Back in late summer I was contacted by Topps and asked to be part of the 2013 mars Attacks trading card set. To be more specific and less impressive sounding, I was asked to draw sketch-cards, which is what would be referred to as “chase cards”. “Chase cards” are Cards you wish you had gotten when you open each pack instead of the doubles and triples of the crappy cards you don’t like,so you buy more packs hoping to find one. Even though drawing a martian 2×3 inches tall over and over sounds like not much fun…it IS Mars Attacks and so I agreed and drew up Martians on 156 little official looking trading cards and sent them off to Topps in mid Sept.
Well, I have FINALLY, nigh a month after the rest of the free world got theirs…gotten MY MARS ATTACKS cards from Topps! (still waiting on my check…those of you who have gotten an order late from me, fear not, there IS Karma and it finds me often.)
As part of the agreement to contribute to their little trading card set, I got to “flag” six cards to be returned to me and do with as I please (as well as getting paid…I was told). Seeing as how I got to choose the six, I of course put a considerable amount of more detail and time into those than the other 150. Make no mistake though, the other 150 are good as well…but THESE…these are something.
The sketch-cards were randomly inserted into packs. (perhaps my check was as well…perhaps some ten year-old will open a pack and get my check…and clothes pin it into his bycycle spokes so his bike sounds like a motorcycle…clackyclackityclakity..that’s the sound of my check…somewhere far far away)
According to Topps the odds of getting any sketch card are 1 in 25 packs. At 5.oo a pack that’s possibly $125.00 to get ANY sketch card…factor in how many other jerks were part of the sketch card program and the odds against getting one by ME (because I am only agreed to do 150) are much, much higher.
THESE Cards though are unlike any you can even hope to get in a pack, Each of these have been painstakingly inked with a brush to get the richest detail and line variation! (perhaps my Check is being inked by hand, each squared digit in the banking code on the bottom carefully being done so precisely that the encoding machine will read it, even a water mark being added by hand with a toothpick and lemon juice)
I am keeping one for myself, one went to NSN art as a finder’s fee for hooking me up with Topps. So that leaves FOUR AND ONLY FOUR for sale. (all of the cards pictured here are up for grabs) 85.00 each shipping included. They are up for sale at the store under ‘artwork” This link should take you right to them http://arseniclullabies.highwire.com/products/artwork?pagesize=12
A deal at twice the price, and remember…I do commissions so if Mars Attacks is your thing but you’d like something bigger than a card, I think I can manage…especially after drawing them 156 times. Commission guidelines here
…as for the one I kept for myself, not really the best but I found it charming.
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