Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (NO SPOILERS)

Wakanda Forever:  Got to see this one yesterday and so glad I did.  After the death of Chadwick Boseman it seemed a dauting task when it came to the sequel.  And it was. Lucky for us there are still plenty of great characters who can shine.  Also the introduction of Namor to the Marvel world was successful.  He reminds me of what I remember from the comics and was a good "villain" in this movie.  I tempered my expectations going in but was pleasantly surprised.  It is a really good movie.  Hard part was trying to figure out when I could go to the bathroom.  Highly recommend. 

1991 Topps Desert Storm Trading Cards (Two Packs)

1991 Desert Storm:  These are still fairly easy to find and a good look at some of the players and firepower used during Operation Desert Storm.  George Bush was front and center as Command in Chief during the war.  It's easy for folks to look back on the war differently from what we thought when it started, including myself.  Not getting political here but I thought Bush handled it well.

A nice photo of a Navy F-18.  These were heavily used during the war by the US and our allies.  It's a cool looking plane and pretty powerful.

The aircraft carriers carried F-18s and other aircraft for the Navy.  Amazing how those things really are floating cities.  I don't think any veteran misses wearing chem gear.

I'm not an expert on artillery but that one looks pretty intimidating.  Hueys were heavily used by the military as a whole though I don't remember specifically seeing it in the press during the war.

The backs had interesting information.  Even the member coalition info was interesting even though you can find it pretty easy.  I'd just never look for it though.  Explanations like these on the Patriot Missile Battery are simple but a good synopsis of what they'll do.

The F-117 was state of the art at the time but has already been retired (2008).  Humvees always look cool but they have like zero suspension and no cushion in the seat.  I feel for the guys and gals who had to ride in these consistently.  Anyone who has been to the middle east has seen some great sunsets.  Happy Veteran's Day to everyone has served in the military.

BREAKDOWN:

16 - Total Cards (2 Packs)

1990-1991 Fleer Basketball

90-91 Fleer Basketball:  I'm surprised I've never done a pack of these before.  No better place to start than Larry Legend on this All-Star card which fell 1:5 packs. It's a nice set but only 12 cards though all but one player are in the Hall of Fame.

Always a great pull when my all-time favorite player (Nique) is in the pack.  Oakley and Parish aren't scrubs either.

My bad.  I screwed up this scan but the cards are scattered now in different boxes so I'll just roll with it.  We still get to see that great write-up on the back of Birds All-Star card.  

These three were all solid players in their day though Curry's claim to fame is probably being Steph's father though he shot 40% from 3 for his career.  Nothing to sneeze at.  Detlef Schrempf is listed as a guard but not sure he ever played as one.  Dude was a great shooter and would be a really good stretch four or wing in today's game.  Another all-time favorite of mine.  Fun pack and good pull.  Can't beat that.

BREAKDOWN:

15 – Total Cards

1 – Fleer All-Stars

2015 Press Pass Cup Chase NASCAR

 2015 Cup Chase:  Today the boys of NASCAR go for the Championship.  No better way to talk championships than with Jimmie Johnson who is retired now but collected seven NASCAR championships in his career to include five in a row at one point.

I like the base design of these cards with the driver and car sharing the car.  Great example of showing off both in a well presented way.  Joey Logano is my favorite to win it all today.  He's been the most consistent driver in my opinion.  Not saying I'm rooting for him though.  Kurt Busch is stepping away from the sport after a concussion he had just before the playoffs began.  He had already qualified for the playoffs but was not able to get back in the car.  He's a former champion and someone I root for.

One of the two Nationwide cards that highlight drivers in the "minor leagues" of  NASCAR.  Buescher is no longer in the sport at his level.

The drivers have changed so much in seven years but it's fun looking back at some of these guys back then.

I'm still not sure what I think of these Headliners inserts.  The colors and design are okay but I'm not sure the photos really do much for me.

Another Jimmie Johnson appearance here in the pits this time.  Over the Wall is a good way of showing off the car and the pit crew in action.

I'd like some basic stats.  NASCAR cards seem to lack those consistently.  The write-ups are fine but NASCAR has plenty of stats to pull from.  I do like these backs though.  Great photos of the cards and nice color.

A fun pack of cards.  I may pick up another one of these sometime.  Below is my favorite driver, Kyle Busch, who will be swapping teams this offseason and will end his long-standing relationship with his primary sponsor M&Ms.

BREAKDOWN:
16 – Total Cards
4 – Headliners
2 – Nationwide Series
1 – Over the Wall
1 – Purple Parallel

1994 Ted Williams Roger Staubach's NFL (3 Packs)

1994 Roger Staubach NFL:   I picked up a pack lot of these recently and I'll show them off three packs at a time.  These are fun cards that for the most part show off legends of days past which is great.  We'll kick it off with Fran Tarkenton who was born in the wrong era.  He's one of the first running quarterbacks, before it was a thing, and took the Vikings to three Super Bowls in his career.  So fun to watch.  He rushed for 3674 yards in his career which is still good for 7th all-time amongst QBs.

