I used to like buying the cards as a kid when they had original art done just for those cards. Now it seems like clip art from comics I already own, or the artists are much more bland. Plus the physical cards themselves are getting ridiculously expensive for whatever those new thicker cards are.
Sentinels are back up on Pulse!
Sentinels are back up on Pulse!
https://www.hasbropulse.com/product/marvel-legends-series-marvels-sentinels/F91015L00
(dropping the link for those who need it)
Never been into cards much. Has someone been making Marvel cards continuously, or have there been big gaps in production? Was anyone making them recently before Topps got this deal? I mostly collected comics in the 1980s, and I really don't think there were any back then, although I could have just missed them. I was born in 1971 and assume I was an adult by the time they started making them for Marvel. That was definitely true of action figures; there were NONE for Marvel when I was a kid, I used to pretend my GI Joe and COBRA figures were Marvel heroes and villains. I assume that's a big part of why I buy them now--I used to wish I could have some as a kid, but they just didn't exist.
I think the only ones I've ever seen are the ones Ryan Ting has shown during the Legends livestreams since he collects Marvel cards--that's how little I know about that market.
So, the first series of Marvel Trading cards I remember was published by Impel in 1990.
Series II in 1991 was a bigger hit for some reason, though and got much more traction - that's the series referenced on the Death's Head packaging.
Then they went wild in 1992 with the X-Men series of Trading cards with art by Jim Lee - that set sold like gang busters
That led to the Marvel series III coming out the same year going with much more dynamic styling and approach. I think it sold pretty well too.
Also in 1992 Marvel teamed up with Skybox to do a separate set of cards - "Masterpieces" all based on Joe Jusko paintings
Impel cranked out two more series of Marvel Universe cards in 93 and 94 with diminishing returns.
X-Men moved to Skybox for Series II in 1993. Then moved to Fleer with a painted card set in 96
Skybox cranked out Masterpieces sets yearly through 1996 as well. Masterpieces were resurrected for a new 3 year run in 2008 by Upper Deck.
But that 1991 through 1993 period was sort of the heyday for Marvel Trading Cards.
The cards were EXTREMELY popular (at least in my elementary school at that time). Lots of kids who weren't really into comics were collecting them. There was an entire ecosystem of small card shops opened up in those years selling those Marvel cards (and the ones DC and smaller publishers did) along with sports cards. They sold them at 7-Elevens, too.
And now there's this entire market around buying unopened pack and cases of those early '90s cards. They go for silly amounts of money.
The arcade at the local mall had individual cards available as ticket prizes. That was just about the coolest thing ever, to know there was a specific card I needed and could work the machines to earn enough to get them.
I was checking out at the grocery store the other day and they had some Pokemon cards by the register - it occurred to me that if that was a new series of Marvel trading cards I'd have a hard time resisting throwing a pack or two in every time I went shopping. I know they still make them but the impulse to order online just isn't the same.
Sentinels are back up on Pulse!
https://www.hasbropulse.com/product/marvel-legends-series-marvels-sentinels/F91015L00
(dropping the link for those who need it)
Gonna try to cut myself off at the 4 I already have.
Sentinels are back up on Pulse!
https://www.hasbropulse.com/product/marvel-legends-series-marvels-sentinels/F91015L00
(dropping the link for those who need it)
Thanks for the heads up and link fellas. Was able to order two sets. Now I don't feel so left out.
Besides the product we already know will be shipping by the end of 2024, including the Secret Wars wave that is slated for release January 1st which probably means shipping sometime in December -
-Does anyone think there are any more reveals for order and potential shipping in 2024, or is this it for the year?
-Quicksilver is the only one we don't know when he's going up for sale that I can think of.
I usually just wave the white flag this time of year. I feel like toy companies should ramp up at this time of year, but I guess they'd know better than I do.
Amazon shows my Punisher 2pack is arriving Monday now.
I just got my Punisher & Bushwacker today. The only issue I have is that the white paint of the skull has several black spots from missing paint. The weapons are unfortunately a little gummy but look good. Bushwacker looks better in person than in the promo pics.
@tsi I think it further shows that the Action Figure market for things like Legends and TVC Star Wars is more for adults, and the retailers like WalMart and Target want true kids toys for the shelves during Christmas - so from factory time and availability of shipping space to shelf space, I suspect that the cheaper kid-oriented Marvel and Star Wars lines take precedence for Hasbro and the retailers from October through end of December.
Sales of something like the Beyonder or Xizor likely won't change if released in November compared to March as neither would get much of a holiday bounce (collectors are buying for themselves year around, parents/relatives of kids buy a lot more around Christmas). I have to believe the Marvel Titan Heroes stuff gets 50% of its sales in Nov and Dec, so if you miss that window for the kids stuff, you don't get those sales back in March.
I feel like almost none of the smaller toy companies get product out this time of year either, probably because they can get lower costs for production and shipping and so on during downtimes. So for them, actually making the stuff in December - after the time a product could make it shelves for the holiday season in the US - means the factories might be looking for work and offer better deals, and so...and if they want to hit the holidays they need their product to be on the way now as they have less of the "just in time" logistics to focus on to aim for delivery in Nov and Dec.
I expected an update on Giant-Man during PulseCon but I don't think they even mentioned him? What's the latest we've heard on his arrival?
And am I right in that Hasbro is now behind in delivering three HasLabs - SW TVC Ghost, last year's GI Joe one and Giant-Man? Or were they all scheduled for Fall 2024?
And am I right in that Hasbro is now behind in delivering three HasLabs - SW TVC Ghost, last year's GI Joe one and Giant-Man? Or were they all scheduled for Fall 2024?
Dragonfly is scheduled for December, Ghost in "Fall" and Giant Man also in "Fall". Also worth noting 'estimated' shipping is always just that. Any project that isn't finalized and requires a production pipeline overseas can be delayed even if everyone does everything right (like if something happens to the Suez canal, disrupting global shipping for a year). That said, so far all three of these are still on time.
And am I right in that Hasbro is now behind in delivering three HasLabs - SW TVC Ghost, last year's GI Joe one and Giant-Man? Or were they all scheduled for Fall 2024?
Dragonfly is scheduled for December, Ghost in "Fall" and Giant Man also in "Fall". Also worth noting 'estimated' shipping is always just that. Any project that isn't finalized and requires a production pipeline overseas can be delayed even if everyone does everything right (like if something happens to the Suez canal, disrupting global shipping for a year). That said, so far all three of these are still on time.
I believe Dragonfly was originally also a Fall and seem to remember an announcement that it was going to be delayed.
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