My Two Cents: Cut signatures and Signature-only Card Releases

I am not a big fan of the signature-only releases. Comparing cost versus return it seems to be more of a gamble than even I am willing to make. The cards present in these sets, in my opinion, are not individually worth enough to make up for the overall cost of a box when added together. Also, most of the celebrities who sign the cards are not ones I'd be interested, and if I decided I did want an autograph or two, it typically would be much more cost effective to buy them individually off eBay or trade for them via the trading forum at Non-Sports Update Magazine's Card Talk. For instance, in the 2010 Razor Pop Century set, I was able to snag a Taryn Manning autograph off eBay for 99 cents plus a couple bucks shipping.
The other types of signature only releases I don't care for are the cut signatures. The difference between autograph cards and cut signature cards is that regular autograph cards have the signatures actually on the card (or on a sticker that is directly applied to the card) while the cut signature cards have an autograph that has been cut from a previously autographed item (autographed photo, signed letter or a canceled check, for example) and placed inside a card much like a costume or prop card. The reason I dislike the cut signatures so much is two-fold:

1. I would much rather have a signature on a card that was signed specifically for that card set as opposed to a signature cut from something unrelated to the card set in question; and
2. I really take issue with these companies cutting up items in order to make cards.

Now, I understand that cut signatures are often the only way to insert autographs from historic figures into card sets. If you cut up a signed 8x10 photo is one thing, but to cut up a letter that was written and and signed by a historical figure is another. In the near future, Famous Fabrics is putting out a set called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW that will include cut signatures from many of those who have served as President of the United States. The checklist includes John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. Obviously, these signatures will be cut from previously signed items. And that's the problem.

In order to get signatures from these historic figures, historic documents will be sliced and diced to remove the desired autograph that will be placed into a card. Personally, I would much rather have the actual document. Sure, it may not be a document of historic value beyond the fact that it was handled by a former president, but wouldn't that actual document make a much better addition to any person's collection than just the signature cut out and placed in a trading card? I think so. I think an actual presidentially signed document hanging in my home would be infinitely nicer.

But I must say, that if I were to open any product of cut signatures and I pulled a highly sought after card, I would definitely be happy about it. I have to say, I'm a bit jealous about the huge, HUGE pull that a collector made from the 2011 Leaf Pop Century. And I couldn't resist mentioning it here.

The collector/dealer who goes by the Cardtalk handle "Miss Lizzy" posted recently that she had decided to open a single box of Leaf Pop Century. In addition to the guaranteed 8 autographed cards, she also received a redemption for the most sought-after card in the set, a unique 1-of-1 fold-out card featuring a cut signature of John F. Kennedy, a cut signature of Lee Harvey Oswald and a rare seat swatch of the limousine transporting President Kennedy at the time of his assassination. The panels of the card looked like this:

First let me say that I find this card very strange and something I would not want to own. As historic as the individual pieces are, I just would feel weird owning something like this that is associated with the death of a president (mostly it's the swatch from the car seat that gives me pause). But let me say this, if I had purchased a box and pulled this card, I would not be able to resist collecting on any amount that I could get for selling it. A double-standard? Maybe. But I have no doubt that this card, should she decide to part with it, could bring in a significant amount of money.

Of course, many sets offer these 1-of-1 type pulls to entice collectors to make purchases, and typically they are ones that could be sold in the after-market for significant profit. But up to this point, I have not been enticed enough to make such a purchase. And now that the one big hit of 2011 Leaf Pop Century has been snagged, I certainly will not be paying anywhere from $150-190 per box for this product.

My tendency to make the gamble in non-sport trading cards just might make me pull the trigger on a future product. However, I can't imagine I'd ever be as lucky as Miss Lizzy was with this product.

Cryptozoic Entertainment Preview

My goal for writing previews on this blog has been to devote a post to just a single product; however, I feel I have to make an exception in this case. Cryptozoic Entertainment (CZE) has jumped into the trading card business with guns a-blazing and of the four products they have announced, I am excited about three of them. So, I figured it only right to discuss them all in a single post.

I didn't know much about CZE prior to the trading card news, but a review of their website shows that they were founded in March 2010 and initially produced games. While gaming is definitely still part of their business, the company announced in February that it would be producing its first trading card set to raise funds for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF). Not long after, the group announced plans to produce sets based on three television shows: The Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries and The Big Bang Theory.

