Baltimore Comic Con 2023: Part VII - Jim Starlin, And Brian Michael Bendis

With exception of my convention book, post coming soon on that, Jim Starlin and Brian Michael Bendis wrapped up my con experience for Baltimore Comic Con.

As I stood in line for Chris Claremont, I actually sent my buddy over to Jim Starlin's table, and asked him to hold a spot for me. I know, that's not technically how it works, but it was a tactic that worked well in a few instances throughout the day.

You may recall from my first post about the convention that Jim Starlin caught me off guard. I had packed books under the guise of his own words that he doesn't, "usually charge for signatures at conventions." Well, not only was he charging, but at $20.00 per signature, he was the most expensive guy I got things signed by.

I initially wanted to get my entire Infinity Saga signed, which consisted of The Thanos Quest, The Infinity Gauntlet, The Infinity War, and The Infinity Crusade, as well as a few Batman and Spider-Man related books. However, when he dropped the price point on me, I immediately cut that well in half, if not more. I'm not going to begrudge the man for charging. It's his time, and his prerogative. At the end of the day, it's my choice if I'm going to pay it or not. I mean, at least it wasn't John Romita Jr. prices, and unlike Renee Witterstaetter, is actually someone most people talking about comics will know the name of.

Also signed by Renee Witterstaetter
at Big Lick NOVA 2023

Also signed by Renee Witterstaetter
at Big Lick NOVA 2023

It was easy to whittle down the selection of books for Mr. Starlin. The latter two Infinity series were an afterthought to begin with, and would have just resulted in me spending more money at Al Milgrom's table having him sign those. The Spider-Man books were also not necessarily all that important to me.

What were important were the below Batman books, the majority of which are the four part Death in the Family story arc.

Todd McFarlane's iconic Batman cover
A book I will probably never get the chance
to have him sign

Another line I had my buddy stand in was that of Brian Michael Bendis. This also leads me to my one and only purchase at the convention.

Prior to taking his place in line, I gave my friend an assignment. Walk the floor, and find me a vendor who has a copy of Ultimate Fallout 4, first printing, the first appearance of Miles Morales. He found one relatively quickly, and while the price was...expected...it certainly ate into my available funds. Bendis's line was equally long, if not longer, than Chris Claremont's, but he moved quick, setting up three people at a time at his table, and signing fast.

I think what led the charge of me finally taking the plunge on a book I had been wishy washy over for years was that Bendis was at the convention, and signing for free. What better way to buy the book than to immediately turn around and get it signed by the character's creator? Now I just need to track down Mark Bagley again to sign it...among other things.

Though there were still about five or six people I wanted to meet and get autographs from, sadly, and as I've said before, hunger, dehydration, frustration, exhaustion, and sore feet led me to calling it a day with an hour and a half left in the con. Sure, I could have probably gotten several more signatures in that time span, but I was at the point where the luster of being there, and the thought of continuing to spend money had run their courses. I was simply ready to leave. 

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