Wealth & Money Quote by Bill Mumy

There is a particular kind of honesty that only comes from admitting your “passion” was also a budget crisis. Bill Mumy’s line doesn’t romanticize fandom; it invoices it. The joke isn’t on comics, it’s on the adult who realizes nostalgia has become a line item so aggressive it starts dictating career strategy.

The late 70s and early 80s matter here: this is pre-eBay, pre-slabbing, pre-infinite online supply. Golden Age comics were scarce, traded through conventions, dealers, and rumors. Prices were climbing, collecting was shifting from eccentric hobby to speculative marketplace, and media work was still one of the few ways to get near the pipelines: interviews, connections, comps, maybe even access. Mumy frames “work in the media” as a rationalization, but the subtext is more revealing: he’s describing how cultural capital (being a known actor) can be converted into collector capital (owning artifacts others can’t touch).

The quote also carries a quiet critique of authenticity politics. He’s not claiming purity; he’s admitting leverage. That’s disarming, because it cuts against the sanctimony that often shadows geek culture: the idea that real fans suffer nobly and spend wisely. Mumy’s version is messier and more modern. Desire becomes a career motivator, not an escape from work but a reason to chase it. In a culture that sells childhood back to adults, he’s acknowledging the feedback loop early: the objects don’t just reflect identity, they start steering the life built around them.