Here is a breakdown of the sets and my initial thoughts. I'll start with the TV shows.

The Vampire Diaries
Release Date: September 2011
Packs: 5 cards per pack; 24 packs per box
MSRP: $3.50 per pack
Base Set: 72 cards
Chase Sets: Two 9-card chase sets
Inserts: Autographs and Memorabilia

This is the set I am least interested in only because I do not watch the show nor have any knowledge of it. In the briefest of terms, the official CW Network website for the show states: "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is the story of two vampire brothers obsessed with the same beautiful girl, and battling to control the fate of an entire town." This set will cover season one of the series.

This appears to be a typical set in terms of the number of cards in the base set, as well as number of packs per box and cards per pack. With one hit guaranteed per box there should be a total of 119 base/chase cards (unless packs are shorted due to thickness of a memorabilia card). I would assume that a complete base set could be made from this, but my guess is that neither of the two chase sets can be completed in a single box.

One thing CZE has stated from the beginning is that they will not announce autograph/memorabilia inclusions until the items are actually in hand. They also state on the website that each of these inserts will have a CZE hologram to denote authenticity.

For this set, there are 11 confirmed autographers as of 5/10/11. They are:
Candice Accola
Sara Canning
Matt Davis
Nina Dobrev
Katerina Graham
Steven R. McQueen
Julie Plec
Zach Roerig
Michael Trevino
Paul Wesley
Kevin Williamson

While CZE has not shown an image of the base cards yet (at least not that I've seen), they have included samples of the autographed cards on their website.

copyright Cryptozoic Entertainment

If this design is any indication of what the base cards will look like, then this will be a very nice looking set, and definitely one that fans of the show will strive to own.

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The Walking Dead
Release Date: Summer 2011
Packs: 5 cards per pack; 24 packs per box
MSRP: $3.50 per pack
Base Set: 72 cards
Chase Sets: Two 9-card chase sets
Inserts: Memorabilia and Sketch Cards and Autographs

This show on AMC, based on the long-running comics series written by Robert Kirkman, had quite the debut in October 2010. The show was hailed by comics and zombie lovers everywhere, but seemed to end a bit prematurely after just six season-one episodes. However, the fans spoke and AMC ordered a second season of 13 episodes.

This set highlights season 1 and contains the same number of base cards and cards per pack/packs per box as its other sets. This set differs from the other two CZE TV sets in that it will include sketch cards, as well. However, no details on who the artists will be have been released. Also, a list of autographers also are not known at this time, although I hope they are able to include autographed cards from the comics creators.

However, some of the materials to be used in the memorabilia cards have been identified, including this nice number:

copyright Cryptozoic Entertainment

Without a doubt, I will add this set to the collection.

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The Big Bang Theory
Release Date: Fall 2011
Packs: 5 cards per pack; 24 packs per box
MSRP: $3.50 per pack
Inserts: Autographs and Memorabilia

This CBS sitcom, which recently was renewed for three more seasons, is one of my favorites. It's consistently funny and with the recent addition of two additional female characters to play off of main character Penny, the funny has been amped up.

This set will highlight scenes from the show, although the CZE website does not specify if it will be limited to season one or combination of any or all of the first four seasons. It sticks to the five-card-per-pack/24-packs-per-box pattern as the other sets and will include memorabilia and autograph cards. So far, four of the five main players (Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) have provided autographs, which look like this:

copyright Cryptozoic Entertainment

I like the profile images and the use of the show's logo at the top; however, I don't think they are as visually striking as the autograph cards from The Vampire Diaries set. But with four of the five main characters in hand, I think this will be a must have set for many of the shows fans. What I really like about this license is the many possibilities for autographs, especially dual autos. How great would it be to have dual autos from each of the shows couples or what about a dual auto of Sheldon and Evil Wil Wheaton? But no matter what they do with this set or what they add to it, it will be one I definitely add to my collection.

