The Agony of Defeat

It's been about nine months since I've found an addition to my John Jaha collection. Needing only a handful of cards for a complete run, it's not very often that something comes along that I need. About ten days ago one did: a 1998 Circa Thunder Super Rave numbered out of 25. The opening bid was $20, which is about what I'd expect to pay. I had to exchange a couple of emails with the seller to get them to set up to allow Canadian bids but once he did, I put in a bid of a little over $30. And there the card sat for the next six days.

For whatever reason the closing time was 4:00 AM so I was going to wake up either the victor or stung with a last-second bid. I wouldn't be in lamentation mode if I won the card. But while only one other bidder came along, I think I would have lost no matter what. You see, the seller had a few other Super Raves up for auction. Name-wise, Curt Schilling was the biggest. However he must know that there's a couple people out there building sets because I was shocked by some of the closing bids from lowest to highest:

• Jaha $34.56
• Reggie Jefferson $50.18
• Shannon Stewart $82.81
• Curt Schilling $91.38
• Joe Nunally $100.00
• Delino DeShields $229.49

How the heck can a Joe Nunally card reach three figures? Or a DeShields card for almost $230? I honestly don't know which is more shocking - the $17,000 Strasburg or the fact that a Joe Nunally card reached $100.

What these auctions do show is how frowned upon most of the current low-numbered stuff, including 1/1s, are regarded in comparison to some of the tough-to-find late-90s parallels and inserts. I regularly see generic 1/1s from superstars going for a fraction of these prices.

This was only the second or third Jaha Super Rave that I've seen. Hopefully with that low finishing price, I won't have much competition for the next one that comes along in 2014 or so.

Panini Offers a First Look at Upcoming Michael Jackson Set

It's been almost a year since Michael Jackson suddenly passed away. In that time there's been much speculation over which company would step forward and produce the inevitable card set commemorating his life and career. Topps and O-Pee-Chee produced sets back when Thriller was big but there's been nothing since.

Set for a late-August release, Panini's Michael Jackson set looks like a very classy tribute featuring strong designs and a wide-range of material. Card themes include Top Ten Singles, Decades and Number Ones. Early materials make it tough to tell whether these are part of the base set or inserts.

Although there doesn't appear to be any autographs this time around, either in the form of Jackson cut signatures or autographs from people connected to the star, there is a variety of memorabilia cards featuring different costumes. Memorabilia programs include:

• Eclectic Threads Shirt, Pants and Dual Swatches numbered to 499 or less.
• Televised Fashions numbered to 499 or less.
• Jackson Live Single and Dual swatches numbered to 499 or less.

Finally, in typical Panini fashion, there's the parallels. Diamond parallels will be numbered out of 10 or less. Again, promo materials don't state whether these are for the regular cards, inserts, memorabilia cards or combinations of all three.

Five-card packs will carry a suggested price of $3.00 with 24 packs in a hobby box. Twenty boxes will make up a case.

Random Pack Breaks: Conan II: All Chromium

The farthest I've made it into anything Conan are the two movies starring Arnold's muscles. I've also stopped and oogled over the gorgeous covers I've flipped past on various magazines and comics. In 1994 Comic Images gave Conan the chrome treatment with Conan II: All Chromium. A pack couldn't hurt so let's see what artistic treasures sit within.

23 Savage Sword #142 (Joe Jusko)

47. Savage Sword #104 (Joe Jusko)

68. Savage Sword #37 (Earl Norem)

8. Super Special #2 (Earl Norem)

22 Savage Sword #77 (Joe Jusko)

5 Savage Sword #145 (Stine)

36. Savage Sword #137 (Bob Larkin)

I think it's safe to say that Conan can be defined as bad-ass. The last card in particular shows his savage side, licking his own blood and apparently liking it. Given the ongoing battle between Team Edward and Team Jacob, I'll opt for Team Conan.

