trading cards

So... on the night of May 9, 2015, I watched Dick Tracy and wrote a review. Then I thought, "Wait, did I used to collect trading cards for that movie?" And I'm fairly sure I did, though I had completely forgotten about it. (So I went and edited that into my review.) Then I thought, "I should try to remember all the cards I used to collect, and make a list. For nostalgia!" So, the next day, I did just that. (And I later made some edits to this list.) Now, this is mainly supposed to be about normal trading cards, but I can also list other things here. (Not playing cards, though. They get a separate page.) There are probably some things I'm forgetting, including cards I may have collected from various shows or movies, as well as random cards people may have just given me even though I wasn't collecting whatever series they were a part of. But here, at least, are the things I'm fairly sure I collected.

ALF
A set of trading cards based on the TV series ALF. I don't think I actually collected this set at all, and in fact I don't remember if I ever owned any of the cards myself. The only ones I remember at all were the Bouillabaseball cards, which were actually bonus cards. I think maybe my dad had a set either of the ALF cards or just the Bouillabaseball cards. I feel like he might have given them to me at some point, or... not. Either way, I at least saw them. And now I don't have them, which is a shame. Because I always liked that pun.

Back to the Future II
A set of trading cards (with bubble gum) from the 1989 movie. I have no idea whether I ever had the whole set, but I don't think I have any of them anymore. Which is a shame.

Bo Knows Bart
A single card featuring Bo Jackson and Bart Simpson. I must have bought it at a flea market in the early 90s. I'm sure I still have it somewhere, but I'm not sure where.

DC Cosmic Cards
This is a set of trading cards from 1991, which I definitely bought at a flea market sometime in the 90s. I still have it, luckily.

Desert Storm
A set of trading cards from 1991, based on the Gulf War. In retrospect, I don't remember why I even wanted to collect these, but I did. I don't have them anymore.

Dick Tracy
A set of trading cards from the 1990 movie. I have no idea whether I ever had the whole set, but I don't seem to have any of them anymore.

Justice League Post cereal cards
A set of seven trading cards from 2004, a tie-in to the cartoon Justice League, which were found in various Post cereals. I thought I had all of them, but right now I seem to be missing Green Lantern (though I do have a few duplicates of other characters). So... maybe I never did get that one. Oh well.

Marvel
I don't exactly remember collecting any Marvel cards, but I may have. I think it's more likely that I bought a set or two at some flea market. I definitely have Marvel Universe series II (from 1991) and series III (1992). (But maybe I didn't buy sets, because upon closer inspection, I'm missing at least a few cards.) I thought I might have had some other sets, like Marvel Masterpieces (1994), but apparently not.

Movie Stars Encyclopedia
These were cards that measure about 7 inches by almost 6 inches. Each one has a picture of a movie star on the front, with info about them and their movies on the back. A mail-order subscription thing from probably the early 90s. I might still have the binder somewhere with a bunch of cards in it, but I'm not sure. I do at least have a few of the cards saved in a folder, though.

Star Trek 25th Anniversary series 1 and series 2
Two sets of trading cards from 1991, both of which mix Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I have the full sets, in a binder specifically made for them. I don't remember collecting them, in fact I don't remember exactly how I acquired them, whether it was at a flea market or a store or a mail-order thing or they were a gift, or what. But anyway, I'm glad I've got them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation
A set of ST:TNG trading cards from 1992. I don't remember where I got them. But I have all of them except the hologram cards.

Star Trek Master Series - part 1
A set of trading cards from 1993, mixing Star Trek and ST:TNG. Again, I don't remember how I acquired them. But I have all the regular cards, and two of the spectra cards.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season One
A set of trading cards from 1994. I still have this complete set, which I believe I won from a local TV station as part of some contest they ran when the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation ended. (It's possible I got any or all of the preceding Star Trek sets from the same contest, but this is the only one I'm sure I got that way.)

Super Stars MusiCards
A set of trading cards from 1991. I'm sure I collected a ton of these, and later decided to just keep a few and get rid of the rest. But now I don't seem to even have the few that I thought I'd kept, anymore. (Update: I did eventually find one card, of Belinda Carlisle.)

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
Not trading cards, but a set of CCG cards (from 1995) based on White Wolf's "Vampire: The Masquerade" RPG. I've never actually played this game, but I still have the deck of cards (unlike any other CCGs I ever had, which I've since gotten rid of), because... it's just a really cool universe that I've always wanted to get into.

Wheels and Wings
These were cards that were each about the size of a full-size notebook page. Each one would have a picture of a vehicle on the front, with some basic info, and more detailed info on the back. A mail-order subscription from the early 90s. I still have the binder and a number of the cards, though probably not all the cards I used to have. And the set isn't in great shape anymore, because it's been left out in the garage or something, at some point.

Random cards
"Islandberry" (2006) from the NeoPets TCG. I must have gotten this in a box of cereal. I'm a fan of the Neopets website, but I've never actually collected any trading cards.
Techo-mage (1996) from a TCG called Killer Instinct. A friend must have given this to me because I use the handle "teknomage" on some websites (for reasons having nothing to do with this game).
Vampirella (1997). This was an insert in Wizard magazine, I guess. I expect it was probably given to me by the same friend who gave me the techno-mage card. (I suspect he may have given me other cards that I don't have anymore, or just misplaced. But I don't remember.)


collections index