So lately, I've been ranting here and there in this forum about certain recent set releases. My "review" of the Indiana Jones Heritage release generated a bit of email feedback I wasn't expecting. That gave me an idea. As long as I was posting a "box breakdown", I might as well give the "praise" or the "slap-down" to the sets that I felt were or were not worth my hard-earned cash.


Women of Marvel - Rittenhouse Archives

First Pack Impression:
Now THIS is what a box of cards should be like. Creative. Fresh. Inventive. Different.
After opening the first pack, I knew this was money well spent.

Base set:
The base set for this release is fantastic! The choice to use a matte finish really brings out the details in the illustrations. It makes the images "pop". The shadows, highlights and colors are perfect. I would almost guess that RA used a different kind of printing process for these cards. They almost seem like HD cards! (Hard to explain. You just gotta see 'em.) There was one full set in my box, with a nice selection of doubles to trade or give away.

I have to admit, I keep thumbing through the cards just checking out the great artistry. I don't think I've seen detail like this on comic / illustrated cards before. Exceptional!


Chase:
Swimsuit Edition - (x4)
Very clever. RA could have just went with a simple glossy watermark on the front of these cards. That would have been cool. But they went beyond that. It looks like the front of the card has raised drops of water on it. As if you had the card as you were walking by the pool and someone splashed you. The illustrations are excellent, and the "water drop effect" doesn't get in the way of the image at all. It just works perfectly.

Embossed Set - (x2)
Not only are these chase cards embossed, but they are printed on a VERY high gloss card-stock. It's a great contrast to the flat matte of the base set. The embossing doesn't take away any sharpness from the illustration, but actually brings out more detail.

Embrace Set - (x1)
The use of holofoil was a good change-up from the matte and gloss. The holofoil actually enhances the look of the characters (the chrome on Colossus worked well with the foil on my card). Hopefully it works well with the other eight cards in that set.



Premium Card(s): (x1)
One color sketch per box. As it should be. I pulled a great She-Hulk sketch by Eddie Vieira.




Wonderful sketch. The stats on the RA website state he did 200 cards. Pulling a card like this just makes other card companies (and you KNOW who I'm talking about) look really really bad.


Overall:
Perfect release. It's OBVIOUS they truly care not only about the license, but the artists, the product quality, the "box value", and the collectors as well. I'm very glad I ordered a full case of Iron Man cards (whew!). Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to call my dealer and change my pre-order for Batman Archives from 3 boxes to a full case.

Thanks for the review! I can't wait to get home today and get my cards. And like you i have a case of Iron Man on order and I'll be adding at least 1 or 2 cases of Batman to my collection.

Though I'd share scans of my sketches. I recieved 1 box with 2 for a total of 25 sketches in 2 cases. All other chase was inserted exactly as stated.

Nice sketch cards - Love the Katie Cook.

Today is the day!!! I ordered three cases (my biggest case purchase ever dollar wise). Overall, I am very happy with the sketches I pulled. My only minor gripe was that I didn't pull as many different artists as I hoped. Then again, I did get three Andy Price-less cards!!!

Case #1





Case #2




Case #3




Good luck to everyone!

Craig

Very cool cards, but didn't you get a Martineck 3 case incentive with your 3 cases?

My dealer mailed it out today. I can't wait to see what it is.

quote:

Originally posted by Glass Satellites:
Very cool cards, but didn't you get a Martineck 3 case incentive with your 3 cases?

I got a good part of my order today. Great cards!

Ive only opened 1 box so far;
I got 4 of the swimsuit cards
2 of the embossed, including the #10 "redemption" card
1 of the embraces cards
and a sketch card by spears of Elektra

Got one box today- 6362 of 8000.

One base set

31 extras

E1

S12, S13, S14, S15

T1, T2

Jubilee sketch by Ratton

I like it, I think I will do a couple more sketches and possibly a few more boxes/packs- I definitely want Firestar, Phoenix, Rogue, and Jessica Drew Spider-Woman sketches most of all.

Val

Tevans, I love that Katie cook and would love to trade for it. I can send scans.

Paul@stonehillmortgage.com

Got 1 box (#2105/8000):

- 1 base set
- 4 swimsuit cards (S1, S16, S17, S18)
- 2 embossed cards (T1, T2)
- 1 embrace card (E1)
- 1 sketch by Daniel Cooney. I'm not sure of the character, but it looks like Dark Phoenix/Jean Grey...??

opened 4 boxes ;

did pretty good on sets , with extra singles
good breaks on the chase cards

pulled 4 sketches ,
2 Jean Greys , 1 by Tony Perna , the others I'm not sure of ?



Any ideas?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: miket999,

best pull of my case

Very Very Nice sketch Bryan, Congrats!

Great NAR sketch Bryan

Awesome Sketch Bryan

KADRAN00157

Thank you very much everyone. I am really happy I pulled it but sadly it won't be staying with me...however it will give me some funds to add plenty of Black Cat sketches to my collection!

Can anyone help me with the artist and character on this card.



Thanks

New to this How do I get the picture to show on this site?

Scans of sketches we pulled so far. 6 more boxes to open tomorrow night.

Artist: Ricardo Ratton
Character: Wasp



Artist: Mark Spears
Character: Dark Phoenix



Artist: Joe Rubenstein
Character: Hela



Artist: Alex Magno
Character: Storm



Artist: ????
Character: Firebird



Artist: Dan Day
Character: Ms Marvel



Artist: Bruno Auriema
Character: Spider Girl ???



Artist: Cooney
Character: ????



Artist: Uko Smith
Character: ????



Artist: Tess Fowler
Character: Magik



Artist: Katie Cook
Character: Invisible Woman???




Artist: Andy Price
Character: Thor Girl



Artist: Cat Staggs
Character: She Hulk



Any help with the ????'s is greatly appreciated.

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