| Features
|
Last Updated:
Feb 2nd, 2010 - 13:42:13 |
Obsession // Comic Books
By Andrea Bonaventura & Eric Mastro | photos by Adrienne Williams
Jun 30, 2009, 13:31
|
Printer friendly page
|
Obsession // Comic Books
Chucky Nanni
Number of Items in Collection: "So many I can’t even count."
Most Expensive Piece: Absolute Dark Knight. “I spent somewhere around $100 on it."
Favorite Piece: Original Dark Knight Returns or all the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
When Chucky Nanni isn’t playing R. Kelly cover songs in a smoky Detroit bar or catching fly-balls with the Grown Ass Baseball crew he’s reading comics — more specifically, he’s reading Batman comics. Nanni started collecting comic books when he was eight-years-old, but then took a long hiatus during high school and college. Much of his old collection is plastered on his walls. “I kept moving and dragging tons of comics around with me," Nanni says. "[It] just seemed like a lot of clutter at the time. So I cut them up and put them on my walls.” How sweet must his super hero dreams have been? Batman is Chuck’s favorite comic book hero but, when it comes down to it, he gets geeked about all of them. “I look at comic book heroes as American Mythology. The Greeks had all their Greek Gods that were in a way like super heroes,” Nanni explains. “Batman, Superman, Captain America … those guys are ours.” On Wednesdays you can find him at Detroit Comics in Ferndale scooping up the latest issues. He sees comics as the rock 'n’ roll of books, and if anyone knows rock, it’s Chuck. | RDW
Seth Paul
Number in collection: 200+
Most expensive piece: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2
Favorite piece: Turtles Adventure: The Mini-Series
Seth Paul’s passion for comic books came from his older brother who was a big comic book nerd. At the tender age of four, he remembers walking up to comic book shops and picking up early editions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. “My brother would go pick some up and I thought I might as well too,” Paul says. The cartoons, toys and numerous editions of TMNT comics stayed with him and still top his list of favorite comics. “It’s a nostalgia thing; I still remember reading them back when I was young,” Paul says reminiscing. Despite his brother getting out of the collecting game, Paul continues to collect and doesn’t let his comics gather dust in his basement, even though he says they have definitely filled it up. “I still pull them out and read them,” Paul states. “I try to keep them in good shape.” Despite hard economic times, this collector can always be found at his store of choice, Comix Corner of Rochester Hills, picking up new editions. “It is not a market for comics right now,” he says. “The prices have gone up, but I still buy.” | RDW
Todd Hohauser
Number of items in collection: 1,000+
Most expensive piece: The Dark Knight #1
Favorite piece: Walking Dead
Starting out with the beloved Archie and Mickey Mouse series, Todd Hohauser became a fan of comic books at the age of eight. While he stayed involved during the next four years of his life, age 12 was when his passion would become serious after being introduced to Alpha Flight. The group of Canadian superheroes, that were spawned from the Uncanny X-Men series, forced his love of comic books to become a full-on addiction. Yet, the comics were not just read for fun, as Hohauser found them to be a diversion from the reality of his parents' divorce. “Thankfully, I did not use alcohol or drugs to escape,” Hohauser gratefully explains.
For this collector, superheroes themselves and the occasions they must rise to are what spark his attention. “It is a window to the future," he states. "Some are read for escapism, but more of a study of humanity.” This sense of character in each comic is what drives Hohauser to continue — he wants matter over money. Jokes Hohauser, “It is hard to tell which ones will be worth anything anyway.” | RDW
Tessa Colton
Number of Items in Collection: 60+ “I’ve only been collecting for four months.”
Most Expensive Piece: Issue 1 of Hack/Slash
Favorite Piece: “[An] original sketch of Cassie from Hack/Slash that the artist sent me.”
Tessa Colton is a girl playing in a boy’s world. Its true! Scan any comic book store and it’s a total sausage fest, but Colton doesn’t mind being the minority. “I love it. I’m usually the only girl at the store,” the new-to-the-game collector says. Being a female, Colton is usually drawn to the bad-ass, kick-you-in-the-junk girl heroes of comic book fame. “I like Cassie from Hack/Slash, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn," the Woodbridge resident says. "I guess they’re all kind of anti-heroes. No one would want to fuck with them.”
Letting the boys handle the average super hero spandex comics, Colton likes her reading material a little more on the indie side of things. With series like Girls, Hack/Slash and Supermarket listed amongst her top favorites, there's a wide range of topics in play, froms groups of naked girls attacking people to a tough monster-killing chick. Kind of sounds more exciting than your run-of-the-mill Superman, huh? Even though Colton’s collection isn’t huge, she’s got the momentum to surpass the boys with her fantastic start. | RDW
|
|
|
 |
