Star Wars Galaxy 7

After a year's wait, Topps finally released the new Star Wars Galaxy 7 in early March. My friend Rob was getting a case the day before mine were to arrive, so he asked me if I wanted to split the case with him. I'm a pushover for Star Wars cards, so I told him I would. It turned out to be a great decision. My nephew and I headed to his house to help open the case, and in my nephew's first box he pulled a 1/1 Refractor- only 15 of them in the set and super hard to pull- 1 in 16,096 packs! We knew right then that one card would more than pay for the whole case.  We also pulled some nice sketches, but it was my nephew again who pulled (what I considered) the gem of the case- a Michael Duron Darth Vader/Snowtroopers sketch. I took a picture of it with my phone and sent Mike a message (friendship has it's advantages) and he told me "You pulled one of my 'sugar booger' sketches." It was something new Mike was trying- they seemed to be patterned off his "A Boy and his Wookie" comic strip, plus the sugar booger sketches had candy canes and sweets on them. I thought it was cool. Plus it was the first case I had opened and we had already pulled a Duron. I think I'm gonna like this product. More updates to come soon. Until then, thanks for reading...

I was back at Steel City Con for a show in early March, and my friend and fellow Non-Sport card Dealer Bryan came up and handed me two cards- "payment" for a favor that I did for him. Two Michael Duron sketch cards... sweet! The first was a "Heroes" sketch, and the other was an "Indiana Jones Masterpieces" sketch. Not Mike's most detailed sketches, but fine examples of his work. I especially like the Indiana Jones sketch of the soldier being run over with a "CRUNCH".. that card is sooooooo Mike! I watched "Heroes" for the first season, but I honestly don't remember much of the show except Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter (yes, you can say it... "typical guy"). I'm thinking this sketch is of James Kyson Lee who played "Ando" on the show, but not positive. I just like it because it's a Duron sketch. I have a few more of Mike's sketches that I've picked up in the past few months, so I'll try to be a little more diligent on writing this blog. Until then, thanks for reading...

Lord of the Rings Revisited

My first venture into the Non-Sport card realm were "Lord of the Rings" cards, and in fact if you go back and read my first blog entry you'll see that a Michael Duron "Gandalf" sketch was my first sketch card purchased on Ebay. Unfortunately the last Topps "Lord of the Rings" set (Masterpieces II) came out in 2008, so there's basically no new product coming into the marketplace. Still, I have an Ebay search saved so whenever an auction is listed with the words "Duron sketch" in the title, I get an email and a link. And I'm constantly looking for more of Mike's Lord of the Rings sketches. That's where I picked up the Gimli sketch pictured to the right. Classic Mike with the big nose and little dots for eyes, but also I like the crosshatching in both the beard and the background. Cool sketch. As for the Sam sketch, well I lucked out and pulled it at the Philly show back in May! Technically my nephew pulled the sketch, but from a box that I bought- so I'll give him credit for the pull.. but it's mine ALL MINE! My precious...

That's all for now, so thanks for reading...

Luke, R2, and a Chick with a Gun..

I picked up these two cards a while back and haven't gotten around to posting them. The Luke and R2D2 sketch is from "Galaxy 6" and the Aurra Sing is from "Clone Wars: Rise of the Bounty Hunters". The Aurra Sing was actually pulled from a pack out of a box of cards at the Philly show back in May- one of two Durons that I got out of boxes at that show. It was a good show! I won't say how much I paid for the Bounty Hunter box- but it was obscenely cheap- and pulling a color sketch by Mike was an added bonus. I picked up the Luke and R2 card on Ebay, and I must say I really like Mike's hatching and cross hatching shading work from this set. One of my other favorite Artists, Patrick Richardson, did some amazing cross hatching work on sets like Star Wars Galaxy 4 and Indiana Jones Masterpieces- check out his stuff if you get a chance (you can go to sketchcollectors.com, click on "Collectors Gallery", then under the "Select Artist" dropdown pick Patrick Richardson). I actually got 2 of Mike's "Lord of the Rings: Masterpieces II" sketches recently, so hopefully I'll be doing a post about them soon. Stay tuned.. and as always, thanks for reading...

