... who can only realistically cosplay those
equally gross old dudes who show up in actions
shows dressed in fancy suits, shoot at the main
character, then clutch their throats, bleed
copiously, and die. 

I really am an academic and like most in my field
have a very tight budget.  I began collecting in
2000, focusing on CCS, but recently have begun
broadening my collection because of changing
interests and better knowledge of where to lurk
for nice stuff.  

While my finances are stable enough that I don't
need to do distress selling, I do occasionally go
through my books to cull out impulse buys or cels
that I never have really bonded with.  I'm not
going to quit anytime soon, though as my
collection has matured, the number of "dream cels"
that I am after has understandably shrunk.  

My thoughts on "Aging's" issue?  It's still a
wonderful hobby for beginners ... relatively
inexpensive and exciting.  But I do think that as
stock of cels dries up, the community will start
to focus on experienced collectors who have
long-term interests and means to carry them out.

But I hope it takes a long time for this to
happen.  (Ha! Ha!  You missed me, Drac!  Take
that!  And ... oops!  Aaaaaargh!)