Superman (NO SPOILERS)

Superman was really good.  A friend describes it as a comic book movie, and I think that's a great way to describe it.  So much fun.  I enjoyed all the characters and Lex Luthor was a good villain.  The other DC characters were great including Guy Gardner (Green Lantern) and Mr. Terrific.  The movie didn't bog us down with an origin story though it's touched on throughout the movie.  You jump right into the action, and they do a good job of letting the plot and characters explain where things stand.  Just very few qualms.  It's very enjoyable and it feels like it can setup so much more.

And Krypto is done really well and a fun character.

2003 Inkworks Justice League

Inkworks JL:  Still waiting for the sequel to The Batman movie.  Doesn't mean we can't show him some love nonetheless.  Even animated, he looks menacing.

Justice League ran three seasons centering around Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Flash, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl.  The design is pretty nice even though the side containing the name feels large.  I like it.

I like the art overall from these screen captures.  The first card here stands out to me.

Maybe a Hawkgirl hot pack.  These packs only had seven cards in each.  This is a Friends and Foes card that comes one per pack.

The backs provide us some nice background on each character as well as information specific to the show.  

I do like these.  I've never seen the series but given time and the subscription I'd really like to watch it.  Fun pack of cards.

BREAKDOWN:

7 – Total Cards

1 – Friends and Foes

Hro DC Unlock the Multiverse Chapter 4

 Unlock the Multiverse Ch 4:  Reverse-Flash is one of the Flash's biggest arch enemies.  Pretty good card to kick off this post with.

I showed off Chapter 2 cards last month and I really wanted to pick up more Hro DC cards after doing that.  The basic design is good.  Hro is no longer in business, but their niche was "hybrid trading cards" with a physical and digital piece to each.  There are QR codes on the backs of these that allowed you to add them to your digital collection.  

We even get characters from the movies.  That variety adds to the fun.  Chapter 2 was Black Adam centric while Chapter gives us The Flash movie cards.

I'm a JSA fan and enjoy the Dr. Fate and JSA pulls.  The JSA card may be my favorite from this box.  I purchased the box on Amazon for $13 and it contained 29 total cards.  The Ray is one of my Holo Parallels but that's hard to distinguish unless you are seeing them in hand.  

The art seems to be from across many different eras and comic books.  I sporadically read comics at best, but I still love seeing art like this.

I was okay with the Flash movie.  I was entertained and think the blowback was more about DC movie universe fatigue more than the movie itself.  Michael Keaton did a good job in his return as the 1989 Batman, and I enjoyed seeing him take up the cowl again.

We'll get to see Guy Gardner soon in the new Superman movie.  I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

The design is really simple but I'm okay with it.  Lots of room for the art while there is enough information and color to make it easy to look at.

Not a Harley Quinn I'm familiar with but still fun.  She's had many different looks over the years.

I really like this card as well.  I'm not sure I'll buy more boxes of this chapter, but I may look at a complete set.  Hro made some nice DC cards.  They aren't cheap though so that may be a long-term goal.  I am interested in some of boxes of other chapters.  The grandsons really enjoy the cards as well which is where most of these end up.  And I do enjoy opening these up.  Does it make financial sense?  No.  We'll see.

BREAKDOWN:

29 - Total Cards

5 - Holo

2022 Hro DC: Unlock the Multiverse: Chapter 2 Starter Box

 2022 HRO DC Ch2: I liked the Black Adam movie and still think it was more a victim of what happened to the DC movie universe as a whole as opposed to the movie itself.  

These cards by HRO also had a digital presence.  Looks like HRO has gone out of business.  I do like these cards.  They utilize good art, or in the case of Black Adam which had been recently released, publicity photos and/or art.  I'm fan of all three of these characters so another win here.

That first card is an Iconic Symbols card.  I like the simple look and how the art is the focus.

The back of each physical card contains a QR code that would connect to a digital copy, or "Twin," on the Hro marketplace app. The app and website enabled users to buy, sell, and trade the digital assets with other community members. Monthly digital-only pack drops and collection rewards were available through the Hro app and marketplace. (the site and apps are no longer available)

I couldn't find a great checklist for this set.  Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be uncommon with some of these sets.

Had these for little over a year but for some reason I'm just getting around to showing them off.  Just lots of cool stuff.

I like the variety in this box.  HRO DC cards are still available on Amazon and aren't expensive.  I'm sure other resellers have them as well.  Some cards go for high prices on eBay.  I can't find the cards numbers from eBay on the checklist, so I'm not sure how they fall into these sets.

Again, with the movie coming out during the timeframe this chapter was released, it was Black Adam heavy.  I like that.  I miss getting cards from the movies and this will be as close as we get for Black Adam.  I really like the bottom center JSA card.  Pierce Brosnan was such a great Dr. Fate.

Fun box of cards.  I'll get more of these.  Either in the form of sets from eBay or more boxes to open.  I think the grandsons will enjoy opening packs.

