In an effort to boost ticket sales for its Thursday, October 4th show, the New York Comic Con has added Mark Ruffalo as a guest. He will be signing autographs for fans and you will even be able to take a picture with him.
But if you decide to go, maybe check your bank balances. Because in addition to the $50 for a pass to the show that day, if you want Ruffalo’s autograph, it will set you back $180. You want that photo op too? Add on another $190. This makes him the most expensive celebrity there, almost doubling the basic options for Doctors Who Matt Smith and David Tennant and The Walking Dead and Black Panther actress Danai Gurira.
Five years ago, I wrote two articles about other celebrity bookings by NYCC to sell tickets–Sylvester Stallone and Sigourney Weaver. Ruffalo’s prices are much less than Stallone’s and slightly below Weaver’s, but I repeat here what I said then. Those prices are for a photograph and an autograph. They aren’t even set by NYCC. His agents and handlers set that price. But while they try to sell it as a personal experience, you’ll be rushed through the assembly line at the photo op and might have better luck in the autograph line if Ruffalo happens to be a talker. You might be able to have a truncated conversation before you are shooed away. Don’t go into this thinking you’ll have a life changing experience, because you probably won’t.
If the response to the announcement on the NYCC’s Facebook is any indication, fans might be getting a bit tired of the whole dog and pony show that is the Celebrity Snap and Sign. Or maybe it’s that rabid The Kids Are Alright fans aren’t really happy with Ruffalo’s prices.
However, if you attended the 2015 NYCC, you might have rubbed elbows with Ruffalo for free:
