Straight from prison into your collection!

https://shop.leaftradingcards....collections/products

Nice. John Wayne Gacy used to paint clowns, but I guess Joe isn't that talented.

Think I'll pass.

I find this interesting. . . Not sure if I'm a buyer, but it is interesting.

I'm a bit confused though as Leaf touts that this will be the only signing since he is in prison, but this is also an 'on demand' set . . . so did he sign before prison and Leaf won't use any stickers that are left, or is he signing from prison?

Guessing the former, which likely means Joe Exotic autos in Pop Century unless this sells out.

As per another post in another thread here...

...never heard of him.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I find this interesting. . . Not sure if I'm a buyer, but it is interesting.

I'm a bit confused though as Leaf touts that this will be the only signing since he is in prison, but this is also an 'on demand' set . . . so did he sign before prison and Leaf won't use any stickers that are left, or is he signing from prison?

Guessing the former, which likely means Joe Exotic autos in Pop Century unless this sells out.

I don't believe he signed for pop century. Pretty sure this is the first time I have seen him on anything "official"

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Nice. John Wayne Gacy used to paint clowns, but I guess Joe isn't that talented. Big Grin

Think I'll pass.

Hahaha! I don't know a Gacy autograph might be worth something.

I'm going to pick one up just to go with my Carol Baskin autograph card. Now I can have two cards to blame all of my problems on.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Nice. John Wayne Gacy used to paint clowns, but I guess Joe isn't that talented. Big Grin

Think I'll pass.

Hahaha! I don't know a Gacy autograph might be worth something.

I'm going to pick one up just to go with my Carol Baskin autograph card. Now I can have two cards to blame all of my problems on.

This has nothing to do with Joe Exotic signatures, because Gacy was a serial killer and I don't know what Joe even did, but I saw three of Gacy's Clown paintings, I'm gussing it must have been '90 or '91. A hobby dealer I knew had a connection with someone who was working with him in prison and he was painting these damn clowns to raise money for his appeals. Apparently he liked clowns and even dressed up as one occasionally.

So this dealer who I knew for a long time says people are buying them up and asks me if I want to buy my choice. I think he wanted a couple hundred at the time.

Well I was polite and I looked at them. And then I ran like hell. Maybe it was because I already knew the source, but they were the creepiest paintings I ever saw. I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.

And yes, there is a market for John Wayne Gacy Clowns, then and now, and I probably could have made good money if I bought and sold one. Not on my life.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I find this interesting. . . Not sure if I'm a buyer, but it is interesting.

I'm a bit confused though as Leaf touts that this will be the only signing since he is in prison, but this is also an 'on demand' set . . . so did he sign before prison and Leaf won't use any stickers that are left, or is he signing from prison?

Guessing the former, which likely means Joe Exotic autos in Pop Century unless this sells out.

I don't believe he signed for pop century. Pretty sure this is the first time I have seen him on anything "official"

Sorry, I was unclear.

Either these were signed before Joe went to prison, or while he was in prison. Leaf's statement "JOE IS IN PRISON FOR THE NEXT DECADE (AT A MINIMUM) AND SIGNINGS WILL BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!!" makes it seem like these may have been signed before he went to prison, so my guess is that whatever signatures are left after this Pro Set release will show up in Pop Century.

What I thought was more interesting was that Leaf has acquired the rights to use the Pro Set trademark. It's kind of weird unless they think collectors are feeling nostalgic about the brand. Is it more of a draw than calling it Leaf?

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
What I thought was more interesting was that Leaf has acquired the rights to use the Pro Set trademark. It's kind of weird unless they think collectors are feeling nostalgic about the brand. Is it more of a draw than calling it Leaf?

Before acquiring Leaf the company was called Razor. Seems like a business plan of the company to acquire assets from defunct card companies.

With Pro Set I think it could be quite effective on the sports card side -- they can now create new Pro Set rookie cards.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

Sorry, I was unclear.

Either these were signed before Joe went to prison, or while he was in prison. Leaf's statement "JOE IS IN PRISON FOR THE NEXT DECADE (AT A MINIMUM) AND SIGNINGS WILL BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!!" makes it seem like these may have been signed before he went to prison, so my guess is that whatever signatures are left after this Pro Set release will show up in Pop Century.

Possibly, personally I don't see what would be so difficult about him signing in prison. I think the write up is more sales pitch than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Possibly, personally I don't see what would be so difficult about him signing in prison. I think the write up is more sales pitch than anything else.

I have no idea if it is difficult to get signatures from people in prison. . .

If it isn't difficult it seems that they might be interested in signing for a change of pace. There are some celebs in prison who, despite their crimes, would still be collected by autograph collectors.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Possibly, personally I don't see what would be so difficult about him signing in prison. I think the write up is more sales pitch than anything else.

I just got an email from Leaf with the same card offer and wording. Yeah, I would think he could sign a lot of things in jail, but what he could legally sell might be a different matter. There are laws that say you can't profit from a crime, so maybe when he's out, but he probably can't run a business from the inside. So Leaf must have worked out the money contract to make it OK, since they are advertising and taking orders.

