dedicated to hot/cold packs, the decorative nail people, a really awesome backpack company, a glass pipe vendor, and some people trying to get you to win a trip to Vegas for some reason were the sum total of non-pop culture vendors.

• There were two exotic animal setups. One wanted to charge $5 for a picture with either a tarantula or a snake. The other had something to do with monkeys and I believe were charging $10 a photo. That booth was experiencing difficulty with one of its “stars.” I did a bit of research and they were for the Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary in Romeoville, IL. I’m sure it’s legit but it seemed shady as all get-out. At least the Sugar Glider people weren’t there. They really upset me.

• Wild Bill’s Soda had two locations, one in each hall. The one in the larger hall was next to a booth babe booth so it was far more crowded than the one in the smaller hall. They offered two mugs—one at $20 and an insulated one at $30. Both are stainless steel. I went with the $20 option because it easily holds 32 oz and it keeps the soda plenty cold. Oddly enough at WW Madison, they had a third option which was a $25 mug.

• Dr. McGillicuddy's Whiskey was set up and their booth looked almost identical to Wild Bill’s. They were offering free shots. I found that odd because there are alcohol sales on site, but free shots (samples) at a hectic con seemed like a recipe for disaster. It didn’t help I heard high schoolers plotting to get their free booze.

• The snack bars closed up at 4:30. The show went until 7pm. The alcohol vendors shut it down at 6:30p. I didn’t eat anything from the snack bars and didn’t even buy a soda because I had my Wild Bill’s mug with free refills.

• In general it felt like there were more sit-down areas throughout the con, which was nice.

• That reminds me, this year they didn’t have separate soda vendors like they did last year. If you wanted a soda this year, you had to go to a snack bar (or go the Wild Bill’s route).

• The vintage movie poster booths weren’t present.

• Authentic (or maybe replica, I never looked that closely) movie cars and motorcycles were just as popular as they were at WW Madison. I saw the Ghostbusters car, the Supernatural car, Captain America’s motorcycle, the hairy van (which I totally forget what that’s for).

• In the past some vendors such as the guy who does welded sculptures and various toy vendors had multiple booths. This year it seemed that everyone had one booth, maybe two. Even Stylin’ Online only had two obvious locations, one in each hall. In the past they easily had four. According to the official map of WW Chicago, Stylin’ Online had 6 booths but only two of them were the wall of t-shirts. The other four were smaller accessories booths but I only saw one of those so I have no way of confirming that they actually had 6 locations.

• There were only four other t-shirt dedicated vendors. RipT was there, but you can get better shirts from them online. Along those lines, you cannot find a shirt for less than $20 and most are $25. Even in Artists’ Alley the t-shirts are going to cost you $20-$30.

• There were several dedicated TPB booths. Graham Cracker didn’t have any screaming deals, but Torpedo Comics had all their books 50% off cover and there were a few smaller booths with $5 TPB.

• Those stupid Mystery Boxes dominate. I think I saw at least 3 places that only sold mystery boxes (prices ranged from $20-$35). On top of that there were at least another 6 or 7 booths that offered mystery boxes on the side. I actually bought two at $15 a piece trying to get Tubbs from Neko Atsume. I ended up with Bolt and Mack.

• Om found me a Tubbs plushie at one of those booths that clearly gets all its stuff wholesale from Asia. I ignored those booths because they usually only sell Pusheen, Adventure Time, and Pokemon but he looked closer and found Neko Atsume toys! So now I have Tubbs! And then he bought me a Conductor Whiskers, too!

• There wasn’t a whole lot of interesting jewelry this go around. Last year’s trend of elf ears is completely dead. I didn’t see a single vendor with those. I think the most interesting thing I saw was a woman selling metal crowns. Some were replicas from things like Game of Thrones, most were original designs.

• There were four Steampunk vendors. Two were cheap costumey stuff and the other two were high end leather. Mostly goggles, hats, and gauntlets. Only one had corsets.

• Only one booth was dedicated to video games. It was Nintendo and Xbox heavy with a small selection of PS2 and PS3 games.

• There were two table top gaming booths, but they were right next to each other which was odd.

• There were a few mini figure booths so Lego continues to reign supreme. Pop Funko vinyl figures are hot, hot, hot with a presence at almost every toy booth plus in random booths. Prices ranged from $10 to $20 for the standard size, the larger ones were anywhere from $25-50. The more popular the character, the higher the price.

• All vendors I spoke to, heard talking were talking about how Friday was an incredibly slow day. Far slower than Thursday, even.

• And that’s it. It seemed smaller and more homogenous. There weren’t as many one-off booths or much variety.

 

Next Up: Artists' Alley and Miscellaneous Areas

 

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Thank you for your con report. I haven't been to Chicago in a few years but I went to WW Philly this year. Your listing of vendors in Chicago sounds just like in Philly. Did they have a tattoo vendor in Chicago? That was the biggest set up in Philly, and they were constantly busy. I mean, who goes to a con to get a tat?

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Quick update (dumpster diving)

 

Hello everyone, I hope this posting finds you in fine health and happiness. I have been well, though working a little too hard to adjust to the new job. Today I conducted my first waste stream analysis for an industrial client. This involves dumpster diving, separating waste by type, and weighing it all out. I had a small, experienced crew to assist me, and so it went smoothly and took just under 4 hours. Not bad. Now comes the reporting piece and here is where a fair amount of work takes place.

