Comments on: More WonderCon

By: Candygram for Mongo! Sign here, please! « Sting of Reason

Candygram for Mongo! Sign here, please! « Sting of Reason — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:39:24 +0000

[...] with that, and don’t forget to bring your wallet. Cartoonist Tom Richmond tells why in his report from the WonderCon fan convention in San Francisco. Several pretty big names were present signing [...]

By: Mugshotz

Mugshotz — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:26:23 +0000

Now the Stormtrooper who knocked his head on the top of the door… that would be excellent. Especially if he had a scar on his forehead.

By: Monty

Monty — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:22:11 +0000

Does it ever bother you that you lead such a dull and boring life, Tom?

One of these days, I’ll get to one of the major conventions but until then, I’ll just attend vicariously through your blog. Thanks for continuing to share so much.

Now where does one get a Tom Richmond costume?

By: Mark Engblom

Mark Engblom — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:07:16 +0000

Thanks for the great recap, Tom! Sounds like a great experience (despite some of the “ugly” elements. That story of the pathetic Stormtrooper guy had me in stitches. It sounded like something right out of a Simpsons comic convention parody. Unbelievable.

As for the autograph fees, as obnoxious as they are, I think another reason for the fee is to separate the really, really dedicated fans from the more casual fans…which will really help manage the line/crowd. If they only charged ten bucks….or if it was free…then everyone with a writable surface (including hands and crumpled up ATM receipts) would be crowding the table. However, the unintended consequence of that policy, besides disgusting the more casual fan like us, is the celebrity having to interact solely with the most zealous of zealous fans…which (most likely) further alienates them from the fan community. In other words, think how much more they’d enjoy themselves interacting with more casual fans who simply say “Hey, I liked your movies. Thanks”, as opposed to guys in booger-stained Jedi costumes quoting lines from the movie. Yeah, that’s a gross caricature of the $100 autograph seekers, but I think it’s at least safe to say your dealing with an entire different level of “commitment” from the crowd willing to spend $100 for someone’s signature.

Wow. Adam West AND Dave Gibbons? That’s like the early-childhood/adulthood bookends! Happy for ya, pal!