Galaxy 6 Return

While I like all 6 of the Star Wars movies, I'm a big fan of the original trilogy. So when Mike asked me if I wanted one of his Galaxy 6 return cards, I said I definitely did and went to thinking about what I wanted on it. I thought about some of my favorite scenes and came up with Luke's training with Yoda on Dagobah- two iconic characters. Mike agreed to draw the scene for me.. but didn't tell me he was sneaking another character onto the card (more about that later). Now I had read that Mike recently got engaged plus he's working on other projects, so I knew I was in for a bit of a wait. But since I've dealt with Mike before with return cards I also knew it was worth the wait. Mike didn't disappoint. When I got the card I was super impressed. The first thing I did was posted a scan of the card on Scoundrel Art to share it other collectors, and I was a little surprised by the first response... "Awesome card. Is it just me or does the tree kinda look like Vader?". I looked at the card again and the tree definitely looks like Vader! One of the most important moments of Luke's training is his "encounter" with Vader in the tree, so I was impressed by how much thought Mike put into the card to find a way to add that special touch. This card definitely is one of my favorites! I hope it's been a good summer for everyone. As always, thanks for reading...

A Happy Ending..

In my "Red.. with character" post, I mentioned a card that I had bought on Ebay that I was waiting for. I waited for 11 weeks, and had pretty much given up on it. The seller had even given me a refund. The card was a cartoonie Caricature of Chewbacca, and Mike had put "Chewie" at the bottom of the card. As soon as I saw it on Ebay I wanted it. Around the same time, my buddy George had opened a case of Galaxy 6 and pulled the R2D2 version with "R2" written at the bottom, and George knows I collect Duron sketches, so I knew he would sell it to me. I don't know how many characters Mike had done in this style, but I knew I would have 2 of them. Then the wait for the "Chewie" card began. After a week the card hadn't arrived, so I checked the Delivery Confirmation number. It said the card had been mailed, went to a sorting facility in Maine, and had departed that facility. Then nothing. Another week went by and the D/C number said the same.. sorting facility in Maine.. then nothing. The card was lost. I called the Post Office that it departed from in Maine. They said they had some problems, but things were straightened out.. I should get the card shortly. Another week.. no card.. no change in the D/C number. By now a month had gone by. That's when I (reluctantly) asked for a refund. What a disappointment. I checked the D/C number for another 2 or 3 weeks and no change. Finally I gave up. No more checking. I went back to buying on Ebay and actually bought another of Mike's sketches from the same buyer from Maine- one with Luke and R2D2. So when I got an envelope from Maine last week I opened it expecting to see the Luke/R2D2 sketch. I almost fell off my chair when out slid the Chewie sketch! I checked the postmark.. March 7, 2011. ELEVEN WEEKS. There's alot I could say about the USPS right now, but I'll reluctantly say "no comment". At least I got the card. I contacted the seller, repaid for the card, and had a smile on my face. Now comes some irony. I waited for the "Chewie" card for 11 weeks, and had also talked to George in late February/early March about buying his Duron "R2" sketch. I met George on a Saturday to pick up his "R2" sketch, came home, got the mail, and there was my "Chewie" card. It was a good day. Until my next post, thanks for reading...

Two Mean S.O.B.'s

I like how Mike can draw anything- from cute and cuddly to scary and deranged. I like to post multiple sketches, so when I got my latest Star Wars Galaxy 6 sketch- this Retail Red Ventress- I didn't think I had anything to pair it with until I found this Essence of Fairyland sketch that I forgot I had bought. When you think Essence of Fairyland, you would probably tend to think of cute little fairy creatures. Leave it to Mike to make Essence of Fairyland look tough and mean.. in a good way! As for Ventress, she's not too happy. It looks like someone just stepped on her birthday cake! A woman scorned for sure..

There's a good chance I'll be at the Philly Non-Sport card show in a few weeks. If you're out there, stop by and see me. Thanks for reading...