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At what point does the signature devalue the comic? (AF #15)

Started by dekeuk,

56 posts in this topic

Mac Man

Mac Man

Posted
Posted

Personally, a book becomes truly authentic when I get it signed by either the writer, artist, or some contributor. And while Stan might not have been directly responsible for X-Men #ABC, he was directly responsible for the creation of that character...so there is some link from the signer to comic.

 

Yeah, low grade, mid grade, or high grade--doesn't matter. I love signed books, and I'm hoping to add a few more to the collection this weekend!

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comicgrinder

comicgrinder

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But once the book starts to get hard to find IN GRADE, then I think signatures detract from the book.

 

What about a nice interior signature?

 

 

When I submitted my 3.0 FF 1 to be signed, I had asked if it would be possible to have Stan sign the cover with a soft pencil...rather than a sharpie. Due to time constraints surrounding the signing, it just wasn't feasible to take such detailed requests.

 

I think soft pencil would be a great substitute for sharpies.

Stan doesnt do nice interior signatures.....he's left handed.....he usually always mucks up the spine with a huge crease when he lays he arms down to sign
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comicgrinder

comicgrinder

Posted
Posted
Personally, a book becomes truly authentic when I get it signed by either the writer, artist, or some contributor. And while Stan might not have been directly responsible for X-Men #ABC, he was directly responsible for the creation of that character...so there is some link from the signer to comic.

 

Yeah, low grade, mid grade, or high grade--doesn't matter. I love signed books, and I'm hoping to add a few more to the collection this weekend!

I have to agree!
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ArAich

ArAich

Posted
Posted
But once the book starts to get hard to find IN GRADE, then I think signatures detract from the book.

 

What about a nice interior signature?

 

 

When I submitted my 3.0 FF 1 to be signed, I had asked if it would be possible to have Stan sign the cover with a soft pencil...rather than a sharpie. Due to time constraints surrounding the signing, it just wasn't feasible to take such detailed requests.

 

I think soft pencil would be a great substitute for sharpies.

Stan doesnt do nice interior signatures.....he's left handed.....he usually always mucks up the spine with a huge crease when he lays he arms down to sign

 

 

Have him sign the last page then... (shrug)

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THE_BEYONDER

THE_BEYONDER

Posted
Posted
But once the book starts to get hard to find IN GRADE, then I think signatures detract from the book.

 

What about a nice interior signature?

 

 

When I submitted my 3.0 FF 1 to be signed, I had asked if it would be possible to have Stan sign the cover with a soft pencil...rather than a sharpie. Due to time constraints surrounding the signing, it just wasn't feasible to take such detailed requests.

 

I think soft pencil would be a great substitute for sharpies.

Stan doesnt do nice interior signatures.....he's left handed.....he usually always mucks up the spine with a huge crease when he lays he arms down to sign

 

That's always another thing to consider when getting books signed. Some artists are easier on books than others.

 

I think it would be great if artists/writers/inkers would sign their name on the cover...the same way they sign their name on the interior. Neal Adams rarely over inflates his signature when he signs. When he does, it's usually because he's using a thicker sharpie. Give the man a nice fine point (or better yet a pencil ;)) , and his signature can really compliment a book.

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benz

benz

Posted
Posted
But once the book starts to get hard to find IN GRADE, then I think signatures detract from the book.

 

What about a nice interior signature?

 

 

When I submitted my 3.0 FF 1 to be signed, I had asked if it would be possible to have Stan sign the cover with a soft pencil...rather than a sharpie. Due to time constraints surrounding the signing, it just wasn't feasible to take such detailed requests.

 

I think soft pencil would be a great substitute for sharpies.

Stan doesnt do nice interior signatures.....he's left handed.....he usually always mucks up the spine with a huge crease when he lays he arms down to sign

 

 

Have him sign the last page then... (shrug)

 

Or the first page, signing the 1st page or any page for that matter will still get the Sig Series label right? No need to always sign on the cover no?

