Tickets for the Baltimore Comic-Con went on sale a couple of weeks ago. I got mine, but passed on the "Stan Lee VIP Package." Said package includes a ticket to the con, one Stan Lee autograph on an item (item not included), one photo with Stan Lee, access to a faster autograph line, an exclusive Stan Lee VIP badge and lanyard, preferred seating at Stan’s panel, and "exclusive commemorative items," whatever that means. All for the low price of $195.
The first two, I wanted. I guess the faster line access would come in handy, too. But I don't want a photo, I'm not going to his panel, and I'm not sure what I would do with a bunch of Stan Lee commemorative items. The guy's a convention whore these days. It's not like it's especially difficult to meet him. Certainly nothing worth commemorating with trinkets.
So I opted for just the normal Stan Lee autograph ticket. For only...ugh...$50.
I feel vaguely nauseous over it. I guess this means I can no longer make fun of sports fans who pay exorbitant sums to athletes to sign a jersey or ball. I paid $5 for Neal Adams's signature a couple of years ago, but justified it because A) It wasn't that much, B) I really wanted his autograph on one particular comic, and C) Neal Adams doesn't get a whole lot of work these days, and what work he does get isn't especially good. So it actually almost felt altruistic.
Lee is different. To begin with, he's loaded. I'm not sure how loaded, but I'm fairly confident that he could travel around the country on his own dime signing comics for free, and his bank account would still be bigger than the combined savings of everyone reading this, times a thousand. It'd be nice if he signed stuff for free, like 99.99% of comic book pros do, but even if he absolutely feels the need to charge something, $50 is just obnoxious.
The other key difference is that with Adams, I really love the issue he signed. It's my favorite Joker story of all time. Conversely, I'm fairly sure I've never read a single thing Stan Lee's written. I'm a DC guy. He's a Marvel guy. Our paths simply never crossed. (I tried flipping through the TPB collection of those comics he did for DC a few years back, where he reimagined DC characters as if he'd created them. Interesting premise, but lousy execution. I don't think I made it through five pages.)
So why am I shelling out $50 for an autograph of someone whose work I've never even read? Because while I may not be a Marvel fan, I can appreciate the historical importance and indeed, the genius of the characters he created. So having a framed vintage Stan Lee-autographed comic would be pretty awesome. I mean, there aren't that many giants in the comic book industry left. Jack Kirby? Dead. Siegel and Shuster? Dead. Bob Kane? Dead. Gardner Fox? Dead. Steve Ditko? Alive, but a bitter recluse who refuses to sign anything. Stan Lee's more or less the last man standing. After he's gone, it'll just be the Jim Shooters, Todd McFarlanes and Geoff Johns of the world.
So that brings me to my current dilemma: Which Stan Lee comic do I want on my wall?
Initially, I thought not having sentimental attachment to any of his comics would make it easier to find one, in the sense that I wouldn't get hung up on feeling like I had to get one particular (i.e., potentially really expensive) issue. But it's actually even more difficult, because now the only thing I can judge a comic by is how nice the cover is. And it turns out that the covers of a lot of those Marvel comics from the '60s and '70s aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing.
I like Spider-Man. The movies, anyway. And the character is Lee's most famous creation. So I figured I'd start there. He wrote the first hundred or so issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, and having gone through a gallery of covers of each issue, it turns out that almost all of them look like...well, I won't use the word "crap," but definitely something similar to crap. Naturally, the only ones I really like are out of my price range.
Like this one:
Or this one:
I mostly like this one. And as a bonus, it's affordable.
But is it me, or does the "Spidey Saves the Day!" box completely ruin an otherwise perfect image? Isn't Spidey saving the day a bit of a given? You'd think "The End of the Green Goblin!" would be more than enough to sell a comic.
I guess after Spider-Man, my favorite Marvel property is the X-Men. But all the early X-Men covers are pretty ghastly. Case in point:
From there, the choices get a little muddled. Lots of great Fantastic Four covers, but I really couldn't care less about the characters. Ditto for Daredevil, Thor or the Avengers. Aesthetics may be important, but it also feels like I ought to have some affection for whatever's on the cover. Otherwise, I might as well just have Lee sign a blank sheet of paper and get that framed.
I'm not a big Silver Surfer fan either, but the character's always had a certain cache of coolness. Watch Breathless if you don't know what I mean. And I do really like this cover.
So this probably the front runner at the moment, but who knows. I have another month to troll eBay before I have to make a decision.
Oh, and just to further my point about how Stan Lee really doesn't need to be charging $50 an autograph, check this shit out:
This issue is from 1992. The fact that it's professionally graded means that a company paid him good money to sign comics that he didn't even write, largely featuring characters he didn't even create. And people actually buy them! What's up with that?
7 comments:
I'm still on the fence about the Stan thing. I'm leaning towards the VIP pack, even though I can't necessarily afford it. I actually already have a Stan autograph on a trading card through somewhat...questionable channels, but it seems a shame to get a picture with him and NOT an autograph, too. I'd try my hand at getting the autograph without the VIP, but I think I'd be in line for the whole show. I had a negative experience doing this same thing for Bendis, so I'd rather skip that if possible.
I still say that, for something unique on your wall, you can't beat having him sign one of the Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe books. They all suck, but it's a nice corporate crossover. As for things he actually wrote, I'd almost hate to ruin such a classic book. Those DC books are in dollar bins, though.
Stan could offer me a free autograph on one of the Just Imagine... books, and throw in the frame, and I'd still pass.
Quality aside, I feel like whatever I get signed has to be from the '60s or '70s. If I'm paying $50 for a signature, I want it on a piece of comic book history, not just a novelty.
I hear ya. I guess another question, then, is this: are you going for an iconic cover, or an actual comic of value?
Look at it this way: some people might say you were decreasing the value of an old book by having it signed. However, a reprint is virtually worthless but WOULD have value with the addition of the signature. That's the speculator in me talking, though.
I just feel there are a lot of cool, older Marvel covers that would look great signed, but based on the prices being charged for them, I would have a hard time having them signed, Stan signature or not.
Monetary value isn't important to me. At least, not in the sense that I see this as some sort of investment. I guess my three main criteria are:
1) The cover has to look cool, and the comic has to be in decent shape. After all, I'm going to hang it on my wall.
2) It has to be old. I want something from the start of the Marvel Universe and from before Lee started phoning it in. And for the same reason I only buy original artwork at flea markets, I wouldn't go with a reprint.
3) I want somewhere between iconic and forgettable. I don't necessarily need the first appearance of the Green Goblin, but nor do I want the first appearance of Man Mountain Marko.
As for effect of a signature, we might simply have different philosophies on that one. As far as I'm concerned, a writer/artist signature always improves a comic's appearance.
Be careful ebaying that silver surfer #1. There are a lot of the late 70's reprints floating around out there that pretend to be the original 1968 version. If you don't care, fine. But be warned if you think you think you're getting a great deal.
Do you go for both days? I've never been before and want to go this year. Also how do you get there from DC? MARC doesn't run on weekends so I'm trying to find the cheapest way to get there.
the Nabob: Thanks. But when I was doing some research today, I discovered that the Surfer was almost entirely a Kirby creation. I'd rather have Lee sign something he created (or at least co-created), so it looks like I'm back at square one.
Anon: I'll be there on Saturday. I always drive. I think the only other alternative on the weekend is Amtrak, so if you don't have a car, it might be worth looking into Zipcar.
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