Sometimes an autograph comes along that I would never possibly even want in my house.

Collectors in autograph groups I'm in receive autographs from Joe Exotic from prison daily. He seems to be a very willing signer from jail, and with each signature he sends a plea to beg lawmakers to let him free.

I can totally see Leaf cutting some bizarre deal with him for a bunch of signatures. Not sure how the legality of going through the prison system works, but if anybody can write to him I'm sure a card company can get him to sign sheets of stickers. He's got plenty of time on his hands.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:
Collectors in autograph groups I'm in receive autographs from Joe Exotic from prison daily. He seems to be a very willing signer from jail, and with each signature he sends a plea to beg lawmakers to let him free.

I can totally see Leaf cutting some bizarre deal with him for a bunch of signatures. Not sure how the legality of going through the prison system works, but if anybody can write to him I'm sure a card company can get him to sign sheets of stickers. He's got plenty of time on his hands.

Right, like I said I'm not seeing anything difficult here. Depending on the specific rules of where he is I am sure some inquiries needed to be made. I don't see this deal as big enough for Leaf to engage any sort of major legal action in attempts to circumvent or manipulate the system.

The idea that this is profiting from the crime he is in prison for is weak at best. The card doesn't mention the crime or that he is even in prison. The crime didn't make him notorious the show did. Had he not actually tried to carry out the act his status in popular culture would still basically be the same. The crime has nothing to do with a manufacturer wanting his likeness and signature on a licensed trading card. Had the story and imprisonment of the Tiger King been reduced to a blip on the evening news no one would even care.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Had he not actually tried to carry out the act his status in popular culture would still basically be the same.

And just what is his status in pop culture I wonder?

It's pretty telling that mass viewers flock to these "scripted" reality shows and documentaries to watch people that they not only would never encounter in real life, but wouldn't want anything to do with if they did. If pop culture means waiting for the train wreak, then there's always going to be a new hit show with a new "cast" of people to watch from afar like "The Truman Show". Until these real people actually do something that's not so funny of course.

I never watched Tiger King. This whole little community of wild animal lovers with private compounds for exotic creatures isn't for me. Forget about what they do to each other and consider what they do to the animals that they make money on. The Tiger King Zoo was closed down last year, not sure what happened to all his big cats.

Anyway that's neither here nor there. If anyone wants an autograph from someone they wouldn't want to sit next to, that's fine. But if Joe is signing all over the place for free, why would anyone pay $50?

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Anyway that's neither here nor there. If anyone wants an autograph from someone they wouldn't want to sit next to, that's fine. But if Joe is signing all over the place for free, why would anyone pay $50?

Why? Probably because it just happens to be one of the foundations the whole licensed autograph card hobby is based on.

Personally, I could care less what someone's moral compass is on collecting certain autographs. If following some code were the case I have autographs now that were ok when I got them but maybe not so much today. There are history and crime collectors who have signatures from some of the worst people imaginable in their possession. In the end it is the collectors money and collection. How it is put together is up to the individual. I'm pretty sure collecting a signature isn't turning people into mass murderers, rapists, pedophiles or tiger abusers.

If I felt my actions were somehow funding such behavior then I would think differently. Joe is done, he will never own another zoo again and if he did you can bet it would be watched very closely. Unfortunately, the opposing Tiger loving messiah types are generally victims of too many Disney movies and are clueless about the real biology and science to adequately care for them. Pretty much creates the perfect storm for a cheap to produce Netflix spectacle. Honestly, until I saw the show I didn't even know such things existed anymore. Other than a few gator farms I thought the backyard zoo thing had been banned years ago.

As you say Tiger King and Joe Exotic are a train wreck which is his most defining feature in pop culture status. Probably isn't my first nor will be my last autograph with such a shallow connection. Which reminds me I still don't have a Kardashian card.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
As you say Tiger King and Joe Exotic are a train wreck which is his most defining feature in pop culture status. Probably isn't my first nor will be my last autograph with such a shallow connection. Which reminds me I still don't have a Kardashian card.

Now that's Pop Culture at its finest and a wildly successful bit of shallow celebrity, not a train wreck at all. I have a Khloe autograph and a Kourtney autograph from Pop Century, but I pulled the cards from packs, so I don't feel as though I made any contribution to the Kardashians.

Which is good, because I've always leaned to the counter culture side myself.

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

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
As you say Tiger King and Joe Exotic are a train wreck which is his most defining feature in pop culture status. Probably isn't my first nor will be my last autograph with such a shallow connection. Which reminds me I still don't have a Kardashian card.

Now that's Pop Culture at its finest and a wildly successful bit of shallow celebrity, not a train wreck at all. I have a Khloe autograph and a Kourtney autograph from Pop Century, but I pulled the cards from packs, so I don't feel as though I made any contribution to the Kardashians.

Which is good, because I've always leaned to the counter culture side myself.

Hahaha! I guess the big (possibly better) distinction is most people watching a train wreck have little interest in emulating it.