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swharr Posts: 1
6/9/2016
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Hello - I saw a post somewhere recently where people were scrambling to put together enough money to get as many books as possible signed by Stan Lee or whoever... Sometimes not even anyone who actually worked on that particular comic. What I'm wondering is... Other than for people who really want Stan to sign their 9.4 Strange Tales 110 (ouch!!), what is the appeal here? Doesn't having a name scrawled across a book destroy the value for the most part? Is this an investment, is what I'm asking, because it seems to me that it is not, and it's possible that the trend will die off, leaving people with books reduced several grades for 'autographs' .. And the rest of the world has one less Strange Tales 110 as an appealing option. (By the way, I get it if you love the artist and you are doing it for you... I got an X-Men 108 signed by Byrne as a kid and I'm ok with it because of the personal experience.)
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knparzival Posts: 16
6/9/2016
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Now that there are better ways to authenticate signatures I think the view on this has changed dramatically over the last decade. 20 years ago the biggest problem with signatures was that it was extremely hard to validate them because there were few sources to reference he signatures against so they can be validated. If the signature cannot be validated it was assumed to potentially be fake making buyers have to assume the worst to avoid risk. Now that we have better ways to validate a signature this is not nearly as big of a problem. If you look at art, a signature is not considered damage even though one can argue it detracts from the art. Most people will typically spend more for a lithograph that Picasso or Dali signed then one he did not. I will admit though that most comic artists and writers do not rise to the level of these artists but, I believe there we will almost always be people who will wont some of their signatures and so long as they are willing to pay for them, they will likely add value to a book. Keep in mind not all signatures are equal and if a signature is placed poorly or is by someone who know one knows about, it could negatively impact what someone is willing to pay for it.
edited by knparzival on 6/9/2016
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lealew7 Posts: 73
6/9/2016
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I am a collector and reader of my collection, but if i get an autograph i usually do it for myself on a particular comic, or i get it for collector purposes, knowing i met the writer, creator, artist, colorist, etc. usually i try to have proof if anyone were to question because i am not a person going for any fake anything in my collection. i think that they can bring value, but it is all up to the collector that is seeking them out. i still purchase autographed comics or get them autographed, but i am very picky though i can completely understand the argument of keeping them untouched and in top condition as well though. i guess it all depends on each collector.
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quinnspuddinjoker Posts: 673
6/9/2016
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I have a handful of signed books. I like them but don't really buy or get more of them signed. Cool but not worth paying a lot of money that some sell for or what a creator charges. Just not worth the current cost.
Using your example of a Strange Tales 110 graded 9.4 I would never do that to a key book, even in a lower grade unless it was falling apart. And even then I'd think not to.
Collecting what one likes is great and it seems that signature books are always nice for some collectors.
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genuine_article_comics Posts: 44
6/9/2016
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The only books I got signed are books of unimportance (with the exception of 1..new gods 1 signed by Jack Kirby). I'm in total agreement that signatures have a negative impact on the comic which is why the books that I have signed are of no importance.
edited by genuine_article_comics on 6/27/2016
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quinnspuddinjoker Posts: 673
6/9/2016
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genuine_article_comics wrote:
The only books I got signed are books of unimportance (with the exception of 1..new gods 1 signed by Jack Kirby).
Nice... ok, now that is a book I'd pay extra to own. That is fantastic.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
6/10/2016
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Some will not consider a signature as damage, others will. Personally I think a grading system is pretty screwed up if you say that a signature/writing is and isn't damage. Why people cannot be happy with a signature/writing always being damage but still valuing creator signatures I just don't get. I do not have a problem a signed book to be a lower grade BUT valuing more than a book in that lower grade would normally go for.
Comic collectors are a weird and stupid lot.
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+1
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kds_comics Posts: 686
6/14/2016
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swharr wrote:
Hello - I saw a post somewhere recently where people were scrambling to put together enough money to get as many books as possible signed by Stan Lee or whoever... Sometimes not even anyone who actually worked on that particular comic. What I'm wondering is... Other than for people who really want Stan to sign their 9.4 Strange Tales 110 (ouch!!), what is the appeal here? Doesn't having a name scrawled across a book destroy the value for the most part? Is this an investment, is what I'm asking, because it seems to me that it is not, and it's possible that the trend will die off, leaving people with books reduced several grades for 'autographs' .. And the rest of the world has one less Strange Tales 110 as an appealing option. (By the way, I get it if you love the artist and you are doing it for you... I got an X-Men 108 signed by Byrne as a kid and I'm ok with it because of the personal experience.)
Would you get a baseball player to sign a sheet of paper of a baseball card?
