A Simpsons Long Story

The Simpsons have become such an ingrain part of pop culture it is surprising that there is not many options when it comes to Simpsons cards. In the 27 years of the show there are only a handful of Simpsons specific releases and this includes food releases, oddities, TCG and region specific sets in addition to various promotional cards. This may not be a complete list but as close as I have been able to research.

1990 Diamond The Simpsons Stickers

1990 Topps The Simpsons US release

1990 Topps The Simpsons UK release

1991 Cromy Los Simpsons Argentina release

1991 Panini The Simpsons Stickers European releases

1993 Skybox The Simpsons Series I

1994 Skybox The Simpsons Series II

1991 The Simpsons Glo Slammers

1996 Tazo Mexican The Simpsons

1996 Lucky Dip Australia release

1996 Tempo The Simpsons Down Under Australia release

2000 Artbox The Simpsons Filmcardz Series I

2000 Artbox The Simpsons Stickers

2000 Doritos/Lays mini cards

2000 Inkworks The Simpsons 10^th Anniversary

2001 Inkworks Simpsons Mania!

2001 Kellogg’s Cereal German release

2002 Topps The Simpsons Bubblegum & Stickers

2003 Artbox The Simpsons Filmcardz Series II

2003 Wizards of the Coast Trading Card Game

2014 Hot Shots 25 Years Cell Animation cards

Argentina Trading Card Game

German Trading Card Game

The Simpsons Top Trumps (Various sets and packs)

Ignoring the foreign releases, trading card games and the oddball sets and there are only 9 official US releases and the last one was 15 years ago, not much when you consider the show has been on for nearly 30 years.

I have been picking up Simpsons cards for over 20 years and instead of covering them individually I decided to do them all in one large bunch. I have written a couple of posts for specific Simpsons cards but this post is for the more common cards, those other Simpsons related posts will show up from time to time over the next week or two.

The 2000 Artbox Filmcardz are a pretty cool set, there are actually two series but I prefer the first one because it focuses on surfing which is one of my true loves. The cards are designed with an acetate-like cel card between two borders. The front border is foil and reflective while the back is just a standard red/yellow cardboard. These are just a couple of the 10 cards in the Surf set.

I have always been a fan of glow-in-the-dark and neon/backlight cards. In 2000 Inkworks include the neon acetate cards, which I posted about a couple of years ago. In 2001 they put out a SimpsaDelic Black Light 9-card chase set. On one side were mini black light posters designed in a 1970s style but the backs were puzzle cards when put together they made one large black light poster.

I have saved the best for last, the autographs. I have two autograph cards from the 2000 Simpsons Anniversary set. Yeardly Smith, who voices Lisa, and Harry Shearer, who splits most of the male voices with Hank Azaria. I also picked up a Dan Castellaneta autograph that was signed at a convention.

Joe D Deserves Better

Have you ever wanted a Joe DiMaggio cut signature but you want it to be as ugly as possible? Well, I have found the card for you. This 2013 Cut Signature Book Silver Vol. II JSA certified autograph is about as ugly as you can get and still be called a DiMaggio signature.

The signature does appear to be authentic and it is certified by JSA, even though they have had their issues, but it starts with the “Chop it in half!” attitude, toss in that it was signed with a felt tip marker (which bleeds anyway) but somewhere along the line liquid got involved turning this in to a Joe DiMaggio watercolor art project.

It isn’t even really a deal at $80 because if you wait and watch there is a good chance you can find one of the very cool 1993 Pinnacle autograph cards for an additional $30 ungraded. The last ten 1993 Pinnacle DiMaggio autograph cards (graded and ungraded) sold for an average of $127.60, with two of them in December selling for under $100 each.

A Welcome Trade Package

Trade packages are always fun. I just received a nice package of four cards from Jon of A Penny Sleeve for your Thoughts and he picked out a wonderful collection of cards for me.

First card out of the gates is a 1938 Goudey Action Gum #26 Bombers In Formation. This set is a brightly illustrated release depicting war, little did the good folks at Goudey know is that they were actually creating scenes that sadly predicted actions that would take place over the next six years during World War II.

