Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy New Year. 2009 was great. 2010 looks to be very exciting as well with some big life-changing things being planned and the first out-of-country family vacation (next month).

May you make it at least a week without breaking all your resolutions. I gave up on those a long time ago. I use the new year to reflect somewhat, but resolutions are like rules - they're meant to be destroyed, stomped on and left out to dry in the scorching summer sun.

The second half of my Top 10 Non-Sport sets will run late tomorrow or early the next day as I'm currently out of town visiting with some friends.

What would a holiday be without another ALF card? Enjoy!





Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Top 10 Non-Sport Sets for 2009 (Part One)

Here are my picks for the top non-sport card sets of 2009 along with why I think so.

10. Star Wars Clone Wars Widevision (Topps)

I've always loved the bigger look of Widevision, or Tall Boy, sets. From the first one they released way back in 1994, the Widevision line captures the epic scope of the Star Wars films. Sure, Clone Wars isn't half as good as the original movies, but it's not horrible either. This set also marks the first time that sketch cards have been done on the larger format. Topps dabbled in oversized sketch cards last year with Indiana Jones Masterpieces, but those were double-sized cards folded to fit in packs. The bigger canvas has led to some magnificent renderings by both artists commissioned by Topps and animators from the show.

Clone Wars Widevision packs in added value with the inclusion of autographs. They may not compare name-wise to the original trilogy's stars, but pretty much the entire cast of voice actors is covered in this relatively cheap set of signatures.

Other inserts in the set include a Foil parallel numbered out of 500, another limited to 1, Season Two Preview, Flix Pix Motion Cards (LENTICULAR!), Foil cards highlighting the show's characters and see-through Animation Clear Cel cards.

This set was released in the fall and boxes can still be found for under $50 (Blowout Cards currently has them at $43.99).





9. Classic Vintage Movie Posters: Stars, Monsters, Comedy (Breygent)
Breygent's third set dedicated to old-time movie posters continued to impress with its mix of iconic artwork, diverse mix of memorabilia cards and overall excellent value. The 72-card base set features shrunken images of some of Hollywood's greatest films. While this set didn't feature the sparkle finish that really made the last movie posters set stand out, it's nonetheless a gorgeous set.

The chase element was led by the inclusion of two costume or prop cards per box. The checklist includes such legends as Audrey Hepburn, Clark Gable, Bruce Lee and even a piece of Babe Ruth's bat. The focus of the previous two poster sets, sketch cards return but on a much more limited basis. Rather than appearing in every box, they were limited to one per case. Cut signature cards were also included one per case.

The print run for Classic Movie Posters: Stars, Monsters, Comedy was limited to 3,000 boxes. Boxes are getting tricky to find already. A couple on eBay can be found for around $60.






8. President Obama (Topps)
The start of 2009 brought with it a new hope with a new US President. In the months leading up to the historic election, Obama became a hobby all-star with cards in a bunch of sports products. To commemorate Obama's election, Topps released a set that showcased the President's life and the lead up to his presidency.

The set followed a relatively old-school formula of cards and stickers (which feature very cool artwork, by the way). There's also foil parallels for the stickers and foil stamp parallels for the base set (hobby and retail releases do have different colored foil). There were two cards that provided a try chase element. The first was a short print of Obama in his high school basketball uniform, which was found in about every eighth box. The other was a "Presidential Pup" redemption good for a card of the President's dog once it was picked. Redemptions were limited to every 16 boxes.

Although not hugely expensive, President Obama was a set with mainstream appeal. Whether or not the interest lasts depends on how Obama's viewed in the public eye three years from now.






7. Battlestar Galactica: Season Four (Rittenhouse Archives)
Like most every Battlestar Galactica fan, I was sad to see the series come to a close this year. Initially I scoffed at the idea of a "re-imagining" of the original series and thought that replacing many of the male stars with "hot chicks" was a gimmick. Was I wrong. BSG had everything you'd hope for from science fiction: robots, spaceships, deep ideas, intriguing stories and humor.


