Two Andromeda Autos Trance

So a couple of weeks back got a second autograph card from an actor from one of the Sci-Fi shows I like. The first one I got ages ago. This is from the show Andromeda. A sci-fi show created by an idea from Star Trek Creator Gene Rodenberry. A few months back I had posted an auto card of the show's star Kevin Sorbo. The cards I am featuring for this post is Laura Bertram who played the alien Trance Gemini.

The first of the two cards I like better even though the signature is not as legible,  and is the one I had gotten a few years back. It was also an oddball type of card as it was originally a sealed "Uncirculated" card, however the gold seal sticker was damaged and was hastily "repaired" with some scotch tape. I don't think I had done that, but maybe. Anyway I probably debated if I should remove and ditch the damaged seal which just adds other problems including not being able to view the entire card. I'm just going to ditch the useless sticker. Maybe back when I got it I thought the seals were cool, but now I don't care. I liked if I could get them, but always hated that they cover up too much info. Also sellers will charge way too much extra for the seal. Anyway that is the older of the two, even though it is from a later series of the cards.

The second more recent acquisition has its own story. I got it from Ebay and even though I paid over $20 ($26 and some change $20 plus postage and tax) the seller sent it by the new Ebay standard envelope. Cards valued over $20 are not supposed to go that way. (update: OK technically my card was just at $20 so it just sneaks by) Which I don't care for. Mostly because the tracking marks the package as "delivered" when it reaches your area's main hub post office, not necessarily your "home" post office that serves your address. I got it a day or two after it was marked as delivered. This has happened with another card I had received via the standard envelope as well.

2001 Inkworks Andromeda Autograph A4 Laura Bertram as Trance Gemini

2004 Inkworks Andromeda Autograph A5 Laura Bertram as Trance Gemini (with Uncirculated Seal)

2004 Inkworks Andromeda Autograph A5 Laura Bertram as Trance Gemini (raw)

NCIS Rittenhouse Promo Cards

OK this is another very last minute day of the month type posts. I scanned the images of the cards in this post last night 30 March 2021 and  then did the drafting, writing of this post later today Wednesday 31 March 2021. An odd note: when I first started scanning the 4 promo cards (Oops Spoiler of what the post is about. LOL) for some reason my scanner was set for "automatic" scanning and I saw the rarely seen (by me) automatic scanning screens. I first was alerted when I saw the scanner's beginning prep screen was different than normal and was saying it was scanning image 1/3. UGH. It also had a note saying the scanner was in automatic mode and if you wanted to operate in manual mode hit "cancel". I probably should have kept the first scan image to show but I didn't. The scanner made 3 scans of the 4 cards laid out on my scanner's glass bed 2x2. The first image was of 2 cards one from the top row and one the bottom row since the cards were not properly squared on the bed they were at an odd angle and the scan only had partial images of the two skewed  cards. The other two scans were just of one card each and were well cropped and sized images of those cards that I could have used if I wished. Anyway I then started the scanner up again and switched to manual mode which I am used to and where I can make adjustments to how the scanner is scanning the images.

As you may have guessed from the title of this post and the top image this post is about the promo cards from the television show NCIS. The cards are from 2012 made by Rittenhouse. I do not have the set nor any of the star's autograph cards. I do have the Gibbs and Abby box topper cards that I blogged about ages upon ages ago. I don't have any other inserts other than these promo cards that I will now show. The second promo card P2 was from the trade magazine Non-Sport Update which I got from my copy of the magazine and was at one time the only promo card I had from this series. I then hit Ebay to acquire the other 3 cards and a dupe. Since I have the dupe I either got a full 4 card promo set or I got a couple of lots of one or two cards to get all 4. On a side note I do have the JAG set, a promo card from that set, and some auto cards from that set. I plan on someday blogging about those, but trying to decide how much of the set to scan and show.

Anyway lets see these cards: I have also noted how the promos were distributed according to Cardboard Connection. 