 

So generally my pattern has been to come home around 6pm, maybe have a coldie, and pretty much sack out in my chair by 8pm. Sometimes I have to post, or worse grade, and so I may wake up around 10pm and work at the computer for a few hours before waking at about 7am for a new day. The new job is pretty much a straight 9-5 style job (which I do not like), and so it seems there has been less time with the lady, which is something that takes a lot of adjusting to. I enjoy spending time with the lady, we have been together almost 20 years and we often choose to spend time together. Particularly our time is in the morning and there are few things I enjoy more than waking alongside her, watching a little junk TV and slow sipping some coffee.

 

Not surprisingly, I missed new comic day last week (though hopeful to make it tonight). Money was a little tight last week before Wizard World Chicago too… as we are adjusting to new pay schedules and I had to gear-up quickly for my job (safety boots, hard hat, PPE, etc.). However, WW Chicago was a lot of fun, even if I was compartmentalizing all the way up to our FRI excursion. I promise to share a little more on WW Chi soon, especially a few scans… but the gist for me was mostly picking Modern run books- namely Usagi Yojimbo (approximately 22 books) and Spawn (approximately 10 books). Additionally, I also did a deal on the boards with newshane for 10 Spawn books, therefore both runs are officially under 20 books each until I am current.

 

I bought only one underground comix, and while I saw quite a few, NOTHING was outstanding or even moderately interesting. It was the worst WW CHI in years for underground comix, and this is a show I usually score 3-4 solid books.

 

Finally, I picked up a spec book that I am excited about and will share soon.

 

That is about it for now… All I have working right now is this crappy cell phone pic of a stack of Usagi Yojimbos, along with the 1991 TMNT Space Usagi action figure complete with all accessories. I cobbled this loose beauty together from two separate figures, namely to get the better figure, but mostly to secure all the bits. The first one had the better figure, complete with cloth cape, 2-piece helmet, and small carrot gun ($10). The other figure was caped too, but packaged with the larger gun ($8). It hurt me to spend $18 all-in on a loose figure, but I honestly have not regretted it AT ALL.

IMG_20160820_090624_zpsud30p2d7.jpg

 

 

It is odd and funny even to me that it gives me such small joy, but it does. :cloud9:

 

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Thank you for your con report. I haven't been to Chicago in a few years but I went to WW Philly this year. Your listing of vendors in Chicago sounds just like in Philly. Did they have a tattoo vendor in Chicago? That was the biggest set up in Philly, and they were constantly busy. I mean, who goes to a con to get a tat?

 

n2wdw- You know they did- it was in the second, smaller hall by the Stylin Online booth, and they were very busy the one time I happened past. We actually commented on it over dinner, just how tired some of the tattoo artists must be by the end of the day. They seemed that busy.

 

I think the lady is driving toward it, but we are trying C2E2 next year for our big con experience. Even we are curious about just how 'pop culturie' Wizard has gotten, as well as a little concerned about the more homogenous nature of WW Chicago in general. It USED to be a stand out show... and for many it still is. However, I now need to see C2E2 with my own eyes.

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The Lady Speaks. . .Finishing up WW Chicago

 

Artists’ Alley and Miscellaneous Areas

• As I already stated the autograph area seemed much larger than in the past. It easily took up half of what I call the smaller hall even though its footprint is probably the same size as the larger hall, it just felt smaller because so much of it was taken up with the autograph area.

• The tattoo area was placed much better this year. Instead of being in the middle of the vendors, they had it at the end of the space so it was between the vendors and the autograph area.

• There was competitive gaming on the second floor, but I didn’t make it up there.

• There was, in the smaller hall, an area dedicated to entertaining kids. I never saw anyone in that area, but it’s a good idea.

• Artists’ Alley was at the back of the large hall. It was 7 rows by 7 columns with an additional 2 rows in an even farther back room that had virtually no traffic. Plus there were artists along the sides, pushed up against the walls. I don't remember the exact number of booths per row but I'm thinking 12-15. (The map of the con is already gone into the ether so I can't double check). Many of the artists were complaining about being so far back from the main floor. It was true. The first three or rows of the 7 were the most heavily trafficked.

• As a result, the artists were even more aggressive than usual. I love Artists’ Alley, but I hate being hounded so I spent a lot of time walking down the middle and not making eye contact until I was ready to seriously look.

• The authors selling books are probably the hardest to avoid. And this year there were probably close to a dozen authors schilling their books. I like talking to them and I would buy their books except that they charge a premium. I know they need to eat and such but I don’t want to spend $25-$30 for a book that is an entirely unknown quantity, even if it does come signed.

• Most of the authors were hawking YA dystopic supernatural novels. That seems like a trend with no end in sight. I suppose they’ve been emboldened by not just The Hunger Games, Mortal Instruments, and Divergent; but also by Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (movie is due out Sept 30).

• It was weird how the artists were set up. They were clumped by like merchandise. Instead of spreading out the jewelers, plushies, novels, etc they would put them in the same row next to each other. I found this to be off-putting.

