Book It, Buzz: Emilia Clarke ink without Game of Thrones price

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke but without the Daenerys Targaryen price tag.

THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: M.O.M.: Mother of Madness Vol. 1 hardcover (Barnes & Noble exclusive)
The Authors: Emilia Clarke & Marguerite Bennett -- art by Leila Leiz & Jo Ratcliffe 
The Specs: Image Comics on Dec. 14, 2021 (152 pages)
The Price: $12.49 ($24.99 cover price)
The Spot: barnesandnoble.com (sale is over)

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Clarke isn't a cheap autograph if you're looking for autos from the Game Of Thrones or Star Wars realms, so when I spotted this exclusive edition -- a cover and signed edition unique to just that chain -- in a half-off slasher sale it was a no-brainer of a buy. (I should have done two or three copies, really, but I was ordering a number of books all at the same time to round out planning for this series into next year.) The cover sticker notes that it's an exclusive (the regular one has a different cover) but fails to mention that it's signed inside -- a hard cardboard page with art similar to the cover that was bound into the book -- so that's perhaps how these lasted so long.  What's it about? Per Image the main character is "Maya, under-the-weather scientist by day, over-the-top superhero by night, and badass single mom 24/7." And the "Deadpool action and Fleabag comedy collide when Maya activates her freakish superpowers to take on a secret sect of human traffickers" in this one, which collects the first limited series of comics into one volume.

Why this item: She's a name in demand -- hit those links to see card asking prices on eBay -- so as part of wanting to have a wide range of stuff in my autograph stash of more than 30 years this was way too easy and perfectly cheap -- only some TTM successes (unlikely) might beat this price. The lone drawback is that she's not pictured -- that may be another reason why they lingered out on the company's site for a couple years -- but at the price I can settle here with no hesitation. (There's also no chance I'd pay four figures for her ink on a card ... but I'm not a diehard for either of those big franchises.) With this sealed and stickered edition, there's still an outside chance you can find one of these at a Barnes & Noble store sitting on a shelf ... just a thought.

Chase ink on cards: She's pricey and her cards are, generally speaking, signed in lower volume but she does appear on literally hundreds of different cards thanks to parallels and the convenience of stickers that can be done all at once and then applied to where they are needed. Her first auto cards are from 2012 with Thrones from Rittenhouse Archives, and most were there but she can be found in Topps' Star Wars sets after Solo and she's also got more recent appearances in Pop Century sets from Leaf.

The Bottom Line: A big name added to the stash on the cheap works for me.

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