One Last Go With Inkworks

A little more than a week ago I received what will in all likelihood be my final pair of redemptions from Inkworks. I bought a couple boxes of The Spirit a couple months ago and by the time I finally got around to sending them off, Inkworks had announced they were shutting their doors.

Crap!

Luckily they were still honoring the redemptions for The Spirit and will continue to do so until the announced expiration date of June 30, 2009. Yes!

The cards arrived less than a month after I sent them from the Great White North. That's astounding considering the fact it often takes envelopes a good couple of weeks to go one way to and from the US from here.

I was a little concerned with the plain white envelope they were sent in, but then again I wasn't lucky enough to pull a Samuel L. Jackson. Instead I got the following pair:

 

  

The first is Gabriel Macht who played the lead character. If I were a big fan of the movie this would be cool, but it looks pretty bad. Macht has been in a few movies here and there but nothing that gets me too excited.

The second is one of the ones from the set that I was really looking forward to. Dan Lauria might not sound like a familiar name and he's not really all that famous. Save for one role: Kevin's dad on the classic TV show The Wonder Years. As I continue to lament the loss of Inkworks, let's listen to a little Joe Cocker.

 

Farewell, hole-punched Inkworks redemption card.

Heavenly Metal

Last week I received a package from Mario at Wax Heaven that had some good ole' wrasslin cards and this thing of beauty:

 

Bon Jovi in trading card form. It comes from Impel's 1991 Mega Metal set, which after doing a little research has a Skid Row hologram. There's boxes on eBay for under $20 so I think I may have to dip in and get my 80s hair metal nostalgia going one of these days.

The big finds of the box were a trio of hits from TriStar's recent TNA: Cross the Line set.

 

 

The dual event-used card and the Dutt autograph are both numbered /50. I haven't seen a lot of TNA wrestling yet but I do know that all three of these guys featured do have some good moves. Whether or not they become stars on a bigger stage remains to be seen.

Here's some more TNA:

 

We've got old man Foley who just won TNA's big belt last weekend over Sting (no, this isn't 1997). Then we have a funky art card of an all-time favorite of mine, Christian who recently returned to his WWE roots and even more recently (yesterday) won the ECW Championship.

Oh, yeah, there was also this:

 

That, my friends, is Don West captured in a rare moment where he was at a loss for words.

Mario didn't neglect the wrestling big leagues either. He also sent me some WWE cards I hadn't seen in person yet: a handful of Topps' UK-exclusive Slam Attacks. They're a CCG that are meant to be played with. Topps recently brought the line over to North America with a baseball set that I haven't seen or played. Here's a sample:

You can never go wrong with Jimmy Snuka and the Ken Kennedy is a foil - not sure if it's a parallel or just something fancy. These have a nice clean look to them.

Thanks a bunch, Mario!

Where's Fernando's Penmanship?

Biggest 'Manias' from the 1980s:

3) Wrestlemania

2) Hulk-a-mania

 1) Fernando Mania

Here's the thing, though. Wrestlemania just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Hulk-a-mania will never die, brutha. But Fernando Mania - it seems to have disappeared.

Fernando Valenzuela was one of baseball's biggest stars in the early part of the 1980s. Before he was old enough to legally buy a beer and drop a nickel in a Vegas slot machine he'd already won the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. And that was in his first full season. For the next half-a-decade he was one of the game's brightest stars. With his excentirc windup and knack for the strike out, Valenzuela captured the imagination of the game's fans.

After setting a career-high with 21 wins in 1986, Valenzuela started his decline from superstar to falling star. Although he remained a fan favourite, he was never his dominant self for any length of time. Yet he managed to hang on, going from team to team and finding a way to stay in the Majors before being released one last time in 1997 by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Valenzuela's legacy today is one of being one of the game's ultimate fan favorites. Yet, when it comes to cardboard, he's hardly around. Despite the fact that we're in an age of nostalgia in the hobby, Fernando Mania is still something of a dot on a vast horizon. He's appeared on about 50 cards since 2000. While that might seem like a lot, when you think about all the parallels and inserts that come in modern sets, it's barely a blip. If you narrow it down further to premium "hits," the numbers dwindle further. While there's a handful of game-used bat cards, Valenzuela has a grand total of one certified autograph card. It's found in 2005 Sweet Spot Classics Baseball. With autographs in 2007 and 2009 Upper Deck Spectrum, friggin' Corey Feldman from The Goonies has more autographed cards inserted in baseball products.