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CBLDF Liberty Trading Cards
Release Date: Summer 2011
Packs: 5 cards per pack; 24 packs per box
MSRP: $3.50 pack
Base set: 72 Cards
Chase Sets: Two 9-card chase sets
Inserts: Autographs and Sketch Cards

This is the set I'm looking forward to the most. According to the group's website, the CBLDF "is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers. The CBLDF provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance, and education in furtherance of these goals."

With this set, CZE will highlight some of the historic legal battles involving comic books. But what makes this set so amazing is that everyone involved is donating its services/fees to the project. According to a press release from CZE, many creators have donated the rights to their characters so they can be used on the sketch cards, and many, many creators have signed on to autograph cards and provide sketches. Some of those creators include Geoff Johns, Neil Gaiman, Darwyn Cooke, Gail Simone, Mark Waid, Brian Azzarello, Paul Levitz, Denny O’Neil, Frank Quitely, Phil Hester and many more.

Here is an example of one of the sketch cards:

copyright Cryptozoic Entertainment

With the names involved, this set is a must have, but on May 26, 2011, via his twitter account, Neil Gaiman shared images of the cards he was working on. Not only did he state that he was signing 500 cards for the set, he also worked on these:

copyright Neil Gaiman

That in and of itself is worth buying at least one box of these cards.

But in the end, its the benefit for the CBLDF that is the best reason to buy them.

Dexter Season 3 (Breygent Marketing)

In late 2010, Breygent Marketing finally issued its second set based on the Showtime original program Dexter. Dexter Season 3 follows the very successful Dexter Seasons 1 and 2 set issued in 2008. I previewed the set here and was very open about my excitement for the set. And it did not disappoint.

While my cards from the previous Dexter set fell victim to the great Pre-Mid-Ohio Con sell off of 2008, this set will firmly hold it's place in my personal collection. I went all out and purchased a case of the product. Each case holds 12 boxes. Each box holds 24 packs. Each pack holds 6 cards. With all the premium inserts available for just 3,000 total boxes, each box was guaranteed to hold 3 premium inserts from the following: costume cards, prop cards, autographed cards and autographed costume cards. Also, each case included one case-topper Metallogloss card depicting a piece of original art and an original sketch card.

Now to the cards:

Base Cards

The base cards for this set are typical for a set based on a television show or movie. Each card (with the exception of the first) has an image in landscape orientation from one of the season's episodes. The base set includes 72 cards. At the bottom of each card is what appears to be a smear of blood along the entire length of the card. On the bottom left of each card is the Dexter logo with "THE THIRD SEASON" below it. The backs of the cards, also in landscape orientation, show a small pool of blood in the upper left corner with the Dexter logo and "THE THIRD SEASON COLLECTOR CARDS" below it. Other drops of blood are scattered throughout the back of the card. In the upper right corner is a small blood spatter with the card number in the center. In the lower left is an image of a bloody knife, while the Breygent logo resides in the lower right corner. In the body of the card, there is an extensive description of the story that corresponds with the image on the front side. I love this about the Dexter cards. Some sets have minimal description or none at all, so this shows a nice commitment from the company.

Base Card Front - Card #2

Base Card Back - Card #3

Foil Inserts

Dexter Season 3 has three insert sets: a 9-card puzzle set, a 9-card victims set and a 10-card quotes set.

9-Card Puzzle Set
The foil puzzle cards when placed together (or in a 9-card page) complete an image of 6 of the show's main characters. Of course, Dexter is in the front, while Vince Masuka (played by C.S. Lee), Lt. Maria LaGuerta (played by Lauren Velez), Sergeant Angel Batista (played by David Zayas), Rita Bennett (played by Julie Benz) and Detective Debra Morgan (played by Jennifer Carpenter) fill out the scene. Oh, and don't forget the nameless victim lying on the table in the middle of the image.

9-Card Puzzle Insert Set

Looking at the overall image, it is evident that there are two main cast regulars who are not depicted in this scene: Harry Morgan (father of Dexter and Debra, played by James Remar) and Detective Joey Quinn (played by Desmond Harrington). I'm not sure why these two were not included, however, the backs of the puzzle cards profile nine of the key cast members from season 3. The other one missing is Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (played by Jimmy Smits).