2012 Rittenhouse NCIS Premiere Edition Promo Cards

P1: General Distribution

P2: Non-Sport Update Magazine

P3: Binder Exclusive

P4: Philly NonSport Show Spring 2012

That is it for now guys and gals.

NCIS Box Toppers: Abby and Gibbs

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!"
"Whatcha got Abbs?"

I am real excited about these two cards I got from Ebay. It took a while to find them at a price I could afford, and on one of them I paid a bit more than I really wanted to but less than what it normally starts at. These two are a bit hard to find at a good price, since most sellers ask for way way too much. [What else is new?] So the scoop on these cards. They are from the Non-Sport trading cards powerhouse that is called Rittenhouse. If there are trading cards for a TV show or movie they are probably the company currently producing them.

These two beauties are the box toppers from the NCIS Premiere Edition Trading Cards. They were seeded one per box. The base set is only 36 cards from the first 72 episodes (The first 3 seasons plus the first two episodes from season 4) of the television show NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service. One of my absolute FAVE shows, usually number One tied with The Blacklist. The characters are two of my faves and if either of them left the show they would have to end it - IMHO

I will show them in reverse order of arrival since the first one I received has a bit longer story to tell, and numerically it is the second of the two.

2012 NCIS: Premiere Edition Box Topper Cards

This first card, the second to arrive was at a manageable $20.00 BIN w/ $2.50 shipping.

CT1: Leroy Jethro Gibbs played by Mark Harmon "Give it to me IN ENGLISH"

#d 222/225

Now this next one I went a little more nutso on. It originally had a BIN or BO (Best Offer) of $39.78 w/ $2.25 shipping. I wanted to offer $20 or $25, but I didn't want to risk being seen as low-balling and be totally ignored so I made an offer of $30.00 (approx. $10 lower) and the seller accepted it.

As you can see by the scan(s) it has a large gold "seal" to prove it is legit and hasn't been tampered with. When I first began seeing cards like this with their seals I thought it was great, but many of these seals are way too large cover up details that I would rather be able to see. For some sealed cards I plan on "unsealing"  them not worrying about any loss in value or prestige. Face it the seals are just another flashy gimmick. The image for the Gibbs card in the Ebay listing also showed a seal but it wasn't sent that way. I was a little bummed about that but Oh well as I said the seal is just a flashy gimmick.

CT2: Abby Sciuto played by Pauley Perrette "I'M A SCIENTIST, luck has nothing to do with it"

#d 145/225

Here is what I still need for this card set:

2012 Rittenhouse NCIS Premium Pack:
Base Set (0/36): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Character Cards (0/9): C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9

Autograph Cards: (0/18): Pauley Perrette, Alicia Coppola, Alan Dale, Michael Nouri, Bob Newhart, Cheryl Ladd, Sandra Hess, Sean Harmon, Pancho Demmings, Charles Durning, Rocky Carroll, Lauren Holly, Brian Dietzen, Scottie Thompson, Stephanie Mello, Jessica Steen, Rena Sofer, Diane Neal

Box Topper (2/2): Complete

Promo Cards: (4/4): Complete

Contest Procrastination 101: We Have A Winna

Some regular readers of this blog may recall that I held an Anniversary Contest about a million years ago Internet time which is about five to six months ago in real time. YAY ME! Well finally the blog monkeys have ignored tallied all the results and picked a winner. Picked isn't the proper word since it was a landslide win identified is more like it. Since it was my 5th Anniversary I downed a fifth of Rum and randomized 3 runner ups. Wait? What? Wasn't it 4 runner-ups? Well one person made a valiant effort so I decided to award them 1st Runner Up and random the remaining three runner up spots. Now I plead The Fifth on that and Chug-A-Lug the rest of the bottle of *burp* Excuse me Rum. Just kidding about the Rum. On second thought I could have used a bottle for this.

It was a fun contest but I admit I think I was a bit intimidated by having to do all that tallying, so I don't think I'll ever do a contest of this nature again. You really need to keep up with things as they happen. Unfortunately I waited until the final day to say "I'll tally the points up later" intending to do it the next day but kept putting it off and putting it off. You know how that goes.

