However, IF the friend or family member is a comic book fan, then it can be a little easier if you know of a comic book convention or a comic book store signing that is happening near you!

Which is one of the reasons that we blog about upcoming comic cons here! Many comics creators attend these conventions, and either can be found at autograph booths, or in an artists' alley where their works are available for sale and are more than willing to personalize their works for you!

You should be able to easily find out what comic books or graphic novels your friend or family member enjoys reading or collecting.

Then just attend a comic convention or even a local comic book store (LCBS) book signing to have a comic or graphic signed / personalized to that friend or family member!

If you can't make it to any of those conventions or LCBS signings, then there are a couple of companies that actually do have creators sign their works, and are sold with a Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) for an extra premium amount over the cover price of the item.

Additionally several creators are either self published or have their own web site where they have their own works for sale and can personalize and / or sign their creations for you when asked....

At the top left of this blog post is a photo of Sharon Blair dressed as 'Synn' of FemForce, who in 1992, signed and personalized a special photo cover issue of herself for me.

That was just one of many comics, graphic novels, and books that I have had signed over the many years I have been collecting. 

I still find it relatively hard to get all the autographs I would like to get, even though Tina and I attend many conventions! So it is really nice when a friend or family member attends a con we can't get to and has someone to sign their creative work and send it as a gift to me! 

This year I haven't blogged a series like that, but I do find after checking our blog stats today, that those archived blog posts are being viewed by several other bloggers...

So that I can share those posts once again for those that are new to this blog, here are the links to those blog posts from last year at this time. The series was entitled:  

Whom I Am Thankful For...

Part  I -   Stan Lee, who celebrated his 85th birthday this year. Stan and Jack Kirby were the reasons I started collecting comics, instead of just reading 'funnybooks'.

Part  II -  Engineer Bill ... who has passed away earlier this year since this blog was posted. He had a great afternoon kids show with cartoons in Los Angeles during my childhood there...

Part III -  Sheriff John ... who also died since then in 2008. He was another of my favorite kids TV Shows hosts in Los Angeles.

Part  IV - Fess Parker.... Davy Crockett!  ... who turned 84 years old in August!  One of my best Holiday Seasons was in 2003 when we stayed at his Inn in Los Olivos! (See above top photo of us with him.)

"Every week, the author posts an installment. Installment length hits the sweet-spot of online reading—long enough to get interested, short enough to read in the cubicle at work. At the end of every installment, the author writes in a plot branch point. Does the heroine kill her lover? Will the zombies catch the soldier? Is the box empty, or is it filled with bees?"

THEN THE READERS DECIDE!

"On Monday, the post goes up. Voting is open through Thursday. The author writes Thursday and Friday. The editors edit Friday and Saturday. The post goes back up on Monday. Part literature, part exquisite corpse. The pace of print journalism, the imagination of fiction, the spark of reader participation."