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...

Red.. with character

If you read my last post, you know that Topps retail sketches (found only at Target stores) have an intentional aspect of "redness" to them. I'll generally buy any of Mike's sketches that I can afford, so when these 2 popped up on Ebay I was hoping to win them. I thought Samuel L. Jackson was cast perfectly in the role of Mace Windu- he portrayed Mace with the toughness that a Jedi Master should have. Mike picks that up perfectly in this sketch, and equally as well with his caption of "I don't think so". When it was put on Ebay, I really wanted the Luke sketch. Shown on his home Planet of Tatooine (with it's twin suns in the background), I love how Mike intentionally made Luke's hair more shaggy. That's maybe Mike's greatest strength as an Artist- he adds character to the character. That's just my humble opinion. I've picked up at least one more of Mike's sketches on Ebay that I'm waiting for, and I was lucky enough to get one of his Returns, so when I get those I'll post them. Until then, thanks for reading...

Chewy x2

Galaxy 6 has been a bit of a roller coaster for me as far as being able to get Mike's sketches. I've bought 7 of his sketches so far, but only received 6 in the mail. Just my (bad) luck, the USPS lost one of the sketches I bought, which realllllllllllllly bums me out. Especially since the lost sketch was of a unique style. Ironically (as far as this post goes), the lost sketch was a Chewbacca sketch. It's been almost a month since the lost Chewbacca was mailed, so I'm losing hope fast. Wherever it is- behind some Post Office bin, or jammed inside a Sorting Machine, I hope it's found and resumes it's travels to Pennsylvania (Delivery Confirmation tracking has it's last known whereabouts at a USPS Sorting Facility in Scarborough, ME on March 7th.. then, it disappeared). As it is, I've also been able to procure these two Chewbaccas- a color Hobby sketch, and a "red" Retail sketch. For those readers who don't know, Star Wars Retail sketches can only be found at Target stores, and have some aspect of "red-ness" to them to coincide with Target's color scheme. Chewbacca doesn't seem to be very happy in either sketch. In fact, Mike captures the essence of Chewbacca's anger. I, for one, would not wanna mess with this Wookie! More sketches to be posted soon.. until then, thanks for reading...

Clone Wars Widevision Revisited...

I really liked the 2009 Topps Star Wars: Clone Wars Widevision sketch cards because the bigger cards made for more surface area for the sketches, and some amazing cards came out of that set. Mike's work from CWW was fantastic, so much so that I had trouble finding any of his cards at a reasonable price. I think a majority of Mike's cards were color, so right out of the gate his cards were selling for $100+. I wasn't able to buy a single one of Mike's CWW until I met him at Disney last Spring and he offered me his last CWW Return- the Ventress that I posted in here last Fall. When this Ahsoka sketch (with, I believe, two 1G-88 Assassin Droids in the background) came up for sale recently on Ebay as a Buy it Now w/Best Offer, I put in an offer and got it. So finally I have a Michael Duron pack-pulled Clone Wars Widevision sketch. More Galaxy 6 sketches to be posted soon.. until then, thanks for reading...

Galaxy 6

After many months of being talked down, Galaxy 6 was released in early March to rave reviews. Topps hit a homerun with this product. Of course I had my eyes open for any of Mike's sketches that I could get at a reasonable price, and was able to pick up these two and 3 others thus far. Unfortunately, the one I was most looking forward to getting is seemingly lost in the mail. It was an R2D2 sketch that I bought on Ebay, and the seller sent it out the next day with Delivery Confirmation, but the tracking ends in Maine. What a complete bummer! Hopefully it'll be found and it will find it's way to me. As for the two sketches I've posted tonight, I love the crosshatching Mike has done on the Anakin, and the Vader is classic Mike. Just two great sketches. I have another of Mike's sketches already in my posession (but not scanned), and at least one more on the way, so I should be posting again soon. Until then, thanks for reading...

Rise of the Bounty Hunters!

Aurra Sing, Cade Bane, and Bossk never looked better. After I got my Clone Wars Widevision "Ventress" Return, Mike asked me if I'd be interested in a Rise of the Bounty Hunters Return. I had already made deals with 5 or 6 other Artists for Returns out of the product, but with Mike being my favorite it was a no-brainer. I thought back to a Return card of his from Clone Wars 2008 that I had bought that had Dooku, Palpatine, and Ventress on it, and asked Mike if he could do one with 3 Bounty Hunters on it- Aurra Sing, Cade Bane, and Bossk. He agreed to do it and wow, did he ever hit this one out of the park- a homerun! I think it's my new favorite. I particularly like some of the small details on the card- like the skull belt buckle on Cade Bane and the border Mike drew around the card. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Next thing to look forward to- a Galaxy 6 Return card from Mike! Thanks for reading...