Really boils down to your choice. I like signed comics. Add creator's personal touch to finished work.
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+1
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genuine_article_comics Posts: 44
6/27/2016
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kds_comics wrote:
swharr wrote:
Hello - I saw a post somewhere recently where people were scrambling to put together enough money to get as many books as possible signed by Stan Lee or whoever... Sometimes not even anyone who actually worked on that particular comic. What I'm wondering is... Other than for people who really want Stan to sign their 9.4 Strange Tales 110 (ouch!!), what is the appeal here? Doesn't having a name scrawled across a book destroy the value for the most part? Is this an investment, is what I'm asking, because it seems to me that it is not, and it's possible that the trend will die off, leaving people with books reduced several grades for 'autographs' .. And the rest of the world has one less Strange Tales 110 as an appealing option. (By the way, I get it if you love the artist and you are doing it for you... I got an X-Men 108 signed by Byrne as a kid and I'm ok with it because of the personal experience.)
Would you get a baseball player to sign a sheet of paper of a baseball card?
Really boils down to your choice. I like signed comics. Add creator's personal touch to finished work.
And this is truly the best answer. It's all about personal choice.
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+1
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frankievig Posts: 14
7/15/2016
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aside from Stan Lee, autographs on books make me wince...I've got a copy of Uncanny #266 with Clairemonts sig....pisses me off tbh
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genuine_article_comics Posts: 44
7/31/2016
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The best scenario in my opinion is if you have a 3rd party graded book, get the artist to sign the case. The book remains "undamaged" but you have a signed collectible. I believe you can still get a case signature authenticated.
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BigSaddles Posts: 3
8/23/2016
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Should I get Mark Hamill to sign my Star Wars #1?
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
8/23/2016
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BigSaddles wrote:
Should I get Mark Hamill to sign my Star Wars #1?
That is entirely up to you! If you want him to sign your SW#1 then by all means do it. If you decide to sell it later on someone will no doubt buy it. Those who don't care for signed books will stay away. That's how it work with signed books.
I would suggest that if you plan on selling the book then using CGC or CBCS to witness the signature and grade the book is the best way to go because you will realize a better return than trying to sell the book with no verification of the signature. If CBCS or CGC are not around to do this CBCS does have a service that can verify the signature and grade it after the fact.
If you have no plans on selling then just get the book signed and enjoy it 
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Finley2020 Posts: 43
12/3/2016
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Way late to add my $0.02, but I've never cared for signed books. I understand the appeal but I always felt they ruin the book and it's something I can't shake. To me CGC's holy anointed Yellow Label doesn't make it any better because it's treated like a speculators "add-on". Oh well. They're just following the invisible hand I guess. There are a few exceptions in which I'll buy a signed book but it's only because I'll never sell it AND I have a similar unsigned copy in my collection as well. I know, I'm weird.
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tarn kronos Posts: 45
12/4/2016
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i'm going to be a bit more positive about signed books for a minute. I think people are buying signed books when encased in Plastic. One might say that they even sell for a higher price (sometimes) than non-signed books. So, if this is true then the market has already answered this question. When I got my Strange Tales 110 signed by Stan Lee i was not worried. My memory was great on this...I got to meet Stan the Man and I thanked him for all he has done, and told him my life was better because of it...his response was "and on the eighth day i created the"...lol he has a good sense of humor. My experience was great and i would have never had it if I did not seek out to have him sign the book. To top it off the CGC gave me a 6.5 for the book unrestored and even gave me the elusive grade that you almost never see for this book of "White Pages"! I had my son with me and he got to meet stan too so we have a great book preserved in plastic signed by Stan and we have a great Memory!
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Finley2020 Posts: 43
12/4/2016
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tarn kronos wrote:
i'm going to be a bit more positive about signed books for a minute. I think people are buying signed books when encased in Plastic. One might say that they even sell for a higher price (sometimes) than non-signed books. So, if this is true then the market has already answered this question. When I got my Strange Tales 110 signed by Stan Lee i was not worried. My memory was great on this...I got to meet Stan the Man and I thanked him for all he has done, and told him my life was better because of it...his response was "and on the eighth day i created the"...lol he has a good sense of humor. My experience was great and i would have never had it if I did not seek out to have him sign the book. To top it off the CGC gave me a 6.5 for the book unrestored and even gave me the elusive grade that you almost never see for this book of "White Pages"! I had my son with me and he got to meet stan too so we have a great book preserved in plastic signed by Stan and we have a great Memory!
Ok, this is where I can get behind signed books. When you memories like this attached to them it makes all the sense in the world. I guess I was only looking at it from a post signature point of view. Good story!
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