SheldonFAN.com

TOPIC: Flash, D&D, Spock (and other Obsessions)

WARNING: This article contains information that can lead to time-consuming, relationship-destroying, obsessive-compulsive behavior sometimes referred to as a "hobby." Please continue.

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Obsessions are the sort of thing that happen when good, healthy interests go too far.

Well, that is what the experts want us to believe. After all, they get to charge us money to "fix" those obsessions while we lay on their shiny, patent leather couches in their ... oh, never mind. This is SheldonFan.com you're visiting. Obsessions come with the territory, if you catch our drift.

We here at SheldonFan.com might even be considered experts of our own on the topic and, as far as we can tell, obsessions merely have different flavors and ways of expressing themselves.

Comic & Sci-Fi Obsessions

One rather healthy obsession is enjoyed by our favorite genius, Sheldon. We've seen him regularly visit his local comic store in search of new additions to his impressive collection of epics-on-paper. (Wednesdays are "new comic day", if you recall.)

Safety-deposit boxes aside, why shouldn't Sheldon (and the rest of us) pine over comic books? They have been a growing tradition for young boys and much older geeks since the 1930s.

Comic illustrators and authors have contributed to our vast modern mythology with superstar personalities like Spider Man, X-Men, Batman, and one of Sheldon's own favorites, the Flash. We won't even ask you to imagine a world without these super figures--it's just too horrible to consider.

In time, comic book obsession was extended due to the advent of television, or more specifically, sci-fi television. Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica--there is a unique feeling you get from donning a space uniform or speaking in an alien language from your favorite sci-fi series that can't be put down onto paper.

And for those who scoff, claiming these obsessions are purely the territory of pale-skinned, socially inept, male uber-geeks, guess again. Super hotties sometimes go for super heroes too.

As proof, during a 2009 interview over-sexed bombshell Megan Fox let Hollywood Insider on to her personal and life-long obsession with comics. For that matter, she voluntarily starred in Transformers, for crying out loud. (We forgive you Megan. It was Michael's fault. Totally.)

Celebrity Obsessions

Obsessions don't stop with just comic books and televised space crusaders. Oh no. Charming, beautiful, vivacious ... people like celebrities because, well, they are sexy. By sexy we mean the celebrities, not their stalkers.

However, unlike comic books, celebrity obsessions tend be much more female dominated and, we think, call-the-psychiatrist for "realsie" type obsessions.

Sometimes it starts to go too far here. Seriously.

Take the example of Movieline's Kyle Buchanan, who vigorously complained about the wild-eyed, screaming female fans of movie Twilight as they practically ruined Comic-Con for, um, wild-eyed, screaming male fans of Avatar.

You get what we're saying, though. The latter are aliens, c'mon! Big difference.

Even Sheldon occasionally takes up the mantle of pseudo-celeb personality, Jim Parsons, when not appearing as his real self on television. So, celebrity obsessions can be okay but a fine line exists. (Yes, ladies, Comic-Con is definitely one of those lines!)

Game Obsessions

We have to admit, the sort who fall into the category of "game obsession" really can fit the stereotypes that go with it.

Pasty skin wrought from diets composed mostly of pizza, processed cheese puffs, and caffeine-overloaded soda. Temporary blindness brought on from days, even weeks spent unexposed to sunlight. It gets bad but, arguably, obsessed gamers are simply the most dedicated sort of obsessed fan.

All for good reason, though. Read a comic book and you can muse about the implications of Wolverine's latest entanglement while you go to work or study for school. Games? Doesn't work like that. No way.

An obsession-quality game pretty much demands your consistent and undivided attention. It's a routine we pasty-skinned types learned from the mother of all game obsessions, 1970's Dungeons and Dragons.

Unlike a game of say, chess, you can't just "stop" your advance into the danger-filled lair of Mogrilamo, the wicked black dragon harassing peasants from your local village of Pixafriss. No, even if it takes 72-hours straight, you're going to put down that treasure-collecting beast. For the peasants, of course.

Akin to comic books transferring their obsessive nature to sci-fi television, computers latched their claws into gaming, inventing the most gripping form of game known to man--MMORPG (or Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game).

Chances are, you already have an obsession for its most popular incarnation--the World of Warcraft (WoW).

Before you call this sort of time-intensive obsession wasteful and worthless, let's not forget the example set by our game-playing overlord, Sheldon. Remember that he once spent 97 hours striving to claim the Sword of Azeroth and promptly make a profit selling it to Wolowitz via eBay.

Uh-huh, impressive and lucrative. That's our Sheldon!

Other Resources

Want more information to extend or enhance your obsessive nature? Check out our article sources for help:

Megan Fox Q&A: Her comic-book obsession, her raging libido, and more ..., Chris Nash | Hollywood Insider

Why Must Twilight-Obsessed Women Ruin Comic-Con for Avatar-Obsessed Men?, Kyle Buchanan | Movieline