quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
I think my perspective is different -- not card collectors should want cards because card collectors collect cards, but fans of a show/movie/theme/whatever should want to buy cards of that topic because they love the topic -- if you can't sell to those fans then there is a product problem.

The base set, really should be the gateway for fans to get introduced to card collecting. . .

I'm enjoying this exchange of ideas, hope its not boring the hell out of everyone else.

I think your comment about base sets being gateways to card collecting is a great point. They should be in theory. Does it work in practice? Ahh, maybe yes, maybe no.

I still go back to having that collector mentality. I think its real and that certain people are more predisposed to collect things for the sake of collecting things than others. Its just a matter of what you choose as your hobby interests. I know I have always collected a couple of things at once and when I stopped something, I always managed to become involved with something else. I'm not saying that's smart, but its not unusual among hobbyists to have more than one hobby.

Getting back to that gateway point, remember Inkworks' Twilight cards. The movie was coming out and the cards were on pre-sale when it was announced that no autographs were going to be in it. The card collectors were dissatisfied and orders were cancelled and cut back. Production was cut and the cards were released with only costumes as hits. The movie was a smash and all those Twilight fans wanted the cards. Anyone who had them sold for what was big bucks at the time and not a lot of people had them. Inkworks itself probably lost money on a hit product, so how ironic is that?

Now how many of those Twilight fans who bought those cards, and may even still have those cards, became card collectors? No way to know, but my guess is not many. They were interested in the topic and the cards tied in. The series didn't continue in cards in any significant way, so those people have no interest in other cards.

Star Wars and Star Trek are different because the franchises are continuing as card products. If you are a fan of those subjects, you could be a card collector for life on those titles alone.

So my perspective would be, a card subject can draw in new people as long as the subject exists and remains fresh to them. However it won't make them card collectors unless there is that inherit feeling of really wanting to be part of the hobby.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
So my perspective would be, a card subject can draw in new people as long as the subject exists and remains fresh to them. However it won't make them card collectors unless there is that inherit feeling of really wanting to be part of the hobby.

Isn't that true for everyone -- even existing collectors. . . If the topics/content/value no longer remain interesting then people leave the hobby. That's kind of the point I was making -- if fans of a given topic don't find the cards interesting enough to buy them there is a problem.

I don't think anyone started collecting cards of any sort out of an inherent desire to have random chunks of cardboard with pictures on them -- they found the cards interesting for some reason. They kept collecting cards because they found more and more interesting cards.

Anecdotally I was in Dave Moulder's booth at Megacon for a while last weekend (got some great deals, thanks Dave!) and I was surprised at the number of people who came into his booth looking for and looking at base sets. These folks all already seemed to be aware of cards, so it wasn't like he was trying to explain/sell cards to a new audience. . . but it was interesting, and good to see.

Meanwhile, back on topic...is there a release date yet?

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
Meanwhile, back on topic...is there a release date yet?

Nope.

They've missed the 2Q, 2018 target.

George said at the Philly Show that this one has been in "approval hell" for some time. They want to get it out the door probably more than we want it released.

Ed

I can see this being the one and only release

Sample costumes and props now up.

Case breakdown based on Cryptozoic figures:

Packs 288
Cards 1440

Expected in case

Autographs 12
Character 96
Locations 96
Cat Quotes 16
Supergirl Key Art 16
Artifacts 96
STR PWR Red 2
STR PWR Gold 1
Costume/Prop 12
Dual Wardrobe 2
Base sets 15

This doesn't take into account any parallel sets that may be included.

They've also uploaded the checklist PDF (which includes some more card images), so this is probably getting a release date imminently.

It is however missing the autograph list.

I was really hoping a Melissa Benoist auto was the reason for the delay. I've now seen dealers quoting October 1st as the release date.

They're probably slightly guessing at October 1st, as that's a Monday, and release dates are typically Wednesdays, but they've probably been given that as the provisional date they'll receive their orders.

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
I was really hoping a Melissa Benoist auto was the reason for the delay.

Take it for what it's worth but... on another forum someone said they spoke to a Cryptozoic representative at the National Sports Collectors Convention and was told that they were waiting for Melissa Benoist to return her signed cards. And her autograph won't be as limited as Amell (Arrow) or Gustin (Flash). Who knows if that's accurate though.

That could be the reason that the published checklist is missing the autograph list so far.

Official release date: September 14

No official word on final autograph list.

Ed

Release date now confirmed publicly on the Crypto site, and no additions to the autograph list, so I think that's it.

Good, so I'll be on the hunt for the Eve Torres' auto card in a week

Perhaps there was some validity to the story of Cryptozoic waiting on Melissa to return her signed cards, since it took them so long to finalize the autograph list. In fact there are still no autographs listed on the pdf checklist on their site. But maybe they just couldn't wait any longer.

quote:

Originally posted by Logan:
Perhaps there was some validity to the story of Cryptozoic waiting on Melissa to return her signed cards, since it took them so long to finalize the autograph list. In fact there are still no autographs listed on the pdf checklist on their site. But maybe they just couldn't wait any longer.

Agreed, it definitely seems likely they were genuinely waiting for something that didn't come, because the autograph list hasn't changed since Christmas. That's a very long time to sit on a set if you thought it was complete.

I'd have preferred a Calista Flockhart auto.
Unlikely, I know but we can live in hope.

Someone on Blowout posted that they pulled a Melissa autograph out of their case -- photo posted as well.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Someone on Blowout posted that they pulled a Melissa autograph out of their case -- photo posted as well.

I saw three different posted on Twitter today in a tweet that was not there long after.