It's amazing how people get away with donning costumes on one day of the year that they'd get stared at and talked about on any other day. But it's Halloween so it's all good.
Although most card releases you find in your local hobby shop and at the neighborhood box retailer are geared at families (even though it's probably adults who are buying them), there's a pair of manufacturers who aim to please horror fans. And they hold back no punches in doing so.
Monsterwax has been around for almost two decades and has always specialized in genre sets. Recently they released the
Shock Stories/Urban Legends dual set (two separate sets in one package), which focuses on popular tales that have been told and distorted over and over again. The all-art set harkens back to the golden age of horror comics, offering depictions that are often grotesque and sure to outrage teachers if they were bargained about at the back of the classroom.
Each of the two base sets has 50 cards for 100 total. There's also a variety of inserts including 51
Shock Stories 3D parallels, sketch cards, printing plates and special prize cards that can be redeemed for such prizes as original art.
Here's a link to a full article from Non-Sport Update Magazine on the set.
Previous Monsterwax releases have focused on classic horror movies and TV shows,
The Night Stalker, old science fiction novels that are being turned into mostly crumby summer Hollywood blockbusters and even a
hyper-patriotic set released in the wake of 9/11 that delved into some of recent history's atrocities. The company's next set is another dual one, this time focusing sci-fi novels
The Journey to the Center of the Earth and
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The set is scheduled to arrive sometime in the spring.
Terror Cards XL has focused primarily on individual card releases that center on autographs from both classic horror icons and faces familiar to those who follow the current indie horror scene. Past and current offerings include reasonably priced signatures from Kane Hodder (Jason from the
Friday the 13th series), Ben Chapman, Joe Bob Briggs, Gunnar "Leatherface" Hansen and Debbie Rochon.
The company ventured into sets and packs with the aptly titled
Terror Cards. The 50-card set focuses on more than a dozen indie feautres and includes autographs. You can order all available Terror Cards XL items directly from their website via Paypal.