Like most every set, non-sport and sports alike, the chrome look doesn't translate well into scans. The artwork on every card is phenomenal and the metallic look works on most. However the cards with the most details seem to get lost in the shine.

Based on a single pack plus a couple of others I've opened in the past, this might be one set worth going back and tracking down. Inserts, none of which I've seen, include an Embossed Medallion card, six Prism Cards and a three-card Foil Embossed set entitled The Elements.

The Face of Women's Professional Baseball, Dorothy Kamenshek, Passes Away at 84

There might be no crying in baseball, but I'm still saddened upon hearing about the passing of former Rockford Peach Dottie Kamenshek at the age of 84.

Kamenshek was the inspiration for Genna Davis's character in the iconic 1992 baseball film A League of Their Own. During her career in the All-American Girls Baseball League, Kamenshek was one of the game's dominant players. She was a part of four championship clubs, won two batting titles, seven all-star appearances and struck out just 81 times in almost 3800 career at bats. Sports Illustrated ranked Kamenshek on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the 20th century.

As far as hobby connections go, Kamenshek appeared in the under-appreciated 1993 Ted Williams Company set. She was also honored with her own action figure in Kenner's 1997 Starting Lineup Cooperstown Collection.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! Random Pack Break: The Ren and Stimpy Show Triple Shot

The Ren and Stimpy Show is one of the strangest, most bizarre shows I've ever had the pleasure of being addicted to. Somehow Topps' 1993 set based on the cartoon has evaded me. While at the card store a while back I came across a cheap brick of old non-sport packs that I snatched up seeing a few of these on an end.

Blending old-school Topps with new fandangled prism technology (at least for the time), each pack has four cards and one sticker parallel. So it's fancy, but not exactly complicated.

Here's a sampling from a trio of packs.

Pack One:

Sticker

The first card sums these up perfectly. Oh joy!! Shiny, silly and subversive, the artwork captures what Ren and Stimpy was all about. Card backs are classic Topps puzzles! Double bonus. My one beef is that the stickers look pretty much exactly like the cards. The tiny numbering on the backs differentiate cards and stickers.

Pack 2:

Sticker

Two packs, one double. Another thing that I love about the set are the captions. They could easily be used to sum up my feelings on various things. So watch out for random postings.

Pack 3:

Sticker

I'm officially going after this set now so if you have any extra cards kicking around, please let me know. As much as I love stickers, they seem redundant in this set so I'm passing on those if anyone needs the ones I have.

Dang, this set is great.

 

A Semi-New Gig

A couple weeks back the June/July issue of Non-Sport Update hit newsstands. While I've been writing articles semi-regularly for them for quite some time, this marked my first issue as the Cards Online columnist, taking over the legacy left by Jon Doyle of WebJon.

Now being a columnist, I have some freedom over what I write, as long as it pertains to technology and non-sport collecting. This is an exciting challenge that I've enjoyed two columns in (my second is already in the can waiting for publication in about six weeks). My first topic: blogs, of course. For sports collectors, there's tons - more than I can keep up with, especially as I've been "slacking off" for the past month or so. But for non-sports, there's not much at all. Many touch on them here and there but other than the aforementioned WebJon, Wax Wombat, Cult Stuff and NonSportTrading.com, there's little else that I've found.

If I'm missing anyone, please let me know. Also, feel free to support NSU and check out their community at Card Talk if you haven't already. Finally, if you have any column ideas for Cards Online, I'm always listening.

Stumbling Upon Heroes in Unlikely Places - Jim Henson

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Jim Henson. It was a shock to me then and I still find myself at a loss at times even today. I never met the man and rarely saw him speak out of character. But I still regard Jim Henson as one of the most influential people in my life.

To me The Muppet Show wasn't just another TV program. It was what life revolved around. Whenever it was on, I'd slide onto the floor in front of our old 13" TV and sit there glued from beginning to end. My sister was bigger and older than me but she knew not to mess with me and my Muppets.  There was also board games, toys and my first magazine subscription.

