Serially Numbered Set Building through COMC- 2003-04 Bowman Signature

I have said many times I am a set builder at heart. Since the late 1990s, it has been a challenge to build a majority of sets that include SN cards...and some of them also have autographs and relics in the sets as well. Since that began in 1998-99, I've completed exactly 1 set that has a large SN portion.

I'm trying to change that, tackling some sets that have Serially Numbered cards...and in this case, autographs and relics- in the base set. I have only one parameter for this- I must have pulled the key cards from my box I opened. I can't/won't spend into the three digits for single cards, so you won't see me going after quite a few sets. (mostly). This one, from the amazing rookie class of 2003-04, I got very lucky on- my box gave me Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James, and I was able to add Carmelo Anthony easily. Aside from LeBron, they are all Triple Threat cards- autograph/relic/SN. LeBron was UD exclusive so did not sign autographs for Topps.

I added 10 more to my collection in this wave of COMC ordering...I expect to complete this set in 2018. Some of the cards I was missing were not available on COMC at this time or I would have had more than 10.

I added two that were auto/jersey

6 that are autograph only. Three of them were also people missing from my collection, so that worked out nicely!

 Only my second card of him. Both are SN.

 Tommy Smith, to my recollection, never played an NBA game, but this is my second autograph of him.

 My first card of Ime Udoka

 My first of Eric Chenowith. Check out that terrible airbrushing!

My first card of Paccelis Morlende.

and finally two of the rookies in the set who did not sign autograph for Topps.

Looking at my records while getting this post ready, I realize I am actually missing LeBron. That's bad. It'll probably keep me from completing the base set. I do have at least one of the parallels of LeBron.

I now have 87 of 118 cards in the set, or 73.7% according to the Trading Card Database.

Loved it then...hate it now.

I don't use the word "hate" when I am talking about cards too often, you all know that about me...I pretty much love every card. But I'm working on a set now that is driving me up the proverbial wall.

That set is 2003-04 Topps Rookie Matrix, a one-year only release. I loved it when it was new. It featured green foil, which I love, and the entire set is neon green based. The backs of the cards look like they were based on Tron, but green. It was one of the first, I think THE first, NBA sets to have the now Topps staple Tobacco sized mini cards. The metallic silver border looks great in hand (but just looks gray in scans)

That was enough to sway me when I was younger...the set was one of the last of 2003-04, and the base cards are OK. I liked them then, but now looking at them, I really don't like them much. The majority of the card is totally computer generated. Even the player photos, they have been messed with, like so:

You see what I mean, with the card front?

But what really makes me hate this set is the rookie cards. I have been working on scanning them most of the day and they are so aggravating that it's not funny.

They did them in the style of 1980-81 Topps, which is bad enough, but it's worse because there are at least 4 versions of each rookie card, and they are put into pairings totally randomly.
Just taking Dwyane Wade as an example (because his black jersey helps to illustrate my point about messed with jerseys)

Each rookie has a number assigned to him, but they are essentially pointless because the numbers are never in any sort of order. I wish, really, that they had given each different PANEL it's own number, like they did with the promos for the set. 

So that's six different versions just with Wade. And I don't even know if I have all of them! I will figure it out shortly, as I post these to the Database. Pretty much every one needs name corrections and all need number corrections so it will take me a while.

Here's some of the backs, so you see what I am talking about:

Now, see how monumentally stupid this is?

I have no idea how I want to catalog these. With the 1980-81 Topps and 1996-97 Collector's Choice Mini Cards insert, I count each number separately. (partially because I separated my first collection of Mini Cards) But this set, the rookies are also available in mini card form. I don't have a whole lot of them- 2 or 3 for sure, maybe a few more, I simply don't remember. I will probably count them as a three-subject card.

I don't know, my family is under a lot of stress right now, and I am feeling physically worse than I have in a long time, so maybe I am taking my frustration out on the set. Or maybe it's just truly a bad idea. I think it may be the latter.