1996 Marvel Masterpieces Double Impact Rogue/Human Torch - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1996 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Fleer/Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - Double Impact
Character: Rogue/Human Torch
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

Another one of my favorite graded Marvel cards is the Rogue/Human Torch Double Impact insert card from the 1996 Marvel Masterpieces set.  Beckett graded this card 9.5 Gem Mint and similar to the Punisher/Psylocke Double Impact card I highlighted earlier, it is the only one in the world graded Gem Mint based on Beckett's population report.

I purchased two unopened 1996 Marvel Masterpieces packs among which one included this exact card.  The edges are prone to flaking and chipping as they are extremely condition sensitive.  So far I have two out of the six Double Impact cards graded Gem Mint.  The remaining are graded BGS 9 Mint so it'll be awhile until my quest is complete.

The only thing I need to get Beckett to fix is the label as they printed "Rogue/Human Torch/Rogue."  To some, this may not be a big deal but considering how much I'm OCD to this kind of stuff, I'll be sending this card back to Beckett in the near future for a correction. 

Box Break and Review - 2014 Dangerous Divas Series 2

Box:

Company: Rittenhouse Archives
Release: 2014
Name: Dangerous Divas Series 2
Number of Packs: 24
Number of Cards per Pack: 5

Insert/ Chase Cards:

Art by Milo Manara - 1:24
Artifex - 1:24
Emerald Foil Parallel Base - 1:24
Sultry Seductresses - 1:24
Sketch Card - 1:24
Cut Archives - 1:96
Marvel 75th Anniversary - 1:144
Autographed Artifex - 1:288
Diamond Foil Parallel Base - 1:288

Rittenhouse released Dangerous Divas Series 2 in December 2014 as a continuation of their highly popular Series 1, which came out a few years back.  The 90 card base set focuses on Marvel's heroines and villainesses. 

Card Design (7.0/10)

Rittenhouse moved Dangerous Divas from a borderless card design to a larger, patterned border for Series 2.  "Mighty Maidens" are showcased in a pink floral border while their counterpart, "Mistresses of Mayhem", are surrounded with a purple insidious design.  The borders give the cards a picture framed look, which is quite different from what Rittenhouse has done in the past.

On the back side of each card reveals part of a 9-card puzzle set.  Cards 1-9 form one large puzzle, cards 10-18 form another puzzle, and so on.  This replaces the traditional character bio that many card companies utilizes.

As for the inserts, Rittenhouse used different effects to separate them from the base cards.  For example, the Sultry Seductresses cards utilized a holo-flash effect while the parallel base cards have foil borders - either green in color for the Emerald Parallels or white for the rare Diamond Parallels.

Character List (8.0/10)

Although the set only included 90 cards and most of the popular female characters were already covered in Series 1, I really liked the character list in this subsequent set.  Yes, Rittenhouse included popular Marvel characters like Rogue, Mystique, and Black Widow but they also included A LOT of lesser known "divas" such as Motormouth, Ruby Thursday, Skadi, and Colleen Wing.  It's amazing how many Marvel female characters were created through out the years.

Box Break

With each box, Rittenhouse includes an entire base card set.  In addition to the base set, I received these following inserts:

Art by Milo Manara - Gamora

Artifex - Black Cat

Emerald Foil Parallel Base - Jocasta

Sultry Seductresses - She-Hulk

Artist Sketch - Dazzler by Jofel B. Cube

Here are samples of two base cards, one of Lady Deathstrike and the other of Ms. Marvel:

Scans of insert cards from this box break:

And lastly, the Dazzler colored sketch card drawn by Jofel B. Cube:

Entertainment Value (9.0/10)

It was nice to cap off 2014 with this much anticipated release from Rittenhouse.  Even after all the hits were pulled from the box, it was still enjoyable to continue opening packs and sorting through all the base cards.

Price/Value (8.5/10)

At an average price of about $50.00 per box, Dangerous Divas Series 2 is generally affordable to the masses.  Most boxes have sold for under $50.00 on EBay and most retailers are selling them for no more than $60.00. 

Final Thoughts

For a relatively inexpensive product, Dangerous Divas Series 2 is a great buy.  I liked the inserts from this set much more than from the Marvel Bronze Age box I purchased a few years ago.  This time around, I felt like the focus was on the cards and the pack-busting experience, not just solely on the sketch cards.  Having quality insert cards available in each box made the whole experience truly enjoyable.

