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Signature placement13468

Collector russ3llk private msg quote post Address this user
I was recently asked by an artist if I wanted his signature inside the cover instead on the front.

Is there a more preferred option and why?
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The apple sauce and pudding were the best part... Bronte private msg quote post Address this user
Personally I prefer inside. But it seems that its more convenient to most if its on the cover.

The reason I prefer inside is, the book maintains its pristine appeal to me. Not marred by some chicken scratch on some random place. Someone showed a hulk 181 with multiple signatures. It may be worth money, but if it were mine i would sell it it was so unsightly
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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bronte
The reason I prefer inside is, the book maintains its pristine appeal to me. Not marred by some chicken scratch on some random place. Someone showed a hulk 181 with multiple signatures. It may be worth money, but if it were mine i would sell it it was so unsightly


So perfectly stated!
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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
Doesn't this look absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, and delightful?
A scribbled 2 second wolverine head doodle that looks like my grandma drew; thick, giant black sharpie all over the place.
What a thing of beauty!
It's almost like owning a piece of artwork from Piero Manzoni!
I mean... what's not to love from all the autographs on this cover?


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The apple sauce and pudding were the best part... Bronte private msg quote post Address this user
@Nuffsaid111

And that is the hulk I was referring to.
YUCK!!!!!!!!
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COLLECTOR dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user
@Nuffsaid111 I actually do like it

Give me a scribbled on cover any day!


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Forum Crier OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user
It depends on what YOU want. If you get a signature of an artist you admire and want to show it off after it gets graded, then yes, on the cover. There are also sleeves with designated areas for signatures like this.




Or get one of these and cut out your own window.


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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
I dunnoooooooooooo...... A comic book is a book. 1000 years of books being opened, then signed on the 1st page. And all of a sudden CGC/CBCS comes along with the plastic cases and a bunch of wah wah wahs "I can't see the signature".
Where there is no indicia (books post roughly 2000), sure - the darn manufacturers took that empty space away on the bottom of the 1st page.
Where there is an indicia (60's, 70's, 80's, most 90's books) - not a chance. Open the book Mr/Mrs Writer/Artist; because it's a book, and autograph my book.
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Secret Moderator MatterEaterLad private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by russ3llk
I was recently asked by an artist if I wanted his signature inside the cover instead on the front.

Is there a more preferred option and why?


That's the old-school way. Signing on the inside is like when authors sign on the title page inside the book and not the cover. I have a Stan Lee sig and a Kirby sig, both on the inside of the book.

I think slabbing comics and blank covers led to it all being on the front cover.

There's no wrong way. Whatever works best for you is best.
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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
I'd love to own this piece of artwork.
It is magnificent and that is my opinion


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COLLECTOR dielinfinite private msg quote post Address this user
@Nuffsaid111 I mean, getting signatures on covers predates CGC by A LOT. Not sure what all the talk about the indica has to do with anything but you do you
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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by dielinfinite
@Nuffsaid111 I mean, getting signatures on covers predates CGC by A LOT


Really? ooooooooooook.
Post 12 IP   flag post
Collector HarrisonMade private msg quote post Address this user



I think it depends on the book. Some inside preferred whereas others just as long as it is placed well. Example of just good ol’ chaos. Lol
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Collector russ3llk private msg quote post Address this user
Thanks. I appreciate the insight. This forum does a good job educating and not trolling.
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Collector cyrano0521 private msg quote post Address this user
I let the artist choose where to sign; if the cover is too busy, first page is best.
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Collector steveinthecity private msg quote post Address this user
I’ve always preferred the empty space on the splash page(when available), but for slabbed comics a nice presenting sig on the cover if fine by me.
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
In cases where the signature is quite a bit more important than the book itself, the cover seems like the place to put it. If you consider the book itself to be a worthy piece of art, then a signature inside the book might be more appropriate. However, once the artist has passed away you may well wish that the signature was on the cover.
I'm going to resist the urge to joke that the decision should be based on the age of the artist.
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
There's always this lesser known way of having it both ways: You have it signed on the interior and then permanently tape a piece of paper to the cover with some information about the signer. This method may have lost popularity...it seems to be frowned upon currently:


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Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it! IronMan private msg quote post Address this user
When I went to my first comic book convention (Chicago) in 1978 almost no one asked creators to sign on the cover. Nearly everyone got the signatures inside on the first page. You didn't want to deface the cover.

The grading companies - along with sports card collectors and dealers entering the hobby - are what drove the signature on the cover thing. Cards only have a front and back. While there are card collectors that don't like signatures - the hobby has a long history of generally accepting them. And holding them in higher value.

