23 Problems Only Comic Book Readers Will Understand

9. Spending A Fortune On Merchandise

One thing that nearly all avid comic book fans have in common is an abundance of useless merchandise related to their favourite characters and series. In most cases, it's enough to devote an entire room of the house to the stuff - shelves of toys, statues, ornaments and trinkets, bookcases full of comics and graphic novels and wardrobes and drawers full of comic book clobber. Comic conventions are the real killer occasions for such avid fans. A weekend of visiting stalls with your favourite writers, artists and stories is recipe for spending ludicrous amounts on signed merchandise and the latest issues and products associated with them. Many a fan has been left in the red thanks to these temptations.

8. Accidentally Revealing Your Geeky Underwear

So, you got up this morning, obliviously put on your Batman tighties as usual and got on with your day. Of course, you forgot that you were playing football with the guys later and, in the changing room, you reveal them without thinking to rapturous laughter and mockery. Or, you head out for a drink and end up meeting a nice young girl. She comes back to your house and, during an intimate encounter, sees that she's associating with the king of geeks and walks out. It's a hard life being this much of a comic book fan, it really is.

7. Being Nicknamed Sheldon/Leonard/Howard/Raj Etc

Often, in the case of comic book readers, when their non-comic book reading friends find out about their "dirty little secret", they immediately become labelled as the group's all round nerd and the nicknames come flooding in. Depending on which of the four main characters you most look like, if you're the subject of these jibes, the likelihood is you'll be called "Sheldon", "Leonard", "Howard" or "Raj" after the cast of The Big Bang Theory. And that's always fun...