Rittenhouse Archives has been there every step of the way with the show, releasing sets for each season. Often when this happens, later sets get dismissed because there's little that's new. That's somewhat true with Battlestar Galactica: Season Four in that a lot of the autograph signers have had their signatures appear in previous sets. But top to bottom, this set has almost every main character including the first pack-insert autograph of Edward James Olmos (he was a six-case incentive in the Season Three set). The hits also included costume cards, autographed costume cards and the first prop cards for the series.

The inclusion of two autographs and two costume/prop cards per box meant collectors got a lot of bang. The secondary value of some of the repeat signers might not be as high as they were in previous sets, but that worked for me because I was able to find an affordable Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) autograph.

I seriously doubt this is Rittenhouse's last BSG set as there's still many possible spin-off products. But as far as commemorating the show goes, they went out with a set that's genuinely loaded.






6. Kiss 360 (Press Pass)
 KISS are genuine icons in music. Perhaps more famous for their showmanship than their music, their career of headlining stadium shows has spanned decades. It's also spawned several trading card sets. Press Pass has been busy in the past year producing a handful of KISS sets. The first, KISS Ikons was well received and included a nice base set, popular parallels and costume cards. The follow-up, KISS 360, was even better.

Another stellar base set was complimented by more parallels, more costume cards and more other stuff. The Transformation inserts were my favourite cards of the year in the entire hobby. They took a face shot of the band and overlayed it with a similar shot with them decked out in their signature make-up. I'm already a geek for lenticular cards, but these worked out very nicely. KISS 360 also included the first autograph cards from the band, including a quad autograph.

Boxes offer no guarantees as far as costume cards or autographs go, although I do believe that the material pieces aren't too terribly difficult to track down. 







Stay tuned as I continue my look at the best non-sport sets of 2009 with the top five spots.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Despite Not Having Any Licensed Competition, Topps Offers Up the First Jason Bay Mets Card

Topps loves its New York baseball, even the Mets. Despite the fact that an official announcement hasn't been made, the baseball card monopolists have released their first card of reigning Tip O'Neill Award winner Jason Bay in a New York Mets uniform.



No word yet on whether or not you should expect a super-duper top secret rare Yankees logo variant.

2009: The Year in Non-Sport Cards

This past year was a strange one for the non-sport realm. Several stories emerged, the biggest of which was the loss of Inkworks. Not only did the manufacturer shut down, but the ripples of the closure created other angles. When the dust settled from the sell-off of excess inventory, a glut of product has now emerged. This presents both good and bad scenerios. From a dealer's perspective, Inkworks autographs have lost a lot of their value. All of a sudden cards that might pop up online one at a time can now be had much easier. However, the lower prices have been great for collectors looking to fill in holes in the collections or expand them. I know I've picked up a bunch of stuff I never thought I'd own and even started building some sets that seemed too costly in the past. Razor is largely responsible for getting a lot of the autographs to market so quickly releasing two sets that highlight the one-time hits. Ink Archives offered a random Inkworks autograph in pack form. Ink Vault packaged three autographs with a random unopened box (often from Inkworks, but not always). If this list was for Product of the Year, personally I'd put Ink Vault at the top as it offered collectors the biggest bang for their buck, even when they didn't find the high-end hits.

Another spin-off of the Inkworks closure was the shuffling of licenses. Breygent did a quick turn-around on The Ghost Whisperer license that was set to be Inkworks' next set before they went under. Not only did Breygent make a set for the Jennifer Love Hewitt show, but they also used Inkworks autograph stickers in the set so the signatures wouldn't go to waste. Along with The Ghost Whisperer, Breygent produced a set for Showtime's Dexter. This pair of releases represented the company's expansion from strictly nostalgia-based products to current licenses. Breygent will continue to expand in 2010 with new licenses based on the box office smash Pananormal Activity and TV's royal drama The Tudors.