Regarding the missing cast members from the image, further investigation turned up the complete image of the cast of which only a part was used for the puzzle. I'm guessing it was cropped to better fit the dimensions of the 3x3 set of cards. The larger image is used as the background for the 7-swatch case incentive costume card. In that image, to the left of Vince Masuka is Harry Morgan. However, Joey Quinn is still absent from the group shot. Not sure why...

7-Swatch Costume Card - Case Incentive

9-Card Victims Set
Each card in this set shows a scene from season 3 that is connected to one of the deaths of Dexter's victims. The front is foil and has an oval blood spatter pattern with the image from the scene in question residing in the middle. The card back outlines the story that leads up to the death of Dexter's victims.

9-Card Victims Set Card Front - Card #1

9-Card Victims Set Card Back - Card #2

10-Card Quotes Set
This foil set starts with four cards highlighting four characters: Dexter, Masuka, Batista and Harry. Each card has a profile image of one of those characters and the back highlights some of that characters best quotes from the season. The remaining six cards depict a scene from season 3 and the card back has a conversation connected to the highlighted scene. The card fronts also have bloody smears and bloody hands along the edges.

10-Card Quotes Set Front - Card #1

There is an error in this insert set. On the card front, as seen above, there is the Dexter logo in the lower left corner. On cards #2 and #3, there also is a smaller version of the show's logo in the upper right corner.

10-Card Quotes Set Error Front - Card #2

Premium Inserts

This set also includes 6 different premium inserts: sketches, metallogloss case toppers, autographed cards, autographed costume cards, prop cards and costume cards. These inserts (with the exception of the sketches and case toppers) are distributed three per box for a total of 36 per case.

Sketches and Metallogloss Case Toppers
The sketch cards and metallogloss case toppers come one per case.

Sketch Card by Brian Kong

Metallogloss Case Topper w/art by Len Bellinger

The metallogloss cards are like the ones that Breygent introduced earlier in 2010 with the special inserts sold in the San Diego Comic Con Mystery Packs. This is certainly an interesting way to present the cards and provides a nice collectible in a way that is different than a normal card. In my opinion, many of the case toppers produced by Artbox are nicer ("crystal," metal or wooden cards).

Autographed Cards
There are 5 possible autographed cards: Jimmy Smits, James Remar, Michael C. Hall, Michael C. Hall-Jimmy Smits dual, and a Michael C. Hall-Julie Benz dual. Each of the cards includes an image of the character with space for the autograph. Some were autographed in red ink and some in black ink.

James Remar Autographed Card

Autographed Costume Cards
There are 6 possible autographed costume cards: Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, Jennifer Carpenter, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Velez and Julie Benz. Each of the cards is similar to the auto-only cards except there is a costume swatch in between the image of the character and the space for the autograph. What is nice about these cards is that an image of the article of clothing from which the swatch is taken appears on the back of the card, and on many of the cards, the image of the character shows that character actually wearing that article of clothing.

Desmond Harrington Autographed Costume Card

Prop Cards
This set includes 11 different prop cards that have pieces of actual props used in the show. Like the autographed costumes cards, the image on the back of the card is of the actual prop the piece is from and the front of the card includes an image of the prop as it was used in the show.

Bloody Framed Photograph - Prop Card #3

Costume Cards
There are 29 possible costume cards, 27 of which are dual costumes. The other two include a 4-swatch costume card and an 8-swatch costume card. Of the dual costume cards, 23 include 2 different clothing swatches from a single character. The characters portrayed are Rita Bennett (4 different), Lt. Maria LaGuerta (3), Sergeant Angel Batista (2), Detective Debra Morgan (6), Dexter Morgan (5), Vince Masuka (2) and Detective Joey Quinn (1). The other 4 dual cards include costume swatches from two different characters: Dexter and Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado, Rita and Dexter, LaGuerta and Prado, and Debra and Joey. As with the other premium inserts, the backs show an image of the actual piece of clothing the swatch is from and most of the fronts depict the characters wearing that piece of clothing. The 8-swatch costume card includes a swatch of clothing from the eight prime characters of the show, while the 4-swatch costume card includes swatches from Debra, Angel, Dexter and Vince.

