This is actually a reprint of an article/writeup which I submitted to the weekly online newsletter of my former company. Back then, the company encouraged its employees with collections of any kind to submit a photo of their collection accompanied by a short writeup.
The picture below is an old photo. Since the time it has been taken, I've acquired a number of new Batman figs. Enjoy and thanks for looking!
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Since I was a kid, (The) Batman - The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader, The World’s Greatest Detective - has always been my favorite cartoon superhero. For me he’s the best superhero around as he has no uberhuman power/ability and always relies on his wits, body and will in saving the day. As one cartoon character puts it, he has both a magnificent brain and a great heart.
I’ve started collecting these figures around 5 years ago, when I got my first job. Now, I have over 40 of them and there are still many more on my wish list. In selecting what to buy, I have two personal criteria: (1) the sculpt / form – how the figure looks like and how it was molded and (2) the paint job – the colors must be perfectly applied and must not look messy. Even after buying them, I keep them sealed – Mint In Sealed Box (MISB)/Mint On Card (MOC), in order for their value to appreciate.
Of the figures shown, I have three favorites:
(1) the one on the top row, 2nd from right - The Silver Age Batman – for it’s very classic look
(2) the one on the second row, 2nd boxed fig from the right – The Alex Ross-designed Batman – one of the contemporary looks of Batman, simple yet very classy
(3) the one on the fourth row, 4th from the right – The UnMasked Batman – it has Batman’s body with Bruce Wayne’s head on it, reminding everyone that he is still human inside that famed costume
Now you may ask why I collect toy figs. Well, two things. First, my Batman figs remind me, however childish it may sound, that there’s a superhero in each of us. This ‘superhero in us’ will help us defeat all the problems and all the obstacles that we presently have, and even those we will encounter in the future.
Second, it reminds me about an important philosophical aspect of life. One’s life is a collection of one’s achievements and desires. A collector perseveres to achieve that one thing that will complete his collection - a collector’s Holy Grail. In a similar manner, we search tirelessly to find that one thing that will complete our lives.
For comments, suggestions and requests, you can contact me at Eyes.X.Only@gmail.com
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