Just yesterday, I was looking for various things and saw some "Deadwood" playing cards. Maybe that's what he means. I don't think I've ever seen any other cards. A friend got me watching that show back during its original run - good show.

No, I asked about that. These were trading cards.

If it was one of those cast & crew goodies, that is usually a tough find and sellers tend to value them highly. I remember seeing someone offering a set of cast & crew cards for "Poolhall Junkies" years ago but he wanted at least $100. I don't know if it sold but I haven't seen one since.

Tommy C suggested that this card should be added to this thread though it has its own elsewhere. It's certainly rare with only two known based on what has been said on this board. It's a "promotional sample" for the Marvel Masterpieces 1995 set.

Its rarity might be due to it being an in-house prototype (reviewed by a few editors/managers) or maybe it was distributed in some very limited way (passed out at some small show or just to certain people at a large show) or perhaps it wasn't released at all for some reason with a few copies kept by employees.

LOOOOOVE that one Jess, thanks for the pic...

I finally tracked down artist Dave Johnson today, the fellow who did the BSI Comics card in 1992. He remembers it. He said he'd try to find one for me.

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
This one is for the longtime collectors who've seen the listing in PCE2008 and have looked for it for years without even knowing what it looked like. They wondered if it actually existed. It's the BSI Comics promo.

No, it's not mine. I was just sent the images of the front and back by a friend who received the images somehow. Todd has it as "source n.k." but we might guess that it was either given out at the stores or a local show. Maybe the artist(s) did a signing there.

David, please ask him how the card was distributed. Maybe he knows how many were printed. If you can get more than one, please keep me in mind.

I was asked to show this Vampirella promo which promoted the short-lived, anime offshoot comic, "Vampi."

Here's a promo for "The Brian Lumley Collection" (Trading Places/BGraphic, 1994), which was planned to include not just one but two trading card sets with art by George Underwood. The promo features cover art from Lumley's horror novel, "Vampire World 2: The Last Aerie." I couldn't find any mention of a set elsewhere on the web so this card might be all that remains of the project.

Someone once said that only 250 of these cards were made. PCE2008 lists the source as unknown.

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

Here's an elusive Grendel 4-card set (Matt Wagner, 1992) that I posted in the "Unlisted Promo Pictures" thread but it is actually listed in PCE2008. That's what I get for not double-checking.

Anyway, maybe 10 years ago, I saw an unopened pack (clear plastic one like a heat-sealed pack) of these cards offered with a pin on Ebay. I tried to contact the seller to ask where cards came from but he didn't reply. Only the front of the pack was shown. He wanted around $40 for the group and I thought I would keep an eye on it but it was gone some time after that (didn't appear to have sold). I tried to find another pack or at least some info on it but my search dead-ended.

Jump to early this year when I was able to make a deal for one. It's always great to bag a card/set that you missed years before. It turns out the card backs form a complete image as seen on the right.

I'm not positive the cards came with the pin. They might have been separate promo items. It was a time not long after Matt Wagner, creator of Grendel, joined Dark Horse Comics.

Here are fronts and backs of "The Wanderers: El Hazard" 8-card promo set (Pioneer, Inc., 1997). I posted about it in another thread a few years ago but now I have a complete set. The cards promote the VHS release of the English language version of the Japanese anime TV show, "El-Hazard" (1995-1996), and they were inserted one per specially-stickered VHS tape. For some reason, the English version has "The Wanderers" added to the front of the original title with more episodes and fewer major characters.

All 8 cards have foil-enhanced fronts and foil-enhanced backs with the backs being puzzle pieces forming a complete image. The foil effect looks great in person. Each measures 2 1/2 x 4 inches and have unusual numbering as well: "Bugrom Type I" through "Bugrom Type VII" plus one unnumbered card.

Years ago, I bought a lot of various VHS-inserted cards and 6 of the 8 of these "Wanderers" cards were mixed in. I thought it would easy to finish off the set but the "Bugrom Type IV and unnumbered card proved to be elusive. I'd see the IV card, but on the rare occasion that I did, it was expensive by itself (over $20) or it was part of an unbreakable lot. Until recently, I'd never even seen the unnumbered card ("Diva"). I'd assumed it was numbered "Bugrom Type VIII" to follow the others.

The cards were not always well-cut as they don't fit together to form a clean image - a little off-set at some edges - but I'm glad to have it.

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

A promo version of card #1, the "authenticity card," from the 25-card "All-Star Toon Ups Baseball" set (Toon Ups, 1991), which spoofs baseball cards with cartoon artwork and funny player/character names. There is a promo version of each the cards with some appearing to be rarer than others but this one is so rare that it hasn't been seen for sale publicly for over 25 years.

There is also an "All-Star Toon Ups Football" set. Apparently, no one has the promo version of card #1 of that set but it is presumed to exist.

Thanks for posting.

I believe that Card Talk member kyfhomp said below that he has the missing Football one that nobody has seen, including David R and Promoking

quote:

kyfhomp

I used to correspond quite frequently with kyfhomp over the decades, but I haven't heard from him since the beginning of the pandemic despite numerous contact attempts. Since he was already in his 80s, I'm concerned that we may have lost him to Covid. I hope I'm wrong.

Clicking on that first link leads to a bunch of unrelated pop-ups and no images. You should delete those links.

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
Here are 2 prototypes for the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan set by Topps. These are pretty tough to find, also.

The fronts
http://img227.exs.cx/img227/1913/PROMOSA.jpg

and backs

http://img227.exs.cx/img227/1751/PROMOSB.jpg

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
Clicking on that first link leads to a bunch of unrelated pop-ups and no images. You should delete those links.

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
Here are 2 prototypes for the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan set by Topps. These are pretty tough to find, also.

The fronts
http://img227.exs.cx/img227/1913/PROMOSA.jpg

and backs

http://img227.exs.cx/img227/1751/PROMOSB.jpg

I bet most 20 year old links are dead.

One showed up on ebay today and sold for about $30.00. I never saw this card before.

The seller listed it as a box topper card.

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
Here's another card rarely seen because of its limited distribution. It's the promo (Amada Printing MFG, CO., LTD, 1999) for the "Gamera 3: The Guardian of the Universe: Incomplete Struggle" trading card set. "Gamera 3" was a movie that came out in 1999.

This one, marked as a "Promotion Card," was sent to comic shops but apparently not to most in the U.S. and maybe only those that were ordering various collectibles from Japan. I've seen it for sale only 3-4 times. I bought one at a local shop for $3 when it was new, but in the past 10 years or so, it has gone for $35-100.

That's funny. Today, I heard from a friend who was thinking about buying that.

Yeah, the listing said it was a box topper but from what box?