Kick Ass Get Its Butt Kicked

They might be six months late and missed both the theatrical and DVD window where interest might have been much higher, but Dynamic Forces' set based on Kick Ass has finally arrived. I loved the movie and its unapologetic send-up of the superhero genre, but I'm not at all excited about the prospects of what Dynamic Forces has lined up.

First, there's not much in the way of major star autographs. That is unless you're stoked about signatures from the guys who played 1st Gang Kid and 2nd Gang Kid. There's also a tie-in to the comic book with autographs from some of the creators who worked on the book, most notably John Romita Jr. They're all fine and dandy, considering this is a niche release aimed more at the hardcore Kick Ass fan.

But there's a few more autographs that I think might have been a cute idea done correctly. When I first heard of this set way back when, I never expected to see the likes of Nicholas Cage, McLovin or any of the other headliners signing cards. Dynamic Forces did include the following:

Now before you go getting excited that they landed Nicolas Cage (who played Big Daddy), they didn't. This is a "character autographed card" or "Tuesday intern project." Honestly, done correctly, the idea has some merit. But it all falls apart with the card backs:

Although it doesn't say Cage signed the card, they also don't note that these are gags leaving it open to unsuspecting collectors who might not know differently. Dynamic Forces doesn't exactly provide much promotional material to get word out either. My main concern is the confusion these cards are bound to cause. All it would have taken was a small disclaimer noting that "Big Daddy" is the nickname of the intern who signed the cards and that he's in no relation to the famous actor portraying him on the front. Confusion cleared up, idea is all of a sudden sort of cute, or at least different (unless it actually counts towards the advertised number of autographs in a box, then it's horrible).

So be careful if you come across these with a seller highlighting the Oscar nominee's autograph. It's not. It really is just Big Daddy from the Dynamic Forces offices.

Kick Ass also includes some decent-looking costume cards and sketch cards.

Pack Tease: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

 Have you ever seen better pack art?

This arrived in my mailbox today. And it's legit. I don't have time to bust it right away but sometimes it's okay to show off legends like Ron Burgundy, especially when they come in a faux wax pack.

Trader TV: Toy Story Fun Packs Two-Pack Blister Break

This was supposed to go live last night but for whatever reason, it didn't upload right. Below you'll find a two-pack break of Topps' new Toy Story Fun Packs. They combine elements from all three films, offering cards, stickers and other goodies like magnets and motion cards. Because they're aimed at kids, I recruited a couple of very excited helpers.

As you can tell, Evelyn and Ethan were very excited about these cards. Within ten seconds of finishing filming, the magnet was on the fridge and the pop-up Buzz was put together. Ethan had to be stopped from putting a sticker on his hand (these stickers belong in a book).

When you hear the chatter about bringing kids back into the hobby, this is the way to do it. The emphasis is on playing with the cards and interacting with them rather than hoping for a valuable hit. I got into the hobby by ripping packs and sorting through them. "Collecting" came later. But without the initial fun I would have never continued.

Custom Sketch Card Collection: The A-Team by Chris Henderson

Over the weekend I snuck away to the city to catch the new A-Team movie. I went in with zero expectations seeing as how it obviously wasn't the cheesy 80s show I followed. And Mr. T was nowhere in sight. But you know what? It wasn't bad - a cartoon take on a cartoon TV show. Some parts were a little too over the top, but others were great fun.

The movie gives me an excuse to post the first custom sketch cards I had made some years ago, a four-card set done by Chris Henderson.

Henderson really nailed it with these. From the detailed drawings to the little things like the deep red background. There'll never be another set for the show so I'd have to say these are the best A-Team cards I've seen.

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

An Addition to the E.T. Sketch Card Collection (Part 1)

My pruny friend E.T. will probably never see himself on another trading card set ever again. As much as I hate to admit it, his time has past. But that isn't stopping me from slowly building up a collection of commissioned sketch cards. Last week saw two additions to the collection, officially doubling it.

The first one is from Scott Zirkel, whose work I was introduced to via ye ole Wax Womat. The purpose of my collection is to focus on one subject and take in different interpretations. Zirkel brings a breezy cartoon take to E.T., pointing out both the alien's intuitiveness and slight hesitation toward the foreign world around him.