Rita Bennett Costume Card - Card #7

8-Swatch Costume Card - Card #29

4-Swatch Costume Card - Card #28

There is one mistake in this set of premium inserts. On the dual costumes, at the top of the card is the show's logo and at the bottom is the Breygent logo. The words "AUTHENTIC WARDROBE MATERIAL WORN BY" followed by the names of the characters whose costumes were used for the card also are at the bottom of the card. These words are missing from the Debra/Joey dual costume card.

Debra Morgan/Joey Quinn Costume Card - Card #27

Collation

Base Sets
This case (12 boxes) produced 21 complete base sets of 72 cards for an average of 1.75 sets per box. There are 106 extras.

Foil Inserts

• Puzzle: the 9-card puzzle insert cards are inserted at an average of 1 per 12 packs (2 per box, 24 per case). This case produced 2 complete puzzles and 6 extras for the expected total of 24 cards.
• Victims: the 9-card victims insert set are inserted at an average of 1 per 12 packs (2 per box, 24 per case). This case produced 1 complete victims set and 15 extras for the expected total of 24 cards. Of the remaining cards, only 1 was needed to make a second complete set.
• Quotes: the 10-card quotes insert set are inserted at an average of 1 per 12 packs (2 per box, 24 per case). This case produced 2 complete quotes sets and 5 extras for 1 more than the expected total of 24 cards.

Premium Inserts

• Sketches and Metallogloss Case Toppers: these cards are inserted 1 per case. This case produced 1 of each as expected.
• Autographed Cards (including Autographed Costume Cards): autographed cards are inserted at 1 per 48 packs (0.5 per box, 6 per case). This case produced 3 autographed cards and 3 autographed costume cards for the expected total of 6 cards. There is one double, the Jimmy Smits autograph, but they were different in that one is signed in red ink and the other in black ink. In addition to Smits, this case included the James Remar autograph, the Desmond Harrington autographed costume, the C.S. Lee autographed costume and the Lauren Velez autographed costume. I also purchased singles of the Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall autographed costumes off e-Bay.
• Prop Cards and Costume Cards: these cards are inserted 1 per 10 packs (2.4 per box, 28.8 per case). This case produced 5 prop cards and 25 dual costume cards, for a total of 30 prop and costume cards (slightly more than the average). There are no doubles in these cards, and the case was only 6 prop cards and 4 costume cards shy of a complete set. I also purchased a single of the 8-swatch costume card from e-Bay.

Final Thoughts

This is a great set and provided a superb collation. Every card possible based on the odds is present and of the premium inserts there was only 1 double, making the case a very positive purchase. The base cards are typical of TV/movie sets but have extensive descriptions of the show and the depicted scenes. The design is nice and Breygent found a number of different ways to "smear" the design with images of blood. Of the foil sets, I really liked the puzzle. With the larger image on the front, it is nice to have detailed information about each of the main characters provided on the back. While I did not receive autographs of the big three (Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter and Julie Benz) in my case, the fact that Breygent was able to secure those autographs as part of the set makes it more desirable. And getting three different types of autographed cards from Hall just adds much more value. Also, the inclusion of 27 dual costumes increases the overall number of different swatches available to collectors.


Grades

Base set: A
Foil Inserts: A
Premium Inserts: A+

Back to the Blog

If you follow this blog at all, you've noticed I haven't updated in awhile. Since my last post, about artist Danielle Soloud, I've acquired a number of new pieces of art and quite a few new sets of non-sport trading cards. So, I'm very backed up. The next post here will be my review of the Dexter Season 3 set issued by Breygent Marketing in late 2010. What will follow will be a number of posts playing catch-up on the non-sport sets I have, followed by a handful of blogs about my commissioned art.

Now that I'm back, hope you enjoy the reviews.

Artist Danielle Soloud

As I've mentioned before, about a year and a half ago I was introduced to the hobby of collecting sketch cards. That introduction and subsequent increase in interest on my part in the hobby led me to coming across a wide array of artists I otherwise would never have learned about. One of the first artists I came across was Danielle Soloud.

Upon visiting her website (www.daniellesoloud.com), I was hooked. Danielle has this adorable style but is not shy about drawing the pinup. As a matter of fact, I believe the pinups she does are actually some of the better examples of her work.

Once I noticed on her website that she had a Twitter account, I began following her. She doesn't post a lot, but often she will update her followers on what she is working on. Lately, she's been talking about old video games she found in a closet after not seeing them for quite some time. And she posts most often in late night or early morning. Seems she is a nightowl.

