Razor Offers Sneak Peek Into Pop Century

Thanks to the huge response by Wax Heaven readers in the Pop Century contest, Brian Gray has decided to share two mock-ups of autographs that will be included in the upcoming non-sports release in 2010.

The first card is of comedian/actor, Christopher Lloyd, who is likely best remembered as the wild-haired “Doc” in the ‘Back to the Future’ movie trilogies. According to the Internet Movie Database, the 71-year old actor has over five projects in the works.

The second card is of everyone’s favorite blond from the E! reality TV show, ‘Girls Next Door’, Kendra Wilkinson. She has an autograph in 2009 Upper Deck Spectrum but I think I like the Razor edition a lot more.

Other celebrities who have already signed their Pop Century cards include popular music act, Pink, Star Trek legend, William Shatner, Lord of the Rings alum, Sean Astin, celebrity disaster, Kim Kardashian, and veteran actor, Richard Dreyfuss.

The Razor contest has been extended until Friday.

Chasing Nostalgia Pt. 5

Every collector starts somewhere. For me, it was 1990 Classic WWF trading cards. This was my first foray into trading cards and despite showing its age, this set still looks great close to twenty years later.

You must remember, this is 1990 we’re talking about. Don’t expect to find any memorabilia cards or certified autographs. You can however, rely on some excellent photography, both in studio and action shots.

If you’re a wrestling fan from the 80’s and early-90’s, you will find all your favorite superstars from yesteryear. From Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, to those well-known “jobbers” like Brooklyn Brawler. Everyone is represented.

Being a fan of Classic, especially in baseball, this WWF set might actually be the best work they have ever done. From personalized cards with the wrestler’s logos and more, to entertaining and informative card backs.

If you can find a set for under $10 dollars, it’s a must-buy product.

Information:

Current eBay price – $15+ for a factory set

Guarantees – 145 cards

Look for – Lots of nostalgia-inducing images

The Good:

Iconic photography

Informative card backs

The Bad:

Flimsy card stock

Final Grade: A-

Topps Mayo Review

I’m a big fan of retro-themed products. This year alone I have fallen for T-51 Murad Basketball, Allen & Ginter Baseball, and to some extent, Topps Mayo Football.

For me, I still have a bad taste left in my mouth from the disastrous 2008 Mayo release, which promised more than it delivered and left many football collectors upset with Topps.

This year, Topps ditched the black & white base cards for a more Allen & Ginter style version. The base cards and relics look great, as do the mini parallels and variations. The autographs on the other hand, don’t quite live up to the retro theme.

Unfortunately, much like T-51 Basketball, Topps used stickers for the autographs. While they are the more subtle clear labels, it does bring down the feel of the product. Would Allen & Ginter be as popular if it featured stickers?

As for Mayo, it’s a great-looking product but for a collector that’s been recently spoiled by Topps Finest and Topps Chrome, it lacks the excitement those more flashy releases bring to the table.

Information:

Current eBay price – $75+

Guarantees – One relic & autograph per box

Look for – Cut signatures, rip cards, quad autographs

The Good:

Great designs runs through entire product

Excellent mini parallel variations

The Bad:

Sticker autographs on a retro-themed product

Results:

Relic – Ronnie Brown

Autograph – Gartrell Johnson

Final Grade: B

Razor Going After Non-Sports Market

Lately, I’ve lost much interest in sports cards thanks to one exclusive contract after another. Thankfully, I have non-sports cards keeping me entertained, although even that market has suffered after Inkworks shut its doors.

While Razor got their feet wet by producing Razor Ink Archives and selling what was left of Inkworks’ material, in 2010 they will be producing their first original non-sports set titled ‘Pop Century’.

Having gotten an early sneak peek at some of the celebrities that have already signed up, some early design mock-ups, and even a few photographs from celebrities endorsing the product, I believe it has a chance to compete head on with Donruss’ Americana release.

