Stan Lee

"Fantastic Four: Ashcan" Comic signed by Stan Lee 

Notable Signatures: Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee)

Face front, true believers! Today, I met one of "The Greats" in comic books, Stan "The Man" Lee! I went to this year's Comikaze Expo (now re-branded to include Stan's name) at the LA Convention Center and after ponying up my $50 signing fee (totally worth it), I secured my place in line as we waited for Mr. Lee to arrive. Since my main goal for the weekend was getting Stan's autograph, I made a bee-line straight to the signing area and was lucky enough to be one of the first ten in line (not counting the fifteen or so "VIP" pass holders off to the side). Here is a picture of Stan getting to the area:

Unfortunately, I only had my cell phone with me on the first day so most of my pictures are fairly blurry. I wasn't able to get a picture of Mr. Lee signing my comic since the guy using my cell wasn't able to get it to work properly. Oh well, at least I got to meet Stan! 

EXCELSIOR!

Method: In-Person @ Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2012

Date Received: 9/14/2012

"The Guild" Cast

Comic Book signed by "The Guild" cast

Notable Signatures: The cast of "The Guild" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1138475/): Felicia Day ("Codex"), Vincent Caso ("Bladezz"), Jeff Lewis ("Vork"), Robin Thorsen ("Clara"), Amy Okuda ("Tinkerballa"), and Sandeep Parikh ("Zaboo")

This was the main reason why I took the several hour trip up on public transit to Los Angeles for Free Comic Book Day: to meet and get the autographs of the cast of The Guild! It was really cool because we got to talk to each person for a bit since they were only letting a few people in at a time. I spent the most time talking to Jeff Lewis (who is the nicest guy ever!) and of course, Felicia Day! Here is a picture I took with her (I look a hot mess because I only slept two hours the night before in order to catch the first bus out lol):

Oh, and I totally got photobombed by Vincent Caso! Sweet. Felicia was really nice (and just as adorable as you would expect!) and we talked about her YouTube channel, Geek and Sundry, and her "The FLOG" videos (watch the end where she talks about hows she deals with internet trolls!):

Method: In-Person
Date Received: 5/5/2012

Andrew Chambliss

Comic Book signed by Andrew Chambliss

Notable Signatures: Andrew Chambliss, writer known for his work on Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comics (Season 9), and several episodes of "The Vampire Diaries" (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2544048/)

I met Andrew Chambliss at the Free Comic Book Day event at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles. He signed the cover of the free "BTVS/The Guild" comic book they were giving out.

Method: In-Person
Date Received: 5/5/2012

Scott Shaw

Custom Simpsons Sketch and Comic Book signed by Scott Shaw

Notable Signatures: Scott Shaw, comic book artist known for his work on "The Simpsons" comics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Shaw_%28artist%29)

This year, I attended the Free Comic Book Day (www.freecomicbookday.com/) event at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles where I met Scott Shaw. He was drawing custom sketches for his fans (for free!) which had one of the longest waits that day. He was a really funny guy and even though I wasn't able to get him to draw my first choice (Mr. Sparkle!), I did get my favorite character, Ralph, drawn. Here he is drawing the picture: 

It's a little hard to see on the scans, but the blue pencil lines where we sketched the outline are still visible which I love. This guy was amazing on how fast he could draw certain characters! My favorite one I saw belonged to the guys in front of me: he drew them a shirtless Flanders in all of his buffness. It was hilarious!  

Drawing Inscription: "To Steve", "I Like Free Comics!"

I also asked him to sign a copy of the free Bongo Comics they were giving out:

In my best Comic Book Guy voice, "Best. Day. Ever!" haha

Method: In-Person
Date Received: 5/5/2012

Digital Daggers

Index Card Signed by Digital Daggers

Notable Signatures: Digital Daggers (Space and Andrea Wasse)

Tonight, I got the both of them to sign my index card after their set at The Viper Room in West Hollywood, CA. I'm very happy to add Digital Daggers as part of my collection as they are such an amazing band. Several of their songs have been featured on a range of television shows ("Pretty Little Liars", "MTV's Teen Wolf", "CSI: NY", "Nikita", "Degrassi: In Too Deep", "The Vampire Dairies", "Unforgettable"), films ("The Roommate"), and even commercials for video games ("Crysis 2"); their first full-length album is set to be released in the near future and I'm super stoked to hear it. I've been telling Andrea that I've been saving a special place in my collection next to my Alan Rickman autograph for the day that I finally got their signatures. Well, if you're reading this Ms. Wasse, I've delivered on my promise! :-)

Method: In-Person
Date Received: 4/30/2012

Jim Hightower

August 2011 Edition of "The Hightower Lowdown" Newsletter signed by Jim Hightower

Notable Signatures: Jim Hightower, author and radio commentator (http://www.jimhightower.com/)

Inscription: "For Steve"

Method: In Person @ Orange County Progressive Summit

Date: September 10, 2011