But I love her art. And I once I told her so. We communicated some via Twitter. She was very nice and I decided instead of just admiring her work, I should own some. On her website she had a few larger pieces (much larger than sketch cards), one of which was a nice color sketch of Catwoman. I am a huge fan of Batman and his rogue's gallery, and Catwoman is at the top of that list. She was offering the piece at what I considered a considerably inexpensive rate, so I snatched it up.

Catwoman by Danielle Soloud

When I received the package in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to see this on the back of the mailing envelope:

Catwoman envelope sketch by Danielle Soloud

Over the course of 2010, I've collected a few more Danielle Soloud pieces.

5finity Mixtape Hula Girl by Danielle Soloud

This piece was pulled from a pack of 5finity's Mixtape sketch card series. I had ordered one pack and was very fortunate to pull this. Even better was that I had seen Danielle ink and color the sketch on her ustream artcast. I was fortunate enough to snag another Mixtape sketch Danielle did. This time it was a female vampire that she had received back as an Artist Exclusive sketch, so I made the purchase from Danielle directly.

5finity Mixtape Artist Exclusive Vampire by Danielle Soloud

And again, there was a nice surprise on the mailing envelope.

Vampire envelope sketch by Danielle Soloud

I had purchased this card during the summer around the time that Danielle was set to release her first sketchbook called Va Va Boom volume one. Included in this package was copy #2 of 200 that included another catwoman sketch on the inside front cover:

Catwoman sketchbook sketch by Danielle Soloud

Having purchased a few sketches that had already been done, I decided that I wanted to commission Danielle to draw something of my choosing. I debated some of the Batman characters I loved so much, including Harley Quinn, Huntress, Batgirl, etc. But I decided to go a different route. One night during one of Danielle's artcasts, she was listening to 80s music and a Joan Jett tune had come on. We briefly talked about Joan, and it was from this conversation that I decided to ask Danielle to sketch her. And I have to say, when I received the final sketch, I was blown away. She had exceeded any expectation I had held. Look for yourself:

Joan Jett by Danielle Soloud

And, as I had become accustomed to, I received another sketch on the envelope:

Joan Jett envelope sketch by Danielle Soloud

Lastly, but not leastly, Danielle also is the writer/artist on her own webcomic, Life with Death. It's the story of a the daughter of the Grim Reaper who has reached the age where she must begin to learn the family trade. It's a definite must read.

In preparation for this post, I decided to ask Danielle some questions to get a better idea who she is and what she's like. Here is what I learned:

1.) What got you into drawing?
I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I'm very lucky to have parents who are supportive of the arts.

2.) You mentioned that at one point in your life you moved from drawing to become a DJ. Why did you do that, and what brought you back to art?
Drawing just fell by the wayside as I spent all my time focusing on music. Although I did learn Photoshop in that time and a bit of graphic design for flyers and such. I decided to pursue art as a career only a couple years ago when I was unhappy with my life and decided to change it.

3.) How were you trained - school, self-taught, mentor, some divine gift? :-)
Ha! Although artists do have to have some degree of talent, it definitely needs to be nurtured. I'm mostly self-taught. When I was in elementary school I would try to draw like the cartoons I watched and video games I played. In middle school I got into anime and comic books and began to study them. About two years ago I did enroll into community college with the intent of transferring to an art school. I took all of my foundation courses and one day while sitting in math class thought to myself, "I should be drawing right now." Ultimately I decided against art school because I didn't think it was for me.

4.) Who do you look to for inspiration - in art? In life?
I try to be open to let anything and everything inspire me. A big inspiration for me though are movies.

5.) What was the first piece you were paid for?
I believe the first professional project I worked on was for Breygent. I wish I could say it was when I was in middle school and a kid asked me to draw a naked woman for him and he would pay me. I think I missed out on a huge financial opportunity there.