NECA grabbed the Twilight license and immediately reprinted the Inkworks set that was released and subsequently sold out just months earlier. The only difference, other than secondary market value, between the NECA and Inkworks releases are the logos and the Pieceworks costume cards Inkworks included that were absent in the reprint set. Although released in 2008, Inkworks' Twilight
set was the hottest set of the year, perhaps in the entire decade. Despite the fact that the only "hit" per hobby box was one Pieceworks costume card, they skyrocketed in price to $300. Good luck finding a base set for under $50. You can find most every other base set from the past decade for about 10 percent of that.




The final Inkworks license going elsewhere is LOST, which quickly went to Rittenhouse Archives who will be releasing a massive set at the end of January that covers the first five seasons of the show. The Supernatural and Smallville licenses have not emerged and it's unclear if a North American release will happen for Doctor Who. Rittenhouse Archives has also taken over the Heroes license from Topps and will be releasing their first set for the franchise in 2010.

On the autograph front, there was some notable first-time signers. As a child of the 80s, none got me more excited than the Peter Cullen card from Topps' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen set. Cullen might not be a Hollywood superstar but as the voice of Optimus Prime he is a cornerstone of my childhood. Other personalities appearing on autograph cards for the first time in 2009 included the members of KISS (KISS 360), Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg (Star Trek), John Cho (Star Trek), Bill Nye the Science Guy (Stargate Heroes), Saw master-Villain Tobin Bell (Stargate Heroes), the original Karate Kid Ralph Macchio (2009 Americana), American Idol finalists Kris Allen and Adam Lambert (American Idol: Season Eight) and real-life heroes turned Hollywood subjects Frank Serpico and Erin Brokovich (American Heritage: Heroes Edition).

Although one manufacturer closed down this year, two others emerged. 5finity caters to sketch card collectors by offering sets that get right to the chase. In their first handful of card sets, the company hasn't included one base card - just sketch cards and other spin-off goodies like sketch commissions and sketch cards autographed by the featured stars and personalities. 5finity's first two sets, Archie and The Greatest American Hero, both saw all of their proceeds go to the March of Dimes charity. 5finity also released sets based on comic properties Mandy (the cartoon featured in Playboy magazine) and Moonstone Comics. The company also produced a new set entitled Zombies vs. Cheerleaders, which allowed artists to cut loose without any licensing limitations. Another new company is Factory Entertainment. Based out of the UK, Factory Entertainment is similar to NECA in that they're not just in the business of cards but other licensed collectibles such as replica props. Factory Entertainment is just starting to enter the card market having distributed a set in Europe for the video game Mario Cart Wii.

Although the economy is starting to show signs of rebounding, it's probably safe to say that non-essential items like trading cards will still suffer as people continue to be cautious with their spending. With that in mind, I'm interested to see what 2010 holds for this side of the hobby. I suspect there'll be some safe bets on proven licenses but I also think that collectors are ready for new things as well. And that's exactly what the early release calendars show: a mix of old (Star Wars Galaxy 5) and new (The Tudors, Voltron).

The challenge for manufacturers and dealers is to continue to expand the non-sport market. I believe lots of collectors on the sports side are tired of relatively the same cards and the same autographs over and over. There's so many corners to the non-sport side that there truly is something for everyone. Brands like Panini's Americana and Topps' American Heritage are providing a bridge by providing a handful of sports figures and their large distribution networks to bring collectors in. The same could be said for Razor's Inkworks releases. They managed to take something from a niche market and get it into the hands of sports collectors, who may have very different collecting sensibilities than a lot of non-sport collectors but they're also much greater in number.

Stay tuned for my picks for the top 10 non-sport sets of 2009.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Please Stand By...

I'm in the process of giving the blog's appearance an overhaul. So if things look weird, disappear, reappear, appear out of place - that's okay (I guess). I'm aiming for something that looks different but not too busy. I like the classic template a lot but it's a new year so why not?

