Well, here we are folks. The story of the show where things quickly got disappointing, and events trickled from bad to worse.
When I first got through the showroom doors of the convention, I made it a point to go vendor hopping. There were four issues I was after, and I knew they would be a high priority for others as well.
Walt Simonson took over writing and art duties of The Mighty Thor with issue 337. Though he would work on the book for four years, after two, he would turn over penciling duties to Sal Buscema. Walt would only occasionally penciling himself from that point on for the remainder of his run through issue 382.
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| Walt drawing a Thor picture for a fan who waited in line hours for him |
It was Walt's work which would shake up the character, flesh out background characters, villains, and ultimately shape The Mighty Thor into the iteration known today, and reflected in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tucked in this run, there was a very unique storyline across issues 363 through 366, one which I have recommended to other comic readers many times, but personally never owned. It wasn't from lack of trying. Rather, it's so popular that people tend to flock to it.
In fact, there was a moment in line for the convention where my buddy, Dave Braun, got into a conversation with someone about what they were after at the show. Dave in turn said to me, "Is there anything you're looking for today?" To which I just said, "I am." With all eyes at this point of the nearby folks he was talking to on me, he asked, "What?" To which I got a bit snarky. I said, "Is this your first day at a convention? If I say it out loud, I suddenly have ten people saying that's a great book, and now I'm fighting people to find it." It was a jerk response, but true nonetheless. You just don't sabotage your own efforts in scenarios like this.
As I walked the floor from vendor to vendor, I was only able to find two of the four books. It was disappointing, but I resolved to take what I could get. I made my way to Walt and Louise Simonson's table, mind you, only fifteen minutes into the show, only to be told by the staff there, "The line is capped."
"Capped," I said with a clear annoyance in my tone. "This place just opened!" I asked, "When will the line re-open?" To which I was told, "I don't know. It may not for the day."
I was livid, but I wasn't going to let this tarnish my day. I thought to myself, I don't have any symbiote books with me, this isn't as bad as it seems. Off I went to get other signatures.
After my buddy was done with his line duties at Jim Starlin's table, I told him, "Your next mission is the Simonson's table." Off he went as I finished up with Mr. Starlin, only to call me shortly thereafter.
"The line is capped," he said. "They have a panel at 1:00 PM, and they're not taking any more people until 4:00 PM. I sighed and said, "Well, I didn't want to do that, but I guess we're stuck here until 4." He then abruptly cut me off and said, "Wait, I'm in line."
I raced across the convention hall to find out what was going on, and when I arrived, got the full rundown. But first, a little bit on Dave Braun.
Dave Braun is the guy everyone wants to be friends with. He's outgoing. Finds no fault in anyone, and can basically talk to strangers on the street like he's known then for years. Everyone should have a wingman like Dave.
As Dave stood there talking to the line police, AKA, convention staff, receiving the bad news, he got friendly like with the guy. It was at this point that two people apparently annoyed with the long wait, and announcement that Walt and Louise would be leaving at 1:00 for a panel, not returning until later, that they picked up their stuff and left. When Dave saw this, he said to the staff member, "Those two people just left. Can I get in line?" To which he was told, "Sure."
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| Dave Braun with Louise Simonson |
With a place in line secured, I went off to grab a few more signatures, returning periodically to check progress. Around 12:30 PM, Walt stood up, and walked down the line, addressing everyone as he went. "I need to eat something, and then I have a panel, but I will be back around 2:00 PM," he said. If you will please be patient, I will ensure everyone here gets what they came for, and will stay until 7:00 PM if I need to.
After confirming we could all stay in line, Walt left, as did many people. Moving up a bit closer, I once again left Dave to his duties while I finished up with everyone else I intended on conducting business with, who I've posted about already. I also managed to track down the other two Thor books, completing the four issue story arc.
Walt returned around 2:30 PM, and signing commenced. It was at this point that I learned more bad news. In the past, the Simonson's were keen on their policy of only accepting donations for the Hero Initiative. However, when they were at Big Lick NOVA 2024, they, specifically Walt, started charging for drawings. This time around, they both also implemented a fee for signatures. The first signature was free, all others were $10.00 each. I guess they got a taste of the cash, and were hooked.
Look, I get it, free autographs are rare, and a great opportunity for fans. I don't behoove the Simonson's for charging. However, as I've said before, without this information in advance, people can't plan accordingly. Frankly, it's a trickle down effect for me. I didn't necessarily "need" the books I got signed to be autographed, and I probably wouldn't have made it such a high priority to buy the Thor books I was after had I known they were charging. I certainly wouldn't have spent the time either directly or indirectly waiting in line for them.
To bring all of this to a conclusion, obviously I did get book signed by Walt, and here are they are. For those of you who don't know much about the man, he's keen on drawing dinosaurs, and loves everything about them. If you look closely at his signature, it's designed to look like a brontosaurus. Neat!
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I also got both Walt and Louise to sign Marvel Age 68. I guess we'll call this one my "one free" from them, as I really had no intensions of bringing this with me, other than the historic fact that they had been free (with donations). But, I suppose, maybe that made me part of the problem of why they started charging. Signatures for the sake of signatures and not out of genuine want.
To wrap up things with the Simonson's, specifically Walt, I had to loop back in Al Milgrom, and also stop at the table of Art Adams. I wanted to get the three issue story arc of Fantastic Four 347 - 349 signed. This was where the New Fantastic Four, featuring Spider-Man, Wolverine, (grey) Hulk, and Ghost Rider were formed.
I had a gold reprint of 348 with me which I got signed by Art Adams, and would have gotten signed by Al Milgrom and Walt Simonson. However, there was a little kid behind me in line at Mr. Adam's table with his own 348 who kept looking at the variant. After Art signed it, I tossed it at him and said, "Here, kid. Have a gold variant."
For those following or looking for pricing information, Art Adams remained consistent from the last time I saw him at $15.00 per autograph.
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