6.) Besides art, what are your interests? What do you like to do for fun? Favorite movie? Favorite TV show? Favorite musician/music? Favorite book? Favorite food?
My interests are movies, art, animation, comics, and video games pretty much. I adore movies so much that giving a favorite is a horribly tough question to answer! But I'd probably say Beetlejuice is if I had to absolutely pin down one. My current top favorite TV shows are It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaTrue Blood. Favorite band is AC/DC and my favorite music I listen to most would be surf rock, rockabilly, classic rock, electro and 80's, which is also what I listen to when I'm drawing. Music is definitely a huge inspiration. My favorite books are American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. And finally, the one thing I don't have to think twice about when it comes to favorites is my favorite food... BUFFALO WINGS!

7.) I think I also remember you saying that you are able to make a living solely on your art - at what point in your life were you able to do that and how did it feel to know that you could?
It's still a struggle and that's the risk you take when you decide to pursue art. I don't have a lot of overhead so it's not that hard for me right now. I'm also lucky to be blessed with a supportive and helpful family.

8.) I know you've done some work for Breygent and 5finity. How did you get involved with them? Have you been part of any other sketch card sets? Are there any you'd really like to be a part of or other companies you'd like to work with?
I found out about Breygent and 5finity from the Scoundrel forums, both of which I sent samples to and they liked them enough to give me work. I've also recently started work with Versicolor on their Bettie Page set, which I'm really looking forward to!

9.) Like many other artists, you've started a ustream video channel for live artcasts - do you think this affects your process at all? Does it help? It's great for fans and fellow artists to be able to talk to you during the process, is the benefit mutual?
It does affect my process in a few ways that is both positive and negative. It's positive because you can get instant feed back and you're bringing people into your process which can be interesting. It forces me to sit there and finish a piece from start to finish since I'm broadcasting I can't just get up and start watching TV or something. Also, it's fun to have people to hang out with and chat while working. Although the downside is I take longer to do what I'm doing with the looking up at the screen and chatting (I work slower when I'm talking). Also with the camera set up I have it's sometimes awkward. Overall I think it's a great thing to do!

10.) What were you like as a child? Are you originally from orlando?
I think I was a lot like I am now. I was very chatty and always drawing and coming up with stories. I got in trouble often for disturbing other students as I would finish my work fast so I could chat with them. Yes, I am from Orlando - born and raised.

11.) What is your favorite thing in the whole world?
This was probably the most difficult question you've asked... I guess I would say my computer for now!

12.) What was the worst job you ever had?
Telemarketer for time-shares by far.

13.) What advice would you give a person wanting to become an artist?
Draw constantly and then draw some more. Be determined, don't give up, have thick-skin and accept criticism - don't take it personally. Be willing to show your art to others and post it on the internet for others to see and provide feedback. Also, I can't recommend the book Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orlando enough. I'd say it's just about absolutely necessary to read.

14.) What is your favorite thing to draw? You previously told me "girls!", but do you have something more specific? :-)
It IS girls! I love drawing curves. (note: if you view her portfolio on her website, you'll see that she does, indeed, love drawing girls. And she is very, VERY good at it.)

15.) What's the story behind your last name? I mean, it's not your given name, right?
No, "Soloud" is not actually my last name. It comes from when I was a DJ. Originally I spun under the name 'DJ Sunny D" but came to find out there were about three other people who also used that name. So I changed it to 'Danielle Soloud', which makes a lot more sense when you're a DJ! Many people got used to that and already knew me as that name so when I started drawing again I just kept using it!

So, check out Danielle's website and commission her for some work. You won't be disappointed.

Hack/Slash (5finity) - Pack Breaks

I've said before how much I really like the products 5finity produces, and when I had heard they would be producing a set based on the comic book Hack/Slash, I was very excited. And that was a set I was really looking forward to.

The series promised at least one sketch per pack with 1,750 packs produced.



Last week, I received 10 packs and the results did NOT let me down. This is by far the best I've done with any product purchased for the sketch cards. The number by each artist's name is the number of sketches that particular artist did for the set.

Brent Schoonover - 20

Unknown Artist

Unknown Artist

Scott D.M. Simmons - 40

Nathan Stockman - 25

Luis Diaz - 40

Lak Lim - 40

Kelly Everaert - 4 (Rare)

Jon Riggle - 40

Amber Shelton - 16

The best part of my pulls was that I received art from 10 artists whose art I did not already own. And while my favorite is the Jon Riggle sketch, I was very excited to get a Kelly Everaert because of its scarcity.

