•••

Haven’t see it expressed that way before. Hard to think of the art as subordinate to the signature.

Multiple times, when I was signing, people had quipped that I should have a “reprint signature” for the increasing number of reprint books. I thought about that, and realized the answer was a rubber stamp.

Of course, there would have to be rules. The stamp would be used only on reprints. Imagine the chaos that would be unleashed if I even once used it on a non-reprint. The potential for forgery was mind boggling. (And there were times when people actually asked for the stamp on non-reprints. I declined, courteously.)

I also made a habit of bringing along non-reprint copies from my comps bundles, for those who’d brought only reprints for me to sign. (Of course there were downsides to this. No good deed goes unpunished. There would invariably appear people asking for the “free comics” I was giving away, and those who complained they already had the comics I was handing out.)

I was pleased to note, tho, that most people accepted the stamp in the spirit in which it was intended. Only once did I see someone complaining that he “wasn’t going to stand in line for an hour” only to get a rubber stamp. Point missed, obviously!

•••

Autographs have become commodities to be bought and sold, far from the days when they served as commemoration of a special moment.

I’m especially gratified when people come by to say thanks, expecting nothing in return.