Share quirks about Marvel & DC sets during the modern sketch card era (since 2006)

80s Showtime · 02-06-2017, 02:45 AM

I was trying to remember what year did the Fantastic Four sketch card embargo started and which was the first set that we started seeing less of the FF on cardboard. Then I began to recall some various quirks about other products so I jotted down some highlights. Of course, there's the prohibition on characters from properties that Marvel or DC no longer have license to produce anymore. So that means no Conan, Godzilla, Red Sonja, ROM, and among others. Does anyone remember any other interesting tidbits, make corrections, add some more insights and/or care to expound more?

2006 Complete Avengers -
* 50 approved character list for sketch cards.

2007 DC Legacy -
* 50 approved character list for sketch cards.

2008 -
Banned characters for sketch cards:
* Marvel Zombies
Duration:
* Starting with 2008 Marvel Masterpieces 2 or 3 to current?

2008 Fantastic Four -
* No Ultimate Universe or Marvel Zombies versions of characters.
* Characters not to be depicted smoking.
* Black and White short print sketch cards.

2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine -
* 5 character list: Blob, Deadpool, Gambi, Sabertooth, and Wolverine.
* 5 artists were exclusive to 2009 X-Men Archives Archive Boxes.
* Characters that were not among the original 5 character list were released in 2009 X-Men Archives Archive Boxes.

2012 DC Comics: The New 52 -
* Approved character list
* Batman to be only depicted once per artist

2013 -
Banned character for sketch cards:
* Squirrel Girl
Duration:
* Starting April 2013 with Marvel Greatest Battles and ending 2014 Dangerous Divas 2?

2014 -
Banned characters for sketch cards:
* Doctor Doom
* Galactus
* Human Torch
* Invisible Woman
* Mr. Fantastic
* Silver Surfer
* Skrulls
* Thing
* The Watcher
Duration:
* May 2014 to current?

2015 Marvel Vibranium
* No base cards of Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man, and Thing.

Spider-Fan · 02-06-2017, 06:58 AM

No realistic guns was put into place a few years ago. I'd have to spend some time researching to get more specific.

There is also RA implementation ofand a tory color and then mandatory color backgrounds. At some point fairly recently Upperdeck eliminated pencil sketches.

There was s DC set, I can't remember which one, that Cryptozoic paid a bonus for multicharacter cards.

nabzy28 · 02-06-2017, 09:18 AM

X-Men characters, like Jean Grey & Emma Frost, got scarce real quick once they decided that Fox having that license was something they were going to cry about. They did seem to allow them for Artist Proofs, though. I forget when exactly that happened, but it was after Divas 2. I asked a couple artists, and they were vague about it, but it was quite obvious. That was the point when I switched to nearly 100% artist proofs, as there was nothing for me to collect from main releases.

ElainePerna · 02-06-2017, 11:53 AM

On the current lists Gambit, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Apocalypse are on the banned list now.

cmixer · 02-06-2017, 11:56 AM

DC Legacy also had artists were exclusive to Archives Archive Boxes.

Stan Lee had 100 bonus sketch cards in Avengers

... I like this thread.
I might have to think on a few good tidbits

ElainePerna · 02-06-2017, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nabzy28

X-Men characters, like Jean Grey & Emma Frost, got scarce real quick once they decided that Fox having that license was something they were going to cry about. They did seem to allow them for Artist Proofs, though. I forget when exactly that happened, but it was after Divas 2. I asked a couple artists, and they were vague about it, but it was quite obvious. That was the point when I switched to nearly 100% artist proofs, as there was nothing for me to collect from main releases.

I think it was because their outfits were a little too revealing. Most companies wanted the Hellfire club queens to have their corsets closed all the way and then they wanted the Goblin Queen to have a closed top as well. Some newer comics even started to give the Goblin Queen a more closed tank top.

80s Showtime · 02-06-2017, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElainePerna

On the current lists Gambit, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Apocalypse are on the banned list now.

Which set(s) or year did those characters first land on the naughty list?

BHotz · 02-06-2017, 04:35 PM

Quote:

I think it was because their outfits were a little too revealing.

Good o'l AxeBOOB... I mean Bone.

There was some no head-shot or limited head-shot sketch policy implemented by Rittenhouse in their last ~5 sets or so I believe.

jjsmallvillelvr · 02-07-2017, 12:52 PM

Why was squirrel girl reinstated? Her ban was quite short!

jjsmallvillelvr · 02-07-2017, 12:57 PM

My notes say for the new Justice League set 4 characters from each of the 7 teams listed had to be drawn. Which I think explains the high volume of unknown characters.

80s Showtime · 02-07-2017, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjsmallvillelvr

Why was squirrel girl reinstated? Her ban was quite short!