Before I get to the winner and runner ups here are the answers to the Bonus Questions. Of the 20some entrants only six people attempted the bonus questions. I didn't expect anybody to get Question 1 correct. That was a little cruel on my part, but there were some creative answers I should have awarded bonus points for a few of them but in retrospect those bonus points wouldn't have mattered much unless it was a huge amount of points. Question 2 had several correct responses but nobody got all five correct. A couple of people guessed a related show so I gave them an extra point for that. Questions 3 through 5 also had some correct answers. Question 4 one person got both, and only one person didn't get either show.

The Answers:
Question 1: During my college days I participated in an extra curricular activity. I also had a nickname that was associated with the activity. What was that activity and my nickname?

During my three year attempt at college I majored in BROADCASTING and was a DJ for the school's radio station. During my first on-air shift, (which was a short notice substitution for the regular jock a day or two before my first scheduled shift and I had to be given a Reader's Digest Nickel Tour on the job training session for the equipment) about half an hour into the shift I played "The Ewok Celebration" by Meco. I talked up the song with a Yoda impersonation saying "Yoda says it's time for the Ewoks" and played the entire song, it might have been the extended dance mix. Well the next day during dinner mostly in the cafeteria some of the radio station staff and management called me "Ewok". At first I was a little offended by it and slightly confused. It quickly dawned on me that they thought I was introducing myself as "The Ewok" when I was introducing the song. They continued to call me that and I used "Ewok" as my on-air handle. So the answer is: Broadcasting Radio DJ "Ewok"

Bonus: link to a video of the novelty song Ewok Celebration - Meco That is the short version that runs 3m20s (with the "rap" from the single starting at about 1m20s) there is a longer "Club Mix" that runs over 6 minutes.

Question 2: Top FIVE All-Time Fave TV shows: From a list of  many shows from the mid 1960s to today. The order doesn't always stay the same but lately (and at the time of the contest) they are: Doctor Who, Warehouse 13, Quantum Leap, NCIS, Stargate SG:1.

There were some good guesses that included: JAG, Star Trek (and Star Trek Next Generation), The Big Bang Theory, The Black Adder, ALF and Monty Python's Flying Circus

Question 3: Wow the only Trading Card related question: True of False: I would pay upwards of $100 for a NM/M 2012 Topps Archives Baseball 241 Bryce Harper RC Super Short Print?

Quick Answer NO. Although it is true Harper's SSP RC card is on my want list(s) I would NOT pay $100 or more for it or any single card. Certainly not any modern card, maybe a super good conditioned vintage card that is normally worth many times that or if I were a millionaire and price was not an issue for anything. My normal top cost for any card is about $40. Preferably under $20. I have spent in the $30 range for cards I really really want that are in decent shape and this Harper card I'd almost pay $40 in a heartbeat for and I might go up to $50 for it.

Question 4: Of the following four television shows, which TWO have I seen at least an episode of and would most likely watch the entire run of? Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, 24, Lost

Answer: Lost and 24. I watched most of season one of Lost off and on, I stopped watching a few episodes after the "second" group of stranded passengers "arrived". Of the four shows I listed it would be the one I most likely would make an effort to watch the entire run of. Heck half the cast is on Hawaii Five-0 now so why not? 24 I've only watched one episode the one that was Sean Astin's last episode. I'm mixed on if I actually want to watch the series or not. Breaking Bad I actually have zero interest in seeing. A science teacher (or whatever subject Math? he taught) running a meth lab out of his trailer just doesn't do it for me. I also got sick of seeing that guys face with his toxic mask and quarantine suit all over the place and as people's avatars on group forums and in Facebook. Game of Thrones or it Thorns? Actually I saw about 5-10 minutes of an episode once, I don't recall which season, season 2 maybe? It was a nighttime scene in the woods and I recall a large tree or tree stump don't recall much else possibly it was a death scene. I don't know for some reason now-days the medieval fantasy type shows don't excite me like they did when I was a teen eons ago. I also don't want to get attached to a character only to see them killed in the next five minutes.