• I thought there was a lack of creativity and variety in the artists’ work. Nigel Sade (http://www.nigelsade.com/) out of Chicago remains one of the most unique, but even he has added Star Wars designs to his repertoire which is disappointing. Art Nouveau style is prominent as is propaganda style posters. Of course Marvel and DC characters dominate but Star Wars is a close second. Again, it was a lot of the same stuff over and over.

• It was hard to find prints for under $20 and when I did, I bought from those artists. Some prints were as high as $35-40 a piece for standard 12x18.

• The Period Panties booth wasn’t as popular as it was in Madison that I saw, but people were less freaked out by it. As in, I didn’t hear guys complaining that they didn’t belong. People didn’t seem offended at the thought of undergarments (which is so funny considering Stylin’ Online and Your Favorite T-Shirt both offer super hero themed lingerie, panties, bras, and corsets).

• As I reported earlier, Wild Bill’s Soda was wildly popular. By the end of the day, I would guess that easily 50% of the con goers and 30% of the vendors themselves had a stainless steel mug.

 

Cosplay Observations

• There were so many cosplayers this year and most of it was pretty great. Even booth vendors were more dressed up than I remember seeing in the past.

• There were a ton of gender swapped cosplay. It’s not unusual for women to cosplay male characters, but this year there were a lot of men cosplaying women characters and it was fantastic.

• One of the standout team cosplays I saw were characters from Five Nights at Freddie’s, a really popular horror video game involving animatronic animals similar to those found at Chuck E Cheese’s. http://fivenightsatfreddysaz.com/

• There were more older people cosplaying. I mean, people in the 50’s and 60’s were cosplaying in large numbers.

• My Spider-Gwen was well-received. I was the only one cosplaying as her and it’s amazing the huge male fanbase she has. So many guys asked me where I got my tank hoodie. I had a number of people stop me for pictures which rarely happens.

• Om’s Mr. Robot costume was ahead of its time. We saw a few booths selling the masks and only one artist had a Mr. Robot print. I bet next year it’s super popular.

• Classic X-Men were back! Gold and blue costumes. Wolverine (female and male), Cyclops, Jean Gray, Rogue, Gambit, Storm.

• No Hugh Jackman Wolverines this year. It was the classic costume all the way.

• A few Firefly costumes were on scene. A few Janes and Kaylees.

• Some Dr. Who cosplay, but it was way down.

• The lack of Firefly and Dr. Who makes sense. The only reason those were so popular at WW Madison was because David Tennant, Jewel Staite, and Alex Kingston were attending.

• Pokemon trainers from Pokemon Go were the most prevalent costumes this year. I saw two Pikachu, too.

• Of course Suicide Squad Harley was ubiquitous. I think Hot Topic sells the outfit for a song. I saw stripper clown Harley’s ranging in age from 10 years old to 40’s. Along those lines were a plethora of Suicide Squad Jokers, a few Heath Ledger version, and even the occasional classic Joker (either Batman the Animated Series or possibly the Cesar Romero version, who knows).

• There were a number of other Harley’s. I saw a Steampunk Harley and quite a few of the Mad Love Harley.

• I find it disturbing that little girls are cosplaying Harley. I’m not talking the booty shorts and all that. Sure, it’s a little weird to see pre-teens running around in the stripper clown costume but more importantly, but I can’t see why it would be appropriate for little girls to cosplay Harley given the abusive relationship she has with the Joker. Especially when their little brothers are cosplaying as the Joker. There were a half dozen families consisting of mother Harley, daughter Harley, son Joker, father Joker. It’s kind of sick when you think about it.

• There were more than a few Poison Ivy’s, too.

• I only saw two Batman cosplayers. One was in the Supes v Bats mega armor and one was a typical Batman. This year I only saw one Bane and that was The Dark Knight Rises variety.

• There were at least five Flash’s spanning all eras from Golden Age to the television show.

• Arrow was also very popular. I saw a squad of 4 Arrows, red and green.

• Assassin’s Creed had a major presence this year and the costumes were more elaborate than I’ve seen in past years. As far as video games go, this was the most popular.

• There were some Fallout cosplayers, mostly the vault suit from Fallout 4.

• No Bioshock, no Halo, no Call of Duty. A few Links and Zeldas. There were even a crew cosplaying Majora’s Mask.

• There were a number of Medieval costumes, mostly knights. One was from Monty Python (the Black Knight with the wizard Ted) but the others were harder to place. Possibly they were advertising Medieval Times, maybe they were from Dragon Age, hard to say.

• No Sherlock.

• There were a ton of Captain Americas spanning all eras. A lot of women were cosplaying Captain America.

• One Doc Octopus with the fully articulated arms.

• One Enchantress. The costume was amazing, but the fanboys were annoying.

• Spider-Man was well represented, but Deadpool was more popular with little kids for the first time. Usually the small fry love Spider-Man.

• As a matter of fact, Deadpool was the most popular super hero with a ton of variations on the costumes.

• Star Wars was the second most visible after Pokemon. I saw four Leia’s (white gown from New Hope), a few Hans (at least two were women and they looked awesome), a lot of women wearing BB8 and R2D2 dresses, there were at least 6 Reys with BB8s. There were many Jedi and Sith plus three Kylo Rens.