For those keeping tabs, through three commissions that I've posted, here's the E.T. sketch card collection:

Katie Cook - E.T. Sketch Card

 This one is from Katie Cook, who is gearing up for the release of a Fraggle Rock comic. Heck, yeah! Katie does a phenominal job capturing the "cute" in her subjects.

Ingrid Hardy - E.T. Sketch Card

This one is from Ingrid Hardy. I picked her work because I love the soft, realistic tones she uses. This was a perfect image to capture her style.

There's a fourth card sitting in front of me right now that I'll be sharing shortly. The process of the card is something I'd like to focus on so it'll have a post when I have some more extra time.

Prominent and Pretty in Pink

Although I haven't bought a pack of the stuff and don't plan to, I'm having a bit of a love-hate infatuation with Upper Deck Prominent Cuts. My mind boggles at the thought of not one, not two but three cards in a 60-card base set being occupied by three of the Kardashian sisters but there's also some amazing autographs to be found. Granted, the cut signature autographs have no pictures and have a large checklist with plenty of signers who are very much alive. But then what's the chances of a lot of these rejected stars coming out in a set that features them?

Such is the case with Molly Ringwald. Along with Punky Brewster and that unnamed girl that Rodney Dangerfield sees in the shower at the start of Back to School, she was amongst my first Hollywood crushes. Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, TV's Diff'rent Strokes - she was the cute, snooty dream girl in some of my favorite things growing up.

But before I grew up, she did and moved on.

For the past couple of decades, Ringwald went and became a wife and mom, and largely disappeared from the Hollywood scene. I spotted her in a horrendous Aussie slasher film a few years back and caught her paying tribute to John Hughes at the Academy Awards. She's also in some TV show now that I've never seen. Whatever the true Hollywood story is, Molly Ringwald simply isn't the it girl she once was. And she's done a great job of distancing herself from it.

With my serious doubts of a set based on The Secret Life of the American Teenager coming out, I went and pulled the trigger on this from Upper Deck Prominent Cuts:

Upper Deck Prominent Cuts Autograph Molly Ringwald

For most, this card is probably 20 years too late. But for me, it's a trip back to elementary school crushes. As for the fact that it's a cut signature of a living person. You're right, the card isn't the prettiest. But like Duckie on the rebound, something's better than nothing. I also find something concerting about the legitimacy of the ugly check where the signature (which is very clean, I might add) originates from. Plus it was pretty cheap too at significantly less than the pack it came from.

Overall, I've still paid less than the price of one pack and gotten 80% of the base set, a bunch of doubles and an autograph of not only someone I've heard of, but someone I really want as well. Another exa not to bust high-end wax.

Sets I Want to See: The Expendables

Sylvester Stallone
Bruce Willis
Jet Li
Dolph Lundgren
Jason Statham
Arnold Freakin' Schwarzenegger
Mickey Rourke

As far as legitimate action heroes from the past 25 years go, these guys are the who's who of cheesy guy flicks where things blow up real good. There's also Stone Cold Steve Austin, Randy Couture and Eric Roberts. All that's missing is Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme. Well, the list above are attempting to make the cheesy action flick cool again with The Expendables. The trailer debuted online today and quite honestly, I was expecting more. Note to Sylvester Stallone: we want to see you kick people, not listen to you babble constantly.

That being said, I so want a card set just for the autograph possibilities. From that list, only a couple already have autographs. Schwarzenegger appeared in Batman and Robin Widescreen from SkyBox, Terminator 3 from Comic Images and on a pseudo-cut Conan the Barbarian card that used cut-up Batman and Robin cards. Fleer  convinced Stone Cold to sign in their Wrestlemania set back in 2001. Randy Couture's currently in Upper Deck Prominent Cuts and has also signed for Donruss Americana and Topps Allen and Ginter. Finally, there's Julia Roberts' brother Eric, who was in Upper Deck Spectrum and Donruss Americana.

