Clemens, Did I Make The Team?

In 2013 I got the idea to put together a set based on the Simpsons episode Homer at the Bat. The episode aired in February 1992, so I decided to use the 1992 Topps set. A nice clean design that was easy to work with. I finally finished the illustrations last year, but I do have further plans.

Why did it take me so long? Besides my procrastination, I drew every illustration by hand. I went through the episode on my computer and stopped the video at the exact point I wanted the shot to be so I could get a screen grab. I then used the player’s 1992 card as a template, so the base was already set. Then using the screen grab as the starting point, I drew the entire scene using Photoshop and my trusty Wacom tablet. Over 5 years I put in over 100 hours, some days I would work on a card for 6-8 hours alone. This was why I was so upset when I accidently deleted the files. 

I’ll use the Scioscia card to show you from start to finish. I did take some artistic liberties, but I tried to remain as true to the original.

A One Card Simpsons Post

A one card post today, a Simpsons glow-in-the-dark card. I always enjoy adding new Simpsons cards to my collection and even better when they glow. I believe there are four different glow-in-the-dark cards in the 1993 Skybox Simpsons set and this one I picked up for under $1 plus shipping.

The Simpsons Mr. Burns Update

I have completed the Mr. Burns card and will eventually get to the backs, I am just going to make up stats for Homer and just create a bio for Mr. Burns. I am not going to work on the backs just yet but instead I have turned my attention to a couple of custom cards that have been rattling around my brain for awhile.

The Simpsons Griffey Update

Just a quick update, I re-arrange the kids on the Griffey card and I feel better about the proportions of the card now. Next it is back to the Mr. Burns card and then finally working on the back of the Homer and Mr. Burns cards before putting the set together.

Homer At The Bat And Some Cards That Took Me Too Long To Finish

On May 27^th, Homer Jay Simpson was inducted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY on the 25^th Anniversary of one of the best Simpsons episodes ever Homer At The Bat. His Hall of Fame honor also includes his stint as the mascot of the Springfield Isotopes and the Capital City baseball team.

Seeing Homer inducted in to the Hall of Fame got me to finally complete a project that I began nearly 3 years ago, a Simpsons set from the Homer at the Bat episode designed using the 1992 Topps design. I have seen people put some cards together but there has never been a complete set using the same design and in my typical form I had to have the set how I wanted it to be, a set based on the players in action.

The reason it took me so long is that, well besides the procrastinating, I illustrated each one by hand before inking and coloring it in Photoshop. I kind of went all out on this set and I am happy with how it is coming along.  Everything is the same throughout the set, every uniform, grass, tree, dirt, sky and clouds are the exact same color as all of the other cards. The only difference is Steve Sax’s card because I used an evening image and Mr. Burns uniform is different because he wears a Zephyrs’ uniform not a Springfield Nuclear Plant uniform. 

It may not be perfect if you were to compare the image versus the scene in the episode but it is my set and I am proud of it. I am not done yet I plan on making these digital files in to tangible cards using the player’s real 1992 Topps baseball card but I will need to make Homer and Burns’ card backs.

Looking at the cards I see I still need to do a couple of touchups. I need to capitalize Mr. Burns' name and I want to remove the chain link fence from behind him completely and I want to raise up the children on the Griffey card so the left hand side of the card isn't so empty.

 Mattingly! I thought I told you to trim those sideburns! GO HOME!!! YOU'RE OFF THE TEAM, FOR GOOD!!!

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.

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.

An Australian Homer Single Card Post

Today is a single card post.

 

In February 1995 Bart made a long-distance collect call to Australia to see if the water went down the drain clockwise or counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. This leads the Simpsons family on a journey to the Land Down Under so Bart can make an apology and a punishment of a “Booting” in what many rate as one of the Top 10 Simpsons episodes.

The following year Tempo cards, an Australia card company, worked with Fox to release 1996 Tempo The Simpsons Down Under a set based entirely on the episode. Since the product was released only in Australia it didn’t do extremely well in the U.S. but you can still find cards from the set with a complete 100-card base set running $15-20.

My favorite cards from the set are the “Homer As” chase cards which depict Homer as various famous Australians. The card that I most wanted, I actually thought I had it listed on my Top 10 Wanted list (but I was mistaken), is the Homer As Mad Max. After seeing the cards on the internet I initially thought that the cards had a canvas type texture but with the card now in hand I see that it is just a standard glossy coating but I am still happy.

The back includes a write up about the character, since Mad Max is fictional the write up is loosely based on Mel Gibson’s character Maximillian Rockatansky in the original Mad Max trilogy. In place of the trusty sawed-off double barrel shotgun that Max carriers, Homer carries a Squishee-shooter but otherwise they are quite similar. The cards are each #/7000 with mine being #5581/7000.

 

Other characters included in the 7-card Homer As chase card set; an Indigenous Australian, Capt. James Cook, Burke & Willis, Ned Kelly, Dame Edna and Crocodile Dundee.