Clone Wars Returns

When Michael Duron posted on Scoundrel Art in August that he was selling his Clone Wars Return Card sketches for $75 each AND throwing in a bonus sketch, I jumped at the chance to pick up the best of his best. For those who don't know, "Return Cards" are sketches that the artist designate to the company (in this case Topps) to be sent back to him/her to sell on the open market, and these cards are usually the best ones done. I had been lucky enough to get two of Mike's Clone Wars Returns- a three character sketch of Dooku, Ventress, and Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine), and a two character sketch of R2-D2 and C-3PO. As bonus sketches I had asked for a Princess Leia and a Padme Amidala. I couldn't wait to get them. The initial picture Mike had posted when selling his Returns was an early one, and the sketches weren't even colored in and finished, but I knew they'd be cool. Then Mike broke the news about his personal problems, so I sympathized with his situation and realized I might have to wait awhile to get my Returns. No problem, as my girlfriend Mandy can attest, I'm a patient man. Suddenly Mike fell off the face of the earth... no posts on his blog, no word from him on Scoundrel, PM and emails went unanswered. Alot of us were hoping everything was okay and were worried. It's not like I exactly know him personally, but we've exchanged emails and had conversations in Scoundrel Arts PM's, so it feels like I do. As September, October, and November went by I was trying not to worry, and then finally I got an email from him in mid November asking what he owed me. I sent him back the info and waited. The rest of November went by, then December, and January.. finally on January 30th I got a package in the mail from Mike.. my Returns were here! My expectations were high, but when I pulled those sketch cards from the package, they exceeded them all. Awesome detail, brilliant coloring, and capturing the essence of each character. Plus the bonus cards were awesome! The Princess Leia Mike had chosen to draw was a scene sketch of her in her slave outfit with the chain in her hand that she used to kill Jabba the Hutt.. and Jabba was behind her dead (I loved the x'd out eyes and the tongue hanging out). Padme Amidala's sketch was her holding a blaster and is a cool likeness- just a great sketch. And, as a bonus for making me wait so long, Mike threw in another bonus sketch- a hilarious Darth Maul sketch. They were worth the wait. Thanks Mike, and thanks all for reading...

Shortround and the Idol...

It's good to have friends. Recently one of mine got into Non-sports- he had been an aspiring artist when he was young and really appreciated the artwork on many of the sketch cards I had aquired- so he jumped right in opening 2+ cases of Indiana Jones Masterpieces and 6 boxes of Star Wars: Clone Wars. Now, it's taken me almost a year to pull my first Duron.. but he did it in his first few boxes. He was opening a case of Indy Masterpieces and I was there when he opened one of the boxes and pulled a Michael Duron "Shortround" from the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom movie. Cool for him and nice for me.. maybe I could talk him into selling it to me. Now like I said, my friend is new to the Non-sports, so he had to trust me. I told him what Durons were selling for online, and we struck a deal. Cool, another Duron to add to my collection. A few days later he called me and said he had opened the second case.. and pulled another Duron. He described it to me and we figured out that it was the Idol from the beginning of "Raiders of the Lost Ark".. not only of the Idol but specifically when Indy was sifting the sand thru his hand to decide how much to put in the bag to counterbalance the weight of the Idol. Very cool. Of course, by now he knew about my Duron collection, so he figured I would want it. He was right. We worked out a deal and I had yet another Duron. Like I said, it's good to have friends. Thanks for reading...

An Alien and the Cute Little Green Guy...

I've been waiting for months for Indiana Jones Masterpieces to be released. My twin brother and I had both ordered a case, so we were going to break them together. At the last minute I hedged my bet.. "wanna split whatever we get?" I asked him. He agreed. It just made sense. What if one of us had pulled a Harrison Ford autograph or one of the other monster pulls? Finally Masterpieces was released. I opened my case and read the odds.. 1 sketch in every 24 packs. Then I opened my first box. It had two sketches in it! A hot box I figured. Wrong. My second box had two sketches.. and the third.. and the fourth. Then my next box had a Panoramic sketch AND two sketches! What amazed me even more was the quality of the sketches. So many beautiful sketches. I was almost done with my case when my brother hit gold... our first Duron. The "Alien" from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie. I had opened cases of LOTR Masterpieces II, Heroes Series II, Star Wars Clone Wars, plus various boxes of other products and I had never pulled a Michael Duron sketch. Okay, TECHNICALLY I hadn't pulled this one either, but we were splitting whatever we got.. so that Duron was mine. My brother, knowing of my Duron collection, had to get in his digs... "maybe we should put this on Ebay..." he says. "HELL NO.. that Duron is mine!" was my response. It wasn't much of an argument- like I said my brother knows about my Duron collection.

Then two days later I was set up at a Sportscard show and business was slow. Snails were moving faster than my cards. Lucky for me the guy beside me had boxes of Non-Sports.. Indiana Jones Heritage, Indiana Jones KOTC, Indiana Jones Masterpieces, and Star Wars: Clone Wars. I had alot of luck with Clone Wars when it came out, so I thought I'd try a box... break up the monotony.. change my luck for the card show (I hope). My nephew was with me so we both took half of the box. The cel inserts started showing up right from the start.. in fact four cels in the first six packs. "Maybe a hot box" I thought. Four more cels and two parallels later I figured I was right. All that was left was finding the sketches. I found mine first.. a Dalla Vecchia "Grievous" sketch. Christian Dalla Vecchia may do alot of sketches for sets, but the work is always quality. Then my nephew found his sketch.. and we saw a splash of color... green. A cool Yoda sketch.. by none other than MICHAEL DURON!!! I couldn't believe our luck. So I thought I'd share my luck with all of you. Have a great holiday season all! Thanks for reading...

Mace Windu

What a cool card! Not a ton of detail, not a color sketch, but I love how Mike drew this card. I particularly like the middle of the face- how he drew the forehead, the nose, and the eyes looking to the side. Mace Windu, who's not a main character but definitely a recognizable one, was played by Samuel L. Jackson and appeared in "The Phantom Menace", "Attack of the Clones", "Revenge of the Sith" and of course the new film "Star Wars: Clone Wars". Mace Windu is also a major character in the Cartoon Network series "Star Wars: Clone Wars". Like I said, what a cool card! Thanks for reading...

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