While the product is still being worked on and sell sheets will likely not be available until early 2010, Brian Gray, owner of Razor and a big fan of the card blogosphere thought collectors might want to help in the creative process and has even come up with some pretty awesome rewards.

To enter this contest, simply create a list in the comments section with your Top 3 Celebrity Autographs you’d like to see included in 2010 Pop Century. You may also include dead celebrities, as these days it’s incredibly easy to find documents to cut up and include into a card.

The reader with the best suggestion will win this extremely rare Razor Poker Shannon Elizabeth autograph. The two runner-ups will each win a Razor Metal Matt Wieters on-card autograph.

Contest officially ends on Sunday night.

It Ain’t Easy Being Jericho

It’s already been proven time and time again that there are just some people who cannot handle wrestling. Folks, it’s a show. Yes, it’s dangerous and can lead to death and many horrible things but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a show.

Chris Jericho, once a headlining act in multiple organizations, is now just one level above Santino in the comedy department at WWE. He’s basically turned into an over the top “bad guy” who in one week will insult TV legend Bob Barker and in another week gets made fun of by Ozzy Osbourne and family.

Unfortunately for Jericho, it appears that he’s become the poster boy for bad publicity. Earlier this year his car was mobbed by fans and he was attacked by a couple of idiots who didn’t comprehend that wrestling is scripted and not real life.

Last week, after too many drinks and/or while in character, Jericho made some insultin remarks aimed at Middle Easterners & gays. The host of the event, Mister Lobo, made the best of the publicity by sending TMZ a video of the event as well as a response.

If you think that’s the end of it, check out what happened to Jericho two days ago at a WWE event. Nothing worse than catching a flying glow stick with your face and having to take it. You can bet the coward who threw the glow stick would not have gotten away with it during Jericho’s ECW days.

Someone else that made TMZ this week: Beckett Media

Searching For Dead Prospects

When I left the Hobby in 1997 it was out of sheer frustration. I had found a young player to get behind and root for and wanted every card of his I could get my hands on.

While I did manage to pick up a few low-end Jose Cruz Jr. baseball cards, his most-wanted issues came from 1997 Bowman Chrome and were way beyond what I could afford at 17.

In 2008, after my return to collecting, one of my first goals was to pick up those Cruz Jr. Bowman releases. In the end, I picked up almost every single one until all that was left were those hard to find copies.

A few days ago I featured the iconic 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson which once sold for over $100 dollars regularly. Today, you can find a well-worn, non-graded copy for less than a five-spot.

Back in the early-90’s, copies of Jose Canseco’s 1986 Donruss Rated Rookie sold for close to $200 dollars. I wasn’t able to pick one up until the late-90’s and by that time you could get them for around $15.

Today, that very same card can be yours for less than one dollar.

So, what forgotten treasure is top on your most-wanted list?

Metal Coulda Been A Contender

Parallels shouldn’t be complicated. Essentially, it’s a double with a little added bonus. Some companies add a different color border, other change the color of the foil. The most famous parallel, the Refractor, adds a colored glow to their cards.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

There are very few parallels that have been able to compete with Topps’ Refractor. One would be Pinnacle’s Dufex technology but with that company long gone and the owner of the brand, Panini, out of baseball, odds are we have seen the last of Dufex.

Another parallel that had a chance had the company not folded, was Fleer/Skybox’s Precious Metal Gems that made their debut in 1998 Metal Universe and were extremely tough pulls. While I could not find stated odds, they were numbered to just 50 copies and in 1998, that was a pretty big deal.

For those collectors who never experienced the short-lived Metal Universe brand, I’d highly recommend a box from 1996-1998 (avoid all others). Along with the most unique and somewhat insane base cards, you will find some pretty innovative inserts. For a short while, they may have even been more popular than Topps’ Chrome line-up.

You can find boxes of 1998 Metal Universe on eBay for about $40 dollars.