Comic Cons..Meeting the artist AND getting SS?

[nikocb]

The best part about comic cons for me is meeting my favorite artists and writers, talking to them and having them sign my books. But how can I get these signed books to qualify for the yellow label? I know I can hand them to CGC and let them get the books signed.. but then I can't meet/talk to the artist, which is where most of the experience is.

 

For example, I'm planning on going to the Baltimore CC this weekend. I would love to meet Scott Snyder and re-meet Gregg Capullo and have them sign my Batman #1. I'd also love to finally meet Stan Lee and have him sign my X-Men #4. But if I hand them the books to sign then they won't get the yellow label

 

What do I do??

 

TIA

[Pirate]

talk fast

[revat]

go to cgc booth, ask for a witness to come with you to witness the sig. its easy and cheaper. though may cost u time

[nikocb]

talk fast

 

I do. When I said 'talk to the artist' I meant around 1 minute of conversation.

 

go to cgc booth, ask for a witness to come with you to witness the sig. its easy and cheaper. though may cost u time

 

I'm ok with it costing me time. So the witness will stand in line and wait for me to get the sig?

 

Thanks

[seanfingh]

talk fast

 

I do. When I said 'talk to the artist' I meant around 1 minute of conversation.

 

go to cgc booth, ask for a witness to come with you to witness the sig. its easy and cheaper. though may cost u time

 

I'm ok with it costing me time. So the witness will stand in line and wait for me to get the sig?

 

Thanks

 

You would be well served to discuss timing and line-standing with the witnesses at your con. You can't just grab a witness and say "Wait in the Dave Finch line with me until it is my turn." It doesn't work like that.

[nikocb]

 

You would be well served to discuss timing and line-standing with the witnesses at your con. You can't just grab a witness and say "Wait in the Dave Finch line with me until it is my turn." It doesn't work like that.

 

 

I guess that's what I'm asking.. how does it

 

usually work? Or doesn't anyone bother to do it this way?

 

 

I will certainly discuss it with the witness.. just wondering if anyone else does it this way?

[revat]

they're not doing it FOR you, they're witnessing YOU do it.

 

So typically, you would try to get the CGC to come over when you're near the front of the line (although this maybe easier said than done). Although some big stars at big signings may be assigned their own witness. Jim Lee comes to mind, although there are many others I'm sure.

 

The benefit of all the 'paid' facilitators you see posting here is that you don't have to wait in any lines. You just pass/send your comics to these folks, and for approx $5 to $15 per comic they will do all the legwork for you, waiting in lines, witness, submitting to cgc.

 

But you can save money by doing it yourself, it'll just cost you TIME, which depending on the person may be more valuable to different degrees.

[revat]

How I've done it...

 

Step 1: Identify book and artists ahead of time, preferably online. At something I went to recently, I identified some Deadpool Corps comic I wanted signed by Marat Mychaels and Rob Liefeld.

Step 2: Get to the con, look to see where their booths are setup.

Step 3: Go to CGC booth, ask them their CGC witnessing process, everyone is super nice, so ask away.

Step 4: For me, the Marat Mychaels line wasn't too long so I was more interested in the Rob Liefeld line. I went and check from time to time, when it was short I went to the CGC booth and asked for a witness to come with me to witness. You may have to wait for one to become available, but it was never more than 5 min for me.

Step 5: Lead the witness to the Liefeld's booth, have them witness the signature. You can chat for a moment with the artist, but the CGC witness is waiting, so I wouldn't take too long.

Step 6: Go to the other artist Marat Mychael's, CGC witness in tow, have them sign your book.

Step 7: Walk your book back with the CGC witness to the CGC booth.

Step 8: Follow directions from CGC staff for submission.

 

You can get as many books signed this way as you want, and see as many artists on a given trip as you want, as long as the books stay in view of the witness. If for some reason you got Liefeld first, then went to the Marat booth and he was gone, you can leave your book at the CGC booth and try again later with the witness.

[nikocb]

Revat,

 

Thank you for that insight, that was exactly what I was wondering

If you don't mind me asking, how much were your total costs for submitting that book? Do they charge for the witnesses time spent in line?

[revat]

they do not charge you for the time of the witnesses, at least not directly.

 

for example, i think to get a modern book submitted for a Universal Blue Label is $18 per book.

 

I can't remember exactly, but I think the price for a CGC SS yellow modern submission is $23 - $26 per book or something similar, i can't remember. Since everything else is substantively the same, the markup is assumed (by me) to be the 'charge' for witnessing.

 

If you get more than one signature, they may or may not charge you for the extra sig, not sure how its determined.

 

 

The prices are higher for the older books. But I think generally (someone can correct me) the price is $5-10 higher for a CGC SS submission verses a CGC Universal submission for the same tier.

 

I'm sure someone can look it up but i'm lazy.

 

Also note there's a $5 invoice fee per 'tier' submitted, and return shipping.

 

So if i were to ballpark the cost of just doing that one book it would be $5 invoice + $25ish slabbing/witnessing + $9 shipping

 

but any other submissions in the modern tier would not include the $5 invoice fee, and the shipping per book would also drop as you submit more. Also note that some artists/celebs have signing fees. Rob Liefeld and Marat Mychaels thankfully did not that day (*have no idea if that has changed or if they normally do and that was just a special day*)

[nikocb]

Ah I see.. I thought they would charge more than that.. I feel like that's pretty reasonable.

 

Thank you.. you've been a big help!

[revat]

check on the prices for yourself before you go buckwild. my memory is fuzzy and lazy. But I can't imagine it being more than $28 for a modern CGC SS submission.

[nikocb]

Will do.. thanks!

[Thawk]

I haven't been to many cons, but when considering your precise predicament, I've had good luck once or twice doing the following.

 

I stood in line without talking to CGC, got to the front and shook the artists hand and chatted for 30 seconds. I then told him I'd like to have the book slabbed so I was wondering if I could leave it with him for a minute while I go grab a CGC person before he signs it. He said sure, and moved on to the next person in line and kept signing. I showed up about 5-10 minutes later with the witness, the artist knows I'm coming and when he sees me says hey again and asks if I'm ready. I say yes thanks and he signs the book quick and gives it to me and then just keeps going down the line. I actually did this with the monster Greg Capullo line in Chicago and it worked well.

 

The impact to both the CGC people and the others in line is pretty minimal and it seemed to work well for me. Though I can see some circumstances where that might not work - it's worth considering depending on the layout and how big the line is

[nikocb]

Thawk,

 

That's a good idea.. I might do that!

[dbhatt]

I'm going to try to get signatures from Finch, Capullo and Snyder. Any idea how much they charge?

[Thawk]

Capullo wasn't charging anything at Chicago

[Captain Canuck]

He also wasn't charging anything at the Toronto FanExpo. If you get him at the right time he will usually draw you a quick Batman head or as he calls it a doodle.

 

[sfrenchenterprise]

I met Capullo @ WWTX a year ago. He wasn't charging then and he's incredibly nice

[dbhatt]

That's awesome, thanks!