I was thinking about our various collecting interests - Star Wars and otherwise - and I was wondering, do you tend to collect things that bring back memories of your interests when you were younger - or does it matter at all? I would say I definitely tend to lean towards the things I was interested in when I was a kid, or growing up. As far as entertainment/toylines, I was interested in Star Wars, G.I. Joe, He-Man, and Transformers primarily when I was a kid (and other, smaller properties). I also read comics growing up, I primarily bought Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men (and some others, mainly Marvel) - those led into Secret Wars and Super Powers figures (also picked up the Marvel Universe trading cards back then). I think all of these things coincide with my current interests:
Star Wars (although prequels are new, the interest in them came from my love of the OT)
G.I. Joe (explains my interest in the 25th Ann. line)
He-Man (if they ever do an anniversary line of these again - as rumored - I'm likely in to some extent)
Transformers (I've largely stayed away, but I have a couple classics and a couple movie figures - probably more if I had the budget for them)
Then, the comics led me into great lines like Spidey Classics/Marvel Legends, and the various Batman lines leading into the DCU Classics next year. These are the types of lines I would have dreamed of growing up, and they basically sit right after Star Wars in my collecting priorities these days. Also, Indiana Jones is another line starting up that I know I'll be collecting - and that definitely stems from my love of the movies, the same as Star Wars.
Overall, I think the only line I can think of that I collected in any capacity that didn't really have a connection to my childhood is the LOTR stuff. I just really enjoyed those movies, and it led me to wanting to have some representation from them to have on a shelf. I've also collected Justice League Unlimited on and off (and watched/enjoyed all of the Timm-DCAU shows), but I guess that could largely be connected to growing up with comics/Super Powers/Super Friends as well. Plus, I remember watching Batman: TAS in high school/college as well
.
Anyways, I was wondering how many of your interests are rooted - do they stem from things you enjoyed growing up, things you discovered later in life, or a combination of the two?