Wendy's DC Super Heroes

Wendy's DC Super Heroes

Kid's Meal Toys

I couldn't even venture to guess the last time we got a Wendy's kids meal toy that wasn't at least half comprised of cardboard and stickers.  This DC Super Heroes promotion takes us back to days of old in more way than one.  Aside from getting our money's worth in plastic, these figurines are reminiscent of 80s/90s properties we love.  MUSCLE, CUTIES, Monster in My Pocket...sure they are cheap to produce, unpainted minis, but they are so much fun to collect!

The exaggerated, toony sculpt are right up my alley.  Refreshing to see an original take not tied to a horrible movie promotion.  Though, that's probably why I only heard about these through word of mouth.  (Coincidently while reading a retro article on Monster in My Pocket.)

You get three figures per box...three!  Unheard of value there!  Each set is a themed group with six sets to collect.  Well, to be a completist, you would be collecting 24 sets, as each set comes in one of four colors: red, blue, green, and purple.  It is a bit strange having a purple Flash...who do I look like?  Geoff Johns?!

Wendy's did us a solid by not sticking to true the "mystery box" gimmick.  There is a sealed box involved, but there is also a number and color for the set inside on the bottom of the box.  As an added bonus, there are mini trading cards for each figure!

I would like to see this theme return in the future.  The villains are way outnumbered and some DC staples are noticeably absent.  How about a whole Batman promotion to get a good chunk of his rogues gallery in this style?  

I imagine this promotion will carry on through Halloween. Don't sleep on these if you are a DC fan and/or fan of 80s/90s toys.  

Bill and Ted Trading Cards

Bill and Ted's Most Atypical Movie Cards

Pro Set - 1991

Action figures by Kenner

This was a most excellent flea market find:  a sealed box of Bill and Ted trading cards for ten bucks!  I've had these for a couple of month's now, but with the recent, official announcement that B&T 3 (Bill and Ted Face the Music) is actually happening, "the best time to be review these cards...is now!"
So with a little help from my most outstanding Kenner Bill and Ted action figures, let's take a look!

That's 36 packs with 10 cards each.  360 cards in a box with a 100 card set meant I ended up with 3 complete sets and some leftovers...not bad, dude!

You get some nice, full color shots from both "Excellent Adventure" and "Bogus Journey", production shots, promotional pictures, and even some scenes that didn't make the cut.  Station!

 

There is a promotional game piece in every pack that has a spot you can scratch to see if you win a grand prize trip to San Dimas, CA...which is kind of bogus considering most of the first movie is shot in Arizona.  I would rather have the non-heinous first prize of a phone booth! 

 

The scratcher part didn't hold up well, so the few I did scratch were either hard to read or rubbed straight through the card.  Oh well...while it was tempting to see if there was a winning ticket buried on a dusty shelf of a flea market in Springfield, MO, it probably would have been heartbreaking as you couldn't turn back the clock to redeem it.  Unless, of course, you're a master of the time game...

Alternate ending?!  Righteous!

Deleted scene...catch you later, nightmare bunny!

Finding cheap sets like this is always a bodacious trip back in time.  While I wish there were some fun chase cards like holograms, I definitely got my money's worth in nostalgia.  Like phone booths, trading cards are a rare breed these days here in the non-movie, actual future. ("Heavy!)  Will the third movie get a set?  Here's hoping!  Until then, be excellent to each other.  And...

PARTY ON, DUDES!

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?!"