I think you’re projecting your own anxieties and experiences onto the strip.

Ethan called Drew a “jackass”.

I vehemently disagree with that being mature.

Also, as a long time reader, but non toy/doll/figure collector, I firmly believe that Drew just doesn’t want Ethan’s toys visible in his place because, frankly speaking, it’s embarrasing to have that stuff around when “normal” people come over. I know this because I am a comic collector and no one in my various circles shares this passion or even understands that it’s not “just for kids” so all my comics are neatly boxed and out of sight.

Personally, I dated and lived with someone who called himself a ‘minimalist’ — he wanted to be surrounded by nothing but clean lines and surfaces. My action figure collection, neatly displayed on shelves, drove him nuts. I don’t know if he was actually ataxophobic, but we were together a year before he ran away to be with another ‘minimalist’.

On the other hand, there could be a whole host of other phobias going on, and we’re only seeing one symptom. Maybe Drew has an irrational fear of small, plastic representations of comic and/or cartoon characters. They come alive at night, you know.