• Game of Thrones was also very popular. I saw at four or five Dannys, a few Jon Snows, and a Missendre. My personal favorite was a guy who was dressed as Jon Snow White. Amazing. It’s possible some of the Medieval cosplayers I saw were dressing as Jamie Lannister or Bron or Brienne, but without paying attention to the markings on the armor, I can’t say for sure.

• Random other sightings: Edward Scissorhands, Lydia Deitz, Zatanna, Adventure Time, a gender bending Bluntman and Chronic, Jay & Silent Bob, LeeLoo, Majora’s Mask, some Steampunk, one Bilbo Baggins, and the usual array of anime characters I cannot identify.

 

In summation: WW Chicago kicked butt in the cosplay area but overall, I think WW Madison is a better con. It’s smaller, more compact and friendlier. Plus, Madison offers us a chance to present on an academic geek topic so we get in for free and I get a line on my vita. Om would disagree with my assessment simply because WW Madison had far, far, far fewer comic dealers and the ones that were there are ones we see regularly at Mighty Con and Burnham Bowl. Our general consensus is we need to concentrate on going to C2E2 in 2017.

 

 

Edited by TheLadySpeaks
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WWChi C2E2- Need a New Alphabet

Soundtrack:

. . .

When the world stops making sense

Just taking what you can get

. . .

 

Here are a few of my better Wizard World Chicago picks…

 

B^tch Planet #1 logo variant for $8

bplanet1%20logo_zpsuoa7hdk2.jpg

 

 

#2 logo variant for $4

bplanet2_zpsa4ayho17.jpg

 

I also picked another copy of #1 regular cover for $6, but the bottom had edge-wear and so I immediately put it in the for sale pile (and likely take a loss).

 

Comix Book #2 9.0 to 9.2 w/ the reprint Maus story $10. This completes my set of five. I used to own the CGC 9.8 Massachusetts pedigree of this book but sold it for a profit.

ComixBook2_zpsmlqaemyt.jpg

 

 

I picked a stack of Usagi Yojimbos and Spawns. Usagis are cheaper than Spawns right now… I picked good runs of Usagis for $3 and when I had to pay up it was for the Ronin rabbit, it was for this NM Vol. 2 #1 from Mirage ($15)…

UYv2%201_zpsfmcantur.jpg

 

 

Spawns typically ran me >$4 and most were $5. I generally passed on anything $6 or more, with one mistake (a double) for $10 in a stack. Spawn homage covers are priced >$15 all day long, so picking up the last few I need will be a challenge.

 

As you can see, I generally struck out with underground comix. I saw one booth with 3.5 short boxes, one booth with a long box, unpriced (probably the best stock, but the 1st print stuff was post-1970 and GDVG). My experience as a ‘frugal’ (don’t call me cheap) picker is “if you have to ask how much? You probably cannot afford it.” I generally leave unpriced stuff lay. The best wall book was a CGC 9.2 Zap Comix #1 3rd print from Dolmayan’s Torpedo Comics and the only underground that he brought. Basement Comics was there but through the years his stock is unchanged- cool early Bode and Beck pieces at $300 each. Generally, it is quality; though everything cool and underground is >300.

 

I believe I am down to the following NM or better Spawns:

156 169 174 216 218 219 221homage 222h 223h 230h 236 237 241 244

 

And the following Usagis:

Vol1- 16 37

Vol2- 2 4 9

Vol3- 28 79 103 110 117 118 119 122 123

Space UY (Mirage) 1 2

Art of UY 1

UY Color Special 1

Critters 1 upgrade

 

I bought so fast at the show that I bought 2 Spawn doubles and 1 Usagi double, so I have to do a better job off checking stuff off my want list. As I think about my collecting goals it is clear to me that it has become important to finalize these two runs this year (if possible). I think I have allowed this run-collecting to placate my mind during one of my TRUE goals, which has really been to land a good job with a regular salary; versus the adjunct faculty, contract-to-contract work.

 

While picking Chicago I allowed my eye to catch a few Amazing Spider-Man #1s and was pleased to see a few copies within my general range. I am getting closer to achieving that goal.

 

However, there is still the ceiling repairs (and the bathroom reno, eventually), and the concern that somehow I am bringing home too much drek. It’s interesting… I never thought about this type of stuff during the Great Comic Boom of the 1990s or even when I fell back in c 1998 or 2003. Part of me knows that storing my moderns for 10, 15 or 20 years and pulling them out would be both enjoyable and (somewhat, I hope) profitable. However, part of me wants to flip books and sometimes I want to send them off to my nieces or nephews.

 

Well, anyways as I think about my end of year goals and consider and plan for new goals, I do not want to lose track of the fact that I am bringing in more books that are going out. I have to be more discerning in 2017.

 

Usagi sketchcard from Dancon 2013 (Steg or Stegman artist) for $5

UY%20sketchcard_zpsds0fuohr.jpg

 

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Top Comics in Milwaukee

 

I am almost out from under my last online class, while failing this week to make real progress on my waste stream analysis (as other stuff popped up). I DID get all my grading completed last night and so I am free to enjoy the holiday weekend simply posting in the online forums and answering any questions that pop up. If I know this class, they will do very little until SUN night and MON and so I can likely enjoy SAT as I see fit.

 

The lady was back to work this week with 3 days of in-service and her own committee work. She is in the classroom teaching four classes this quarter starting TUES, and so is using the weekend to desperately cling to summer. The days have been beautiful and nights cool and so we may just tell the family “up North” to pound sand and take a weekend of rest.