Next up is a pair of Griffey cards, which leads one to ask how amazing is the fourth card is if I am posting about Griffey cards first?

This 1994 Score Gold Rush #3 is straight off of my extremely long Want List, always nice to strike a card off of the nearly 1,500 card list.

Another card off of my Griffey Want List is this 2003 Upper Deck Game Face #30 Sample card and at around 150-pt thick it is a solid card with the portrait of Griffey in the center on leather. The base card version of this card, #159, uses a different picture. There is also a double card with Roy Oswalt as well as a relic version.

The final card is made up of two things I love, Star Wars and sketch cards. Not just a sketch card but my first booklet sketch card which shows Darth Vader and Luke by the talented artist Bruce Gerlach. The scene is from the first face to face meeting of the Skywalkers in Cloud City where young Luke, who apparently does not know Dutch, finds out that Vader is his father and then ends up getting his hand cut off.

I want to thank Jon for taking the time to send me a very appreciated package during a tough time for me.

All That Is Left VII

The sports cards have predicted another correct outcome and have now won three straight Super Bowl predictions (5-2 overall). I didn't expect the final score to be 10-3 but the final outcome was the Patriots by a TD, so the cards were close.

Because I went with two blasters of 2016 Contenders I didn’t get any variety besides the hanger box of 2016 Optic Football that would have been used as a tie breaker. There was not a whole lot worth posting about but here we go with All That Is Left VII.

From 2016 Optic Football I pulled a Carson Wentz Rated Rookie, boy these Optic cards do not scan well. There were also two Prizm refractors and four Purple Bordered Prizm cards but nobody special.

From the 2016 Contenders blasters I pulled a pair of Seahawks

Each Contenders blaster box was to include a relic card, I pulled one relic card and one “Panini Points” card. I scanned in the points and took a look at Panini's Rewards page, there isn't a whole lot to chose from in the 150 range so I guess I will just pick up some more points eventually and get something average. Though I will admit ( I am joking) that the Aaron Curry 2009 Absolute Memorabilia patch card is making it hard for me to bypass.

The relic card is Alex Collins from the Seahawks so I am very happy with this pull. It has been awhile since I pulled a hit of a player or team that I collect. Collins is a rookie and backs up Thomas Rawls, he had 31 rushes this past season for 125 yards.

Sports Cards Super Bowl VII

With three hours left before kickoff it is time to let the cards decide who will come out on top between the high octane Falcons offense led by MVP Matt Ryan against the high octane Patriots offense led by MVP runner-up Tom Brady.

Now on to Sports Cards Super Bowl VII

Like last year I decided to go with two blaster boxes, doubling up on 2016 Contenders, my Walmart is small and does not have a great selection and the only Target in the area is on the other side of town. Sadly I pulled 15 duplicates even though I bought the blasters a couple of weeks apart from each other. Pulling two packs worth of duplicates out of 10 packs really sucks. I also grabbed a hanger box of 2016 Optic Football in case there was a tie.

This is my seventh year of Sports Cards Super Bowl and the cards are currently 4-2 as a predictor. Here is a link where you can find the previous six posts.

The scoring system will remain similar to previous years:

Extra Point (1pt.) For random cards that could be a sign or superstitious

Field Goal (3 puts.) For any player from the Patriots or Falcons

Touchdown (7 pats.) For any Hall of Fame player from the Patriots or Falcons (or if they are a HOF lock)

TD w/ 2pt Conversion (8 puts.)For any Patriots or Falcons autos or relics


2016 Panini Contenders box #1
Patriots- 3 points
#59 Julian Edelman

Falcons- 0 points

--HALFTIME--
Patriots 3
Falcons 0


2016 Panini Contenders box #2
Patriots- 7 points
#58 Tom Brady (HOF lock)

Falcons- 3 points
Optic Football #113 Deion Jones (Sympathy points)

--FINAL SCORE--
Patriots 10
Falcons 3

Well, there you go, the Patriots will add a 5th Championship trophy to their trophy case and the questions will begin flying about Tom Brady retiring the winningest Super Bowl QB.

