I was reviewing some of the uncut card sheets I own and came across several different miniature press sheets from the mid-1990s showing all 90 cards from each set in a 5.5x8 inches format. They are all from fantasy releases.

These were manufactured by Comic Images and include Conan; Adventures in Fantasy; William Stout; Richard Corben; from fantasy to reality; Sachs & Violens etc... I would guess there are others. I'm sure they are promotional.

Does anyone know how these were distributed and how scarce they are? I haven't seen many for sale and was wondering about their history.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: promoking,

I have several of these. I got most of them in Comic Images boxes, they were included as box loaders. They were random, if you got a box of William Stout, you could get a Gil Elvgren Press sheet. Don't know what the odds were, but they were hard to find. Comic Images also used to insert promos in packs for other sets.

I found 3 in my stash. I thought I might have 1 or 2 more.
I have
Sachs and Violens
Adventures In Fantasy by Michael Whelan
Gil Elvgrens Calendar PinUps
In case there are collectors who have not seen these, they are 5 x 8 cards with an uncut sheet of all 90 cards, both front and back.

There are a bunch on ebay now, if you search by Comic Images Mini.

Most of them are the ones which Promoking and Don have listed, but there are some others.

Thank you, Don and Tommy,
So, if I understand correctly, not every box of product had these toppers in them. I wonder what the insertion rate was. I suppose we'll never know.

No idea on odds. There was nothing ever put on the box like "Watch for Mini Press Sheets" or anything, you'd just open it up and it was there.
Back then Comic Images was prolific, putting out one or two sets per month. I used to go to Barrington Square Cards when they had a brick and mortar shop and pick up a box for $35. Would get 3 sets out of box, often.

I also very much miss those days. Going to a mall show in my area and seeing my 2 favorite sellers. Back then I even collected sets and chase cards, well until I completely specialized. But I digress.

I remember back in 1994 buying 3 boxes of Comic Images' Prince Valiant and each one had a facsimile auto in it. Could not have been that rare if I pulled 3.

What year did Comic Images start inserting those sheets? Did they do it every year for years or just for a couple of years? From that company I remember buying William Stout and Olivia boxes and maybe one other. I never got one of those sheets and never saw one for sale locally so they must've been uncommon - maybe one or two per case? If they were more common than that, I would expect you guys to have more of them.

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I never got one of those sheets and never saw one for sale locally so they must've been uncommon - maybe one or two per case? If they were more common than that, I would expect you guys to have more of them.

Exactly! These suckers are scarce, and most collectors aren't even aware of their existence. They're kind of hard to describe when I looked for them, and I've tried many different search words but not that many pop up. I wouldn't say they're rare though. On these, I think condition is super important.

I remember buying one and not realising it was a mini sheet (It wasn't advertised as a mini sheet).

I have one for William Stout 2 (see below). It measures 5 1/4x 7 7/8 inches so the each card on the sheet is only 9/16 x 3/4 inches. It looks like Comic Images randomly inserted these mini sheets of various 1992-1994 sets but not all of them. Also, while looking at what Allender lists, I see notes that these mini sheets were 1 per case. The Norman Rockwell sheet is entered as being found 1 per case of Maxfield Parrish boxes.

Here's a list of ones I've seen.

1992 Sachs & Violens
1993 Conan Collector Cards
1993 Michael Whelan: Adventures in Fantasy
1993 Beyond Bizarre: Jim Warren 1
1993 Norman Rockwell: Saturday Evening Post
1993 Luis Royo: From Fantasy to Reality
1993 William Stout 2
1994 Tim Hildebrandt's Flights of Fantasy