On a terrible day in pop culture history that saw the release of the infamous Pepsi ad in which Michael Jackson suffered severe burns to his scalp, Upper Deck has announced special cards commemorating the career of the greatest artist of all-time.
These brand new caricatures, created by the renowned Court Jones, will be short prints in the upcoming 2009 UDx baseball brand, expected to be released on August 4th. While some may accuse Upper Deck of pandering and/or exploiting what has so far been the story of 2009, I for one am thankful for the opportunity to own these cards.
You didn’t hear this from me but word around The Hobby is that there is an upcoming product which features a “1 of 1″ certified cut autograph of the King of Pop which will be released in 2009. It would be the very first of its kind in trading card history but something tells me it won’t be the last.
(images lead to full size mock-ups)
I think this is a cool idea! and since i am the first post i will respond to the haters out there(and there are)….. we live in America where you are innocent until PROVEN guilty. we do not live in the land of public opinion
Ok, these are tacky, tasteless, crass and exploitative. They are also completely freaking awesome. I want one. Any of them. Hell, Michael’s whole life was tacky, tasteless, crass, exploitative and awesome so these are actually a fitting tribute.
These are going to be in UDX? Upper Deck you manipulative bastards.
dayf, MIchael Jackson didn’t die early soon enough to make them seeded in UD Series 2.
I suppose it’s better to put it in an upcoming product in 2009 than to wait until 2010 UD Series 1 to put in a product that caters to most collectors.
What a bunch of shit, straight up shit. Short prints offer up an increased secondary market value, and nothing else. This is just awful, and it epitomizes the back-stabbing greedy ass-hat that was MJ. The fact that someone has the balls to release caricatures actually blows my mind. I wouldn’t touch this product w/ a ten foot pole, but I’m sure people will.
What’s next, Upper Deck releasing a Steve McNair best husband ever set?
Is Upper Deck exploring an option of making cards interesting again or is it another way for them to make a quick buck off of someone’s death? However I don’t feel that the MJ cards should be in a set of cards aimed at youth collecting. I find it very disturbing and distasteful on the part of UD for doing that given the allegations that were brought against him and I understand the whole “innocent until proven guilty” thing but they could’ve aimed the cards for another series of cards. I’m not saying I hate Mr. Jackson cause I do respect him from one musician to another, what I am saying is that UD is looking at trying to sell the “Fail boat of UDX brand” by simply adding Michael Jackson’s name to it hoping it sails to the seven seas of cash. If they want to make it interesting then put a 1/1 DNA relic card of his burnt hair from the pepsi commercial on a card and sell it.
I went to a card show two months ago…. spent hours there and saw no one under 18. It’s safe to say these cards won’t harm anyone and will please collectors who might have also been fans of MJ.
Better yet why not make a, “Michael Jackson sleep used pieces of the hyperbaric chamber” and put that in a set of Topps Triple Threads where you get a piece of chamber, piece of bedding, and a piece of sheet.
I know and I understand what you’re saying Mario. Just a bit of a hard pill to swallow with all that happened.
Oh wow.
I wish UD would focus more on sports and less on pop culture events.
HEE HEE JA-MOAN-A!
Chemgod, I wish UD would focus more on NOT bringing back “X”.
I have some shots of the back of the cards, so you can see his stats:
http://fullbodytransplant.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/upper-deck-announces-michael-jackson-tribute-cards/
The caricatures are loud and freaky intense. I imagine that they capture the self-image that he had while he was with us. I can’t wait to collect them all.
I like the idea but did they need to make the cards so freaking ugly.
a – UD “X” was horrible last year and I can’t believe they are bringing it back
b – I’m not and MJ fan, so this isn’t my cup of tea but I’m sure a lot of other people will enjoy buying a crappy product trying to pull these sp’s. I think it’s kind of exploitive, but oh well.
tan lindo
Im the only one that kind of liked parts of UDX-08. although Im 100% against UDX 09.. the things they got right they canned and the design is crappier.
now theyre just milking a death to carry the product. pitiful.