Charging for a Signature?

I don’t do a lot of comic cons… really just a handful each year. They are exhausting but fun and the ones I do generate enough revenue for it to make sense to spend that time away from the studio. As much as I like meeting and talking with people and connecting with readers of my work, studio time is valuable and being away means less time to do the work that pays my bills. I make no secret of it…I’m trying to sell stuff at these cons.

One thing I don’t charge for is my signature, although I have certain rules about that.

There are creators who do comic cons who charge for a signature. Sometimes it’s only $5, but I’ve seen it as high as $60. I have zero problem with that, and cannot understand why anyone else would. In fact it makes perfect sense and for some artists and writers it is a necessary thing to do for one overriding reason that can be summed up in one single word…eBay.

For certain creators their signature on a comic book or trade paper back or something they worked on raises the value of that book by quite a bit. This is especially true if it’s a graded comic. The market for rare signed comics is so high these days that there are professional services at many comic cons where a customer pays that company to send a representative with the comic to a creator, witness the signature, and then provide a certificate of authenticity proving the signature is legit. I’ve witnessed this happen with some pretty well known artists, and it is a seriously precise practice. The representative of the certification company has the comic or whatever prepped for the signature with a sleeve over it that has an area cut out with edges taped where that opening is in the precise location on the cover the client wants the signature. If people pay for that so they can avoid any question of forgery, so why would they not expect to pay for the signature itself? Yes, it only takes a second or two to scrawl a (usually) barely legible signature on a comic, but it’s not the time involved. If it raises the value of the item then the artist or writer should get something for that.

A few fans get bent out of shape about this. Usually it’s the old school crowd that lament about “the days when artists remembered that without their fans they are unemployed”. That’s true, and I get that it is hard to swallow paying for something you only want for yourself and only because you are a real fan of the creator you are asking. However it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between someone who just wants a signature for themselves and someone planning on “flipping” the item on eBay. I can absolutely see where a famous/well known/popular creator needs to get something for their signature. That signature has a real value.

All that said, I don’t charge for a signature (with a caveat) for two reasons.

First, and this is something that people who have tried to flip items I’ve signed on eBay will be able to bitterly attest to, my signature isn’t worth squat! The jokes on them if they try and sell it!!!

Second, and I got this philosophy from the great Sergio Aragonés (whose signature IS worth a lot more that squat), I will only sign published things I have done work in. I won’t sign pieces of paper, or printouts of stuff taken from the internet, or anything that it not an item that was purchased from somewhere that was produced by a someone who paid me for the work I did in it. Sergio’s logic goes like this: if it’s a published item like a comic, or an issue of MAD, or a book I did work in, then this person bought that item and supported the publisher who paid me for the work, who therefore supported me. Ergo, I will sign anything like that without a charge. That’s the caveat. It has to be an item of that nature. If the person getting my free signature wants to try and flip it on eBay more power to them, but see the first reason above.

There is an interesting flip side to this. Some (not many, but a few) creators get bent out of shape about that philosophy. They are charging for a signature, so they want everyone to charge. I’ve actually heard of creators who get angry when artists/writers nearby them don’t charge for a signature. They might cite all the reasons I did above, but the real reason is (sorry) they think it makes them look like egotistical assholes to charge to sign their name on something when others do not. I get that also…to an extent. The really famous (for lack of a better word) creators whose signatures actually ARE worth something just need to come to grips with the fact that they exist on a different professional level than the rest of us. The guy who plays Gaston in the local dinner theater’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” who makes a living as an actor in local commercials, productions, etc. is a legitimate professional. However his signature on the playbill is a far cry from Brad Pitt‘s signature on one of his movie posters. It just is. That doesn’t mean Brad thinks he’s better than the guy who plays Gaston. It’s just simple reality.

I have a fair pile of correspondence in my studio from people who send me letters containing a couple of index cards or blank pieces of paper, asking for a signature or “a little sketch” for their “collection”. These used to be accompanied by a generic letter that tells me how much they love my work and how big a fan they are, but with nothing specific mentioned. These days those who send such letters do hand written notes, which are harder to ignore. They also contain a self addressed, stamped envelope to return these pieces of paper in. Funny, they are almost always from someone and their brother, or son, or best friend, who is also a fan and wants the same thing, so they are asking for multiple signatures or sketches returned in the envelope. Sorry but these are very clearly people looking for items to sell. I used to oblige but after seeing so many of these end up on eBay I now just toss these out. I’m sorry they are out a stamp, but seriously. I’m not sure how they even get my mailing address.

If someone sends me a copy of MAD, or one of my books, or anything I’ve done work in that was published along with an envelope with sufficient postage to return the item, I sign it and mail it immediately without fail. The obvious attempts to obtain cheap eBay fodder I throw away. I’m doing them a favor, really. They won’t have to be disappointed when they get zero bids on an index card with my signature on it!