Tom Morello Autograph Appearance - Photos & Recap

My nephew Adam & Tom Morello

On Saturday February 2, 2013, Beach * Ball Comics in Anaheim hosted a Tom Morello autograph signing.  Morello is the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and is the writer of the comic book Orchid.  Orchid was a twelve issue series that recently came to an end.  Artist Scott Hepburn, the artist of Orchid, was also scheduled to sign.  The signing was scheduled to take place from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Due to the popularity of Rage Against the Machine I arrived at the comic shop at 3:00 p.m..  At the time I arrived there were only approximately 30 people in line.  I went inside and purchased to issues of Orchid and jumped in line.  While in line I gave my nephew Adam a call and told him the line was short and to head down to the signing.  

A few minutes after 3:00 p.m. the staff of Beach*Ball Comics handed out VIP access passes to the first 20 people in line.  The passes granted them access to a private meet & greet from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. after the signing was complete.  My nephew Adam arrived at 4:45 p.m. and soon after Tom Morello arrived and entered the comic shop.  About ten minutes later he exited and told everyone he needed to get some tacos and he walked over to the taco shop two stores down.

Tom Morello & Scott Hepburn leaving the taco shop

A few minutes before 5:00 p.m. they raffled off some more passes and my nephew Adam and I were lucky enough to win some!  The signing began a few minutes after 5:00 p.m. and the line was moving quickly.  At this point there were approximately 75 people in line.  As I made my way to the counter where Morello and Hepburn were signing, I got my two comics and two Rage Against the Machine CDs ready to be signed.  Both Scott Hepburn and Tom Morello were really cool and posed for pictures.  Morello pretty much signed what everyone put in front of him.  A guy a few spots behind me in line got a few comics signed and about ten 8x10 photos signed.  Take a look at some of my pictures below.

Morello and Hepburn

Morello and Hepburn

Signed Evil Empire CD cover and Signed The Battle of Los Angeles CD

Orchid comic signed by Tom Morello and Scott Hepburn and VIP pass signed by Morello

By about 5:40 p.m. both my nephew Adam and I were out of the signing and completely happy with the experience.  Since there was still over an hour and 15 minutes left of the signing and there were no additional people lining up, we called my other nephew and told him to come down.  He made it by 6:30 p.m. and got two of his comics signed as well.  My nephew Adam had to leave so he gave his VIP Pass to his brother.

My nephew Aaron with Tom Morello

A few minutes after 7:00 p.m. they cleared out the shop and let in everyone with VIP Passes.  Beach*Ball Comics provided soft drinks, water, pizza and beer!  Morello was hanging out in the middle of the shop just chatting it up with everyone.  At one point, for about 10 minutes I was standing less than two feet away from Tom Morello asking him questions about Rage Against the Machine and his solo work as The Night Watchman.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and my phone battery had died!  Overall, this was one of the best signings ever and one of the best experiences I've had.  Beach*Ball Comics put together a well organized event!

True to the Blue!