Watching the Muppets today, they're still as fantastic as I remember them. The Star Wars episode is a little awkward but the genius is still there. Of course, it wasn't all Henson's doing. He had an immensely talented crew working with him. But without Jim Henson, there were no Muppets. To prove that, one just needs to look at what's happened with the franchise since. Only recently have they started to become relevant again. And with a new movie on the horizon with Hollywood hipsters attached, maybe Kermit and company won't be relegated to semi-dictated DVD viewings at the hands of uber-nostalgic parents (sorry, Ethan and Ella). Rather, folks might just seek out the Muppets because they want to.

The Muppets have been featured in several card sets over the years. None have been fantastic and if a manufacturer were able to get the rights for not only the show but the notable guest stars as well, I believe it could be a very popular card license. Costly, but the autograph possibilities are impressive.

Disclosure time: I bought a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie cards a short while back. I'd already bought some wacky stuff, so what's a little more. The set was itching to bring back a little nostalgia. There was no other agenda than to flip through some odd cards. Then I stumbled across these:

 That would be the master himself working not long before his untimely death. I don't think of Ninja Turtles when I think of Jim Henson, but I am certainly very excited to see him honored on these cards.

Jim Henson

September 24, 1936 - May 16, 1990

*Caption Contest* Jean-Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue Approve This Post (or Random Pack Break: Street Fighter - the Movie)

***Keep reading if you want to enter the contest.***

Cheap pack can be tons of fun, even when it's all said and done you've got a stack of garbage. But the act of breaking packs and getting a giggle from the subject matter can be worth the price of admission. Such is the case of a lot of about 30 packs from the ill-fated Street Fighter movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The cost was about $5 and there was an outside chance of landing a Van Damme hologram card. Yes, a Jean-Claude Van Damme hologram on a card exists. I wants it in all of its ridiculous glory.

Based on the video game franchise, Street Fighter had a bunch of guys (and a couple of girls) beating each other up. Van Damme was the marquee star, playing American soldier Colonel Guile. His main nemesis is Bison, played by Raul Julia in his final theatrical release. He passed away a couple of months before the movie hit screens. Another notable star is pop singer Kylie Minogue. The doesn't only include your standard movie cards, but there's even playing tips for the classic game that were readily available even before the internet became a place of naked ladies and cats doing silly things. You can thank Upper Deck for the set.

I've tried to watch Street Fighter and might be able to make it through the whole thing one day. Yeah, it's that bad.

Rather than torture you all with a ton of pics from crappy packs, I'll show you the treasures of but one. Sorry, no holograms for me. But this stuff is still priceless - even at $5.

 Best price tag on a pack of cards ever.

 "Hey, bud, my face is up here. Look at the eyes. Who am I kidding? I'm so hot I'm checking myself out."

 After the failure of Street Fighter, Van Damme was forced to sell his mansion to cover the incredible debts he ran up splitting 18 pairs of Calvin Klein blue jeans everyday. Van Damme must still have something that can be labelled "mansion," even if on a technicality. This is what he got.

 "So, Kylie. You want to practice that Oscar speech now or back at my mansion where after we can make recycled pillows out of my old jeans?"

 Wow, what pose variety. Closed fist, open fist.

 Instant entry into the Funniest Card Front wing of the card hall of fame.

 Some dance moves never catch on no matter how hard they try.

 A few things come to mind to caption this card, but I'll leave it to the readers. CONTEST ADDED: Heck, let's make a contest out of it. Best caption as picked by me, wins some cards. I don't know what, but I'll try to work with you. Expect a copy of this card to be included. Contest entries must be submitted in the comments by Thursday, May 20 at 11:59:59 PM Pacific time.

I'll leave you with this hilarious video from the movie. Make sure you read along.

And while I'm at it, I still need the following to finish the set: 5, 9, 18, 54, 59, 62, 89, 90 if anyone else bought packs trying to get a Van Damme-ogram.