Wasn't that around the time that GOTG came out? Maybe Marvel didn't want any confusion between Rocket Raccoon? I just remember that there was some people that were happy about it and someone made a thread.

http://www.blowoutcards.com/forums/n...card-sets.html

jjsmallvillelvr · 02-08-2017, 10:53 PM

I remember the thread. That's the only reason I know anything about her haha.

80s Showtime · 02-18-2017, 02:25 AM

Here's a couple of things that I remember about 2007 DC Legacy (but someone has to recall some more stuff to share) ...

- Using dates weren't supposed to be used on the sketch cards. I believe it was to keep a sense of "timelessness" for the characters. For example, if the artist was to use Batman's debut year of 1939 on the sketch card then it's harder to believe that Batman is a guy in his late-20's to mid-30's fighting crime.

- In spite of there being a couple of approved character lists sent to the artists, I believe the final number for the approved sketch card character list ended up being 49 to coincide with the same amount of characters in the base set (not 50 as mentioned in my previous post). But that number is slightly deceptive as some mantles have had multiple characters take on the roles. For example, there are multiple Green Lanterns ... Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner to mention a few plus there is also the Golden Age version of the character - Alan Scott. Also, a couple different characters had been behind the mask of Batgirl when the set was released (Barbara Gordon, and Cassandra Cain and the Golden Age version of Bette Kane) and Batman had a few different characters under the cowl (Bruce Wayne, Jean-Paul Valley, and Terry McGinnis aka Batman Beyond) just to name a couple of more examples of how this set is uses it's character's legacies to expand the variety of portrayals of the approved characters list.

Here are the 49 approved character list (34 heroes and 15 villains):
Heroes:
Aqualad
Aquaman
Atom
Batgirl
Batman
Batwoman
Black Canary
Blue Beetle
Captain Marvel Junior
Cyborg
Doctor Fate
Doctor Mid-Nite
Firestorm
The Flash
Green Arrow
Green Lantern
Hawkgirl
Hawkman
Hourman
Kid Flash
Martian Manhunter
Nightwing
Plastic Man
Raven
Robin
Shazam!
The Spectre
Speedy
Starfire
Supergirl
Superman
Wonder Girl
Wonder Woman
Zatanna

Villains:
Black Adam
Brainiac
Captain Cold
Catwoman
Cheetah
Darkseid
The Joker
Lex Luthor
Mr. Freeze
The Penguin
Poison Ivy
Reverse-Flash
The Riddler
Sinestro
Two-Face

These are 4 characters that seemed to be on a few early versions of the approved character list that a few of the artists had received:

Bizarro
Ra's Al Ghul
Red Tornado
Scarecrow

There are more characters not found on the approved list of characters, but found their way onto DC Legacy sketch cards. Here are a few:

Alfred Pennyworth
Big Barda
Bizarro
Commissioner Gordon
Doomsday
Haley Quinn
Krypto
Lobo
Mary Marvel
Mister Miracle
Mister Mxyzptlk
Power Girl
Ra's Al Ghul
Red Tornado
Scarecrow
Solomon Grundy

02-06-2017, 02:45 AM	#1
80s Showtime Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 1,006	Share quirks about Marvel & DC sets during the modern sketch card era (since 2006) I was trying to remember what year did the Fantastic Four sketch card embargo started and which was the first set that we started seeing less of the FF on cardboard. Then I began to recall some various quirks about other products so I jotted down some highlights. Of course, there's the prohibition on characters from properties that Marvel or DC no longer have license to produce anymore. So that means no Conan, Godzilla, Red Sonja, ROM, and among others. Does anyone remember any other interesting tidbits, make corrections, add some more insights and/or care to expound more? 2006 Complete Avengers - * 50 approved character list for sketch cards. 2007 DC Legacy - * 50 approved character list for sketch cards. 2008 - Banned characters for sketch cards: * Marvel Zombies Duration: * Starting with 2008 Marvel Masterpieces 2 or 3 to current? 2008 Fantastic Four - * No Ultimate Universe or Marvel Zombies versions of characters. * Characters not to be depicted smoking. * Black and White short print sketch cards. 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - * 5 character list: Blob, Deadpool, Gambi, Sabertooth, and Wolverine. * 5 artists were exclusive to 2009 X-Men Archives Archive Boxes. * Characters that were not among the original 5 character list were released in 2009 X-Men Archives Archive Boxes. 2012 DC Comics: The New 52 - * Approved character list * Batman to be only depicted once per artist 2013 - Banned character for sketch cards: * Squirrel Girl Duration: * Starting April 2013 with Marvel Greatest Battles and ending 2014 Dangerous Divas 2? 2014 - Banned characters for sketch cards: * Doctor Doom * Galactus * Human Torch * Invisible Woman * Mr. Fantastic * Silver Surfer * Skrulls * Thing * The Watcher Duration: * May 2014 to current? 2015 Marvel Vibranium * No base cards of Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man, and Thing.

