Some Simpsons Art

Even though there are not many official Simpsons sets, about 6 official sets (Topps, Skybox and Inkworks) and maybe another 20 or so international, stickers, oddballs and TCG cards, there are some very cool promos, subsets and inserts.

In 1994 I picked up a box of 1994 Skybox The Simpsons Series II and I was fortunate enough to pull one of the extremely difficult Arty Art cards which were seeded 1:180 packs with each card having a different style of art set inside a black frame. The card I pulled was #A1 from Mary Fleener of Marge and Homer in a Cubism style.

I finally decided to put an end to the hunt and last summer I figured to just find the cards at a reasonable price. I found one dealer that worked out a deal for me for cards #A3 (Gary Painter) Bart on a Skateboard and card #A4 (Jim Valentino) Shadowbart and Homer Hawk. He had actually just sold the other card that I needed a day or two before I contacted him so I ended up going elsewhere for card #A2 (Sam Keith) Evil Bart.

The cards were rare for the time, two per case, but I cannot find any specific numbers. It is safe to assume that there were thousands of cases so I am willing to bet there are at least 1,000 of each card floating around in collector’s collections but you would be surprised to see that these cards still sell easily for $40-50 each.

*Fish Face Followup

I do not have anything love related in my collection and being single during St. Valentine's Day sucks so I will go the humor route. This was a post I had written up last July and it deals with a goofy card so it gets slotted for today.

I have finally hunted down the Willy “The Dupe” Dipkin P4 promo cards. It is similar to the Dipkin B1 promo card except for the back, which contains his stats. He is the only person in history to have .75 homeruns.

The card is based on Billy Ripken’s 1989 Fleer card and has been on my radar since the mid-1990s but I wasn’t having much luck hunting one down for a reasonable price. In 2014 I finally found the B1 promo version for $5 but as I have said before I am a complete tightwad and didn’t want to spend anything over $40 and was over the moon when I picked this one up for $30 and free shipping.

Happy 25th Anniversary Homer, Marge Bart, Lisa and Maggie

On December 17, 1989 FOX unleashed The Simpsons in their own 30 minute show when they showed “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire. The episode, which was initially scheduled as the #8 episode, was shown first because the show’s season was delayed so starting with a Christmas episode was the next best thing.

 

Since the episode hit the air it has become the longest running primetime series with 561 episodes not to mention a movie, comic books, action figures, books, CDs and multiple card sets.  As much as I have loved the Simpsons since day 1 I have only opened one box (in 1994) and a handful of packs. I was fortunate enough to pull a Mary Fleener Arty Art card from the box, which remains in my collection to this day.

 

Since then I have slowly added to my Simpsons collection with two big pick ups just a couple of months ago. In June I came across a very fair price for the entire 6-card neon set from the 2000 Inkworks Simpson’s 10^th Anniversary release and then in August I grabbed up a 1994 Simpsons Series II Willy Dipkin B1 promo card.

I still have my sights on a 1994 Skybox Willy Dipkin P4 promo card (the one with stats on the back), the 1994 Skybox Shadowbart Arty Art (#A4) card, 2000 Artbox Homey Isle Style promo and any of the autographs from the 2000 Inkworks Anniversary release or the 2001 Inkworks Mania1 release.

*FISH FACE

I have been hunting for a card that has alluded me for nearly 20 years, mainly because of price. When Skybox was getting ready to release the 1994 Simpsons Series II release in 1994 they issued 10 promo cards including two Willy “The Dupe” Dipkin baseball cards. The first one B1 contains the Bongo logo and a write up about the upcoming release and the second one P4 actually has stats on the back like a real baseball card.

 

When the set was released I picked up a box and was able to complete the set, even pulling a rare Arty Art card. But I was unable to get my hands on one of the promo cards. It wasn’t until I joined eBay in 2000 that I was able to even catch a glimpse of one but the prices were always to high. Even 20 years later the prices are still higher than I would normally consider paying for a promo card. The B1 Dipkin, the more common version, still sells in the $15-30 range with the rarer P4 version often topping $50, though there is a P4 currently offered for $40.

 

Last week I saw a B1 version posted for $4.99 and I forgot to bid, fortunately it ended with no bids and was relisted. This time I posted the minimum bid and waited as the time ticked down. In the end I won with the $4.99 bid plus $1 shipping and this beauty is mine.

 

The card is based off of Billy Ripken’s 1989 Fleer “F**K Face” card, replacing the “F**K” with “FISH”. I am pretty excited to finally own one, I am still on the hunt for a P4 version with his stats on the back but I am unwilling to spend the insane prices that are being asked currently.