Starting the year off with a bang! Completing a set I've been working on since 1994 + Card show report

 2026 is off to a great start in the hobby and it's only three days old! I have already done two things I've never done before, despite being in the hobby non-stop since 1988. 

My first addition of the year came from a card show, and my first new card of the year completed a set! 

Back in 1994, the local grocery store carried cards. When my mom would go grocery shopping she would bring me cards and a large portion of the that time it was packs of 1994 Marvel Universe. Despite being a lifelong DC fan, I loved that set. I still do. Over time I got most of the set, and I was down to one card missing. At last month's show, I purchased some other Marvel cards from one of the dealers and he was sure he had the card I needed to complete the set. We exchanged emails and sure enough he did. So, I HAD to go to the show this month, and it was PACKED. I've never seen the Fishkill show this crowded, I couldn't even get down all the aisles or see every dealer. But, I made my way to him, and he had it set aside for me under the table. Finally, after 32 years, I have all 200 cards from the 1994 Marvel Universe set in my collection!

Dr. Strange, #55, was the final card I needed to complete the set. It's a weird feeling to not have to look for cards from this set anymore. Well, not base cards anyway. There are still inserts I'm chasing but those are secondary. 

That wasn't all I added today though. 

The entire top row came from the same dealer, as well as a bunch of baseball I needed for a trade I'm working on the Database. I will never turn down parallels from 1996-97 Bowman's Best, either. I didn't even check to see if I need them but I'm pretty sure I do.

One of my regular dealer stops yielded all these cards. I have more Kenyon Martin autographs than any other player I think, but that doesn't stop me from adding more. The Kevin Love is SN 001/125. 

I don't really like the Recon set, but I do want to have at least one example of every set in my collection, and it's a Knicks card, so I went for it. My final purchase of the day was this stash of 1969-70 and 70-71 Topps. It's unusual to find these in bulk, even more unusual to find Hall of Famers at reasonable prices. The top photo (and the League Leaders card) cost me $20, while the bottom photo was $20 more. The end cards of the set are a bit rarer so not all that surprising they would cost a bit more. These came from the same dealer I got the 1972-73 Topps from at the show in November and also had purchased the Bowman's Best from earlier in the show, he also runs the show. I will be working his tables more until I run out of vintage NBA to add. I don't harbor any illusions of completing either of these sets, but I can get pretty close. No way I'll ever be able to afford/justify the Kareem or Maravich rookie cards but I might be able to get the rest, especially as I'm not too worried about condition on cards that predate my birth. 

Overall, this was probably my fastest time in and out of a card show- about an hour- but it sure was productive! Completing that set has been something I've been actively trying to do for what feels like forever so it's really nice to finally pull it off. Honestly, if I had just gotten that card and the cards I needed to fulfill that baseball trade I would have been happy, everything else is just a bonus.