Question 5: Yes or NO: I own an HD Flatscreen TV?

Answer: NO. Believe it or not that is a big purchase I haven't made yet. I still have an ancient by today's standards 21" Sony that is 17 years old. I have another just as old maybe older TV. I also don't have a Blu-Ray player or a DVD-R (or DVR). I have an ancient VHS player/recorder and a DVD player or two. I'm of that old school of  "If it ain't broke don't fix it". I also DO NOT like watching TV on the dang computer/internet it isn't watching TV its watching a video on the computer.

NOW THE WINNERS:

CONGRATULATIONS to Richard Nebe Jr (Schmidt Happened!) who had the most points. The rest of you don't want to see the exact point totals. Richard had more than triple the number of points the first runner up had who had a large lead over the rest of the pack and that is Chris (Nachos Grande). Now the runner-ups: Randomly selected via random.org three times.
2nd runner-up: Greg Zakwin (Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle)
3rd runner-up: Ana Lu (Hobby Cards Europe)
4th runner-up: Brian (Play At The Plate)

All winners please email me your mailing address and favorite team(s) of whichever sport(s)* you collect to klandersen at yahoo dot com

* The four major US sports Baseball, NFL Football, Basketball, Hockey. Sorry international fans I don't have Real Football (Soccer) cards. From what I already know about the winner's PCs and areas of collecting most of the winner's booty will be Baseball.

Soccer? NO WAY I don't hit women

In my Ebay shopping I picked up a trio of A&G cards two USA Women's Soccer Champs and one Supernanny? I've been meaning to pick up some USA Women's Soccer cards for ages and ages now. So What did I get? From one dealer I got 3 cards at BIN prices shipping was $2.49 combined. Individually shipping would be $2.49 each. I am so glad many sellers allow for combined shipping and you can "Ask seller for total" before you finish the checking out completely. OK so in reverse order of preference I got:

First I got the Supernanny Jo Frost. I'm not a reality TV lover in fact I usually shout and complain about the entire genre of reality TV, but it has been here for several years and looks to have a permanent hold in the universe of television. I eventually need to get the rest of the base set so it was a set need.

2011 Topps Allen & Ginter's 165 Jo Frost Suppernanny (0.99¢)

(Front and Back)

Next the first of two of America's Sweethearts of the Soccer Gridiron Brandi Chastain. What you don't remember her? Maybe if she takes off her jersey...

OK NOW you remember her!

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter's 304 Brandi Chastain USA Women's Soccer ($2.00)
(Front and Back)

Third comes the sweetest sweetheart of the World Cup Champion USA team Mia Hamm. The poster girl for the team for several years.

2007 Topps Allen & Ginter's  272 Mia Hamm USA Women's Soccer ($2.00)
(Front and Back)

Warehouse 13 Myka Sketch Card

One of my favorite TV shows will come to an end later this spring shortly after returning to the Sci-Fi channel (spelled with two "y"s and no "c") for a 5th and final season of only Six episodes. Warehouse 13 a well written adventure series often with witty tongue in cheek humor reminds many of the late 1980s show Friday The 13th: The Series (in recent years renamed "Friday's Curse" to avoid confusion with the horror movies of the same name). One of the characters on Warehouse 13 Myka Bering played by Canadian actress Joanne Kelly fast became one of my faves on the show. So...

Back in November of last year (Thursday 21 November, 2013 to be exact) I had a two card mailday. As many might know by now I keep track of my maildays on my TCC blog. I got this card by sniping on Ebay, in this case I really really wanted the card. I started watching it, and was nervous about it because it was getting some bids and creeping toward my comfortable maximum bid (as is the case with many sketch cards that often "start" at too high a price for me to even consider bidding). About a day or two before the end of the auction it had 6 bids and was at $15.50 many more bids and it would be out of my comfort zone. The Final night I watched it periodically for updates and in the last few minutes kept checking it and refreshing my browser then when it was down into the final minute I bid my max of $35 and for about 40 seconds I was worried another sniper would come by, the ones that use the sniping software and don't have to watch the auction at all because their program bids at the last second or two. Fortunately for me I had the winning bid. The 7th bid at $21.50. I thought the shipping had been set to $3.50 but it showed up as Free Shipping in "My Ebay". I was really glad I won the auction for this beautiful sketch of a beautiful woman.

