First off, just want to give fair warning that this is going to be a bit of a rant. And something that you’ve heard me mention many times before. And again, this isn’t about any convention specifically out there, just in general, so don’t anybody get their panties in a bunch. But being at this last convention, I noticed something that I feel I need to mention. Another one of the reasons that I had finally made the decision to head east to Monster Bash this time was because of books. Followers of this site know my affection towards horror reference books and my ever increasing library, so the fact that several authors were going to be at this show, made the trip even more attractive.

On the guest list for this show was Gregory William Mank, who is a film historian and author of many great books. One of the things I love and admire about Mank’s work is that he isn’t just writing about the bigger names like Karloff and Lugosi, but also about the smaller and lesser known names from the genre that we love, such as Lionel Atwill, George Zucco, Dwight Frye, and many others. I had brought along several of his books from my collection, such as the wonderful book Karloff and Lugosi: The Story of a Haunting Collaboration and a few others, to get signed. While at his table, we had a really nice conversation about his work and how much I enjoy as well as appreciate it. He mentioned that his upcoming book will be on actor Laird Cregar, best known for his roles in The Lodger (1944) and Hangover Square (1945). The book is entitled Hollywood Ripper: The Rise and Fall of Laird Cregar, and according to Mank’s website, “explores the true story of Cregar and examines his film performances, the blessings and curses of the Hollywood contract system of the 1940s and the legacy of an actor who might have become one of the cinema’s greatest horror stars – and character actors.” It will be published by McFarland & Company.

For the 6 books that I got signed, the cost was….nothing.

Robert Cotter was at the show as well, being a regular at the Monster Bash. If you’re a fan of Mexican horror and cult movies, then his book The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmography is a must for your collection. I also had his book on Ingrid Pitt and The Women of Hammer Horror title as well. We had a nice (though sad) conversation about Ingrid Pitt while he signed these for me. He had written one on Caroline Munro, but I haven’t gotten around to picking that title up just yet. Key word “Yet.”

And the cost to get these 3 books signed? Nada.

Author Troy Howarth was set up there, selling some of his newer titles recently released by Midnight Marquee, including So Deadly, So Perverse, a wonderful book on Italian giallos, Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s, and his revised edition of The Haunted World of Mario Bava. Now, I already had all three of these in my collection, as well as the original FAB Press hardcover edition of the Bava book, so I brought them all along to the show as well. Troy is currently working on his latest book, Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films, which should be out this fall. We talked quite a bit about Fulci, his work, and how underrated he really was as a filmmaker, while he signed the four titles that I brought.

The cost of those signatures…..Niente!

The last signature I got was from Victoria Price, of her wonderful biography of her father. As I was standing by her table waiting the person in front of me to finish, I noticed a sign on her table, which read something to the effect of “My father never charged for a signature or a photo, and neither will I.” Simple as that.

Again, didn’t cost a dime.

So let’s review, shall we? I got 14 books signed by four different authors and it didn’t cost me a penny. Had these signatures been acquired at a normal autograph show from the “celebrities” there, it would have run me anywhere from $280 to $400 or more. What is the difference here? Now this is just my opinion but maybe it is because these authors haven’t forgotten that they have already made their money from these books. They still remember and understand that the person coming up to their table to meet them and get their book signed has already paid for it and enjoyed it enough to want to come meet them and tell them how much they enjoyed their work. I’m sure we all know that unless you’re someone like Stephen King or George R.R. Martin, being a writer is not the highest paid profession out there. Norman Reedus gets paid $80,000 for a single episode of The Walking Dead, a tidy sum compared to what a writer gets paid for just one of their books to be published. Yet these actors, directors, and glorified extras expect their “fans” to fork over $20, $30, or even $80 just for a signature, even though the fans have already paid to support their career. Even sadder, the fans gladly do so.Before you reply with the same old crap, “These people are taking time out of their lives to meet their fans” and “They were so nice and friendly to me,” so were these authors at this show. And they still did it for free.

I guess the point I am trying to get across is that maybe these celebrities that make the convention circuit, who charge for the “honor” of meeting them, might take a lesson from these authors on how to really show respect and appreciation to the fans. That’s what it really comes down to: Showing respect. Respect to the people that already have supported their work, enough that the authors come to these shows to meet these people face to face, shaking their hands, signing a book or a photo, and genuinely showing their own appreciation for the support shown, and not some cheap (and sometimes not so cheap) rental of their time and attention that really belittles the whole meeting, turning it into what it really is…a business transaction.

So I am thankful that this greed has not crept into these authors’ minds and pockets, and that they still seem to be doing it for the passion that we all have for what we are doing. Even more so that they show this appreciation to the fans that support their work without feeling the need to make them pay even more for it. Major kudos to Mank, Cotter, Howarth, and Price for giving me a little glimmer of hope in the world of fandom, that maybe things could go back to the way they used to be. I can dream, can’t I?