Why Collect Stephen King?

So, I get asked quite often, "Why do you collect Sephen King?" Usually by people who stare at my bookcase of first editions and other things. Obviously, the most important thing about Stephen King is his writing. But, there's something else. . .
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If you collect Stephen King, you'l never, ever, ever run out of stuff to hunt for. And hey, the fun is in the hunt, right? Even the "super-collectors" don't have everything! Though, I suspect all collections do end up at Betts. And though Betts may not have everything, I'm willing to bet at least one copy of evertything STephen ing has gone through Betts.
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Once you've got all first editions (I'm still working on that), there are then special editions, signed editions, proof copies and so on. Sure, I might have Desperationa nd the Regulators... but what about the shrink wrapped copy witha nightlight? Definately essential!
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Here's a quick list of strange odds and ends that are wroth looking for (all easy to find):
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1. At least 1 true Bachman. (Mine's a copy of the running man. And a not so hard to find Book Club edition of Thinner. I paid $5)
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2. Wizard And Glass preview booklet. Very easy to get.
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3. Double special edition of Talisman and Blackhouse, signed by the artist. Shop around for this one, it goes for a lot more than it's really worth. (should be under a hundred)
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4. A British edition. Not difficult to find. I like the British editions, often the artwork is a lot better. I have a british edition of The STand, Skeleton Crew and a book club edition o Tommyknockers.
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5. The earliest edition of Dark Tower books you can get. This gets harder, most noteably when dealing with the Gunslinger. Best I can do is a second edition. But there is an easy to find third edition that floats all over the internet.
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6. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. . . POP UP BOOK! Okay, it's kinda stupid, but still worth it for the collection.
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7. Some magazines with King stories in them. I don't have porn in my house, so I got copies of Esquire, Tin House and so on. I'll skip the playboy.
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8. Nightmares in the Sky. This is an oddball book of pictures -- but King did write the text. This wasn't really accepted as a needed collectable by the King community when it came out, but it is a nice book.
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9. Artist Inspired By Stephen King. I don't have it, but it looks AWESOME!
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10. Stephen King, The Art of Darkness. This book is easy to find. . . and wonderful.
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11. The Stand on Audio Cassette. Read by Grover Gardner. Yes, I did listen to it. No I don't own it. And Grover Gardner is a terribe narrator for this book! But still, if you can find it, get it! (and then copy it to CD, okay!)
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12. The Mist, unabridged on audio tape. Read by Frank Muller, I THINK! By the way, I'm only listng legal recordings of King's work.
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Things Not Worth Your Time:
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Even for collectors, there are some things not worth your time. For intance, I don't understand signatures on blank paper. So... ?! T-shirts also come in my "no thank you" zone. How about book club editons? Worthless. So stop buying up those copies of The Shining thinking they're worth something! They're not, really. Early in collecting, I paid $100 for The Shining Book Club Edition. I have since gotten it for less than $10. Sigh.
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You have to decide what you're going to collect, or your house will start to look like something between a S.K. junk yard and. . . a Stephen King junk yard. Sorry, but it's true. Do you really think King has every book mark with his name on it?
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What They Don't Make
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A Stephen King Action Figure. Then he could duke it out with Darth Vader and G.I. Joe.