BREAKDOWN:
58 – Total Cards
20 – Black Adam Movie
15 - Common
11 – Uncommon
10 – Holo Cards
6 – Superior
5 – Epic Holo
1 – Legendary

Random Wax: 2023 Kayou DC Glory of the Universe Collection (Green Lantern)

2023 Glory of the Universe:  We'll kick this one off with Harley Quinn.  A favorite of mine in the DC Universe, you just have to ignore the Birds of Prey movie.  Fun look on this card.  She has many different outfits in DC and they did a good job picking this one.

Again, I'm a big fan of these.  I really like the art and design on the cards.  They do a really good job on the backgrounds and colors to make it work.

This is one of the Plot cards that are seen across different DC movies.  I like them as we get to see screen grabs of the movies.  The movie name could have been a bit smaller or they could have just gone with the movie logo.

Here, we've got two Storyboard and a Rally card.  As a reminder the Rally set has members of the Justice League and the words in the bottom right spell out "You Can't Save The World Alone" when you have all six cards.  I dig it.

I love the look of Katana in the original Suicide movie.  As a reminder there are multiple "sets within the set".  Information on Kayou, a licensed Chinese product, is so hard to find but I did find a good checklist here.

The aptly named Super Cute cards.  These are so different from the rest of the cards, but I really like them.

I still need to watch the second Shazam movie.  I know the reviews weren't that good, but I do need to watch it since I enjoyed this one.

Storyboard cards come in horizontal and vertical offerings.  I really like these.  Simple samplings of comic book offerings.

These Cinephile cards look great.  I'll try to finish this set as well.

I'll really miss Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.  Henry Cavill was also excellent as Superman, but I think Gadot was my favorite of that era of DC films and thought she nailed the character.

This is the Group Portrait oversized card.  This is one of my favorites which includes favorites like GL, Jade, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Firestorm.  They just call this one "Justice League" though we definitely get a lineup that isn't the norm.

Since originally purchasing these boxes, I've picked off singles to finish the character set.  I'm still figuring how far I want to go with the rest of the sets within the set.  The singles aren't cheap.  I'll keep sharing the different boxes I've purchased over time.  I really like these and enjoy showing them off.

BREAKDOWN:
31– Total Cards
10 – Plot
10 – Character
3 - Cinephile
3 – Super Cute
3 – Storyboard
1 – Rally
1 – Group Portrait

Justice League: The New Frontier Commemorative Edition

 Justice League: The New Frontier: This was a Christmas present and a good one.  The New Frontier is set in the 50s. It focuses on the Justice League who have to deal with a threat to the world.  Before that we get some background on the characters and their relationships which isn't the cohesive team it is today.  We also see some origin stories along the way.  I enjoyed the movie.  There were some parts early in the movie I was surprised about but it was all about setting up the dynamic between the heroes.  Good movie.  For a more comprehensive look at what the Commemorative Edition comes as well as additional plot details here. DC does such a good job with their animated movies and I'll definitely pick up more.

2023 Kayou DC Glory of the Universe Collection

2023 Kayou DC:  Happy New Year!  The Superman trailer dropped last month so we'll kick off this post with The Man of Steel himself.  

These just came to my attention recently and I'm so glad.  They are cool cards.  The stock is thick.  They are printed on "holographic foilboard".  The character cards here look great.  I like the art, design and the color choices.  The foil isn't overdone and the look is nice combined with a thick card.

Plot cards are movie stills from the Justice League, Shazam, Suicide Squad and Black Adam movies. The backs are full size black and white versions of the front photo. 

These are Super Cute cards.  Not my description but the set.  I really like these.  When I saw the photos online I kind of rolled my eyes, but I really like them in hand. 

These are Storyboard cards.  I like the simple feel of a comic book they give us.

Here we have two more Storyboard cards as well as a Rally card.  The Rally cards make a Justice League montage that spells out You Can't Save the World Alone.  I kind of like it.

Kayou is a licensed Chinese brand and it's almost impossible to find out much about these cards.  They are available on AliExpress.  I purchased two boxes.  Each has 10 packs with three cards in each pack.  The boxes they come in are pretty nice.

These are Cinephile cards.  They are nice.  Those colorful backgrounds stound out in foil.

Backs of Character, Storyboard and Cinephile cards.  I like all three.  Simple but good looks on each.

The cost was about $25 for each box.  I really want this whole set.  Singles are tough to come by even on eBay and those prices are tough.  I may grab some more boxes.  With only 30 cards per box and a total of 151 cards that's a tough ask.  We'll see.

This is the Oversized Group Portrait in my box.  Each box comes with one.  Pretty nice.  They are ~6" X 8".  

These were so much fun.  I'll show off my other box in the future and one way or another I'll be picking up more of these.  Great way to start off the New Year!

BREAKDOAWN:
30 – Total Cards
10 – Plot
10 – Character
3 - Cinephile
3 – Super Cute
3 – Storyboard
1 – Rally
1 – Oversized Group Portrait