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Originally Posted by CompEng1
Well, they've apparently done it again! Revisited the same insanity of the 90's trading card boom with a special kicker this time around.
I was initially very excited to see the artwork on the most recent trading card sets out there. The artist sketch cards really add something special to those sets and it's great to see so many different artists contributing. The problem is the inevitable euphoric let down that has now set in with the realization that I can never complete a card set.
The death of the 90's card craze was the ever increasing insert set problem, and near the end of it all 6 or more insert sets that you'd have a challenge completing, were not uncommon. Now, you have sketch cards that come 1 per box and you'll never get them all because they are literally one-offs. A great idea in theory but the point of collecting great card sets is actually being able to GET all the cards in the set!
WTH are the card companies thinking? On ebay you can find cases of unopened boxes of cards for sale on the cheap because they've been strip mined for their sketch cards, which are rapidly flipped for prohibitive prices. I loved seeing Perna's sketches until it dawned on me I may never get one, and even if I did that would likely be the only one I'd see. I will have zero chance of getting them all and completing the set. For collectors this is a Greek tragedy! Not to mention that you have to buy an entire box of cards just to get one sketch. Would it be too much to ask that they make reprints of the original sketch cards and randomly insert them in the packs so we loyal collectors might as least get the cards with the artwork we enjoy so much? Even if they aren't the signed, original version?
So here we go again with trading card insanity. At least in the 90's you could, with work, actually complete some of the monstrous sets. Now, I'm just left feeling let down and irritated, the trading card equivalent of the good ole sugar crash.
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Personally, I have never understood the whole sketch card craze. Don't get me wrong, I love original artwork, but the size is just way too small for me. I need at least 8x10 when it comes to original artwork.
I understand perfectly what your saying tho. I myself have always been a completionist collector and that just isn't possible anymore and not just in regards to cards. Its the same thing for comics as well. If you want a complete run of comics, with all of the 1:10, 1:25, 1:50, 1:100, virgin covers, B&W covers, sketch covers, etc....well, your talking about a crapload of money. 1:100 variants usually sell for $100-$200, so to get all of the variants for a particular issue, your talking at least $300 to $400+, possibly a lot more depending on just how many variants are produced. The new Star Wars has over 100 variants for issue #1. Have fun trying to get all of those, lol. Your talking thousands of dollars, for a single issue.
In my opinion, its all headed for another big crash. Modern comics, modern cards, etc. These companies have become so preoccupied with rarity and variants that they have lost site on the big picture.