I like the design.  It's simple with a nice full color photo and a subdued photo in the background.  Again the appeal here is seeing retired greats on new cardboard.  It's awesome.  The majority aren't Hall of Famers but if you grew up watching these players, like I did, you're stoked to see them here.  Ken Anderson and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson are two of the guys I was excited to find in the set and I definitely remember LeRoy Irvin.

You don't get full career stats but you do get the player's top five seasons which is fair enough.  I like the backs.  There's color, random flags I don't quite get, player info, and a nice write-up.  I like these.

Two of the inserts I pulled included Dawning of a Legacy and Chalkboard Legends.  Farve and O'Donnell are the two modern players they included in the set.  O'Donnel was an odd inclusion as there were plenty of great quarterbacks back then to choose from while he was still pretty early in his career and not exactly tearing it up. Elway, Young, Kelly, Aikman.  Maybe "Dawning of a Legacy" doesn't fit all those guys but still, just saying there were other options.

I didn't get to see all of these guys play, like Hall of Fame DB Lem Barney, but it doesn't matter.  I was still excited. Wesley Walker was a receiver I loved back in the day.  He played his entire 13 years with the Jets.

Golden Arms showcases great passers in league history and are good looking cards.

Each pack comes with pogs (two per card).  I'm not a pog guy but I like that these are part of cards, which I like, and didn't come already separated in the pack.

Who doesn't love Art Donovan?  These cards are a great trip down memory lane.  The Jim Thorpe Auckland Collection insert is numbered 015921.  Not sure what the print run is on these but I really like the art and it's easy to forget Thorpe is a football legend as he played from 1920-1928.  It'll be fun showing off the other packs over the coming months.

BREAKDOWN:

30 – Cards

3 – Pogs

3 - Checklists

3 – Golden Arms

2 – Dawning of a Legacy

1 – Chalkboard Legends

1 – Auckland Collection (#)

2022 Topps Archives Blaster

2022 Archives:  The Phillies are looking for their first championship in over a decade.  Bryce Harper dealt with injuries but still had a good year and has played really well in the playoffs.  Harper is a fun player to watch and is looking for his first World Series ring.

First up is the 1963 design.  I like it with the dual photo thing going on.  Great Kershaw photo while Austin Riley looks a little perplexed.

Next up is 1978 with Kyle Schwarber who is all smiles going into the World Series.  Schwarber led the NL in homers (46) as well as strikeouts (200).  A good design overall.

This has a pretty good postcard vibe for a Postcard insert.  I like the look.

1987 is not a design I cared for back in the day but I like it in new iterations which we see a lot of lately.  That red Bellinger is #/75.

A back to one of the '63 cards showing plenty of greatness in the form of David Ortiz stats.

Some rookie love across the different designs.  Funny Witt photo.

A Big Foil insert.

Retired greats greatness.  That Clemente is a '92 Topps Major League Debut insert.  Rickey and Molitor are favorites of mine.   I like that Drysdale photo.  I'll always remember him from his appearance on The Brady Bunch.

These are '55 Topps Scoop and '61 Topps MVP inserts.  And that is Jorge Soler of the, as of this moment, World Champion Atlanta Braves.  Getting it all in while I can.

BREAKDOWN:
56 – Total Cards
18 – 1963
17 – 1978
17 – 1987
12 – RC
12 – Retired Greats
3 – Big Foil
1 - Postcard
1 - 1961 Topps MVP
1 – Red Parallel #/75
1 – 1955 Topps Scoop
1 - 1992 Topps Major League Debut

Mark Spears Monsters

Mark Spears Monsters:  Happy Halloween!  I've liked Mark Spears art since I've first saw it. The color and his depictions of these classics really work for me.  This Concepts Bride of Frankenstein take is one I like and she is a favorite of mine from the Universal Monsters universe.

Very creepy Mr. Happy.  I like the card design in that the simplicity allows you to just enjoy the art.  My biggest gripe is I can't find the checklist for this set.  He doesn't have a website and his store is on Amazon.  It has to be somewhere.

Nice synopsis of the characters we see on the front.  I like the design mostly because of the "group shot" and cobwebs at the top.  

My sticker.  Each pack also comes with a piece of gum which is smartly wrapped in plastic. No gum stains here.

Lord Varick reminds me of Marcus who was one of the Volturi in the Twilight Saga.  Doctor Maltorius looks like he would be found in an 80s horror movie.

The Classic Chrome is my other insert. Looks like Dracula's wives aren't happy with something the Bride of Frankenstein served on cribbage night at Dr. Frankenstein's.  I really enjoyed these cards.  If I was an art guy I'd definitely pick up his to hang somewhere.  I will chase more of his cards though.

BREAKDOWN:

7 – Total Cards

1 – Sticker

1 – Classic Chrome

1 – Original Concept

1 – Stick Bubble Gum