 

Picked up my pulls yesterday- nicked a Spawn 265 B&W Larson cover off the rack, new Jem for the lady, the last Tokyo Ghost (a little thicker than usual)… usual pulls nothing spectacular. In the weekly-ish LCS email they included a link to the Top 50 Comics in Milwaukee.

 

I quickly pulled the three lists into Word, text file, then imported into Excel for a not-so quick sort.

 

By my estimation, the TOP 25 COMICS IN MILWAUKEE are (based on package sales at 3.5 stores in Milwaukee W):

1. Batman (it has been top since New52)

2. All Star Batman

3. Dark Knight III. So Batman claims the top 3 stops and reigns supreme across Milwaukee.

4. Civil War II is close to DK3, and any big Marvel event or book could occupy this 4th spot.

5. Extraordinary X-Men. In Milwaukee, we loves us some Jeff Lemiere.

6. Saga

7. Justice League. Some months Justice League beats out Saga, but it has been a slow burner starting out top 23 before moving up.

8. Amazing Spider-Man

9. Dr. Strange. This is my LCS manager’s fave character and this may influence.

10. Flash

11. JLA Rebith

12. Detective Comics

13. Uncanny Avengers

14. Death of X

15. Star Wars

16. Darth Vader. This one surprised me. My assumption was Darth Vader is the more popular title. They are close, however.

17. Uncanny X-Men

18. Guardians of the Galaxy

19. Superman

20. Paper Girls. The second BKV book on the list.

21. Walking Dead. #156 sold much better, but on average this is a borderline #20 book in the MKE.

22. All New Avengers

23. Wonder Woman

24. Old Man Logan

25. Mighty Thor

 

 

Have a lovely Labor Day weekend!

Remember this holiday is courtesy of 1880s militant, activist labor organizations that peaked in 1886 in the “great uprising of labor” that was the Haymarket affair in Chicago, IL.

HaymarketRiot-Harpers_zps0it40x8h.jpg

Caption reads- The anarchist riot in Chicago- A dynamite bomb exploding among the police- Drawn by T. DeT_____? From sketches and photographs furnished by H. Jean____?

 

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Rise of the Milwaukee man-child

Soundtrack:

 

One of the more interesting journal reads these days involves a young, earnest millennial’s attempts to achieve success in the secondary comic book market. Many themes circulate in the thread, but one of the more interesting to me is the notion that one must pull themselves up by the bootstraps and build a cash reserve before dabbling in comic books. I want to explore this notion, while also winding together something I am observing firsthand, the rise of the Milwaukee man-child.

 

 

On American savings in general

In 2014, the mean American household was able to save roughly $4,900 (Stoffel, 2015). However, it is pointed out that this is a mean number and thus heavily influenced by outliers at the top. Roughly half of American households are not able to save a dime (Stoffel, 2015), fully 62% have less than $1000 in their savings account (Fottrel, 2015), and over 20% do not even have a savings account (Fottrel, 2015). Finally, Fottrel (2015), citing consumer surveys by Bankrate.com and GOBankingrates.com, notes that close to 30% of millennials reported no money in their savings account.

 

And, the $4900 savings number is VERY misleading. Check out this breakdown by income (after Stoffel, 2015):

savings%20by%20income%20level_zpsetwtjkgu.jpg

 

 

It is not until the 7th decible, when total income exceeds $60,000 USD, that households begin to save significantly over the course of a year (e.g. achieving savings in excess of 6k on average; Stoffel, 2015). And these numbers are mirrored in real life (IRL). Since relocating to Rust Belt Milwaukee, I am astonished by how few of my acquaintances have actual savings. I had heard the statistics, but a decade of living in college towns as poor graduate students resulted in our own “delayed adulthood entry” while the lady earned the MA & PhD (and I my MS).

 

“Clearly, for many families in the lower deciles, it isn't constructive to simply browbeat them and tell them to pull themselves up by the bootstraps” (Stoffel, 2015, para. 10).

 

Because VERY FEW adults save even $1000USD (~38%), how many can realistically reach the Dave Ramsey-esque lauded cash reserve of 6-months of expenses? The answer is very few. Moreover, it is even more unrealistic to expect this level of savings from younger people, and our CGC message boards do tend to skew younger, with approximately 67% of the message boards under the age of 40 (after NorinRadd’s poll, started in 2006):

How%20old%20are%20comic%20collectors_after%20NorinnRadd_zpspg5kbzkt.jpg

 

 

Note: There is an indication that savings rates ARE better in Canada, where the Canadian Press (2015) noted that 56% of Canadians reported having less than 10000CAD in emergency funds, with approximately 24% living paycheck to paycheck. But still, according to the Canadian Payroll Association's 2015 survey (as cited by Buckner, 2016), close to half of Canadians would have a tough time paying bills if their paycheck came even just one week late.

 

 

On the rise of the manchild

Consider the following two scenarios presented in Hymonwitz’s (2008) article titled “Rise of the manchild”:

It’s 1965 and you’re a 26-year-old white guy. You have a factory job, or maybe you work for an insurance broker. Either way, you’re married, probably have been for a few years now; you met your wife in high school, where she was in your sister’s class. You’ve already got one kid, with another on the way. For now, you’re renting an apartment in your parents’ two-family house, but you’re saving up for a three-bedroom ranch house in the next town. Yup, you’re an adult!

