The Marvel Masterpiece trading cards are returning in the form of new comic variant cover art. The trading card series was popular in the 1990s, but now fans can revisit this classic art in twenty-two covers starring Marvel's iconic heroes and villains. Marvel Masterpieces was the branding name of numerous trading card sets. These cards were mainly sold between 1992 and 2008, though another couple of sets have been released in the years since - including 2016 and 2020. Artists for these sets have included Joe Jusko, Peter Scanlan, Alex Ross, and David Palumbo, among others.
The twenty-two variant covers will reprint Jusko's art throughout October 2021, as revealed in a recent announcement from Marvel, drawing on the very first set of Marvel Masterpiece trading cards. The variants are certain to be blasts of nostalgia for many Marvel Comics fans. Fans unfamiliar with the cards will have a new introduction to the stunning art that accompanied these cards during the heyday of trading card collecting - or at least the first heyday, given some of Marvel's trading cards are now selling for thousands.
The covers feature a variety of iconic Marvel characters - from Spider-Man villains to the X-Men, and even include some Avengers. Seen below are She-Hulk, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four's Thing, the Hulk, Iron Man and Thor. These characters are in a variety of poses, demonstrating very different powers and backgrounds that each stand out from one another. Fans will surely notice the significant differences in these characters to the modern comics, with some truly retro costumes, and characters like Thor, Iron Man, and Black Widow appearing in all their comic glory - a far cry from the more down-to-earth style of the MCU.
The next set of covers includes many of Spider-Man's villains, including Hobgoblin, Green Goblin, Sandman, and Kingpin. The last remaining hero outside of the X-Men is Captain Britain. The villains that have been selected for these variants look positively fearsome in Jusko's art and they are certainly worthy inclusions while still offering some surprising faces who likely wouldn't make the cut for a debut set of trading cards today - for example, X-Men foe Deathbird has yet to become a household name, despite still holding an important place in the Shi'ar Imperium.
These covers will begin selling on October 6. The first available ones will be Amazing Spider-Man #75, Captain Marvel #33, Excalibur #24, and Hellions #16. The next set available on October 13 includes Amazing Spider-Man #76, Avengers #49, Immortal Hulk #50, Iron Man #13, X-Force #24, and X-Men #4. The third set includes Death of Doctor Strange #2 (a series already boasting some amazing variant cover art), Fantastic Four #37, S.W.O.R.D. #9, Thor #18, Wolverine #17, and X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #3 which all go on sale October 20. The final set goes on sale October 27 and includes Amazing Spider-Man #77, Black Widow #12, Daredevil #35, Inferno #2, and two variations for Marauders #25. The X-Men titles include card art of Cyclops, Bishop, Storm, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magneto, and Wolverine locked in battle with Sabretooth.
Jusko's artwork is still as remarkable as when it first released onto the Marvel Masterpieces cards, and fans will be thrilled to add some - if not all - of these variant covers to their collections.
Source: Marvel