Tonight I had a little fun and came up with some mock-ups for a possible set. Enjoy! The Expendables is in theatres this August and I'm guessing it'll be on DVD and Blu-ray a couple weeks later.

Prominent Cuts is Finally Live, Complete with Patrick Swayze's Dress

Originally planned for a late-2009 release, Upper Deck Prominent Cuts is finally live. It's a catch-all sort of product with the usual Upper Deck sports stars, lots of MMA fighters, politicians, celebrities and multiple Kardashians (note how I refuse to consider them celebrities).

What's caught my attention is the sheer number of costume relics from prominent movie and TV stars. Even though the costume pieces seem to be leftovers from two years worth of A Piece of History Baseball, they're nonetheless impressive. The checklist includes names like Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Drew Barrymore, Farrah Fawcett, James Dean, Sammy Davis Jr, Mike Myers, Denzel Washington and tons more. And unlike the Donruss Americana sets that Prominent Cuts is somewhat modelled after, these costumes are mostly from actual films that you've probably heard of. A few exceptions exist, but these are mostly the older names. And when you get Sammy Davis Jr's briefcase, the brown leather swatch looks great.

The big drawback with these cards is the fact that there's no images. Without any logos to pretend to hide behind, it makes it tough for these cards to reach their full potential. But the swatch sizes are much bigger than they were with A Piece of History so the lack of imagery isn't quite so bad.

Upper Deck has also made lots of pairings, taking obscure connections and tossing two swatches on a single card. One that I got my attention was the match-up of Patrick Swayze and Harrison Ford under the banner "Action Hero Stars." With classics like Point Break and Road House under his belt, the late Dirty Dancing star fits the bill. Then there's Ford who gets the nod for pulling the trigger on old Greedo. It's a cool enough card numbered out of 99. But there's something that makes me giggle about this card and it's declaration of action heroes.

Upper Deck Prominent Cuts Hollywood History Dual Materials Patrick Swayze/Harrison Ford /99

The Ford swatch comes from the movie Crossing Over. I haven't seen it, but a quick Google search came up with this picture:

We have a match. 

I couldn't find an image to match up the Swayze swatch, but here's a picture of him in a different scene from the film:

It's a dress swatch Swayze wore in the cross-dressing film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar.

Action hero, indeed.

Oscar Predictions Are in the (Autographed) Cards

The red carpet is open and some gold statues are apparently being handed out in a little while. Looking at the list of nominees, there's not much out there from this year's lot in the way of autograph cards. Still, there's a few.

And the nominees are:

Best Actor

The odds-on-favorite in this category is Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. Honestly, I wasn't a big fan, however The Dude was great (isn't he always), as was his co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal (nominated for Supporting Actress). Bridges signed for 2008's Iron Man set from Rittenhouse Archives. It was the toughest autograph to find in the set and is quite costly, despite the unflattering bald head that doesn't look right on the normally shaggy actor. An autograph went today on eBay for a touch under $250, which was $100 more than the previous copy went for a couple weeks ago. Clearly, there's an Oscar bump happening here. Should Bridges pull off the expected, I suspect the card will settle back into the $200-range, which is what it was originally selling for when the set first came out.

Complete Iron Man Autograph Gallery 

The only other nominee in this category to have a certified autograph is George Clooney for Up in the Air. The Facts of Life-alum is well-respected for making films that are usually both entertaining and intelligent. His turn as Batman in Batman and Robin was neither. Even still, his tallboy autograph from Skybox's set based on the film is one of many highlights in a remarkable checklist that also includes Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger. eBay currently has one Clooney Batman and Robin autograph listed. The price: $1,125. The prices from this set have always been through the roof and because the card pops up so infrequently and is already high, I'd say that if Clooney pulls the upset, the values will still stay the same.

Complete Batman and Robin Autograph Gallery

Best Supporting Actor

Autographs are even more sparse in this category. Veteran Christopher Plummer (The Last Station) is the only nominee to have a certified signature card, but even if you saw it you likely wouldn't recognize him.  That's because the card highlights his role as a Klingon general in Star Trek VI. The card is from Rittenhouse Archives' Star Trek Movies in Motion set, released in 2008. Expect to pay $40-50 for the card online. And don't look for a spike because Plummer has no chance of winning here and The Last Station will be even more forgotten than it already is in a couple of weeks.