 

Now meet the 21st century you, also 26. You’ve finished college and work in a cubicle in a large Chicago financial-services firm. You live in an apartment with a few single guy friends. In your spare time, you play basketball with your buddies, download the latest indie songs from iTunes, have some fun with the Xbox 360 – and then it’s off to bars and parties, where you meet, and often bed, girls of widely varied hues and sizes. Wife? Kids? House? Are you kidding?

 

“Not so long ago, the average mid-twentysomething had achieved most of adulthood’s milestones – high school degree, financial independence, marriage, and children. These days, he lingers – happily – in a new hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance” (Hymonwitz, 2008, para. 3). Kirkova (2014) noted that 1/7 of UK adult men admit their mother still washes their clothes, and 3/5 still play with or collect toys. *cough cough*

 

I know man-children firsthand and I am going to use my disc golf circle to illustrate what I mean:

 

  • T- About 46 years old; successful IT job; owns home and car; has savings; fiancé
  • M- About 34 years old; works seasonally, claims unemployment the rest of the year; has apartment; owns car; some savings; has steady girlfriend
  • J- About 34 years old; unemployed (outside of illegitimate markets); lives at home; owns car; no savings; no girlfriend
  • N- About 34 years old; unemployed; lives at home; does not own car; no savings; no girlfriend
  • (By comparison: Om- 42; employed; owns home/car; has savings; married 18+yrs)

 

As you can see, of the five of us, two man-children, one borderline, and two of us as more traditional ‘adults’ (though perhaps living vicariously). This influences all sorts of decisions, from which course to play to who buys the beer, etc. If I extend the analogy to ‘the corner spot’ bar the results would be just about the same. And, this has always surprised me, because when I was 19 and struggling in college, I moved back home for a semester. And I hated it, because in 1993 there was still a strong stigma against living at home.

 

However, that overt stigma no longer exists. My friends revel in their manchildness.

And I think it is difficult to be in one’s 40s, look at someone in their 20s, and understand that this is their ‘normal.’

 

 

References

Buckner, D. (2016). Canadians don't save like we used to, and for good reason. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/savings-decline-canada-1.3403923

 

Canadian Press. (2015). More than half of Canadians have less than $10,000 set aside for emergencies: BMO. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/more-than-half-of-canadians-have-less-than-10000-set-aside-for-emergencies-bmo/article26172527/

 

Fotrell, Q. (2015). Most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-americans-have-less-than-1000-in-savings-2015-10-06

 

Hymonwitz, K. (2008, Jan. 27). Rise of the manchild. NY Post [onine]. Retrieved from http://nypost.com/2008/01/27/rise-of-the-manchild/

Stoffel, B. (2015). The average American was able to save this much money last year. It isn't pretty. How do you compare? Retrieved from http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/10/25/the-average-american-was-able-to-save-this-much-mo.aspx

 

Kirkova, D. (2014). Rise of the Man-Child: One in seven adult men admits MUM still washes their clothes (despite them living away from home). Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2622261/Rise-Man-Child-One-seven-adult-men-admits-mum-washes-clothes.html#ixzz4JOmU6Yi4

 

Stoffel, B. (2015). The average American was able to save this much money last year. It isn't pretty. How do you compare? Retrieved from http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/10/25/the-average-american-was-able-to-save-this-much-mo.aspx

 

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The Lady Speaks. . .Milwaukee Man-Child (Woman’s Perspective)

 

A Rambling. . .

 

A Woman's Perspective on the Milwaukee Man-Child

 

Rene-and-Brodie-mallrats-2964061-400-290_zpsbyyq0rjn.jpg

 

For me, when I think of a man-child, I think of Brodie from Mallrats. He has no discernible income, lives in his mom’s basement, wiles away his days playing video games, collects comic books, and has his girlfriend, Renee, sneak in and out of his basement bedroom so his mom doesn’t find out she’s been there. To add insult to injury, Renee must move a dresser herself to the window so she can climb up and shimmy out. It’s not much of a surprise when she dumps him citing, among other things, his lack of libido. “I'm in need of testosterone after babysitting you and your comic book collection! I forgot what real men were like!”

 

brodie%20sega_zpsmh57qt3g.jpg

 

Renee’s quote is interesting for a few reasons. One, she clearly cites not wanting to babysit a grown man. Two, she brings up his comic collecting as childish. Three, she defines “real men” as what Brodie is not. Let’s unpack these three points.

Point One: A grown woman doesn’t want to babysit/mother a grown man

Admittedly, I am not a single woman. I have not been for 20 years (huzzah, Om!). But I do have quite a few friends are who are around my age (mid-30's to early 40's and beyond) who are single. We've talked over the years about what we see is a trend in men our age living at home and basically thumbing their noses as independence and responsibility. Some of the men have jobs, some are underemployed, and more than a few are willingly unemployed with excuses ranging from "I won't take a job beneath me," "I have enough money from my settlement/lawsuit/etc to not work for a few years," to "Why would I work when I don't have any expenses?" On its own, living at home is not a deal breaker, exactly, although very few women want to stay the night at someone's parents' house at this point in life.