 

While Joe Blanton, Andre Ethier, Noah Lowry and Tom Gorzelanny continue to have autograph after autograph released, this 80s icon remains one of the few names from the past that hasn't been milked. The reasons for the lack of Valenzuela autographs can only be specualted. Perhaps he's not a fan of signing things, maybe he charges too much, maybe he hates the picture Upper Deck used on his 2005 card, or maybe he's disappeared from the public radar. Who knows. There's currently just one of the Valenzuela autographs listed on eBay and it's got a Buy it Now price of more than $100. I think it's time Fernando Mania gets a little kick in the pants so getting an autograph can be a little more affordable.

Mega-Box of Joy from gcrl

From the on-going journey of catching up and checking in comes some highlights from the Mega-Box of Joy sent my way from gcrl.

There were

Expos looking to make the catch,

 

and others making the catch.

There was

 

 

Matt Stairs making a fool of himself and

 

Matt Stairs making a fool of himself (I think someone at Pinnacle Brands in 1998 hated him).

There was

 

famous Canadians and

 

not-so-famous Canadians.

Finally, there was

old set needs and

new-ish set needs of old guys.

Thanks, GCRL!

Hot Rod

A while back I sent a handful of WWE Heritage IV commons down to southern California Oregon to help Rod from Padrographs. I was happy to help him on his way to his set. A couple weeks back (yes, I'm waaaaay behind in my book keeping) I received a most shocking and amazing package in return.

Here's some highlights:

PONCH!

Other American Celebrity inserts from the awesome Topps American Heritage set:

Jesse Ventura

Michael Phelps

Charlie Sheen in embossed cartoon form!

Plus an ENTIRE set of Three Musketeers cards from SkyBox. While I'm on the topic of sets, there was also:

A complete set of Weird Wheels (circa 1980 from Topps), which is instantly one of my all-time favorite sets.

I know, I know, I am already spoiled. But that's not it. We've also got a 12-card set from Dark Horse featuring legendary comic writer John Byrne's Next Men.

Then we move onto an assortment of Heroes singles, which included perhaps the most unattractive shots of an attractive lady:

Speaking of pretty ladies, here's some Diva ink, Layla style:

Not only that, but there was also an event-used mat card featuring PAUL BURCHILL and some tattooed guy named Batista.

But wait, that's still not all. Take this all you Allen & Ginter lovers:

That's more than half of the Allen & Ginter Superstars minis from WWE Heritage IV, which are actually pretty tough to come by as they're only in retail packs.

This package just goes to show again that there's some great, great folks out there with tremendous generosity. Thanks VERY MUCH, Rod!

Rare 1889 Baseball Card Poster Heading to the Block Next Month

I've got two posters on my wall: a framed print entitled Legends of Baseball II that I got for Christmas many years ago that has some classy old-time ball cards and a Godfather poster honoring the 25th Anniversary theatrical release that I snagged from the back room of a theatre I worked for back in university. Both are very office-worthy in my books. I'd have them in the living room but I do share the house with my wife and kids so that's not really an option.

Next month someone's going to get an instant office makeover should they win the following from Leylands:

 

From 1889, the poster advertises the Goodwin Round Album - a nine-page full-color premium that was available as a mail-away offer. Two other posters are known to exist but they've got a different format. 

The unrestored piece of art includes a handful of Hall of Famers such as Cap Anson, Charles Comiskey and Mickey Welch. It was discovered at an estate sale in March. The story has two dealers passing it over before a family made the connection of baseball, cards and old and snatched it up. 

Its estimated value is $100,000 and will have a reserve of $45,000 when bidding opens in May at Lelands.com.