02-06-2017, 09:18 AM	#3
nabzy28 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In a warehouse of common sense Posts: 7,266 nabzy28	X-Men characters, like Jean Grey & Emma Frost, got scarce real quick once they decided that Fox having that license was something they were going to cry about. They did seem to allow them for Artist Proofs, though. I forget when exactly that happened, but it was after Divas 2. I asked a couple artists, and they were vague about it, but it was quite obvious. That was the point when I switched to nearly 100% artist proofs, as there was nothing for me to collect from main releases. __________________ Sent from my Danger Hiptop T-Mobile Sidekick in 2002

02-07-2017, 12:52 PM	#9
jjsmallvillelvr Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Nixa Posts: 5,897	Why was squirrel girl reinstated? Her ban was quite short! __________________ My PC Cards: http://jordynescards.weebly.com Always collecting Alice in Wonderland Cards Also Smallville, Vampire Diaries, and anything Lost Girl Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Superman

02-07-2017, 12:57 PM	#10
jjsmallvillelvr Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Nixa Posts: 5,897	My notes say for the new Justice League set 4 characters from each of the 7 teams listed had to be drawn. Which I think explains the high volume of unknown characters. __________________ My PC Cards: http://jordynescards.weebly.com Always collecting Alice in Wonderland Cards Also Smallville, Vampire Diaries, and anything Lost Girl Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Superman

02-08-2017, 10:53 PM	#12
jjsmallvillelvr Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Nixa Posts: 5,897	I remember the thread. That's the only reason I know anything about her haha. __________________ My PC Cards: http://jordynescards.weebly.com Always collecting Alice in Wonderland Cards Also Smallville, Vampire Diaries, and anything Lost Girl Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Superman

02-06-2017, 06:58 AM	#2
Spider-Fan Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 10,481	No realistic guns was put into place a few years ago. I'd have to spend some time researching to get more specific. There is also RA implementation ofand a tory color and then mandatory color backgrounds. At some point fairly recently Upperdeck eliminated pencil sketches. There was s DC set, I can't remember which one, that Cryptozoic paid a bonus for multicharacter cards.

02-06-2017, 11:53 AM	#4
ElainePerna Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 301 pernastudios	On the current lists Gambit, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Apocalypse are on the banned list now.

02-06-2017, 11:56 AM	#5
cmixer Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 2,090	DC Legacy also had artists were exclusive to Archives Archive Boxes. Stan Lee had 100 bonus sketch cards in Avengers ... I like this thread. I might have to think on a few good tidbits

02-18-2017, 02:25 AM	#13
80s Showtime Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 1,006	2007 DC Legacy Here's a couple of things that I remember about 2007 DC Legacy (but someone has to recall some more stuff to share) ... - Using dates weren't supposed to be used on the sketch cards. I believe it was to keep a sense of "timelessness" for the characters. For example, if the artist was to use Batman's debut year of 1939 on the sketch card then it's harder to believe that Batman is a guy in his late-20's to mid-30's fighting crime. - In spite of there being a couple of approved character lists sent to the artists, I believe the final number for the approved sketch card character list ended up being 49 to coincide with the same amount of characters in the base set (not 50 as mentioned in my previous post). But that number is slightly deceptive as some mantles have had multiple characters take on the roles. For example, there are multiple Green Lanterns ... Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner to mention a few plus there is also the Golden Age version of the character - Alan Scott. Also, a couple different characters had been behind the mask of Batgirl when the set was released (Barbara Gordon, and Cassandra Cain and the Golden Age version of Bette Kane) and Batman had a few different characters under the cowl (Bruce Wayne, Jean-Paul Valley, and Terry McGinnis aka Batman Beyond) just to name a couple of more examples of how this set is uses it's character's legacies to expand the variety of portrayals of the approved characters list. Here are the 49 approved character list (34 heroes and 15 villains): Heroes: Aqualad Aquaman Atom Batgirl Batman Batwoman Black Canary Blue Beetle Captain Marvel Junior Cyborg Doctor Fate Doctor Mid-Nite Firestorm The Flash Green Arrow Green Lantern Hawkgirl Hawkman Hourman Kid Flash Martian Manhunter Nightwing Plastic Man Raven Robin Shazam! The Spectre Speedy Starfire Supergirl Superman Wonder Girl Wonder Woman Zatanna Villains: Black Adam Brainiac Captain Cold Catwoman Cheetah Darkseid The Joker Lex Luthor Mr. Freeze The Penguin Poison Ivy Reverse-Flash The Riddler Sinestro Two-Face These are 4 characters that seemed to be on a few early versions of the approved character list that a few of the artists had received: Bizarro Ra's Al Ghul Red Tornado Scarecrow There are more characters not found on the approved list of characters, but found their way onto DC Legacy sketch cards. Here are a few: Alfred Pennyworth Big Barda Bizarro Commissioner Gordon Doomsday Haley Quinn Krypto Lobo Mary Marvel Mister Miracle Mister Mxyzptlk Power Girl Ra's Al Ghul Red Tornado Scarecrow Solomon Grundy