That lad can't be a born salesman, or he would have said "Yes," and directed the guy to the Golden Age Archives.
Joe S. Walker | 03.22.08 - 6:09 am | #

You know, I'll never understand people who refer to an action figure or a comic book character or a cartoon character as hot, sexy or any other sexually charged description implying they find it to be a turn-on. It's...not...a...real...girl. And I can't help but consider it a bit disturbing that someone would get aroused by one. But hey, to each their own, I suppose. They can fantasize about 3-inch-tall plastic women or two-dimensional paper-and-ink representations all they want, but I'll keep my flesh-and-blood wife, thank you very much--or at least until she leaves me for a Superman action figure.
Rich Handley | Email | Homepage | 03.22.08 - 6:55 am | #

I don't think there's anything unhealthy about it. It's a stylized representation of something real. One of the reasons I love Jaime Hernandez's drawings of Maggie is because they remind me of my wife!
ce | 03.22.08 - 7:09 am | #

Rich, I think you're misunderstanding the term "fantasy". Most people I know (male and female) harbor some sort of attraction for a fictional character, be it from a comic, an anime, or a romance novel.

That said, the notion of some guy buying every female action figure for some bookshelf bordello skeeves me beyond the telling of it.
David Cutler | Email | 03.22.08 - 7:14 am | #

"Well, she's kinda short..."
caleb | Email | Homepage | 03.22.08 - 9:04 am | #

How could anyone be perplexed by the concept of people been turn on by plastic figures of fictional women?

Do you not know about anime sculptures?
Who do you think buys those things?
Dumma | 03.22.08 - 4:04 pm | #

Dumma - Please see several previous installments of "Progressive Ruin Presents...The End of Civilization."
Mikester | Homepage | 03.22.08 - 4:54 pm | #

Dumma - When Mike says "several previous installments," he really means, virtually all of them.
Rocco | Email | Homepage | 03.22.08 - 8:10 pm | #

As a former "Used and Rare" bookstore employee, I can relate to the comics-selling story. You get a fine eye for the signs of drug addiction in people.
jack ruttan | Email | Homepage | 03.23.08 - 9:51 am | #

Just out of curiosity, what titles count as "now-dead" manga?
runey | Email | 03.23.08 - 3:43 pm | #