Where’s the bubble gum in Comic Book Creator Trading Cards?

Many of the items in the Schulz Graphic Novel Library are rare; from our bound Punch collection (1878-1924!) to James Sturm’s Master’s thesis to bound classic X-Men issues 1-43 (thanks, Robin McConnell!). But one that deserves the spotlight is our Comic Book Creators Trading Cards. Donated IN FULL with a binder from Ohio State University are these cards from Eclipse Entertainment feature some top cartoonists of then, 1992, and still today. As a cartoonist, I feel that I should point out Eclipse folded up the next year, one hopes it wasn’t from poor sales on these excellent cards.

Each card comes with a great picture, added gradient backgrounds and stats: birthdate, hometown, writing hand, drawing town and school (if applicable).

You wonder if the creators were asked to pick their photo or if they blindly said yes. Some creators had fun like Sergio Aragones…

Most cartoonists managed to crack a smile…

Others put on their school photo smiles…

What some chose to wear was fantastic…

While some creators wore less…

Some research proved that we were not the only lucky possessors of an entire collection of comics creator stars: Chris Sims from the Comics Alliance wrote a fantastic article on the 1993 set of cards by Majestic (ours are 1992) where the card features the ART instead of the creator. These cards are an excellent snapshot or time capsule of style, Photoshop capabilities and the novelty of collector paraphernalia. David Yoder (CCS ’10) created a set of trading cards featuring his classmates at the Center for Cartoon Studies.

But the question remains: when will the next set of Comic Book Creator Trading Cards come out? How long must we wait for some foil-bound bits of heaven? Until then, visit the Schulz Graphic Novel Library and ask to see the Famous Comic Book Creators Trading Card set. We’ll provide the much-missed gum.

-Jen Vaughn