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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While I don't have any signed comics and I don't think I would pay more for a signed comic than an unsigned comic I think that key books signed by their creators will increase in value compared to unsigned books. Think about the Antique Roadshow and the value of signatures and provenance.

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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I'm not a big fan of signatures on comics. So much thought goes into a cover design, signatures almost always look out of place on the front covers...

 

That said, I had Herb Trimpe sign the back cover of my hulk 181 reader and add a small drawing of Wolvie's face. In that case, that back cover is a large yellow coupon with tons of empty space for a sig. I think the best case is to keep it subtle and almost unoticable at first glance.

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He11blazer

He11blazer

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While I don't have any signed comics and I don't think I would pay more for a signed comic than an unsigned comic I think that key books signed by their creators will increase in value compared to unsigned books. Think about the Antique Roadshow and the value of signatures and provenance.

 

That only works when the signatory is 'no longer available' for sigs, if you know what I mean.

 

I don't see why Stan's sig would increase any comic's value by more than about $50 tops, because it's a simple matter to get any comic signed by him (assuming you can find one he hasn't already signed).

 

Unfortunately, what you see in the market is totally unwarranted % mark-ups. So people pay several hundred dollars extra for a Stan-signed low grade ToS #39 or AF#15. This creates an obvious business model: Buy all low to mid grade silver age keys at going rate, have them signed and sell them on. Result: All the cool books will get scribbled on :(

 

I don't mind a few nice books getting signed (see some of Grails' awesome books!) but I'd like for the majority to remain au naturel!

 

 

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ArAich

ArAich

Posted
Posted
Much more importantly, ArAich, what are those sig animations from?? They look like Sailor Moon characters, but I wasn't aware of a live action version...?

 

:popcorn:

 

 

Yup...they're from Sailor Moon...just something I found while surfing the net for hot asian women... :blush:

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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I think that key books signed by their creators will increase in value compared to unsigned books. Think about the Antique Roadshow and the value of signatures and provenance.

 

Apples and oranges, as in this case, it's the comic (AF 15) that is valuable, and we're talking about whether a signature on the cover increases or decreases its value. Personally, the future doesn't bode well for any format that *limits* the buyer pool, as SS books do - there are people who hate their covers defaced and will refuse to buy them.

 

If CGC started a business where they'd slab and certify signatures on a cover reproduction or small poster, then that would be a different story, and similar to your example of the Antique Roadshow.

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seanfingh

seanfingh

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Posted

 

In my opinion, people who are getting sigs on books for "added value" are nuts. Almost as nuts as people paying the added value. That said, I love SS and have hundreds of SS books. I try to do Silver books that are 8.0 - 9.0 with outstanding eye appeal.

 

Bronze through modern I will get the highest grade copy that I possibly can. But I still can't get myself to get uber high grade Bronze keys SS'd unless I have multiple copies. I had Romita sign ASM 122 and 129 for me, but they are 8.5 and 6.5 respectively. If they were 9.6, I wouldn't have gotten them done.

 

My Bats 232 is 9.0 and IM 55 8.5. They look incredible auto'd by their creators and while they are exceptional eye appeal copies, are not uber high grade. I don't care about what the sigs do to the value because I got them done for me, not for "added value."

 

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Schmakt

Schmakt

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Posted

What about personalized sigs?

Surely those just absolutely bomb a book's value...

 

I don't think I would SS a book with a personalization, but when I'm just getting my raw books signed, I often ask "to jim" or some such to be put on it. I got Matt Wagner to do that on my Primer 2 and Grendel 1-3 set, so, except for the #1 (he signed the front page on that one), one of the characters on each of the covers is saying, "to jim" - M. Wagner.

 

I can't imagine that anyone would want to buy these copies now even though they're pretty nice (VF-ish), but I'm very happy to have them done as such. :)

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