The Artist Javier Gonzalez of Blackhilt Studios I think was also the seller under the Ebay handle Blackhilt Studios. The card was listed as an ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) sketch card.

 2013 Blackhilt Studios Sketch Card by Javier Gonzalez

Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering (Warehouse 13)

(Front and Back)

Why The Ridiculously High Price?

OK this post is primarily just a huge rant. It is mostly about the ridiculously high prices for individual cards that folks ask for on Ebay and elsewhere because some boneheaded collector or the silly folks at Beckett have said the card is worth that skyhigh price.

A case in point this "Lost In Space" The Movie autograph card made by Inkworks in 1998 of Lacey Chabert who played Penny Robinson, the teenaged "cute" younger sister played by Angela Cartwright in the original 1965 television show.

1998 Inkworks Lost in Space Autograph Card

A-2 Lacey Chabert as Penny Robinson black on-card sharpie

(Front and back)

 

Images from blog: retiredcomicguy.blogspot.com

 

For at least a year or two, possibly longer, I have been watching various copies of this card on Ebay. It isn't often listed as an auction, but usually as a fixed price item for sale. When it does it does come up for auction this card usually starts at OVER $100. At the time of this rant there are 3 Fixed priced listings currently at $108.39 + $10 shipping (in Australia using the Aussie Dollar Mate), one at $130 (or best offer, whoopie they probably won't take anything under $100) with $6.95 shipping in Columbia, Maryland bet they send it in a PWE and the third at $125 w/ Free Shipping from Phoenix, Arizona. That is plain RIDICULOUS with a CAPITAL "R".

Any collectors who know me know that I try to get the lowest price as possible for any of the cards on my want and wish lists. OK I am really really cheap. My standard maximum price I am willing to pay for an individual card, especially newer cards, is just about 40 bucks. Obviously for some vintage cards of huge stars I'll have to go a little higher, but NOT over $100. At least not until I am a confirmed millionaire and can afford to buy any card new or vintage for over $100.

The other two autograph cards A-1 Mom Maureen Robinson (Mimi Rogers) and A-3 little brother Will Robinson (Jack Johnson) from this set sometimes start at $50 or more, but can be found closer to my comfort zone of $20-$30 ($30 is my near-maximum price). So far I think $35 is the most I have EVER Paid for a single card.

For my Non-Sport collecting wants/needs I currently need ALL THREE of these cards. I am watching all 3 now, but haven't pulled the trigger on them yet. As I said the Lacey Chabert one I will NOT pay those ridiculous prices for.

Related blog post article: 1998 Autographed A-2 Lacey Chabert Lost in Space Movie Trading Card by Inkworks

Two From Leena

In my quest to build my Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 collection, I have recently acquired a couple (read only 2) of the tons of autograph cards needed, both by the same actor. Both I got from Ebay auctions the first one I got (the newer one) took 2 bids it started at about $5bucks but ended up costing me $10.50 the other I got for the opening bid of $9.00 because I bid on it closer to the ending time. The actor in this case is the lovely Genelle Williams who played Leena the original bed and breakfast owner in the series. As far as I know they never gave Leena a last name. She had the psychic ability to read people's auras and helped manage the inventory in the Warehouse.

Both cards have the same black border autograph design but have a different photo of Genelle. The backs are nearly identical only the copyright date IDs which set the card is from. Things could get more confusing as the Season 2 set was released in 2011 but the card is dated 2010.

