Why I Didn't Get Mark Hamill's Autograph at WonderCon

I'm not much into getting Star Wars autographs these days. I've obtained a nice amount of them over the course of the nearly two decades I've been attending comic conventions, but I don't get as excited for them anymore. One autograph I did not have yet was Mark Hamill. His signature has eluded me my entire convention circuit. Until this past weekend at WonderCon 2009, that is. I was there with some friends Saturday morning and saw that the line for Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher was close to the length of the main convention area. There was no way I was going to stand in line for 5 hours, so I went about my business. I checked back later in the day and saw that the line had died down quite a bit. I could see the pre-autograph table clearly and began walking up to it. Then I noticed the sign about the autographs...

My eyes must be playing tricks on me. This can't be right...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait just a minute here, excitable convention-goer. Am I reading that right? Hold on, let me zoom in on that for you...

Wow. I am floored by this.

$100? One hundred dollars??!! Fuck no. It is not worth it. There is no way I can afford to pay $100 for Mark Hamill to scribble on whatever I wanted autographed. Before I saw that sign I was expecting it to be in the $30 range, like Carrie Fisher's. Wrong. Oh, but if you want a second autograph you only have to pay $90. But there is no discount for a third or fourth autograph, no, the price goes back up. Plus, if you don't have anything for him to autograph you don't get a free 8x10 photo, no, you have to buy it for an extra $5. And they only take cash. Holy rat-balls, Batman, this is the most ridiculous thing I have seen at the dozens of conventions I've attended. I'm pretty sure that when many of the fans waiting in line saw or heard of the actual price, they decided the same as I. I would have loved to add Mark Hamill's autograph to my collection, but now I never will. Unfortunately, I've also lost a some respect for him. Fortunately, there are plenty other goods and wares at conventions actually worth spending $100 for.

- Shawn - 3/3/09