Along with the Everaert Rare card, I also received a double-sketch pack. Included on one pack with the Hack/Slash sketch was a sketch from the Honey West set, a set that I had missed out on upon its release. And it is a very beautiful card.

Paul Allen Ballard

Next up for 5finity is Lady Death...

Dexter Season 3 Preview (Breygent Marketing)

I previously talked about how I got back into the hobby of non-sport trading cards (part 1 | part 2), but what I have to talk about is my one true regret in my return to the hobby.

Last summer, after the joys of the Veronica Mars, Dexter Season 1 & 2, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sets, I was convinced by my nephew to return to Mid-Ohio Con for a second-consecutive year. We had not been planning to go again; I had been spending money on the cards. But he talked me into it by convincing me that we could drive up and back in one day. Mid-Ohio Con is not a huge show and one day is enough time to see everything, although the opportunity for commissioning art was reduced. So, I agreed. But I needed cash. And because I had just gotten back into the hobby, I wasn't fully committed to it yet (and certainly not as much as I am now). As a result, I thought I knew where I could get some capital for the trip: sell those cards.

And that's what I did. I sold all the cards I had from those three sets. That was my biggest regret in the hobby by far, especially since I had pulled a Michael C. Hall autograph from the first box of Dexter cards I had purchased. But that money went to me having a great weekend with my nephew, and I found some crazy deals on trade paperbacks and graphic novels.

I still wish I had those cards, though.

So, I was very, very excited to hear that Breygent Marketing would be producing a set for Dexter Season 3. Then the images started to appear of cards that would be included in the SDCC Mystery Packs sold at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. I was impressed. With a small sample of cards produced for those packs, I thought Breygent had exceeded what they had done with the previous set. I purchased a few of these packs and pulled a number of Dexter cards. Not all of the ones available, mind you, but a nice share of them, including a Jimmy Smits autograph.

Then I saw the cards that would be inserted in the Season 3 set. And my interest went beyond excitement.

Once one of my favorite dealers made them available, I ordered a case. I couldn't help it. I knew if I didn't, I would regret it. And I was done with regrets concerning Dexter cards. According to Tom at Breygent, there will be 3 hits per box, which could be sketch, prop, costume and/or autograph cards. The details:

72 Card Base Set

Trivia Chase Set
Quotes Chase Set
Puzzle Chase Set

29 Costume cards

• 27 Dual Costume cards
• 1 Quad Costume card
• 1 Eight Piece costume card

11 prop cards
9 Autograph cards

• Michael C. Hall
• Jennifer Carpenter
• James Remar
• Jimmy Smits
• And others TBA

2 Metallogloss case cards
1 Sketch card per case

Sketch artists

• Tim Shay
• Brian Kong
• Len Bellinger
• Jason Carrier
• David Desbois
• Steven Miller
• Trev Murphy

1 2-Case Incentive 7-Swatch Costume Card

Case is 12 boxes at 24 packs per box
3 hits per box ONLY 250 CASES BEING MADE

So, there will be 36 hits per case. Tom posted images of the cards over on the Non-Sport Update Magazine Card Talk Forum. There are 29 costume cards: 23 are dual costumes of the same character, 4 are dual costumes of different characters, 1 is an 8-swatch costume card of 8 different characters and 1 is a quad costume of 4 different characters. There are 11 prop cards and 9 autograph cards. There are 3 autograph-only cards (Michael C. Hall, Jimmy Smits and James Remar). There is 1 dual autograph-only card (Michael C. Hall and Jimmy Smits). And there are 5 autographed costume cards (Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, C.S. Lee and Desmond Harrington).

With 36 hits per case, it is not unreasonable to think that (barring doubles) one could be well on their way to a master set in one case. But it is not possible to get one in a single case. As a result, I'm tempted to order a second case to increase my chances, but I may have to just wait and pick them up through purchases and trades. However, no matter how, I am determined for this to be my first master set.

These cards are beautiful and Breygent is raising the bar with the multiple-swatch costume cards. I am sure there is no way I'm going to be disappointed in this set, but I can't deny that I am extremely anxious to get my case. With teases that it would be coming throughout the year, it finally is set to release on October 28. My plea to Tom at Breygent: please don't delay it again...