The Season 2 card actually cost the seller $5.60 to ship. It was well packaged not one of those cheesy PWE jobs. It was in one of those document sized priority mail envelopes as the outside envelope then a medium media mailing envelope like the old film development envelopes, then sandwiched between two pieces of card board then an invitation type envelope and finally in the "bonus" pack = the original serial numbered 6 card pack it came from (or one similar if not the exact one)

The cards:

2011 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season 2: Autograph Card NNO - Genelle Williams as Leena

on card blue sharpie $9.00 + $3.00 Shipping

2013 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season 4: Autograph Card NNO - Genelle Williams as Leena

on card blue sharpie $10.50 + $2.69 Shipping.

The Pack: An unexpected bonus, I had forgotten that the auction description said the pack would be included. None of the other cards that came in it were included just the one Autograph card.

 Warehouse 13 Rittenhouse 2013 - 6 Card Pack Serial Numbered #1138/3000

(Front and Back)

Here is what I still need in all the seasons so far:

2010 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season 1:
Base Set (72/72): HAVE ALL.
Artifact "Snag it, Bag it, and Tag it" Cards (0/18): (These are cards about the "Artifacts" from the show not props cuttings from the show those are "Relics") A01, A02, A03, A04, A05, A06, A07, A08, A09, A10, A11, A12, A13, A14, A15, A16, A17, A18
Gallery Cards (0/6): All G1,G2, G3, G4, G5, G6
Autograph Cards (0/14): Main Cast: Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, Genelle Williams, Simon Reynolds  Guest Cast: Tricia Helfer, Erica Cerra, Susan Hogan, Niall Matter, Alec Medlock, Mark Shepard, Michael Boatman, Joe Morton, Michael Hogan
[I think I have all the Promo Cards (4/4)?: CP1, P1, P2, P3 Need to double check]

2011 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season 2:
Base Set (0/26): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Artifact "Snag it, Bag it, and Tag it" Cards (0/9):  (see Season 1 description) (?starts with #A20?) A20, A21, A22, A23, A24, A25, A26, A27, A28
Autograph Cards (1/18) : Main Cast: Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek, Allison Scagliotti, CCH Pounder, Jaime Murray Guest Cast: Roberta Maxwell, Nolan Gerard Funk, Tyler Hynes, Tia Carrere, Neil Grayston, Armin Shimerman, Faran Tahir, Sherry Miller, Sarah Allen, Jun Yul-Kim, Dillon Casey
[Promo Cards (3/3): (Again I think I have all promos from this season) P1, P2, P3]

2012 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season 3:
Base Set (0/26): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Artifact "Snag it, Bag it, and Tag it" Cards (0/9): A29, A30, A31, A32, A33, A34, A35, A36, A37 (see Season 1 description)
Autograph Cards (0/13): Main Cast: Eddie McClintock, Saul Rubinek, Allison Scagliotti, CCH Pounder, Aaron Ashmore Guest Cast: David Anders, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Lindsay Wagner, Aaron Ashmore (variation), Sasha Roiz (variant 1), Sasha Roiz (variant 2), Rene Auberjonoi
Promo Cards (0/2): P1, P2

2013 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season 4:
Base Set (0/20): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Autograph Cards (1/8):  Main Cast: Joanne Kelly, Allison Scagliotti, CCH Pounder, Jaime Murray Guest Cast: Ashley Williams, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan 
Of Monsters And Men (0/10): MM01, MM02, MM03, MM04, MM05, MM06, MM07, MM08, MM09, MM10
Grand Designs Insert Set (0/10): GD01, GD02, GD03, GD04, GD05, GD06, GD07, GD07, GD08, GD09, GD10
Promo Cards (0/2): P1, P2
Box Topper (cast card)(0/1): NN?

Warehouse 13 Cards NOTE: The autograph cards only have 2 different styles of design. There is the black border style and the Farnsworth (the video communications device from the series) style. Some actors seem to have an auto on each design, for each season, others seem to have 2 on one design with a different photo. It maybe confusing for me to know what I really have of them then. Also the limited numbers of all the different types of cards make it very difficult for me to get these cards let alone get them for a decent price.