I don't think the score will actually end up at just 10-3, at least I hope not, but the cards are just about figuring out which team will win, it isn't an exact science.

The Video Game Card Connection

These are some very cool pickups of Sid Meier from the 2015 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions release.

One of my vices is getting some quiet time and playing video games. I am a big fan of RPG and Strategy/Tactics games; I enjoy the thought process that goes in to building up a character or leading a nation. Sid Meier is the master of strategy games going back to the origination of PC games when he founded MicroProse in 1982.

I have a nice collection of his games on my PC and iPad because they are great to just sit down and build a world when you need a one-hour break. Some of his biggest games that I love are Pirates, Ace Patrol and Railroad Tycoon but his big hit is the Civilization series. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI came out in October but the previous release Civilization V and its expansions have sold 8 million units and the series total is 33 million units sold over 25 years which puts it in to the Top 25 video game franchises ever.

Odd as it is I only need his #62 base card to complete the main portion of his cards, there are two limited minis (Leather mini #/15 and Gold Rainbow mini #1/1) and printing platers but I only plan on picking up the base with my next COMC order. Here is what I have so far:

Base design:

Canvas mini

Cloth mini Lady Luck back #25/50

Base shirt relic

Premium patch relic #10/15

Base autograph

Inscribed autograph #3/10

Goudey inserts

Base

Base shirt relic

Premium floppy disc relic #37/50

Initially all I wanted to pick up was the Inscribed Autograph card and the Premium floppy disc relic but the rest sort of fell in to place. What is cool is that the image that Upper Deck used of Meier shows him wearing the shirt that most likely was used for the relic and patch. The shirt he is wearing on the card shows the older Firaxis logo, the current logo is bolder and has thicker lines that resembles a hurricane, and the patch that I have would be from the bottom left corner as the circle starts to swoop upwards.

Accept Your Allowence And Say Thank You

I understand wanting more money for doing a job but there is a difference between getting paid what you are worth for the job you do and wanting what you feel like you deserve even though you don’t deserve it.

 

Such is the case of Orioles back-up catcher Caleb Joseph. At 30 years old he has just 231 professional games under his belt and last year set a record for most plate appearances without an RBI. With 141 plate appearances he batted sub-mendoza line .174 with 23 hits, 3 doubles, 28 strikeouts and no RBIs. In fact, in his three years as a professional he has 771 plate appearances, is batting .213 with 149 hits, 169 Strikeouts and 77 RBIs.

 

This was his first year of arbitration eligibility and last year he was paid $523,500, or nearly $23,000 per hit. Even having a crappy year and setting a dismal record the Orioles still offered him a 25% raise to $700,000 but he felt he was worth much more, he felt he was worth a cool million. The arbitrators felt different than Joseph and supported the team’s $700,000 offer.

The Art Gallery: Ted Woods 2011 & 2012 Futurama Sketch Cards

I will admit it, I love Futurama. I saw every one of the 140 episodes, I have the 8 volumes of DVDs plus the 4 TV movies DVDs. Even though the show was cancelled by FOX I remained a true fan and when it returned five years later on Comedy Central I was elated. The show won a number of awards plus a number of honors including being #8 on IGN’s Top 100 Animated TV Series, is #2 on WatchMojo’s Best Cartoons To Have Been Cancelled and in 2016 Rolling Stone ranked it as the 13^th Best Sci-Fi Show Ever.

With all that love from the fans there are Futurama comic books, video games and toys but there has never been an official Futurama set released and that is disappointing considering how many fans are also collectors.

So far the only Futurama cards that I have added to my collection include two cards of unknown origin, they are paper thin, have paper tears and perforation around the edges so I am guessing these came from some sort of advertisement probably in a magazine.

I have been able to pick up some sketch cards from Ted Woods. He did about 30-35 Futurama sketch cards, mostly 2.5x3.5 but there are a couple of 5x7 cards out there. I am always on the lookout for his other Futurama cards.