Bit of fun, tongue-in-cheek poll about which is the most popular chase card type?

If I've missed out anything let me know in the comments (Will add/ edit if I can).

Question:
In your opinion, what's the best type of chase card?

Choices:
Autograph
Costume
Sketch
Animation Cell
Lenticular
Hologram
Foil
Promo
Sticker
Other
Gum

 

Great poll, I think it would be interesting to see 2 polls -- one with what is the best hit -- and another with the best non-hit chase.

For hits I like autographs.

For non-hits I like lenticular.

Best would be autograph cards because you have value in the card as it relates to the title and its production run, but you also have the added value of the certified signature itself. It has a two fold effect of pulling in card collectors for the product, along with pulling in other buyers who are there for the celebrity's autograph and may have no interest in the card product.

I do think that sketches of higher quality are exciting and often more personal to pull. The problem is that most sketch cards in products that offer guaranteed sketches tend to be unexceptional at best and the beauties that do appear with high ratios in some sets are just too rare. I would love to pull a GoT sketch for example, but have no expectation of it.

Separate categories that you could have added is prop cards (real), patches/pins (real) and manufactured pins/patches/relics. I do appreciate prop cards, although wood chips are boring. Breygent made some outstanding ones, including pieces of screen worn jewelry. I like patch/pin cards if genuine. I hate any manufactured relic and see no value in those coins and medallions, but they aren't bad looking cards and some people do like to chase them.

I like sketch cards. Always preferred comic sets over TV/Movie sets so it is natural for me to lean towards sketches. You really have to appreciate the talent some of these artists have and what they can do on a 2.5" x 3.5" card.

I like autographs. I thought it was great when I pulled a Richard Kiel autograph in the Topps 75th box I bought. He played Jaws, a villain with a sense of humor and honor in two Bond movies, and the role was well-played.

However, I have to agree that a great sketch is just a little better than an autograph other than maybe something like pulling a Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam West, or Leonard Nimoy. I was just looking at some sketches of a well-known comic character up for auction last night. Some of them were just too cartoonish for my taste especially for the character. A few of them were thoughtful and well-executed - true works of art.

quote:

Originally posted by ifish73:
I like sketch cards. Always preferred comic sets over TV/Movie sets so it is natural for me to lean towards sketches. You really have to appreciate the talent some of these artists have and what they can do on a 2.5" x 3.5" card.

Autographs will always be 'the one' for me. A real person touch and just a great way to acquire merch from favorite actors / artists (and other people).

I think it's because there's often fewer autograph variations to collect than costumes. But costumes aren't usually as rare or low quantity as some autographs are.

As for sketches whilst I appreciate some amazing artwork, I've never really taken to them. Even as a comic book / graphic novel fan.

I think the 'quality' of sketches in professionally manufactured set can be down right shocking. The very few sketches I've pulled I've honestly thought 'I could do better'. Won't name sets or artists.

Do artists get paid for creating those cards? Or is it a 'free promotion for your artwork' kind of deal?

If it's the latter that would explain the shoddy examples of some sketch cards - with the name taken way too literally by some artists.

But if they're paid for it then the manufacturers were robbed blind. How they could accept those poor excuses for a sketch card for inclusion in their sets in quite unbelievable.

Then of course I'd be out priced by the quality, stunning sketch cards anyway. But realm of sketch card creation they're quite a law unto themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I like autographs. I thought it was great when I pulled a Richard Kiel autograph in the Topps 75th box I bought.

That's a nice pull!

quote:

Originally posted by TC00:
Do artists get paid for creating those cards? Or is it a 'free promotion for your artwork' kind of deal?

If it's the latter that would explain the shoddy examples of some sketch cards - with the name taken way too literally by some artists.

But if they're paid for it then the manufacturers were robbed blind. How they could accept those poor excuses for a sketch card for inclusion in their sets in quite unbelievable.

I believe that an artist should own his/her work and if they are submitting a sketch under their name they deserve both the credit and the blame. However the quality of artwork that is accepted and ultimately seeded into packs is the responsibility of the manufacturer, who is always going to have the final say regarding quality standards.

All artists are paid for their approved sketches. They also may be entitled to artist returns that they can sell themselves. I am sure well known artists have their own contracts and get acceptable money, but the majority of artists doing work for sets are paid minimal money, and I mean a couple of bucks a sketch minimal, sometimes less than that. They also may agree to a higher number of sketches than possible to adequately complete in time just to make it a worth while job.

So if I were an artist I would not want to turn in sub-par artwork and hurt my reputation, but the manufacturer is the one who sets the payment and approves or rejects the submitted work. I have all those melty faces, monkey heads and half erased orcs because someone thought they were good enough to be a premium hit in their product and my lucky box.

I voted for autos. I've always thought they were the coolest type of card and something a bit more personal from celebrities who are hopefully proud to be associated with the tv shows/movies we enjoy.

Don't know why I am so fascinated with people's autographs in general, the fact that they are all unique certainly adds interest to each card and it's nice to know these collectibles almost certainly bear authentic signatures that are otherwise hard to get.

And I think, for the most part, autograph cards are very cheap for what you get. £5-£15 for the vast majority of actors is nothing for a well designed and authentic collectible. You'd almost always be paying more should that celebrity attend a convention, and that's before you add in travel costs etc.

That said, TC00, I think you've done all 'regular' chase cards a bit of disservice lumping them in with autos and sketches, as I for one don't consider those chase cards in the traditional sense, but rather 'premium hits'.

My favourite chase cards that I can think of are the Inkworks Women of Bond "F/X-TCH" silver foil etched cards. Chase cards are meant to look 'special' to me and those sure looked good to pull out of the pack.

quote:

Originally posted by X:
That said, TC00, I think you've done all 'regular' chase cards a bit of disservice lumping them in with autos and sketches, as I for one don't consider those chase cards in the traditional sense, but rather 'premium hits'.

You've summed up very well the lure of autograph cards for a majority of collectors in your longer post.

Yes, for some the different cost of an autograph card versus a convention appearance can be stunning. Entry fees, travel, signature (sometimes only on purchased photograph prints not personal items), often not including a photograph with the signer, can easily hit triple figures. And that's PER autograph signature.

Yes, for me growing up the 3 levels in my mind were: Promo, Base or Chase. Then either 'low end' chase or 'high end' chase which you referred to as a 'Premium hit'. Honeslty I only became familiar with the term 'Hit' in relation to what I called a 'High end' chase card when I started collecting sports cards.

But for my younger self the 3 basic levels were easy enough to discern and my brain never 'updated' the terminology. Thanks for the feedback.