 

As Om said, living at home is the new normal for the generation labeled as Millenials. From an NPR article in May, 2016: “American men ages 18-34 live with their parents 35 percent of the time, and with a spouse or partner 28 percent of the time. For women, the numbers are nearly reversed; 35 percent live with a partner, while 29 percent live with their parents.”

 

Many Millenials are forced to live at home due to weak job markets, high rents, high insurance, and high student loan payments. Yet more men are living at home than women. Why? One possible answer is that it’s only been the last half century or so that women have had the opportunity to live independently. Prior to the sexual revolution of the early 1960’s most American women went directly from their father’s home to their husband’s home. It’s possible that the transition from dependent to independent is why fewer women live with their parents and even fewer want to date men who do.

 

What's frustrating is that no one seems to be studying the phenomenon in the demographic of 35 and older, which is where most of the man-children I know fall. For that information, I had to go to Reddit. In the subforum "Ask Men" (/r/AskMen/) the question was asked "If you are older than 30 and still live with your parents, how do you explain your situation when people ask you 'Where do you live?'" Granted, there are only 120 comments, which is small potatoes for Reddit, but the answers are interesting. Most respondents framed their answer in terms of working toward some financial goal (paying off debt, saving for a down payment), a few are taking care of elderly parents and/or bought their parents' house from them so they could care for them, others are recently divorced with small children and this is the best for them in terms of child care and saving money, and others advise to dodge the question entirely. There are also the few who complain that women are shallow and can't understand why men live at home so they don’t tell them (from what I gathered these guys are in the no job/underemployed/no goals contingent and just don’t want to be judged).

Additionally, there are a number of non-Americans who don't understand why this is an issue as all, as it's quite common in other cultures for single men to live at home until they're married. In some European countries, such as Greece and Bulgaria, the percentages are even higher with 50% of 25-34 year olds still living at home. In Portugal and Italy, 40% still live at home. (All these stats come from http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/the-map-of-europe-by-adults-who-still-live-with-their-parents--bke3t5pCfb)

 

My personal favorite responses on the subreddit have to do with referring to your parents as "roommates" and just letting the woman you are dating figure it out on her own. There's some serious shade thrown at that approach. I have to admit, the men-children I've met in Milwaukee are not working toward a financial goal nor are they incredibly motivated to find a job, or really do anything with themselves but play video games, smoke herb, go to movies, and drink. My women friends agree that in their dating experiences, men who live at home tend to not have jobs, have goals, or plans. They are stunted, content to be on the horizon of 40 and having their moms do their laundry, the grocery shopping, and pay their bills. They aren’t looking for partners, they’re looking for another mother.

 

manchild_zps3iqroyky.jpg

 

This is a major red flag. Many women in their mid-to-late 30’s are divorced. From brandongaille.com “All in all, if you’re getting married in your late 20′s or your early 30′s, then there’s a good chance that you or your partner have been married at least once before.” They’ve already gone through at least one bad relationship. More stats from brandongaille.com:

 

• Once the age of 25 is reached, 52% of men have been remarried.

• The percentage of women that are remarried by the age of 25: 44%

• Just over half the women who are currently married have been in that relationship for a minimum of 15 years

 

Those numbers are striking. Brandon Gaille also points out that for second marriages, men are more likely to marry younger women, they remarry faster, and will remarry older (35-44 versus women at 25-34 years of age).

 

Given the number of men-children out there, is it surprising that younger women might be attracted to older men? Yes, an older man may have children and he may have been married once or more, but he also probably has a job, a home, and the other hallmarks of adulthood versus a man-child living with his folks, playing video games, and making minimum wage or less.

 

Point Two: Men who collect are man-children

In a word: False. Most of the women I know couldn’t care less if a man collects comics, pottery, action figures, movie posters, what have you. What they care about is financial responsibility.

While women often don’t think of themselves as collectors, it’s usually the case that they are. They collect differently than more focusing on items like handbags, shoes, and objects of sentimentality. I’ve tried finding data on men vs women when it comes to collecting, but there doesn’t seem to be anything concrete. So, going off experience, I’m going to say that collecting comics/action figures/etc is not in and of itself a deal breaker for most women.

 

e5e8264c-8219-4bff-98b5-4ba3f0d1e54f_zpsdwhkkqro.jpg

 

Renee’s quote clearly indicates that the comic books represent more of a lack of maturity on Brodie’s part as opposed to something gross on their own. She even refers to her life with him as “babysitting” him and his comics. Also, knowing that Brodie lacks a job and a car, it makes sense that Renee probably was his means of getting to comic book stores and possibly of obtaining the comic books (as in, she paid for them). He’s probably just very lucky that when she dumps him, she doesn’t stake a claim to the collection. (As a side note, Om thinks it’s more likely Brodie’s buddies drove him around and possibly assisted his purchases of comics than it is that Renee did. As a result, Om thinks it’s a stretch to say that Renee has a claim to the collection.) Of course, he’s even luckier that they get back together at the end of the movie.

