I am curious to see what people think of certain sets with limited discussion/buzz. They can be new or old. List and discuss as many as you like. I don't have any real topics in mind. I offer that below simply because I was sitting here looking at them...


1996 - Universal Monsters of the Silver Screen by Kitchen Sink

http://nslists.com/unimon1.htm

I thought the cards were nice. The 6 promos were accessible. The chase cards weren't terribly prohibitive to collect. The dealer sheets were decent. I liked everything about the set...though the redemption set is an uncut sheet and I've never been big on those simply due to the display/storage issues associated with them. I don't remember what box or case prices were like. Anyone familiar with them? What do you think?

I'm sorry it didn't result in a series II and always wondered what happened.

What about some of yours?

I loved that set. It was beautifully made and very reasonably priced, about $40 or so for a 36 pack carton. The stickers, one per pack, were also very well made, vintage lobby card reproductions, as I recall.

The packaging was sharp and even that redemption card (1 in 432 packs) works well on its own as it's a lovely "Bride of Frankenstein" image. I think you would redeem it by phone(!) in those days.
I didn't get one in time to redeem it, but I got a few for my sets a few years later for a very low price.

As for a 2nd set, I don't think the first one sold very well, and in conjunction with the poor selling set they did for the second (and very lousy) "Crow" movie, that pretty much ended trading cards for Kitchen Sink, the manufacturers of them. They were a fine comic company that itself, sadly, would be gone only a few years later.

Kitchen Sink did do a lot of nice card sets not issued in packs but rather as complete sets prior to the Univeral Monsters and the ill-fated "Crow Part 2" series, and many of those remain affordable and worth seeking out.

Loved this set, as these were the movies I grew up watching on Saturday nights. Classic tales, legendary actors. The card set was very well done, reasonably priced, and not too difficult to put together. I never pursued and got the ultra chase card, but the rest of them were not a problem to find.

Another set (actually two sets) of cards that I really like are the Norman Rockwell sets produced by Comic Images. His artwork is part of the American culture, and his technique with the human form and facial expressions is unparalleled. Both sets were filled with miniature versions of his artwork, and the chase cards are well done. I think the set may have been overproduced, given that they came out in the 90's, making finding them pretty easy. The chase cards are well done, but I never really understood the "Nostalgic Notes" cards. Almost seemed as if someone was reaching to make a three-card subset. Otherwise, two great sets all around.

I always liked Comic Images. They made some nice art sets that could be mini-references for students. While we might expect a set devoted to William Stout, Vallejo, or Olivia, Dali and Parrish sets would not seem like big-sellers. Back then, it took me a while to assemble the Stout Series 1 6-card chase set from pack-pulls and show purchases.

If you were a member of their collector's club and attended a show where they had a booth and you showed your club card, you would receive at least one gift (a 3-card panel or similarly-limited item). They even honored the card two years after the club program was discontinued. I was a witness to that at a San Diego Comic-Con when someone asked about the club. I still had the card in my wallet so they gave me something too.