DC Comics Trading Cards

DC Comics Trading Cards

Cosmic Cards/Cosmic Teams

Impel - 1992/1993

 

 

Impel's Marvel Universe Series II trading cards was what really introduced me to the larger world of comic books and superheroes growing up.  Classic, colorful heroes on one side and a mini-biography with power stats and trivia questions on the other...sold by the pack at my local grocery store (you know, the ones before Neighborhood Markets or any other chains.). 

 

As I grew up and grew apart from Marvel (damn Spider-clones) I started to lean into the older parts of the DC universe.  I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this series of cards, but up til about a month ago, I had no idea they existed!  The same card company, similar layouts, classic characters... but in DC comics flavor!  I guess they were a little late to the game, and my grocery store didn't carry them.  Thank goodness for Ebay!  I scored a sealed box for about $20 shipped.  36 packs with 12 cards each! 

Now, I do love these cards, but there are some negatives.  Compared to the Marvel cards, they're a bit drab.  I mean, a gray border? Really?  Also there are no Batman, Bat-family (save for Nightwing), or Bat-rogues cards as they were licensed by Topps at the time.  Maybe it was being the older comics company or maybe it was being a couple of card series behind, but for whatever reason, DC made this set a whopping 180 cards! The negative is that you'd be lucky to get one complete set per box where you might get 2 or even 3 with a standard series.





 

The box labels DC Cosmic Cards as the "inaugural series." Ha!  Save for a spin-off the following year with "Cosmic Teams," this could also be labeled the "final series!".  I would have liked these to continue on, mostly to include Batman, but I guess it was not meant to be.  It was fun while it lasted: several hours of tearing open vintage card packs, searching for holograms, sorting, cataloging. Ah, simpler times!

"TWO holograms?!"