Galaxycon Richmond 2023!

 

I had been kicking around the idea in the back of my mind to go to Galaxycon in 2023. I really, really, REALLY, wanted to get some books signed by one specific artists, and the lineup of additional comic creators only served to fuel my desire all the more to go.

However, there were flaws in this plan.

Big Lick Comic Con is only two weeks away, and I couldn't logistically figure out how to allocate funds to both. See, for as many Spider-Man books as I was wanting to get signed at Galaxycon, there were equally, if not more, that I was planning to take to Big Lick to have signed. To further complicated things, Galaxycon was a good two hour drive, whereas Big Lick was about twenty minutes. As such, I tried to put the sci-fi themed convention out of my mind, telling myself that perhaps one day the artist in question would make his way to Northern Virginia, or in general, somewhere a bit closer to home.

Well, all of that got thrown out the window yesterday around 5:00 PM, when I got a text from a buddy who was not only at the convention, but sent me photos of the artist I was chomping at the bit to meet signing a book and poster. My mind was made up. One way or another, I was going to pull this off, and go to both conventions.

I spent the remainder of Saturday evening pulling books from my collection, and then all night lying restlessly in bed futility trying to fall asleep for a 6:00 AM alarm that was quickly approaching. It was well after three AM before I finally dozed off.

Despite the lack of sleep, I leapt from bed, took the dog out, roused my girl out of bed, AKA, my driver, and after getting ourselves ready, we were on the road by 7:00 AM.

We arrived around 9:00 AM, found parking in the designated lot, and made our way to join the line. We were on queue for about ten minutes before the doors were opened, and guest were brought into the Greater Richmond Convention Center to either get their tickets, or (what we found out later) get in another line outside of the main doors to the exhibit hall.

I say we found this out later, because after getting our Sunday pass from the tables, we were directed to our left, where we were then prompted down a hallway to a single door, which a staff member sent us through. We found ourselves standing in an empty exhibit hall, with exception of the vendors who were busy setting up.

As I said to my girl, "I don't think we're supposed to be in here," the door behind us was closed. So...yeah...that's how we bypassed the whole exhibit hall queue, and just hung out around the artist tables waiting for them to arrive.

I took a lap around the artist tables to familiarize myself with the layout, and even snapped some photos of the backdrops.

Scott Hanna was at his table getting things ready, and he greeted me as I looked around. I told him our story of how we got in early, as well as our confusion with the whole matter, and finished by saying, "I did bring something for you to sign, so I guess if it's okay, we'll just hang out near you until open." Mr. Hanna simply smiled, and said, "We can get started now."

I've seen a ton of searches on Google by people asking how much specific comic industry pros charge for their autograph, I among them was searching all last night. So, to hopefully help this for the current time, I've decided to compile a list in this post of what I was charged. As I have found out from the information I did come across on Google, these prices are always subject to change.

Scott Hanna: $20.00 per autograph

With one down, I decided to go hang out next to the table I was truly there for. The one which prompted us to make the trip. Eagle eyed readers may have noticed his signature on the above book as well.

As we stood waiting for Mr. Bagley to arrive, the one and only Chris Claremont came to his table and started setting up. While he walked by, I turned to my girl with a starstruck awe in my eye. With jaw dropped, I said, "That's Chris Claremont." He turned to look at me, but then went about his business. I don't know why, but I kind of got the sense he was annoyed. If he was, he certainly didn't exhibit that when I later stopped by his table.

For now though, I was on a mission. Mark Bagley. Gotta meet Mark Bagley. Gotta (hopefully) get all the books I brought for him signed. He showed up a few minutes before 10:00 AM, and greeted us. My fanboy kicked in, and I prattled on about how we made a two hour trip just to see him. He smiled and said, "We'll I'm glad you got here early to see me because I have a panel in an hour." He then told me his pricing, and the game was afoot! I got everything I brought with me signed. You've already seen the above Spider-Man and Batman, which he and Scott Hanna signed. Here are the rest.

So many great keys here, and I wish I had the funds to get Bagley's entire The Amazing Spider-Man run signed. Maybe one day.

Mark Bagley: Free if personalized / $10.00 per autograph if not personalized

As you can see from the pricing, I could have saved a whole lot of money on these if I got them personalized and signed for free. But at the end of the day, I just don't want my name on the comics. 

I did ask him while there if he had any plans to make his way to Northern Virginia, and he said he didn't. This only solidified my happiness to have made the trek to the event. Who knows when the opportunity would have arisen again.

Next up on my list was Chris Claremont, who was fortunately only a few steps away. I showed up just at the right time, as he too was headed to the aforementioned panel. After signing the guy in front of me and my books, he left for a bit.

I will not profess to be a fan of X-Men or "X" related books in general, but I have had the above Wolverine books in my collection since reestablishing my comic book collection. I have other signatures planned for these books, but that's a topic for after Big Lick 2023.

I am, however, and as you probably couldn't tell from where we are in this post so far, a Spider-Man fan. Chris Claremont didn't dabble too much with him, but he did do the cult classic Marvel Team-Up which featured The Not Ready For Prime Time Players, AKA Saturday Night Live. That was a must for me to bring for him to sign.

