Signature Madness Part II

My goal today was very simple: close the open invoice from yesterday and begin a new one and see it through.

This morning, the sea of humanity swelled to an ocean. More people turned up today than yesterday. There must have been over a quarter million people if not more. Wow!

Anyway, I arrived at the con just as the doors were opening. I immediately went into action and headed straight for the Image Booth and procured my ticket for Marc Silvestri at 3:30 PM. With childlike glee I placed that ticket in my wallet and went briskly to Artist Alley.

At Artist Alley I scoped the floors to make sure the artists and writers I wanted to get signatures from were present. And luckily they were at their booths (save Pichelli and Simonson who were on their way). So I went to Hot Flips and got Tori to aid me as a witness.

The following is a list of books I got signed (which took about 90 minutes tops), in chronological order:

1. Cavewoman The Mature Version: signed by cover artist Frank Choi.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy 5 (Midtown Comics Variant): signed by cover artist Mark Brooks.

3. Uncanny X-Men 171: signed by writer Chris Claremont.

4. Uncanny X-Men 171 (2nd Signature): signed by inker Bob Wiacek.

5. Superman Special by Walter Simonson: Signed by pin-up artist Michael Golden.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy 5 (Midtown Comics Variant); (2nd Signature): Signed by artist Sara Pichelli.

7. Superman Special by Walter Simonson (2nd Signature): signed by pin-up artist Geoff Darrow.

8. Uncanny X-Men 171 (3rd Signature): signed by artist Walter Simonson.

9. Superman Special by Walter Simonson (3rd Signature): signed by Walter Simonson.

Whew! I closed out that invoice, turned it in, and lo and behold there was a couple of hours to spare before the 3:30 PM Marc Silvestri signings.

To kill time, I walked the floors and met with dealers and exchanged contact info. I may have gotten lucky and hope to get the first jump on a couple of HTF comics yet to be graded and two pedigrees that will be up for auction soon. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Before long it was almost 3PM, and I raced back to the CGC booth where my open invoice from last night was waiting.

Molly joined me as a witness. This is the second time this lovely lady has witnessed signings for me (1st time back in June at Wizard World NYC for JG Jones). This time around I took a stack of 11 comics to be signed by Silvestri.

And I was unusually jittery and nervous. But Molly put me at ease when she told me he's the nicest guy and boy was she right! Marc Silvestri is humble and totally absent of an ego. He really appreciates the fans and makes them feel loved (much like Billy Tucci). Marc signed each comic I placed in front of him and did not ask for any fees in return. In the midst of signings we spoke about the Darkness movie which he informed me Len Wiseman (Director of Underworld) is not only attached to direct, but is a true fan of the comic. In addition, Marc revealed Sara Pezzini/Witchblade will play a significant role in the movie. So expect big things when it comes out. Can't hardly wait!

With the Marc Silvestri signatures achieved, I closed the open invoice: Mission Accomplished. Thank God for that!

I must say, I am completely exhausted from 2 days of running around. My knees and joints ache! I had a 3-days pass which I arbitrarily gave to a complete stranger dressed as the Joker who only had a Saturday pass and was bummed about not being able to go on Sunday. I said, "Here you go dude... I'm staying home Sunday and watching Football! Go have fun!" The kid was thrilled.

Yeah... I gave up on getting Greg Capullo signatures. His signings are scheduled for tomorrow in a narrow 1 1/2 hour window with a 2 book limit. I had designs for him to sign 15 books, but obviously that isn't going to happen. But as I told Tnerb, there'll be a next time. I'm patient. No rush. Next year.

Even though I have cut my visit to NYComicCon short by one day, I absolutely feel I got my money's worth and then some. In two days I managed to get 32 comics signed by 14 comic book pros, for a combined total of 60 signatures. That is a huge leap from last year where at the very first NYComicCon I ever attended, I managed only 4 total signatures on 3 different comic books (that was pathetic).

I also finally got to meet Tnerb, as well as fellow members Dboy and Studio25. It was a thrill meeting you guys! Keep the love and passion going forever!

And lastly, the CGC staff have once again proven to me why I love their service so! A big shout out to MSchmidt, Mike, Paul, Molly, Gemma, Mark, and witnesses Tori, Tom, and Paul... Thanks for your hard work and support! You Guys Rock! I hope to see you all at NYComicCon 2014!

Thanks for reading and as always, Happy Collecting.

SW3D

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