Are there any Gary Gygax SS books out there? 0

[troydivision1]

Just fell down a rabbit hole of nostalgia as I have been packing up stuff to move.
Whilst I no longer actively play D&D I never shy away from recollecting the hours upon hours spent in high school and college playing it.
So, I was wondering if anyone knows if there were any Gygax SS books completed.
Checked myslabbed.
Checked eBay.

Thank you in advance.

edit:
If you have one please feel free to post it below.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Troy Division

[seanfingh]

He was at DragonCon at least once. I was hustling to try and get books down there.  I have no idea if it was as attractive to anyone else, because I have always been a huge D&D nerd as well.  I have never seen a Gygax book, for the record. 

[dover]

Are we talking about a D&D module? Getting that signed and slabbed?

 

[Qalyar]

On 5/2/2022 at 11:02 AM, dover said:

Are we talking about a D&D module? Getting that signed and slabbed?

 

Or presumably any of the very many D&D-based comics?

In any case, he signed quite a few source books (generally on the first page) and modules (location varies), plus copies of his Gord the Rogue paperback books. I've never seen his signature on any of the D&D comics, much less as a CGC Signature Series book, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

[seanfingh]

On 5/2/2022 at 12:02 PM, dover said:

Are we talking about a D&D module? Getting that signed and slabbed?

 

I was talking about the AD&D and / or Dragonlance comics that DC put out.  I also thought about having him sign one of the D&D ads, but I couldn't remember if they were ever on a back cover or if they were always inside.

[dover]

Off topic to a degree, but now that you put this out there, I could see getting a module signed by my old D&D friends and framing it for memories. But yeah, that Gygax dude would be cool too. 

[Randall Dowling]

Obviously, Gary passed away many years ago (2008).  I've never heard of a Signature Series with him but it would be pretty special to have one.  I really like the idea of getting a module slabbed.  Never thought of that before.

[seanfingh]

On 5/2/2022 at 9:57 AM, seanfingh said:

He was at DragonCon at least once. I was hustling to try and get books down there.  I have no idea if it was as attractive to anyone else, because I have always been a huge D&D nerd as well.  I have never seen a Gygax book, for the record. 

Dragon Con has a sweet way of checking the guest list from past cons.  Gygax was not at DragonCon in 2007 or 2008, which would have been the only two that I would have been looking at after I was doing SS and before he died.

So my memory has failed in that regard . . .

[troydivision1]

Thank you all for writing.
After taking a break from from packing I checked eBay and noticed various signed items.
Including some interesting pieces of history like below.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384842515433?hash=item599a66c3e9%3Ag%3AWaEAAOSwl2NiXe-x&nma=true&si=xwPTgSW728WVVA%2FNl6U7k26SonQ%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I'm apprehensive of buying autographed items outright which is why I posed the question here.

[Jeffro.]

On 5/2/2022 at 2:50 PM, Randall Dowling said:

Obviously, Gary passed away many years ago (2008).  I've never heard of a Signature Series with him but it would be pretty special to have one.  I really like the idea of getting a module slabbed.  Never thought of that before.

It would be problematic for CGC to slab D&D modules and other accessories. A lot of them had loose covers. They'd have to be very careful about version control and people trying to slab a version of one module with the cover of a different version. For instance, B2 Keep on the Borderlands had eight printings. Not to mention many of those modules had multiple books, removable pages, fold out maps, map booklets, and inserts. Completeness would be a big issue as well.

I'm not saying they couldn't do it but a lot of research would have to go into the process.

Edited May 13, 2022 by JEFFROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[DougC]

On 5/2/2022 at 5:17 PM, Troy Division said:

I'm apprehensive of buying autographed items outright which is why I posed the question here.

Overall autographs from the table top industry are generally sold unauthenticated due to the volume and general value. For any "high dollar" items I have seen PSA used when their is contention, but it is pretty rare. Now that GenCon is back to in person there are always a couple at the show and in the charity auction.

A couple years ago they would have been around $250, so an average AD&D manual I would assume be in the $350-400 range now. I don't believe the ones posted for 3k on ebay will ever sell for close to that amount. The example auction above (letter to ward) is more intimate and historically valuable and it only sold for $600.

With that said, let me recommend an alternative!

Find a copy of a one or two of your favorite books from any edition and pick the one with a white interior and artists that are still available (this will take awhile). Think of it like a project and when you have those nailed down get a personal commission done. Game art is so much cheaper than comic art you have the ability to splurge if you want, or keep it simple.

Here is an example of one of mine, A full Pencil from Tommy Castillo and a quick sketch from David "Esbri" Molinas.

Spoiler