Complete Star Trek Movies in Motion Autograph Gallery

Best Director

This is the only other major category that has nominees with autograph cards, both of whom are the biggest names nominated. First up is some guy named James Cameron for some movie called Avatar. Cameron's made a couple of other movies too: Titanic, The Terminator and it's wittily titled sequel Terminator 2. His lone autograph is from none of these, but rather a short-lived TV show called Dark Angel, which is most notable for launching the tabloid career of one Jessica Alba. Alba's autograph might be prettier to look at, but in the spirit of the post, here's the nominee:

Complete Dark Angel Autograph Gallery

The second nominee in this category is Quentin Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds. A personal favourite of mine, his signature has appeared in two of Donruss' Americana sets: Americana II and Celebrity Cuts.

Donruss Americana Gallery Index

Hosting the show tonight are Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. Martin had an autograph a few years ago for his role in Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Pick up the card for the legend's signature, not for the attractiveness of the card.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action Autograph Gallery

For the sake of predicting and prognosticating, here's my picks for tonights show in the Acting, Directing and Best Picture races.

Best Picture:

“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

My choice: The Hurt Locker
Will win: Avatar 

Best Director 

“Avatar” James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
“Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

My choice: Kathryn Bigelow
Will win: Bigelow

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”  

My choice: Jeremy Renner (yeah, I like The Hurt Lock a lot and I don't think Bridges deserves it this year as it feels like rewarding his career rather than a slightly better-than-average film)
Will win: Jeff Bridges


Best Actress

Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” 


My choice: Carey Mulligan
Will win: Sandra Bullock

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” 

My choice: Christoph Waltz
Will win: Waltz

Best Supporting Actress

Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” 

My choice: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Will win: Gyllenhaal provides the biggest upset of the night.

One of Kobe Bryant's Last Upper Deck Cards Isn't an Easy Find

If it weren't for 2009-10 Upper Deck Exquisite, this would have been Upper Deck's final fully licensed NBA card:

From the front, it's got the same design as 2008-09 Upper Deck Basketball, which is odd considering there's also a 2009-10 Upper Deck Basketball set. So how can this be one of Upper Deck's last NBA cards? The back tells the story of the card's origins:

This is a promo card released in the DVD of the Spike Lee documentary Kobe Doin' Work. While the title is horrible, the movie's not bad. It follows Bryant through an entire game in April, 2008 and articulates his greatness as a player. If you care, here's my review for it. The DVD was released in late November, while Exquisite hit shelves only a short time after.

Be careful, though. If you go to track down the card and buy the DVD, mine was very damaged. It was inserted loosely in the case and flopped around in transit leaving the card pretty beat up. And I'm not sure if every DVD has the card as well, so I can't make any promises.

Super Sunday: Seabiscuit DVD Premiums

I'm going to start a new (hopefully) weekly feature called Super Sunday. It's where I'll look at some cards that don't fit the regular measurements. They might be regular sets like Tallboys or Star Wars Widevision or they could be oddball cards and non-card-related premiums. Whichever the case, if they're too big for traditional nine-pocket pages, they might find their spot on Super Sunday.

The week after Christmas I found myself in Walmart poking about through some sale DVDs. Rummaging over the $5 rack I came across a fancy version of Seabiscuit. I'm pretty sure it was made when Special Edition actually meant something with DVDs and came off after the mass release with all sorts of additional features and swag. Honestly, I don't remember much about the film other than it made me feel warm and fuzzy watching the underdog find success. I've got enough DVDs as it is so there wasn't much point adding this to the collection until I looked at the swag breakdown: Exclusive 32-page Photo Diary (meh), Senitype with Film Frame from the movie and matching photo (cool, but likely to never see the light of day), bookmark (which looks a lot like a poor man's money clip, perfect for a day at the track) and "Collectible cards featuring historical photos and background on the real characters" (sold!).