UPDATE: I think I have found a template that I like that's also not too tricky to figure out. I think it'll get rid of some clutter as well on the side. It's actually quite rewarding to dig into the code and get rid of the stuff I don't want. Here's the original template. I know the header is still wrong. I'm getting there. Slowly. Thanks for your patience.

UPDATE REDUX: I'm getting sleepy. The links are totally out of whack. I'll be going through them in the next couple of days to recreate not just an update blog roll but also as many useful sites as possible to include.

Charlie Chaplin: Chasing a Tramp

When I think about the current movies and shows that make me laugh the most, it's often either heartwarming gross-out fare like The Hangover and Old School or things anchored in reality and nostalgia such Ferris Bueller's Day Off and TV's Freaks and Geeks. While they offer a good chuckle and some reminiscing for the good ole' days when life seemed to be a little simpler and more confusing, it's not very often that today's comedy offers us a lot of commentary on the world around us. Reflection, but not trying to look further. For example, I can relate to aspects of The Hangover, like seeing bits and pieces of friends and aquaintances in many of the characters. And while there`s some exploration of the dynamics of relationships - yes, even in all the genital jokes and Mike Tyson solos - it didn`t exactly make me think any deeper about my own relationships afterward. But comedy wasn`t always like this.

You may have heard of a guy named Charlie Chaplin. There was a time when he ruled the film world. He wasn`t just an icon like Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but rather he was also the artist behind the camera. Chaplin brought together comedy and commentary so well that he was forced into exile outside of the United States for being a potential Red threat.

Chaplin`s movies today can be enjoyed on several levels. If you just want to kick back and laugh at the slapstick humor, you can. But there`s also a lot of depth to what`s going on. Chaplin wasn`t just an entertainer but a thinker as well. And by using film as his canvas, he was able to reach millions with his messages in a funny and entertaining way.

Despite his lasting appeal, Chaplin has remained somewhat elusive in the hobby. There were several cigarette cards and similar items produced during his reign as king of the entertainment world, including a spot in the 1926 W512 set that mixed stars with athletes including Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. The cards were produced in strips, although many were cut.


Here are a few other Chaplin cards from the 1920s:




In this era of cut signatures and entire sets dedicated to pop culture, Chaplin has largely escaped the spotlight. He has two cut signature cards. The first was in 2004 Topps Tribute HOF where he appeared in the Signature Cuts Personalities insert set. Chaplin also had an autograph inserted into 2009 Donruss Americana. Both were limited to one copy.

More affordable is this card:



It`s also from 2009 Donruss Americana. It`s from the Movie Posters insert set, which includes classic artwork on the front. Here`s a shot of the back:



Yup, that`d be a piece of his clothing. Although not from a movie costume, it`s still cool to have a piece of a genuine legend. At 500 copies, it`s not too terribly tough to come by, nor is it overly expensive. I picked up this one, in which it would have been the hit of a $35 pack, for less than half that. Chaplin has two other memorabilia cards in the same set, one of which is a dual card featuring a piece of Claudette Colbert`s clothing.


Six-Pack Breaks: 1992 ProSet Guinness Book of Records

Since I was a kid, the shiny covers of the Guinness Book of World Records has always caught my attention. I've browsed through a few in my time, often during silent reading time where my friends and I would look up the strangest and most curious details. It turns out ProSet made a Guinness set back in 1992.

I busted a half-dozen packs and here are some of the highlights:

Fight Club au Naturale


My Little Pony


Albino Monkey



The World's Smallest Man


Some Guy Trying to Look Like Burt Reynolds Whilst Wrestling a Rather Large Snake




Bubbles!!!


Let's not forget this guy's relatives:


  (HT: The Mojo Hand)



Truly, this set offers a mix-bag of classic cards. If sports is your thing, I pulled some Chicago Bear and a Cricket player, so there's some of that too.