Upper Deck Clears Legal Hurdle in Topps Suit

From an Upper Deck press release:

Upper Deck Scores Legal Victory Against Topps

Sports Card Company Firmly Denies Topps’ Allegations of Any Wrong-Doing

North Las Vegas, NV (April 15, 2009) – The Upper Deck Company won a legal victory today when a New York judge denied a Temporary Restraining Order sought by Topps to prevent the release of 2009 Upper Deck Series Two and 2009 O-Pee-Chee baseball card products.

Yesterday, the Topps Company filed a lawsuit against Upper Deck claiming copyright infringement. Upper Deck strongly denies the allegations and did, in fact, do its due diligence when researching, clearing and securing approvals to use the card designs. Upper Deck received necessary legal approvals and proper protocol was followed to ensure there were no infringements.

“Based on the tactics utilized by Topps thus far, Upper Deck questions the validity of this claim,” said Bernd Becker, Upper Deck’s vice president of Trading Cards. “We strongly disagree with the allegations. In today’s challenging economic environment, it seems petty and counterproductive to file such a frivolous suit.”

So is that it then or is this just one small part of a larger war?

Is Inkworks More Valuable Dead Than Alive?

It's been a few weeks now since non-sport manufacturer Inkworks announced they were "ceasing regular operations." Stopping short of going out of business, right now they're not in the card-making business as of right now.

The amount of attention the company's demise garnered got me wondering if they've become like a great artist becoming more well known in death than when they were around. A lot of this pondering stems from Razor announcing they'd bought a lot of Inkworks' autograph leftovers and are releasing about 18,000 of them in a grab-bag product entitled Ink Archives. What this did was show the sports market what non-sport collectors have known for a decade: there's plenty of variety of autographs available at reasonable prices - at least unless you're a hot actress like Angelina Jolie. Razor's market is traditionally the sports crowd so with their marketing efforts, Ink Archives immediately became a crossover release that caters to both the sports and the non-sport niches. By crossing over, the Inkworks name has now been exposed to more collectors and, I'd argue, is more recognizable to the card-collecting public.

Then there was the controversy uncovered a couple weeks after the solicitations for Ink Archives where a company owned by Razor owner Brian Gray was selling several Inkworks autographs via eBay. True or not, this revelation led to much speculation over whether or not Ink Archives was as random as advertised or if most of the "hot" autographs had been cherry picked to be sold separately. Gray responded swiftly by pulling all of the auctions and said that those listed had never been part of the consideration for Ink Archives. Throughout all these stories and allegations, the Inkworks name is being tossed around more, which should make their name and products even more recognizable.

So what if Inkworks were able to make a hobby comeback later this year, next year or some point down the road? Will they have a bigger fanbase because of the attention they've gotten since they stopped making cards?

A Day at the Movies: King of the Hill featuring Fergie Jenkins and the Chicago Cubs

King of the Hill

Filmed over the course of the 1972 and 1973 seasons, King of the Hill is a laid back yet informative look at Fergie Jenkins, the only Canadian in the baseball Hall of Fame, and baseball in general as it was at the time. Interestingly, there's lots of talk of big contracts and baseball becoming a big business, just as we talk about them today. Perhaps it's a timeless thing. Yet there's still lots of nostalgia and history in the documentary.

If you have an hour to spare, check out this little slice of Canadian filmmaking.

First image of a 2009 SPx Baseball Rookie Exchange Autograph (at least that I've seen)

Upper Deck has released the first images of rookie autograph exchanges from 2009 SPx Baseball. At least I think it is. I had no interest in the product so I haven't even looked at the material for it. Here's the Orioles' Hoji Uehara in a card that was pictured on Upper Deck's Facebook page.

Here's a variant that's signed in Japanese (and limited to 25 copies).

Their Facebook page also has other goodies that are worth checking out too.

Topps to Produce Exclusive T206 100th Anniversary Set - Good Luck Getting One

Topps has announced they'll be producing a six-card set commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the classic T206 set. But there's a catch - it's only going to be handed out to attendees at the 24th Annual Hawaii Trade Show, which is ironically being held in Florida from April 19 - 23.  Each card will be the original T206 size and numbered /100. They will also be stamped with the show's logo on the back and labelled "100th Anniversary Edition."

Perhaps the biggest news in the release is that this is a taste of a full-on T206 100th Anniversary set that Topps will release in the fall.