Etan’s home looks like a childhood compressed into one room — Superman, Magneto, Wolverine, Ghostbusters, Alien, Star Wars, Ninja Turtles. Shelves stacked floor to ceiling. Glass cabinets glowing under LED light. Boxes of comic books tucked beneath tables like hidden archives. For Etan, 45, this is not a museum. It is therapy.
By day, Etan is a married father of three and a martial arts instructor, teaching capoeira and karate. By night, he retreats into a world of comic art, science fiction and nostalgia.
His collecting journey began in the early 1990s, when he would browse small stacks of comics at bookstores, picking out issues almost at random. Back then, superhero culture was niche in Israel. There were no mega conventions, no streaming platforms flooding the market with Marvel and DC content. It was discovery by accident.
Seven years ago, his hobby intensified. What started as comics grew into action figures, high-end statues, limited busts, prints and around 350 Funko Pops. “People call it an addiction,” he admits. “But this is my quiet corner at the end of the day.”
When speaking to Etan, one thing becomes clear: he does not collect for resale. Yes, some items in his collection range from a few shekels to several thousand. Yes, he owns rare pieces, including a massive handcrafted Wolverine head sculpture of which only two exist worldwide, but market speculation does not drive him.
“I don’t buy something because it might be worth more one day,” he says. “I buy it because I love the design.”
His favorite character is Magneto. The choice is personal. Magneto, a Holocaust survivor in Marvel canon, carries ideological complexity. Etan connects deeply to that narrative weight. Still, he does not buy every Magneto piece available. Only the ones that visually resonate.
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Statues and busts from comic-book characters are displayed on shelves in Etan’s collection room
(Photo: Bar Gindy)
For him, comic art is art in the purest sense. As a child, he studied anatomy and costume design by copying panels. To this day, if the illustration style in a comic does not appeal to him, he cannot read it.
Etan openly acknowledges what many collectors hesitate to say: it is not about rarity. It is about longing.
He grew up on Transformers, X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Many of those items were inaccessible during his childhood. Now, adulthood offers both agency and budget.
Is it compensation for something missing? “Not compensation,” he corrects. “It’s longing.”
When Disney released X-Men ’97, he felt transported back to Saturday mornings as a child waiting for the next episode. That emotional time travel is the real currency of collecting.
The Israeli comic dream
Beyond his private collection, Etan manages two large Facebook communities: one focused on statues and comic collectibles, and another dedicated to nostalgic toys. The goal is not primarily commerce. It is connection.
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A 2013 Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con program is held inside Etan's collection room
(Photo: Bar Gindy)
He was part of the organizing team behind two Israeli Comic-Con-style events. A third convention was scheduled for October 6, 2023. It was postponed by a week due to technical issues. The following day, everything changed with the outbreak of war.
The dream remains alive. “I want to bring a real Comic-Con to Israel,” he says. “Artists, guests from abroad, a three-day event. An escape from reality.”
He once stumbled into a Comic-Con in Philadelphia by accident. Seeing cosplayers walking down the street, he followed them inside. “I was ecstatic,” he recalls.
That sense of immersion, he believes, can exist here too.
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Shelves filled with superhero and sci-fi collectibles are seen in Etan's collection room at his home
(Photo: Bar Gindy)
Collectors live in contradiction. “I’m never satisfied,” he says. “I’m not satisfied that I don’t have enough. And I’m not satisfied that I have too much.”
His home contains six or seven large boxes filled with comics alone. Shelves of Marvel, DC, Alien, Ghostbusters. Pops protected in cases.
And yet, he contemplates selling everything from time to time. The offers have come. Significant ones. He always says no.
Advice to the next generation
When giving guidance for young collectors, Etan is practical: Define a budget, define a scale, define a niche. “If I could start over,” he says, “I’d collect only 1:10 scale statues. You need limits. Space is the real problem.”
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Etan , left, poses with Bar Gindy, host of the People & Collectors podcast, in Etan’s collection room, where shelves are lined with comic books, statues and pop-culture memorabilia at his home
(Photo: Bar Gindy)
He emphasizes discipline over impulse, focus over frenzy, and above all, community. “If someone needs help finding something,” he says, “I’ll help. A collector understands another collector.”
To an outsider, the room may look like shelves of plastic. To Etan, it is decades of memory, art appreciation, fandom culture and identity layered together.
Collecting is rarely about objects. It is about who we were when we first encountered them — for Etan, superheroes were never childish. They were teachers: of anatomy, of storytelling, of imagination, and maybe, most importantly, of belonging.
- For more stories from Etan and other collectors, check out the People and Collectors podcast. The full interview is available with subtitles in English and 50 other languages.