The picture on the back didn't mention whether or not it was a regular-sized card or a bigger, postcard size but I wasn't too concerned for $5. It turns out the cards are postcard sized, which seems fairly standard for oddball premiums unless a trading card manufacturer is involved and wants to advertise their sets.

In total four cards were included, each featuring a sepia-toned photograph on the front and a fairly extensive biography/historical account on the back. The card stock is fairly flimsy but still rather glossy. The trademark on the back shows the Equibase Company logo and shows a 2003 copyright.

You can click on the image for a larger version.

 Seabiscuit

 War Admiral

 George "Iceman" Woolf

The Match Race

Thanks for checking out Super Sunday. Hopefully with seven days to plan I'll have another one up next week.

The Greatest Autograph Signer Ever

Forget Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods. Billy Drago is the hobby's greatest autograph signer.

For most, the name Billy Drago probably doesn't mean a heck of a lot. For me, he's the creepy bad guy not named Capone in The Untouchables, one of my all-time favorite movies featuring machine guns. But other than that, he's a character actor with roles in such ill-regarded sequels like Tremors 4; Delta Force 2; Martial Law 2; Lady Dragon 2; Cyborg 2; Mirror, Mirror III; and Convict 762. I didn't even know there was a Martial Law, Lady Dragon or Mirror, Mirror to begin with. And yes, I know that Convict 762 doesn't preceed Convict 761, although if it did I'd hope that it starred Chuck Norris and Carl Weathers in a fight to the death.

So for a guy who has largely made a career out of B-sequels, why would I hold him in such high regard. Behold, mere samples of some of his cards from various Inkworks Charmed sets:

Even sticker autographs don't stop the guy:

These aren't 1-of-1 or super-rare variants either. Every card Drago has signed is this way. The shorest inscription I've seen is, "Yours in death, Billy Drago."

The time and dedication Drago has put into his cards has pushed many of his cards into the realm of about $50. Prices vary, especially with the flood of cards that have hit in the last year following the Inkworks bankruptcy.

Many of the inscriptions follow a common theme of fear. Most are hilarious. Besides the poetry and witty quips, I've also seen some doodles and other creative uses of the card. Seeing the short stories Drago has put onto cardboard further puts into perspective the scribbles many athetes and stars try to pass off.

Almost as Great as the Truffle Shuffle

My unofficial collection of autographs from The Goonies grew this week with the addition of this:

Little Mikey Walsh is all grown up and getting his butt kicked on 24. That's Sean Astin, who didn't last long on the TV thriller. If I recall correctly, his character was pretty annoying too, even for someone who's supposed to be annoying.

Artbox's note also gives this card the distinction of having the goofiest authenticity message I have on a card:

 

Astin is no stranger to signing cardboard having appeared in multiple Lord of the Rings sets as well as Donruss' cross-brand Fans of the Game. This particular card comes from Artbox's 24: Season Five set. The last couple of 24 sets flopped despite having lots of cool autographs and prop cards. It's too bad because Artbox did a nice job with them.

Other cards in my Goonies collection include:

  Mouth - Corey Feldman

2007 Upper Deck Spectrum Baseball 

Spectrum of Stars Autographs

Data - Ke Huy Quan

Indiana Jones Heritage

Autographs

Other autographs from Goonies folks include:

• Steven Spielberg (executive producer, story writer) has autographs in a couple each of Topps' three latest Indiana Jones set including one triple autograph that features him, George Lucas and Harrison Ford.
• Robert Davi (one of the Fratelli brothers), who has appeared in a couple of James Bond sets and one from Stargate: Atlantis Season One.
• Joe Pantoliano (Davi's on-screen brother), whose Daredevil autograph is the rarest pack-inserted card in the set (1:2802 packs) and its value rivals that of Ben Affleck's autograph.

 

Even though The Goonies got the trading card treatment back in 1985, I think it's prime for a revisiting, complete with all the bells and whistles of a modern set. Unfortunately two of the most memorable characters wouldn't be able to sign cards as they passed away within a few years of the film's release. Anne Ramsey, who played Mama Fratelli died in 1988. Less than a year later John Matuszak, who starred as Sloth, died allegedly from complications related to steroid use.