Like most of you out there, I am a collector. I often joke that I am one flat cat away from being on a Hoarders episode, but I love my stuff. DVDs/Blu-rays, CDs, books, action figures, collectibles, you name it, I love it. But one area I have never really gotten into is celebrity autographs. As a frequent attendee of science fiction and comic book conventions, I often see celebrities ranging from A-List names (Ted Danson recently did a show in my city) to those on their way out of the entertainment industry whose names I won’t reveal here out of respect to all involved parties. While I like the idea of meeting a celebrity, having an opportunity to thank them for how their work has touched my life, then get a quick autograph or picture, often the cost of such a venture is usually so extraordinary that I don’t do it.
Every now and then, something comes along that makes me rethink this policy of mine though. I’ll give you an example. I recently heard that veteran character actor James Wong will be on the convention circuit this summer. That in and of itself is nothing new, as Wong is a veteran of cons and is all my accounts one of the nicest and most generous people in the industry. But here’s the thing: He will be doing a convention IN COSTUME as David Lo Pan, the evil foe in John Carpenter’s 1986 cult favorite Big Trouble in Little China. That Kurt Russell classic is one of my all-time favorite films, so a part of me thinks that I should take advantage of this unique opportunity, so long as the price is reasonable. For what it’s worth, cosplaying as your own characters at a convention is an awesome phenomenon that I believe was started by Ernie Hudson, who regularly appears as Winston Zeddemore from the Ghostbusters films at shows. Decades ago, before fandom was the sprawling monster it is today, actors like Clayton Moore and Adam West would appear at events like car shows as their legendary characters (The Lone Ranger and Batman, respectively). So there is precedence for such a practice.
For this latest Open Thread, I want you to share your thoughts on celebrity autographs. Do you like to collect them? If so, is their a price limit that you refuse to go over? How much money is too much money? Do you prefer random autographs gotten out in public to organized ones at events? If you have autographs, which are your favorites? Let us know what you think about all of this in the comments below!