Here’s a peek into what my job is like.

Once a week or so, I’ll be sitting there plugging away at a post for the blog (or perhaps plans for PlayMarvel.com), and I’ll get a call from Chris Carlin, or possibly an email from Mark Shaunessy. Pulled away from my current project for a brief moment, I’ll hear, “Hey, we’ve got ______ down in the game-used room if you want to come down and take a picture for the Brag Photo of the Week.”

This is kind of like Christmas morning on a regular basis, except it happens at random. At a moment’s notice, I could be checking out a Napoleon Bonaparte signature, or a Bill Clinton signed baseball. There’s honestly no telling what surprise is going to come on any given week. Sure beats working for say, Dunder Mifflin Inc. I do not take this for granted.

So a few days ago, I’m sitting at my desk plugging away. My phone rings, and I hear, “Hey, it’s Chris. There’s a Michael Jackson signed autograph in the game-used room, but you’d better go now. It’s going to be cut tomorrow.” Well then.

A short walk down the hallway later, and I’m taking a look at this:

This of course is a signed Michael Jackson piece from the days of Thriller. If you’re hobby savvy, you’ll note the PSA/DNA sticker on the lower right hand side: this means it’s absolutely 100% authenticated as the real deal (especially important for autographs of deceased individuals, which they specialize in).

This particular autograph, PSA authentication and all, will be cut and placed into 2009 Prominent Cuts (which comes out in a month, actually). Always happy when the Brag Photo of the Week is something one of our readers can actually own down the road: in this case, not too far away.