When CGC entered the scene, you were never going to be able to see the signature once a book signed inside was encapsulated.

So it's all a natural progression. In 1978 I asked Mike Grell at Chicago to sign on the inside first page. When I saw him five years ago in Indianapolis, I had him sign the cover.

There are a few artists - Grell and Steranko come immediately to mind - that have really attractive signatures. Depending on the book and the marker color choice, the signed books look better afterwards.
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Collector PixelPanda144 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bronte
Personally I prefer inside. But it seems that its more convenient to most if its on the cover.

The reason I prefer inside is, the book maintains its pristine appeal to me. Not marred by some chicken scratch on some random place. Someone showed a hulk 181 with multiple signatures. It may be worth money, but if it were mine i would sell it it was so unsightly


I agree with signing inside but it may be generational because my teenage son likes books signed on the cover...
Post 20 IP   flag post
Collector PixelPanda144 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by IronMan

There are a few artists - Grell and Steranko come immediately to mind - that have really attractive signatures. Depending on the book and the marker color choice, the signed books look better afterwards.


Joe Giella and Neal Adams also come to mimd
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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by IronMan
The grading companies - along with sports card collectors and dealers entering the hobby - are what drove the signature on the cover thing.


Precisely my earlier point. This is my experience also and I, too, have been attending conventions since the early 1980's and literally never witnessed signatures on covers by anyone I stood on line with. Were there folks that did it? - I'm sure you can find examples of anything anywhere as outliers. But it was well outside the norm.

Grading companies/encapsulation began the trend of signatures on comic covers. I really do not think that is debatable
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8. xkonk private msg quote post Address this user
My two cents (and this strikes me as a nearly pure opinion question) is usually on the cover, although I have gotten one or two interior signatures. I prefer the cover so that I can see it easily, slabbed or not, without having to pull the book out and handle it more than I would otherwise.

The exception is I think someone should sign their work. If someone only did the cover, they should only sign the cover. If someone only did the interiors, they should not sign the cover. Using that reasoning I could see an argument that writers and other non-artists should just sign the interior. But I personally default to my first rule, where I like to see the signature on the cover, in that case.
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Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it! IronMan private msg quote post Address this user
@xkonk

I think most people generally agree that creator signatures are better when they are on actual work they did. But only "better" Better doesn't mean it's bad when Stan signs an issue of Amazing Spider-Man that he actually didn't write or edit. He was after all one of the original creators of the character.

It's also kinda humorous to see signatures that just don't make a lot of sense. Stan would sign pretty much anything. I believe there is a copy of DC's Brother Power the Geek 1 out there with Stan's signature. I'd gladly put it in my collection

Last is celebrity signatures. I have a modest number of signed books. I've come to appreciate celebrity (actors) signatures closely associated with the characters perhaps a bit more than creators.
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Collector HarrisonMade private msg quote post Address this user



For example, Mark Ruffalo on this Immortal Hulk.
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8. xkonk private msg quote post Address this user
@IronMan Yeah, I mostly agree. I personally have no interest in a DC book signed by Stan (he did actually contribute to a few, but ignoring those). I also wouldn't want a book signed by Mark Ruffalo unless Hulk was on the cover. But it's all an opinion issue as far as I'm concerned.
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I'm waiting.... (tapping fingers).
Splotches is gettin old!
Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user
All this discussion, lead me to submit these 4 comics today for VSP.
My gosh am I happy I got these signed on the 1st page indicia whenever it was when I saw the great Mr. Cockrum.
These photos get printed and placed in the mylar bag when I get them back from CBCS.





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Collector Track17 private msg quote post Address this user
I like to mix it up.


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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
@Track17 I can think of one additional signature and remarque you might consider adding to an Albedo #3.
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Beaten by boat oars Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user
I'm generally not a signature guy, but some people have nice signatures and understand placement. I only own a few signed books, and Mike Zeck's signature on my Punisher mini series was great, plus it is aesthetically pleasing.



@Nuffsaid111 lovr Cockrum's signature on the inside, plus it's a nice one too. Very cool!

Quote:
Originally Posted by HarrisonMade



I think it depends on the book. Some inside preferred whereas others just as long as it is placed well. Example of just good ol’ chaos. Lol


The Marvel Comics #1000 in the picture is something I would use as an example of too much going on, cover-wise and signature-wise. At the end of the day, it really comes down to personal preference. I prefer unsigned books, some people like them, some get rags signed, others like high grade signed stuff. As @IronMan explained earlier, signatures migrating to the cover was just the progression that was made as the hobby evolved.
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