The only thing I would change is to replace the puzzle set on the back of the cards with a character bios/profile.  The puzzle back was a cool feature but with the majority of these female characters being B and C listers, it would have been nice to learn a little more about their origins, mutant powers, and other lesser know facts.  As I opened the packs, I constantly found myself asking, "Who the heck is this?"  FYI, it'll be a good idea to have Marvel Wikia pulled up to answer some of those questions.

Overall Score

8.0 out of 10

2012 Marvel Beginnings Series 3 Deadpool - Graded GMA 10 Gem Mint

Set: 2012 Marvel Beginnings Series 3
Company: Upper Deck
Type: Base
Character: Deadpool
Grading Company: GMA (GMA Grading)
Grade: Gem Mint 10
Status: SOLD

It's unbelievable but I cannot keep anything with Deadpool in stock.  His graded Marvel cards are always the first to sell out, even before other popular characters like Wolverine, Spider-Man, or Captain America.  I guess our resident "Merc with a Mouth" has quite the following.

This particular card came from Upper Deck's third installment of the Marvel Beginnings series and was released in 2012.  Each installment had 180 cards so there were a total of 540 base cards from series 1 to 3.

2001 Topps Marvel Legends Foil Hulk - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 2001 Marvel Legends
Company: Topps
Type: Insert/Chase - Foil Parallel
Character: Hulk
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

In 2001, Topps decided to venture back into issuing Marvel cards with their Marvel Legends set.  Although the cards were packaged in hobby and retail packs, only the foil parallels were found in the latter. The retail packs had limited distribution, making the foil cards highly collectible.  I was fortunate to find some in very good condition, like this Hulk, and had them graded by Beckett.  The corners are prone to denting and I have noticed rough edges on a lot of them.  I currently own 6 out of the 7 graded foil cards listed on Beckett's population report and all are graded 9.5 Gem Mint.  But I'm still searching for Spider-Man, Punisher, and Deadpool in good grading condition so if you have one of them, feel free to let me know if you're willing to sell or trade :)

1993 X-Men 30 Years Gold Foil Wolverine - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1993 X-Men Series 2
Company: Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - 30 Years Gold Foil Stamp
Character: Wolverine
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

Skybox celebrated thirty years of X-Men by releasing a gold foil insert set with the X-Men Series 2 cards.  The nine card set was made up of Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, Cable, Professor X, Wolverine, Magneto, Juggernaut, and the Sentinels.  They were inserted at a rate of about 2-3 per box.  I sold two Wolverine BGS 9.5's - one about two years and another just this last month.  Below is a picture of the card from the latest sale.

1995 Marvel Masterpieces E-Motion Rogue - Graded GMA 10 Gem Mint

Set: 1995 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Fleer
Type: Insert/Chase - E-Motion Parallel
Character: Rogue
Grading Company: GMA (GMA Grading)
Grade: Gem Mint 10
Status: For Sale

Following the footsteps of the 1994 Marvel Masterpieces set, Fleer released parallel cards for each base card in the 1995 set.  These E-Motion cards were printed on thicker stock and had the artist's signature stamped in gold foil.  Along the side of the card was an "emotion" that displayed a holo-flash effect.  E-Motion cards are among the more desirable inserts from the 90's and individual ungraded cards can easily start from $5.00.  Fleer inserted one E-Motion card per pack but unopened boxes now sell from $400-$500.  As you can see, gem mint quality E-Motion cards are not easy to come by.

1992 Marvel Masterpieces Battle Spectra Etch Wolverine vs Sabretooth - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1992 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - Battle Spectra Etch
Character: Wolverine vs Sabretooth
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

In 1992, Skybox came out with a "premium" line of comic trading cards with artwork done by Joe Jusko.  The beautiful art captivated many non-sport collectors and had them seeking the spectra-etched chase cards inserted randomly in packs.  The set, however, was over-produced although gem mint quality cards are still hard to come by.  The battle spectra cards were prone to edge wear and corner dents during the production process although surface and centering issues were rare.  This card was pulled from an unopened box I purchased in the early 2000's.  I submitted it to Beckett in the fall of 2012 and the card was graded gem mint.  It was then sold to a collector a month later.

1993 Marvel Universe 3D Hologram Spider-Man vs Venom - Graded PSA 10 Gem Mint

Set: 1993 Marvel Universe Series 4
Company: Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - 3D Hologram
Character: Spider-Man vs Venom
Grading Company: PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)
Grade: Gem Mint 10
Status: Personal Collection

This 3D hologram card was inserted at a rate of 1:180 so it was the talk of the neighborhood kids when one of us pulled it from a pack.  Skybox also printed the card on a variety of color tints from green, orange, blue, to deep violet.  I purchased this PSA graded card for a very reasonable price on EBay.  Although the picture shows a green tint, it is actually the orange/red variation.

