I think what it comes down to is this: the comic book hobby has, especially over the last ten to fifteen years, become far too serious for its own good.
A lot of this comes with the need for identity. How people pursue a deeper interest in something and ultimately milk meaning from it to give themselves a little more self-importance next to others. The same thing started happening about 10 years ago with retro games too, people hoarding them, slapping them in shelves but never actually playing them. Quite an odd human reaction to feel the need to collect something and hold it close even if it then collects dust and its actual purpose is removed.
I've got an enormous retro gaming collection as well, but much like my comic collection, I've been acquiring them for literal decades. I was the kid who never traded in his old games and systems to acquire the new ones. But I have my games so that I can actually play them (or lend them to others to play), and I rotate which systems I have hooked up when my desire to play one arises. The thought of having them graded and never being able to use them as more than shelf decor is so odd. I opened up and played with all my Star Wars figures too. But I'm weird like that. :D