What d'you think, sirs?
Yep, it's mine! The day was fantastic (or is that incredible?) from beginning to end. I lined up about an hour after arriving at Pittsburgh Comicon. Both my autograph tickets were in the 400's. Before coming to the booth I had the folks at the CGC booth carefully remove the case from my INCREDIBLE HULK #1 that already had a 4.5 Universal grade. They put it in a Mylar and I had to be very careful carrying it around the convention floor (in a bag of course!). The other book I had was my first edition copy of the Marvel Masterworks Vol. 8 hardcover from 1989 which was already signed by Dick Ayers a few years ago at Mid-Ohio. When I finally came up to Stan, I was hoping I wouldn't be nervous.
Stan was every bit as gracious as you'd think, and if he didn't like being there for fans, it sure didn't show. He greeted me with an enthusiastic "Hi!" and I told him how great it was to meet him and what a terrific character he had created in the Hulk. He thanked me and began signing my books. I had him personalize the Marvel Masterworks (see pic). As for the INCREDIBLE other book, he signed it in silver ink which looks great against the background. I only saw him for about a minute face-to-face, but it was an experience I wouldn't soon forget. The occasion was particularly memorable since I'd had to tell him my name to have him personalize the Marvel Masterworks, and as I left and we shook hands, he told me thanks and called me by name. Say what you want about Stan, but The Man is a class act.
So today I finally got my CGC Signature Series verified INCREDIBLE HULK #1, still graded 4.5, and just had to share it with you all. This one's the holy grail! Without further ado...
~G.
