One of the things I did back in the day, in 1995 to be exact, I've finally addressed today.
As you may remember I've been a comic collector literally my entire life- my brother read me my first at 5 days old and I've never stopped. Naturally, I also collect comic based cards, and I have for more than 25 years now. I favor DC but I also have more than a few Marvel cards. Over the years Marvel has done a much better job with cards than DC has.
One thing you used to be able to get is promos, which seem to be a thing of the past. They used to issue an advance version of a set, sometimes with differences, sometimes looking exactly like the production card does. They were issued all throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, but the last ones I remember getting were around 2005. Maybe 2004.
For a time in the 1990s, they would issue panels, ranging in size from 2 to 9 cards, but most DC and Marvel sets were 4 card panels, with one side looking like 4 cards from the set and the back having info on the coming set.
(I bet you can figure out where this is going already...)
Anyway, in 1995, I got my hands on one of the 4 card panels for 1995 Marvel Metal. And I cut them down into 4 standard size cards. I don't have any memories of doing that...but I must have. I remember having them in my first time with non-sports cards (I didn't collect non-sport from roughly 1997-2009, which I now regret immensely) but I don't remember getting them, I don't remember cutting them apart for sure.
To be honest, it's possible I got them that way already. The cut is perfectly straight and I was 11 years old in 1995, so that leads me to believe somebody else may have done it. At this late date, there's no way to know. I remember wishing I had the full panel back in the 1990s but I don't remember if I was regretting cutting it myself or wishing I had gotten it that way.
Either way, it was something I've been very unhappy about since I got back into non-sports in a big way in 2009. Since then I have enjoyed the world of non-sports more than I have either of the two sports I collect.
Flash forward to today- it's the hottest weekend in years, and I have trouble with the heat. You'd think I'd stay in the AC but no...I braved the heat and visited a comic show on Saturday- when it was 97 degrees out- (no cards I needed at the show) and today, the temp was lower at only 94, but the humidity was higher, making it nearly unbearable. But I still went to one of my favorite places to shop, and visited my non-sport dealer for the first time in several months. I'm sure glad I did, because...I found a replacement panel of the Marvel Metal set!! I have been looking for a replacement for years, and now, finally, I have one. The corners may not be perfect but I don't care. One of the bigger regrets in my collection has now been solved! I may not be able to walk for the next week or so, but...it was worth it!
I have not scanned it yet, but here's a picture. These cards are really hard to photograph, don't be surprised if you see a scan at some point in the future as well.