Odds and ends..

Just a few sketches that I've picked up in the past 2 months that I haven't posted yet. I particularly like the Indy Heritage sketch from "The Last Crusade"- a great scene in the movie and, of course, a very cool sketch by Mike.
Mike said he was rushed on his "Rise of the Bounty Hunter" sketches, but I still like the two that I've been able to pick up from that set. Anyways, thanks for reading...

Ventress Return

Okay, I know that I'm losing my memory but some days I wonder if it's gone completely. Like take for an example the picture to the right- this awesome Ventress "Clone Wars Widevision" Return card that I bought from Mike... LAST SUMMER. You'd think that would be something I'd remember to put in my blog. But noooooooooo.. my oatmeal filled head didn't even think about it til just now. I was actually going to post a few new Duron cards that I've bought in the past 2 months, and then my brain finally kicked in. Maybe it's because I have a "Rise of the Bounty Hunters" Return card on the way from Mike, or that I just sent him down payment for a "Galaxy 6" Return card.. whatever the reason, here it is. And as usual, the scan doesn't do it justice. One last thing- I was reading on Mike's blog that he got engaged over the holidays, so congrats are in order! Here's hoping it's the start of a great year. Thanks for reading...

Steel City Con (Part 2)

The last day of Steel City Con I went on a buying spree- and the Galaxy 5 Cad Bane (scan enclosed) was one of my purchases. I was pretty stoked to find a second sketch of this style at the show, as I believe Mike didn't do very many of them.

My first ever Duron sketch was a LOTR Masterpieces II "Gandalf" sketch, so I've always had a soft spot for Mike's Lord of the Rings sketches. I made a great trade with Ian (itd64 on Scoundrel Art) for the Arwen sketch. I did have to give up my Michael Duron "4 Little Hobbits Rollin Down a Hill" sketch, but I thought it was a fair trade. Thanks again Ian! I'll try to do a better job of posting. Thanks for reading..

Meeting Mike part 2..

It's about time. I've had the Caricature since early May, and finally got it matted and framed. Like I said in "Meeting Mike part 1", I had told Mike about how I enjoyed opening up cards and how the first sketch card I ever bought was one of his Gandalf sketches from Lord of the Rings Masterpieces II- so that's what he drew. I hadn't shaved in a few days, so he nailed it- right down to my chubby cheeks and my glasses. Mike's not only a great guy but he has the talent to match. Anyone who has the chance to pose for one of his Caricatures should- he does great work. So here it is... and thanks for reading...

Pittburgh's Steel City Con

Sorry I haven't gotten back to my story about meeting Mike, but I'm still trying to get my caricature framed to include it in the story, so until it's done I'll have to pick up that story later. Anyways, I was at Pittsburgh's Steel City Con today and picked up these two great Duron sketches. Just thought I'd share them with the Duron fan's out there that read my blog. Thanks for reading..

Meeting Mike! part 1...

