First Look: Cryptozoic DC Comics Super-Villains
By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Media
In the DC Comics universe, it seems that for every super hero, there is a super villain waiting in the wings to create havoc. Whether they are robbing a bank or committing some elaborate and crazy prank, many of these mayhem makers have gained a huge following among readers and they are now getting a trading card product of their own thanks to the team at Cryptozoic Entertainment.
Scheduled for release this week, Cryptozoic DC Comics Super-Villains is loaded up top quality art focusing on these characters and collectors busting boxes will have an opportunity to pull some memorable cards – including sketch cards from top artists.
What else will be coming out of boxes? Find out after the jump.
The action begins with a 63-card base set which features such fan favorites as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Bane and Poison Ivy and all of the backs for these cards and the product’s inserts were penned by noted comic book writer Adam Beechen, who has authored issues of Batman Beyond, Teen Titans, and Justice League Unlimited in recent years.
Cryptozoic DC Comics Super-Villains also has a few intriguing non-memorabilia insert collections. Crime Syndicate of America (six cards, 1:4) and Sirens (1:8) are multi-card puzzles and Noir (1:4) is an eye-catching collection that presents its subjects in black and white. Forever Evil (1:4) sees the villains hijack the titles of their arch-enemies and each box contains a special blank variant of these cards where the collector decides whether or not they want to add their own art to create a one-of-a-kind card. Fans of the original 1966 Topps Batman set will appreciate the Batman Classic TV series Cryptomium Reissue cards (1:24) that look back nearly 50 years at the campy and well-loved show and the villains that helped it endure in popular culture.
There are also some big sketch hits to be found in each box as the regular one-of-one art cards appear once per box. Among the artists Cryptozoic brought on board for this project are Ariana Atanazio, Michael Banks, Mary Bellamy, Carlos Cabaleiro, Adriano Carreon, Jader Correa, Omid Maskoos, Bill Maus, Jason McLellan, Rich Molinelli, Jay Pangan, Plinio Plinto, Matthew Sutton, Redg Vicente, and Jeff Victor. For an even greater chase, there are die-cut Hall of Doom sketch cards that appear once in every 288 packs.
Replica Patch cards (1:96) will be a strong pull, but perhaps the most eyebrow-raising concept in this product, though, happens to be the Totally Fabricated costume cards (1:192). Each of these cards will house a piece of a theoretical costume from a villain and they will certainly have some fans. An exclusive Totally Fabricated card of The Joker will be packaged with the product’s official binder.
Finally, each of the base cards and regular insert cards will have Printing Plates (1:288) along with Silver Foil Board (1:2) and Gold Foil Board (1:48) parallels. The Gold cards are numbered to just 25 copies each.
Stephen Laroche is the editor of Beckett Hockey and a contributor to other Beckett Media publications. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at slaroche@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Laroche.
There are hundreds of super villains in the DC Universe, could the artists depict any one that the wished?