1996 Marvel Masterpieces Double Impact Punisher/Psylocke - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1996 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Fleer/Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - Double Impact
Character: Punisher/Psylocke
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

This is one of my favorite cards as it includes two of my favorite Marvel heroes - Punisher and Psylocke.  The 1996 Masterpieces set is now one of the most expensive sets from that era since they had limited distribution in the late 90's.  All artwork was done by the husband and wife team of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell.  Their amazing and talented skills were showcased in all the cards of this set, including the Double Impact chase/insert set.  I bought this card raw on EBay a few years ago and paid about $90 for it.  I probably overpaid a bit given that the market price at that time was about $70 but the seller included many close up pictures and I thought the card had a good chance of grading Mint to Gem Mint.  As you can see, my hunch was right!  This card is now part of my personal collection.

1992 Impel Marvel Universe Hologram Promo Venom - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1992 Marvel Universe Series 3
Company: Impel
Type: Promo Hologram
Character: Venom
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

Spider-Man's popular arch-enemy Venom got his own hologram card when Impel released their Series 3 Marvel Universe cards in 1992.  In addition, Advance Comics included a promo hologram of Venom in many of their magazine issues, to help promote their company as well as the new comic cards.  The 1992 holograms were printed in different colors, which included green, blue, orange, pink/red, and purple.  This promo hologram card was purchased raw and submitted to Beckett Grading Services.

1990 Impel Marvel Universe Hologram Cosmic Spider-Man - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1990 Marvel Universe Series 1
Company: Impel
Type: Insert/Chase - Hologram
Character: Cosmic Spider-Man
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: SOLD

This was the set that popularized Marvel card collecting in the early and mid 1990's (at least for me anyways).  Many of these holograms can be purchased for a couple dollars on EBay but due to quality issues, the majority are off-centered with surface scratches.  Therefore finding one in Gem Mint quality is extremely rare.  I have known collectors that have purchased multiple boxes without pulling a hologram worthy to be sent in for grading.  This card was purchased ungraded from a online seller along with other non-sports cards.  It was submitted to Beckett and was graded Gem Mint.

1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men Lethal Weapons Psylocke - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1995 Fleer Ultra X-Men All Chromium
Company: Fleer
Type: Insert/Chase - Lethal Weapons
Character: Psylocke
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: For Sale Sold (Updated 7/15/2015)

I obtained this card ungraded from a collector selling off his collection of non-sports cards.  This holo-flash insert/chase card was only found in the all-chromium set Fleer released in 1995. 

You can see it listed for sale at my EBay store below:

http://stores.ebay.com/mcgradedcardstore?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Updated 7/15/2015 - This card has been sold and is no longer available

2013 Marvel Fleer Retro Precious Metal Green Silver Surfer - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 2013 Marvel Fleer Retro
Company: Upper Deck
Type: Insert/Chase - Precious Metal Gems Green
Character: Silver Surfer
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: For Sale Sold (Updated 2/10/15)

In 2013, Upper Deck released its Marvel Fleer Retro card set, modeled after the successful 2011-2012 Fleer Retro Basketball.  Unfortunately, I was late to the party as I didn't purchase my first box until October of 2014.  Even so, the Marvel Fleer Retro has become one of my favorite Marvel card sets since it included the popular Jambalaya and Precious Metal Gems cards.

I purchased a box from Steel City Collectibles since they were running a sale at the time.  The box contained two mini-boxes for a total of 20 packs.  Each pack had 5 cards so a box break would give someone 100 cards.  I had hoped that a Jambalaya was inserted into my box but no such luck.  However, this Silver Surfer Precious Metal Gems (PMG) Green was a nice consolation prize!  The PMG Greens are serial numbered from 1 to 10, meaning Upper Deck only made 10 PMG Green for each character in the set.  Due to its rarity and the card's fantastic condition, I sent the card to Beckett Grading Services so it could be graded.  After a few weeks of waiting, it came back with a grade of 9.5 Gem Mint.  According to Beckett's population report as of 12/19/2014, it is the only Silver Surfer PMG Green card graded 9.5 and none higher.  The PMG Greens from the Marvel Fleer Retro set have been extremely desirable for character collectors since the cards had such limited print runs.

Updated 2/10/2015 - This card has been sold and is no longer available.