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A Fate Worse Than Death

COVID-19 may change our hobby forever.

We all know how difficult it is to procure the autographs of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Jim Morrison. The unfortunate reason for the difficulty is that their tragic deaths have prevented them from signing the number of autographs that they would have if they had lived for many years.

Consider our current situation. Comic conventions and social distancing are mutually exclusive. Anyone who has ever attended New York Comic Con can easily attest to this. Protocol is likely to change. Will autographs only be made available to purchase online in the future? Will less autograph tickets be sold, in order to reduce the number of attendees standing on line, and therefore allow them to be spaced more appropriately? Will guests simply cancel their appearances, or decide not to attend in the future? Such occurrences could undoubtedly affect the amount of autographs in circulation.

Comic-Con International: San Diego will be an early indication of whether or not our lives will slowly but surely return to normal this summer.

It is also unlikely for autographs to be as easily obtained on the street. Large crowds gathering outside airports, movie theaters and restaurants may soon be disappointed. Will Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg proceed directly to their automobiles from now on?

Death is a terrible thing. It is final. Living without human interaction, however, is a fate worse than death. Unfortunately, this may be the future of our hobby if we are unable to conquer this hidden enemy. I hope and pray that we do.

Stay healthy, everyone.

2 members like this

Comment by Joe W. on March 29, 2020 at 11:15am: This too shall pass. Perhaps the people will be more cautious, especially in the short term, but this is not the first time for something like this to happen. In fact, there have been far worse scenarios that have occurred in human history. We are overcomers.

Social distancing is not part of our human nature.

Comment by Mike Shepherd on March 29, 2020 at 11:17am: I agree, Joe W. Stay well.

Comment by Joe W. on March 29, 2020 at 11:18am: And to you as well, Mike.

Comment by crazyrabbits23 on March 30, 2020 at 7:05am: I'm expecting the market to soften somewhat, at least for the balance of the year. That being said, there could be some good buying opportunities if one knows what they're looking for.

Comment by Mike Shepherd on March 30, 2020 at 7:51am: That appears to be the general consensus among many collectors. Thanks for the comment. Stay well.

Comment by Macca Fan on March 30, 2020 at 7:58am: CR & Mike

could not agree more , we get it , but the same sellers who are trying to get 3 to 4 times what a item is worth still are, so until they truly understand what is going on with pricing today , their inventory will continue to collect dust like it already had been and those opportunities we are waiting on will not materialize

Comment by Mike Shepherd on March 30, 2020 at 9:32am: Some sellers are removing their items also. I noticed that last week. Hopefully everything is well with them.

Comment by Paul on April 5, 2020 at 1:48am: Pre Corona virus life was fine for comic-con.

I personally couldn't careless about the graphers on the street (,kids).

Oh well! Life goes on or does it?

Comment by Mike Shepherd on April 5, 2020 at 6:10am: The in-person autograph dealers obtaining autographs on the street make it possible for many collectors to complete their pieces. Life will be much different.

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