The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

I promised this quite a while ago - a peek into my shopping habits...

Every now and again, something in the toy and/or collectable section of Previews grabs my attention, whispering "buy me... buy me..." in my ear, and right now, I'm in a financial position to do just that. Some months ago, the "BUY ME Bug" struck twice in one order, tugging at the heartstrings of my love for the X-Men character Phoenix (the Dark version, in this case see left) and the whole cosmos built around DC Comics's latest property to become a movie, Green Lantern (right)...

The latter aren't just a collection of the recently released "freebies" - these ones light up when you wear them. How cool is that?

I jump at the opportunity to grab these things because of a missed chance when I was in New York in 1998. At Toys R Us, not long before I was due to head back to the UK, I saw a limited edition two-set of 12" Batman and Catwoman dolls - very nice, and only $40 - but I had a stop-over in London on the way back to finance, so I passed on them. In London, I paid Forbidden Planet a visit, and guess what I found on the shelves - the very same set of dolls, priced at... *gulp* £100.

Also, I have an annoying tendancy to see something I want, and tell myself I'll purchase said item "on my way back", but I almost never manage to do that. Breaking that habit really should be one of my Mission 101 Tasks.

I don't buy these items to stash away to sell for a profit. I buy them to enjoy, to put on display - my new "office" will have display opportunities aplenty - dust occasionally. Once everything is in place, I should do a big panorama - and comic-book related merchandise isn't the only thing I plan to have on show...

And I don't just mean

91 - Create a "personal goddess"

More on that soon!