Chris Claremont: $10.00 per autograph

You may have noticed that my Wolverine books had two signatures on them. That's because right around the corner from Mr. Claremont was Josef Rubinstein, who served as inker on the mini series. He's also done some work on quite a few Spider-Man related books, so I brought an assortment of those as well for him to sign.

I love how beat up this copy of The Amazing Spider-Man 255 is. It's not pristine, gem mint. This is a book that has been loved and read. It's things like this that I think the pros in the industry notice when signing books. I think it's very obvious to them who the true fans are, and who the scalpers are, just looking to make a buck off their name. This comes in very hand when getting signatures, and I think it's what helped me a little later during my signature obtaining. More on that below.

I felt sorry for Mr. Rubinstein while he was autographing because he noticeably looked uncomfortable. When I asked him if he was okay, he said that the chairs the convention provided were terrible, providing no lumbar support. He was still feeling it from the day prior of autographing all day. I hope he didn't struggle throughout the day too much, and that his back isn't suffering for his fans.

Josef Rubinstein: $10.00 per autograph

At this point, the final Marvel artist I was looking to get books signed from had not arrived yet, so I made my way to the DC side of things.

DC made a great amount of money on the death and return of Superman story arcs, and one of the key players in that series was Dan Jurgens. He not only wrote a fair amount of it, but is credited with the creation of Doomsday, among Jon Bogdanove, and Louise Jones Simonson. The latter two, unfortunately, were not at the show.

Mr. Jurgens also did a few issues of The Sensational Spider-Man, and in hindsight of how little he was charging, I wish I brought the handful of them he was involved with versus just the first two. The lesson here is to bring EVERYTHING you want signed. You never know what prices are going to be, and all things are negotiable anyway.

Dan Jurgens: First two free, $5.00 per autograph thereafter 

While wandering around the convention floor, I saw Mr. Jurgens working on a custom piece for someone. I asked if I could snap a photo.

You may have noticed that a fair share of the above Superman books were signed by someone else as well. That would be the man sitting next to Mr. Jurgens, and the inker of those issues, Brett Breeding.

In addition to his work on Superman, Breeding served as inker on two of my favorite (I'm talking, all time) Spider-Man issues.

Brett Breeding: $5.00 for regular books, $10.00 for keys (he determines himself what constitutes as a key)

The last comic pro I was there to get signatures from was John Romita Jr.

John Romita Jr. is a big name in the world of comics. He's worked on several of the classic series, and has helped shape a lot of stories. What floored me was that his asking price for autographs was equally as big as his name, $40.00 per signature.

This is where the scalpers have really hurt the fans. By getting books signed specifically to grade, and then sell, it makes these artists very cognizant of what their signatures are worth, and I can't fault them for wanting a piece of that pie. This is where I go back to my original comment about my read and loved books. I think the artists can tell the difference between someone looking for a profit, and someone who genuinely wants a signature for their own personal enjoyment.

I had nine books in total that I wanted signed, but at $40.00 each, that was out of the question. I said out loud, "Oh...I'm going to have to limit my choices then." I already had all nine out, and paid for three, handing Mr. Romita the books I wanted signed. He not only signed them, but then grabbed three more off my pile, and signed them too. I was so happy that I said, "Well, I may as well go ahead and get the last three done as well," and paid for them to be signed. All nine autographed, and I was happy as could be. I had gotten every single book I came with signed by everyone I was seeking signatures from.

You may have noticed his signature on the two above Spider-Man books signed by Brett Breeding. Here are the rest he signed.

He too was working on a sketch when I made a wrap around of the exhibit hall, so I asked him if he minded if I snapped a photo.

John Romita Jr.: $40.00 per book

There were two other autographs I was considering getting for the day. First up was Will Friedle to get my Batman Beyond Complete Series DVD signed.

Admittedly, it was at this point that I started rethinking my choices to continue getting autographs on my cartoons. Will was friendly and all, and he really did one fan right in an interaction I witnessed. However, for me, the price for my autograph was more than what I paid for the DVD series in its entirety.

Will Friedle: $50.00 per item

The last autograph I wanted to get was shaping up to not happen from the start. The exhibit hall opened at 10:00 AM, and by noon, Corey Feldman was still a no show at his table, and the line was growing. The line promptly thinned out when the convention staff member working his table answered the question of pricing. $140.00 per item!

What?!? Seriously?!? No way!

As much as I wanted to get my Goonies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtracks signed, there was no justifying it. I figured his would be high, sixty, heck, even seventy-five dollars. But, $140.00? Nah, man. I can't endorse that. Not when I can get fourteen signatures from Mark Bagley for his price of one...or technically free, if I would have gotten them personalized.

In fact, I went ahead and went back to Bagely and Breeding, and got a signed print from each of them, and Bagley even drew a little Spider-Man doodle on his.

With that, we made our way back to the car, and headed home. Now that this post is done, it's time to sit back, and just take the time to enjoy all these great books with their fantastic signatures. Some of them are going to come with me to Big Lick for even more, but that's not for another twenty days.

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