This is the first in a series featuring people in our community — collectors, cosplayers, artists, and fans who do this because they love it. If that’s you, get in touch.
In 2023, Andrew met the voice actress Tara Strong for the first time, carrying a copy of Batman: The Killing Joke.
The book already had two signatures on it: Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy.
Anyone who grew up with Batman: The Animated Series knows what those two names together mean. And anyone who knows The Killing Joke animated film knows the third: Hamill voiced the Joker, Conroy voiced Batman, and Strong voiced Barbara Gordon. The three of them are that movie.
Kevin Conroy died in November 2022.
“When I saw her I got to show her that comic book. You can see on her face all the memories she had with her friend Kevin just flooding in — and she just hugged the book.”
He’d sent it to her to sign a year earlier. This was the first time she’d seen it finished.
It started with Stan Lee
“I have never actually told this story before.”
His first signed comic was a reprint of Tales of Suspense #39 — the 1963 issue that introduced Iron Man — autographed by Stan Lee.
“On my 13th birthday, I went to my first ever comic con, which was LA Comic Con 2017. At that time it was Stan Lee’s convention, when he was still alive, and I was lucky enough to actually meet him. He was super calm and happy to see all his fans. I’m one of the luckiest people to have met him.”
Stan Lee died in November 2018, a little over a year later.
The one he’ll never get again
“The one autograph I always think back to is Robert Downey Jr. Every celebrity autograph I’ve gotten throughout my collecting career has done at least two signing events, and Robert has only done one ever.”
The one he’d run back for
His books live in a safe. But if he had to choose:
“I would probably grab my Amazing Spider-Man #300. The reason is because it’s the most completed signature series copy in existence with 8 autographs — and secondly, it was a birthday gift from my mom from my first comic con.”
ASM #300 is the first full appearance of Venom. And “signature series” means CGC Signature Series: each signature witnessed by a CGC representative and sealed in the slab, so the authentication is part of the object. Eight of them on one book is a claim he makes for it, and either way it’s a serious piece.
The part that matters, though, is the second reason. It’s the book his mom bought him.
“One and done”
Asked what he’d tell someone nervous about approaching creators:
“Collect what you want. My father and I created a collection rule early on when I started, which was ‘one and done’ — which basically means get one signature from a celebrity and be done with it, otherwise it’ll never stop. That’s why I take time and put so much love into my collection and make them into something that no one else would ever have.”
And on the fear itself:
“For conventions, whether it’s a celebrity or a comic book creator, I have never had a bad experience. Every single person I’ve met has been so nice and so memorable, one way or another. They always want to talk to fans and want to make sure that their interactions are memorable.”
Photos courtesy of Andrew. Follow him at @ultimatecomics04.
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