I am a bit annoyed at Rittenhouse for making so few of the base cards for the later seasons, not only in the number of cards in the sets only 26, but also in the limited numbers they made them in only about 250? Serial Numbered? OK so it seems the packs were serial numbered? Very strange very limited way to do things. This super short printing of stuff is really ticking me off about this hobby that I have been a part of most of my life.

Holy Hawaii Batman!

I got two more sketch cards one on Wednesday 02 February 2012 and one the following day. These cost a bit more than the pencil sketch cards I had mentioned before. First up is a sketch of DC Comic Heroine Batgirl on her Batcycle.

 

This card is a pencil sketch with pen & ink with gray shading, watercolor? The back is signed by the artist Lyle Pollard and dated "2k'12" it has ink bleed-through from the ink on the front.

I like his style but I have a problem with some of his faces, there were other cards I saw where I liked the subject but there was something about how he did the face that didn't sit with me well.

 After studying this particular sketch I noticed that Batgirl has a scrawny pencil-neck. I also noticed that her windblown hair seems to be too high behind her, maybe her pony tail is high and that is the loose hair below the hairband.Those are my only complaints about this sketch. I got it from Ebay for $14.99 w/Free Shipping.

 Next up we have a card from an "upcoming designer of non-sports trading cards" of the Hawaii Five-0 Character Kono Kalakaua played by Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica).

 It is a pencil sketch colored with what looks like watercolor. The artist uses thin paper stock that is textured to simulate canvas. The back is actually a second piece of paper stock that has a certificate and is serial numbered to 250. Each of this artist's print runs is numbered to 250. It is sealed in a toploader (no penny sleeve though). I got this one for $12.99 w/ $1.95 shipping. This one is numbered 224/250.

 At first I thought and assumed (dangerous to do I know) that the seller was the artist his Ebay ID is vinestreetstuff. It doesn't look like he is the artist as the guy has a couple of other artist's work for sale. One of the artists this guy sells cards of is named Michael Celona, but this signature doesn't match the one for him. The signature on the back looks like it starts with a "P" maybe "Phil"?

It seems that sketch artists don't put their cards in a penny sleeve before putting them in the toploader. At least most have the sense to use toploaders and not those silly "card savers". (see my post on My Cal Ripken RC) The card saver is better than nothing, unfortunately a lot of card sellers and card collectors will put cards in them and ship them in a thin envelope (bad) or a PWE (worse). They are usually OK if put in a bubble mailer or a more substantial mailer or box. Cardsavers are OK for storage and display, but not for shipping.

Bonus Non-Sport Promo Cards

I forget when I got these promo cards but they came as a FREEBIE bonus from some seller I think from sportlots.com but it could have been from Ebay. I'm fairly certain though that my purchase had been some sports cards so why they included some Non-Sport cards I don't know. That is another of my little pet peeves of card sellers the inclusion of a "Bonus" card(s) that are not related to the card you purchased. If I buy some football cards then give me some football cards as a bonus preferably the same team, not baseball or basketball or non-sport. If I order non-sport cards either send cards from these same series, a similar series or something that is non-sport don't send me no baseball or football cards with my TV or general entertainment cards. I think it is better to not include a bonus than to include something totally unrelated.

Now onto the cards I received all of them are TV or Movie related and are made by Inkworks.

The first two are for sets from the TV show Charmed which starred Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Rose McGowan (who replaced Shannon Doherty). I haven't gotten the Charmed sets yet, but I would like to and maybe try to find some of the other promo cards, but not any of the costume cards those are the non-sport version of a jersey card. I have never liked the idea of cutting up memorabilia into little 1" squares to glue onto 2.5" x 3.5" pieces of cardboard.

 2006 Inkworks - P1 Charmed Destiny Promo Card

 2004 Inkworks - CC1 Charmed Connections Promo Card

2004 Inkworks - CC1 Charmed Connections Promo Card Back

This final card is from a family movie The Golden Compass by New Line Cinema. It is for trade or I might sell it for like 2 bucks.

2007 Inkworks - GC-P1 The Golden Compass Promo Card