Six packs in and I'm a little over half-way through the set. Packs come with ten cards and there's 100 cards in the set. There's no inserts to be found but according to Jeff Allender's Checklist, there's also four promos to compliment the set. ProSet also made a custom binder.

Guinness Book of Records, like all ProSet products, should be considered junk wax. Boxes can be found on eBay for less than $5 while an entire case of 20 boxes can be had for $32 plus shipping. I suspect one box, which can make more than three sets, should suffice.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Box Break: 2008 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball (Blaster)

When Upper Deck brought the Goudey brand back in 2007, I was hooked and addicted. I loved the old-time look and even the now unconventional use of the smaller card size that stayed true to the set it was based on. I've still got a large checklist of wants from that set, largely due to the sheer number of short prints. 2008 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball is both the same and different. The mini size is gone, but so too are base set card back variations that were split 50-50 across the base run. The base set remains unique looking when compared to other retro-themed sets. And, of course, there's tons of short prints as well that make building a complete set quite the challenge.



I bought this blaster box online in hopes to find a couple of short prints that I needed, as well as to fulfill the need to bust some packs. It was a postage-saver add-on to another purchase I made from the same seller, so the price was right. The blaster had eight packs, each with eight cards. No odds on inserts are listed, but I didn't mind too much as I would rather have a short print than most of the possible inserts.

The base set consists of 200 cards with an additional 130 short prints divided into several subsets:
  • Retired Stars (#201-230)
  • Goudey Presidents (#231-250)
  • 1936 Goudey Black and White (#251-270)
  • Sports Royalty (#271-330)
The most popular of these are probably the Retired Stars as they make a simple add on for those looking to expand their base sets. I love the painted look of the Presidents, although many are sick of seeing politicians in their baseball cards. While they may pay tribute to an old set, I personally can't stand the Black and White cards. With better images it could have worked in an artistic sort of way, but switching regular photos over to black and white doesn't work for me here. Finally, the Sports Royalty subset appears largely to expand the autograph checklist to include athletes outside of baseball like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and gymnast Kerri Strug.



My blaster box had excellent collation with 60 total base cards, including four short prints, and no duplicates.

Although not a part of the base set, Minis still exist, only as parallel inserts. There's five different colored backs, each with differing rarities. I pulled one Mini Red Back - an Alex Rodriguez "Black and White" card. I can't say that I'm super excited over it but it does make some decent trade bait for perhaps and SP or two.

My favourite inserts are the Berk Ross Hit Parade of Champions. Mini in size, the 30-card set consists of striking images from great moments across all sports. I would have preferred these in place of the Sports Royalty cards. I love the photography on these cards. I pulled a Lebron James that has a great shot of him dunking.



2008 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball also has your regular mix of plain game-used cards and autographs. I didn't expect to find any here and that's exactly what I got. The autograph checklist looks all right at first glance, particularly the Sports Royalty cards, but the great signatures are extremely tough to pull. Most boxes and packs I've seen opened contain signatures of players who probably won't last more than five years in the Majors. There's exceptions but if you land them, consider yourself extremely lucky.

Finally, like all 2008 Upper Deck products, there's the Yankee Stadium Legacy cards. I pulled two of them here. If you're a Yankees fan, then you might dig the super-sized insert set that covers every game ever played at the legendary park. If you're not a Yankees fan, these might be considered an annoyance.

Not expecting much, I had fun with this quick break. I got some cards I needed for my set and a handful of traders at a cheap price. While I wouldn't pay more than $40-50 for a hobby box if it were in my budget, finding a deal makes this a good break.


Inserts
  • Berk Ross Hit Parade of Champions: 1 (HPC-17. Lebron James)
  • Mini Red Back: 1 (252. Alex Rodriguez "Black and White")
  • Yankee Stadium Legacy:2 (423. George Pipgras, 448. Herb Pennock)
 For more images and a full breakdown, please visit my main site.