It's been a crazy year to put it mildly! I decided last Christmas Day that I'd go on the family vacation to Disney that my youngest brother had been planning for 2 years (better late than never right?). Then, 4 days after Christmas I felt this terrible pain in my abdomen- I had ruptured a hernia, had to have emergency surgery, and ended up spending the next 25 days in a hospital 40 miles from my home. The pain was so bad after the initial surgery I could barely walk for the first week. After another emergency surgery and a gaping hole left in my abdomen, I was finally released to go home. This was putting me behind the 8-ball financially as far as the vacation was concerned. But I kept getting better and found a way to get the money for the trip, all the while thinking about how one of the most exciting things about going to Disney was possibly meeting Michael Duron, who I knew worked for Disney. I sent him an email thru Scoundrel Art two weeks before the trip.. but heard nothing back from him. I was getting worried. Then two days before I was leaving I saw him on Facebook- so I hurriedly wrote him a message saying "I was going to be in Disney and was there any way we could meet?" He wrote back.. "I'm not working next week." Trying not to sound anywhere near as disappointed or heartbroken as I was, I wished him a good evening and went off to lament my bad luck. Of all the weeks for Mike not to be working, why was it that week? Oh well. I sucked it up and figured I'd make the best of it. When we got down there my brother had it all planned out for us.. Epcot on Saturday, Animal Kingdom on Sunday, Magic Kingdom on Monday, etc, etc. Sunday we got to Animal Kingdom and my brother headed off to Guest Relations- and came back smiling. Let's go this way he pointed. So off we went, and as we came around a corner he said "I have a surprise for you.. he's over there".. and he pointed to a shop with some people milling around. "Huh?" was my response. "Just go" he said. As I got closer I saw a guy in a colorful green shirt.. and I recognized his face from a Topps Interview he had done for Indiana Jones.. it was Michael Duron! Too cool! Turns out my brother had been talking to Mike for months making plans to surprising me with a meeting. I sat down at his Caricature stand and we just talked. Soon I realized that he was doodling, but I was too busy enjoying the conversation to think much about it. I told him about how the first sketch card I ever bought was one of his Lord of the Rings Masterpiece II "Gandalf" sketches, and how I was pretty much addicted to opening boxes of Non-Sports products where I have a chance to pull one of his sketches. Soon my family was crowding around behind him with wide eyes, and then it finally dawned on me.. he was doing a Caricature of me (ya, sometimes I'm not the brightest bulb in the bunch). Amongst my family were my nephews and my niece- the youngest being 5 and the oldest being 11. Mike let me see some of the cards he has been working on and finished, and ended up giving my niece Shelbie one of his Ahsoka Star Wars Fan Days cards (her favorite Star Wars character- see the enclosed scan). We talked for about an hour , and then I got to see my Caricature... it was sooooooooo me! I was blown away.

Philly Non-Sports Show

Okay, I must be losing my mind. I had gone to the 50th Philly Non-Sports Card show back on May 2nd and picked up a few Durons there.. but forgot to post them. I had mixed feeling about the show. I guess I'm used to the Toy and Collectible shows from Pittsburgh being held in big Convention Center rooms and had assumed the Philly show would be the same and was rather surprised when I made it thru the line to the show to find the room was maybe 1/3rd or 1/4th as big as I thought it would be. Luckily it was jammed with tables- tables full of sketch cards and autographs and non-sports cards. That brought about more mixed feelings... so many tables yet so little room to walk around- the aisles were just jammed with people. So most of the day I spent walking in a slow shuffle and a sweat (ya, that room was HOT!). I picked up the Duron "Chewy" (pic enclosed) at one dealer's table, then was lucky enough to pick up a "Yoda" Commission from Sean Pence, and also meet Brian Kong, Rich Molinelli, and Kevin Graham. I had also pre-ordered an "Anakin" Commission from Jim Kyle, but he was running late. Then when he got there he said it wasn't quite finished- could I come back in an hour? I agreed, and my nephew talked me into buying two boxes of cards to rip while we waited.. a "2008 Star Wars Clone Wars" box for me, and a "Lord of the Rings Masterpieces II" box for him. I knew unless I got a hot box he'd get twice as many sketches as me in his box, so I had to make mine count. I found my sketch first. Now I've gotten into this habit of keeping a card in front of the sketch then sliding the front card down to reveal the sketch from the top.. when I saw the first few lines at the top I just had this inkling... I've seen enough Duron's to know his style, and as I slowly slid this one down I thought it was one of his. Then came a splash of color and I was really excited! Finally, I couldn't wait any longer- I pulled the top card away to reveal this awesome color "Ahsoka" sketch. WOW! I was so pumped. I had been lucky enough to pull a color Yoda a few months earlier, so this one was going to fit in nicely in my collection. As for the "Chewy" I had bought, being a profile sketch I loved the shading and the way Mike drew his eye, mouth, and especially his nose. What a cool card! Buying one of Mike's cards at a show is always cool, but pulling one from a box is like finding buried treasure. It made the 4+ hour drive home alot more enjoyable. That's all for now- thanks for reading....

Oh, and a happy belated birthday to my Sweetheart Mandy :)

I've been lucky enough to pick up some of Mike's Indy Masterpiece sketches for a really reasonable price, so much so that I probably have more of his sketches from this set than any other. Mike loves Indiana Jones, and it comes thru in his art. I tend to gravitate towards the humorous sketches- like the dazed Nazi who got knocked off the truck- or Marion's Drinking Contest from the original movie (it just strikes me funny how Mike drew the guy she was drinking against)- or how Mike made the size differential so great in the Bald Guy fighting Indy (his hand is HUGE.. it looks like he's going to squash Indy's head like a melon). I think they're all great cards.

On another note, on this day I hope we all remember not only those who fought for our country in the past, but also those currently in the military serving our country. You're all heroes to me. Thanks for reading...