Captain Rex

Well, it's been awhile since I posted, so if you check in from time to time I'm sorry that I haven't been more diligent. Card shows and life in general has kept me busy. Luckily I've been able to pick up a few new Durons, including this color Captain Rex. Clone Wars is definitely one of my favorite sets that Mike's worked on, but then again, I think that every time I see new cards from him. I was a big Lord of the Rings fan, so when I saw his LOTR's cards I thought they were super cool. I've always liked the Indiana Jones movies, so Mike bringing characters and scenes to life just made me like his cards all the more. And then I wasn't sure what I was more excited about- hearing there'd be a new Star Wars movie (Clone Wars) or a Topps set with Mike's sketches in them. I bought two of Mike's returns from Clone Wars and I'm waiting to get them- the first return cards I've ever bought.. so I'll be sure to post them when I get them. As alot of Mike's fans know, he's been going thru a rough stretch in his personal life, so I hope everyone can be patient and understanding with him. Thanks for reading...

The Evil Emperor?..

Sorry that it's been awhile since I've posted- summer seems to slow down my motivation. I picked up this beauty on Ebay (pic enclosed).. I'm not sure but I think it's the Emperor. Send me your thoughts- I'm open for suggestions.

I know that Mike's going thru some tough times- I'm just hoping he can keep his spirits up and come out the other side. I know what it's like to be apart from the ones you love- it's rough. Phone calls, emails, Instant Messages, text messages or any other form of technological communication can't replace what we really want- the daily interaction with the ones we love- but it's better than nothing. Hang in there Mike.. your love for your daughters won't change nor will their love for you. It'll just make the time you spend with them all the more precious.

Thanks for reading... Dave

Star Wars!

I might not be a Star Wars fanatic, but I've always loved the series. So when I heard Topps was putting out a card set featuring sketch cards I was pumped... especially when I heard Michael Duron was included in the set. It doesn't get much better than Star Wars and Michael Duron for a collector like me. I ordered a case and waited patiently.. okay, maybe not patiently, but I waited. Finally I started seeing case breaks on Scoundrel, so I knew the time was getting close. Then I got the call... my case was in. I had a game plan for my case- as I opened the packs I chanted the names of sketch artists I wanted to get.. "Duron- Plunkett-Pence- Bellinger" (no offense to any other sketch artists, but those were my "Big 4"). I tore into my first box and hit my first sketch pretty quickly... an Animator sketch by Matt Gaser.. it was sweet (picture enclosed)! I also noticed an unusual amount of cel cards, so I thought "maybe it's a hot box". Eight cel cards and 2 numbered parallel later I got to the bottom of the box and hit a second sketch- an awesome Rich Woodall Padme color sketch (right down to her green eyes). I was off and running. Box #2 brought me an awesome Jason Sobol Ahsoka color sketch, and box #3 another sweet Ahsoka color sketch by Jamie Snell. By this time I'm starting to wonder if I'm dreaming... 3 boxes and 4 incredible sketches. Box #4 produced my first b/w sketch, but it was a sweet Ventress sketch by Don Pedicini Jr.. box #5 another b/w sketch, but it was a very nice Obi-Wan sketch by Chris Trevas. Box #6 was a dud... bummer. Box #7 was another Ventress b/w sketch- this one by Howard Shum. Down to my last box.. #8.. I kept chanting the "Big 4" names- hoping, but not really believing I'd ever pull one. My stretches of good luck opening cards are few and far between. I finished one row and was almost done with the other row thinking I had gotten another dud box when I got my last sketch... and I was stunned. I could hardly believe the card in my hand was a sketch because it looked so amazing (picture enclosed). A Killian Plunkett! I was blown away. As much as I wanted to keep the Plunkett I figured it would easily pay for my case, so I posted it on the Scoundrel Message boards and took offers. I ended up accepting an offer from Grendel4 that included cash and.... a Michael Duron Clone Wars sketch (pic enclosed). I've picked up a few other Duron Clone Wars sketches, so I'll post them when I get them. As for now, thanks for reading... Dave

One Ring to Rule Them All...

I got a message from Mike (Deckard on the Scoundrel Art Message Boards) two weeks ago asking me if I'd be interested in his lone Michael Duron Lord of the Rings sketch- a sweet Sauron sketch holding up the Ring of Power. It was such a cool card and it was a Duron.. so of course I was interested in it! We worked out a deal and a few days later I got it. Thanks Deckard! I love the tag line that Michael Duron put on the card: "One Ring To Rule Them All".. that's one of the underlying themes of the LOTR's series, and with Sauron's sinister helmet behind the hand holding up the ring, this card reeks of his evil power. An awesome addition to my collection. I have a few Star Wars Clone Wars cards on the way, so I'll be posting them soon. Until then, thanks for reading... Dave

Rats....

