Monday, October 20, 2014

The Art Gallery: 2013 Island Dreams Batman


This month’s Art Gallery comes the 2013 Island Dreams release. I am a big fan of Island Dreams, besides the large variety of sketch cards the money raised from selling the sets goes to the Family Assistance Fund for the Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. I do not have a connection with this hospital but I do know the hardships that families face when a child requires extended treatment. My son was very sick as an infant, nearly dying three times before the age of two. My wife and I spent many trying months at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington while our son was hospitalized and we met parents who were having difficulty due to their child’s illness. We now make annual donations to local children's hospitals (I usually include sports and comic cards too) so any charity that donates to children’s hospitals will always get my attention as a collector.
 
When Island Dreams was created by Marty Kuklinski in 2011 his intent was for the sets to be island themed. The sets have includes a small base set in the past, 2012 had 15 cards and 2013 had 6 cards, though the focus is the sketch cards. Most sketches are island or water related but the artists are able to go with what interests them and that would be the case here.
 
Tom Kelly is a comic book artist so logically his interest is super heroes and that is what his cards reflect. The main focus is the Batman silhouette over a blacked out moon. The trailing cape and the bat logo on his chest stand out beautifully. What is not obvious is the Batman outline in the background. This was such a cool addition. Some of the other cards that Kelly submitted for the 2013 Island Dreams set include Catwoman, Punisher and Superman.
 
I don't remember what I paid but it was on the lower end in comparison to other Batman sketch cards, though not "officially" licensed it still is a wonderful addition to my superheroes sketch card collection.
 
 

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