Trading Card Recollections Part 1

    I wasn't into baseball cards as a kid.  Other guys were, but not me. I wasn't a "sports guy" back then.  Still not one, really. It wasn't just baseball cards either. Cards for other sports were also not interesting. Even other types of trading cards were not my thing, even as the market was expanding beyond sports into humor and movies as themes. 

    Things changed when I was in college. I was wandering through a local drug store, checking up on the candy aisle, when I noticed a box of trading cards based on DC Comics characters. I 'knew' Marvel had started up their own line of trading cards, so it just made sense that DC would soon follow them. The packs came in wrappers featuring one of four of DC's biggest stars:  Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Deathstroke. (You probably have some questions. First, Batman wasn't featured, as the rights to characters from his part of the comic book world were tied up with another company, due to the Tim Burton movies out at the time. Second, Deathstorke was a villain who DC was really pushing, as his popularity was great enough that he would soon get his own series. Also, the suit was mostly orange, allowing four different colors to be prominent on the wrappers. Superman-blue, Wonder Woman-red, Green Lantern-green [duh}, and Deathstroke-orange.) I got one of each wrapper. 

    I could hardly believe what I saw. There were cards featuring major characters throughout the decades in various looks. Cards reproducing important comic books covers. (One of the ways they got to include Batman, although he was hidden in the corner of that cover.) Cards summarizing major stories, including a tiny detail of a hero with a pointy cowl. And of course, checklists. It took me months, but I collected the complete set, without having to trade for anything.

    For the next few years, I would collect each set as they came out. The rights to Batman finally returned, so his universe of characters could now be included. I was soon buying sets by the box, allowing me to complete a set almost immediately. The later sets would begin to include deluxe chase cards. I didn't try to get all of the chase cards when I first started collecting, but I always tried to get as many as I could. I even managed to get some of the super-rare hologram cards for a few sets. The first one was a Sandman hologram in the first DC Vertigo set. I had to mail in a request for one very rare chase card. The card came with golden confetti stars in the package.

    As the 90s wore on, my attention drifted to other things. Buying a box a year was getting tiresome.  Also, the sets ands themes stopped being as interesting. So, I stopped collecting them. This was just before DC stopped making that many sets. I think they have started back, but I can't confirm such things.

    Unlike so many of my collections, I still have every complete set. Somehow, they escaped the 2003 flood intact. Sure, I lost many of the excess repeats, but the complete sets survived. I haven't looked at them in decades, but they are still there, fairly safe in storage.

    Next week, in part two, I will take you to some of the places where I got these cards.  See you then.