 

Point Three: Renee’s forgotten what a “real man” is

The 90’s were a fun time. They were not necessarily an enlightened time. Re-watching Friends, I’m reminded at how fragile American male masculinity was in the 90’s. The two-pronged social change that took shape in the form of liberated women and metrosexuality seems to have shaken many men to their very core. Friends was one of the top shows for most of the late 90’s landing anywhere from the 8th most viewed show to the 1st depending on year according to Nielsen Media Research averaging a share of 17.0 or a little over 25 million viewers. That means a lot of men and women were watching Chandler, Joey, and Ross constantly question if they were too sensitive and nurturing, too vain, and/or too effeminate. Additionally, the jokes from the show run into territory that now can only be called blatantly sexist, homophobic, and just terribly insensitive (Joey’s tailor sexually harassing him being played for laughs is jarring in today’s context). Don’t get me wrong, the Friends guys are man-children in their own right, but in an entirely different way. The trio of Friends guys don’t live at home (it never even comes up no matter how much trouble they find themselves in) and have jobs. Even Joey’s acting counts as a job.

 

Renee’s issues with Brodie aren’t that he’s too sensitive, however. Her issue is that he is so self-absorbed and obsessed with his comic books that he can barely make the time to make love to her. What Renee wants Brodie to do is find a job because in her mind (and in the mid-90’s) a job meant one could move out of one’s mother’s home and demonstrate maturity in a relationship. Those are the hallmarks of adulthood. She wants a man who shows a spine and doesn’t hide girlfriends from his mother. Renee finds this in the guy working at Fashionable Male who uses old-school wooing techniques as a preamble to “sex in a very uncomfortable place.” And he’s not referring to the back of a VW.

 

manchild2_zpsohhdr1gt.jpg

 

In summation, women don’t find collectibles to be a deal breaker. They do, however, find a grown man (over the age of 30) still living at home with no job or horribly underemployed not worthy of dating. The last thing a woman in her 30’s and beyond wants is take on a rehabilitation project or a man who wants a second mother.

 

Edited by TheLadySpeaks
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One last thing about the Milwaukee Man-Child

 

Neither one of us really discussed their defining trait.

 

They are mooches of the highest order. They don't pay their own way, they expect their friends to take care of them. They never contribute anything to a picnic, a party, any event and yet they complain about how what they like isn't present. They never pay for a round at the bar, or if they do, they go for the cheapest swill and don't drink it while drinking the good beer others buy. They never offer up any gas money and they complain about how you drive. They come to your house expecting food and beer and if you don't have food they like, they whine about it or try to get you to make them something. They have the gall to assert that they are in some way "owed" something because of some phantom deed they did for you. They play games with other people's time and make sure schedules are set to their needs despite not having jobs or commitments.

 

mooch_zpsye5vugax.jpg

 

I cannot stand them. If any of my girlfriends behaved like this, they wouldn't be my friend for long. But men seem to have an amazing level of patience when it comes to the man-child. Behaviors they don't accept in co-workers or significant others or family members are embraced when it comes to the man-child. It's unfathomable to me how or why this works in the world of men. The man-children are not down-on-their-luck guys who need a little extra support. They willingly choose to live this way, to sponge off their "friends." I don't get it.

 

I think that's the real reason women avoid them. No one likes to feel taken advantage of and the Milwaukee Man-Child is incapable of doing anything but.

 

mooch2_zpscxrwrh91.jpg

Edited by TheLadySpeaks
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I hate FRIENDS.

 

My wife is obsessed with watching the re-runs.

 

:(

 

I actually enjoy Friends. I laugh out loud at least once. But I cannot stand Ross. He's arrogant, selfish, and insecure. I can't believe everyone once rooted for Ross and Rachel when Monica and Chandler is the better love story.

 

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I hate FRIENDS.

 

My wife is obsessed with watching the re-runs.

 

:(

 

I actually enjoy Friends. I laugh out loud at least once. But I cannot stand Ross. He's arrogant, selfish, and insecure. I can't believe everyone once rooted for Ross and Rachel when Monica and Chandler is the better love story.

 

Ross and Rachel are the worst TV couple of all time.

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I hate FRIENDS.

 

My wife is obsessed with watching the re-runs.

 

:(

 

I actually enjoy Friends. I laugh out loud at least once. But I cannot stand Ross. He's arrogant, selfish, and insecure. I can't believe everyone once rooted for Ross and Rachel when Monica and Chandler is the better love story.

 

Ross and Rachel are the worst TV couple of all time.

 

I can't decide if Ted and Robin (HIMYM) is worse or just as bad as Ross and Rachel. I also hate Leonard and Penny (BBT).

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I hate FRIENDS.

 

My wife is obsessed with watching the re-runs.

 

:(

 

I actually enjoy Friends. I laugh out loud at least once. But I cannot stand Ross. He's arrogant, selfish, and insecure. I can't believe everyone once rooted for Ross and Rachel when Monica and Chandler is the better love story.

 

Ross and Rachel are the worst TV couple of all time.

 

I can't decide if Ted and Robin (HIMYM) is worse or just as bad as Ross and Rachel. I also hate Leonard and Penny (BBT).

 

OMG...Ted and Robin are also horrible. Yes, my wife watches that show as well...which I describe as a Friend's ripoff.

 

These couples have absolutely zero chemistry. Just completely unbelievable.

 

Robin is pretty terrible all-around. She is as likable as a robot. Good looking? Yes. But a big, fat so-what. I don't know why, but she repulses me.

 

 

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