Rats...

I just got back from Steel City Con and "Rats..." had to be the theme of the weekend. First, because I picked up a great Michael Duron sketch from one of the other Dealers- Bryan Schemine- a great guy from Ohio. Another Indiana Jones Heritage to add to my collection. I had asked Bryan on Friday when we were setting up if he had any Michael Duron sketches and he didn't think he did, but on Saturday when I got there he said "why didn't you say 'Locoduck'? I have one of his"... and it turned out to be this furry rodent (see enclosed picture). The second reason "Rats..." was the theme of the weekend still has me crying in my Cheerios. The new Star Wars: Clone Wars just came out, so people were busting boxes left and right at the Con (myself included.. as always, hoping for a Duron). One of my customers said he had busted a box and all he could tell me about the sketch was "it had a big nose"... big nose.. hmmmmmmm. I asked him if I could see it, thinking maybe, just maybe he had pulled a Duron.. so he went and got it. Sure enough, there was a Count Dooku sketch done by none other than Michael Duron! And he and his sister-in-law had bought the two boxes right before I did! "Would you like to trade? Would you like to sell it?".. I didn't want to seem too desperate but I think he saw thru my not-too-calm exterior. No amount of asking/pleading/begging worked.. he wanted to take it home and do some research on it. Still though, he took my email address, so I'm hoping beyond hope that he'll contact me. I was that close.... RATS!.... Thanks for reading... Dave

FINALLY!!!!

Finally! It's taken me months (literally) to finally get a Michael Duron sketch that WASN'T from Lord of the Rings, as I was able to win "The Swordsman" from the Indiana Jones Heritage set on Ebay. All I can think is that Deckard is on vacation or already has some version of this card, because he's done quite a job of snagging a healthy percentage of all of the Indiana Jones Duron's that hit Ebay (and alot that don't too). I've always been a big fan of the Indiana Jones series, so being able to get (at least) one of Mike's sketches from the sets is great. So now I have one from the Heritage set, and hopefully I can pick up at least one from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull set. I'm a happy camper. Thanks for reading all..... Dave

A Good Week

Not even tearing all of the ligaments in my right thumb (ouch.. it really hurt) could stop this week from being a good one. So many good things happened, including picking up two more of Mike's sketches.. an awesome Oliphant sketch that I got from Jonas (Bombadillio on the Scoundrel Art message boards), and a sweet Treebeard sketch that I picked up on Ebay. I love the detail on both, from the smile on the face of the guy riding on the Oliphant's back, to the "punt" and the x'd out eyes of the Orc being punted. Your work always amazes me Mike!

Heroes Volume 2 came out this week, and I've already seen some awesome pieces of Mike's handiwork both on Ebay and on Scoundrel Art posts. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a few. Since I pre-ordered a case of Star Wars Clone Wars and can't afford to buy cases of every product that comes out, I was still able to buy four boxes of Heroes Volume 2 on Ebay from Craig- ebay id: dreamjoey, one of my favorite sellers. I bought my first case of Indiana Jones KOTCS from him, and he's great to deal with. I had been reading the Scoundrel Art message boards on the Heroes 2 case breaks, and people were freaking out about how bad their breaks were.. some cases only giving up 5 hits where 9 were "guaranteed" by Topps (7 boxes with one hit, and one "hot box" with two hits). I also saw some people were getting 12-14 hits in a case, which I thought had to be a typo.. that just doesn't normally happen in Topps products. I figured I'd land on the short end of the stick.. I usually do when it comes to breaking products. I got my boxes 2 days after the release (fast shipping by dreamjoey) and tried the first box.. and got two hits- an autograph and a sketch card! I almost fell out of my chair. Me getting a hot box, who'd have thunk it? lol. So I opened the 2nd box.. and got two more hits- a costume card and an autograph! Whoa. So on to the 3rd box.. and two more hits- an autograph and a cool Jeff Chandler sketch card. Now I'm thinking, I'm either dreaming or I'm in the Twilight Zone, because this just doesn't happen to me. So on to the 4th box.. in which I pulled an autograph. Almost anticlimactic and almost disappointing, but with 7 hits in 4 boxes I was on cloud 9.

I hope all the readers out there had a great 4th of July weekend. My special someone (Mandy) has kept a smile on my face all week (one of the biggest reasons the week has been so GOOD), so thus continues my good week... Thanks for reading.. Dave