Their legacy can still be seen in cards today, with companies like Topps and Upper Deck still putting out cards who share basic DNA with Skybox’s inventive lines. Indeed, the Skybox cards gave comics-related collectibles real legitimacy in the eyes of those who previously dismissed such a thing.įrom the glory years of 1992 to 1996, Skybox was the best-loved name in the non-sport trading card game. Simply put, if you had these things you had credibility during a time when so-called nerdery was beginning its ascension towards pop culture dominance. Chase cards like “holofoil” and “dyna-etching” variants further made the Skybox lines feel like must haves – and so they became a form of de-facto status symbol for collectors. Printed on heavy duty card stock, these cards felt substantial in the hands of eager collectors. The bottom line? There was an unquenchable desire to collect anything and every Marvel-related, and Skybox entered the marketplace at exactly the right time. That they did so by directly tapping into the zeitgeist while pushing the limits of trading card technology is a bit of magic that even Doctor Strange would be impressed by.ĭuring the ‘90s, Marvel was (Silver?) surfing on a wave of massive success, buoyed by the popularity of Fox’s X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons, era-defining - for better or worse - creatives like Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane, and seemingly countless videogames and action figures showcasing these comic book greats.
Bursting onto the scene in 1992, the company’s various licensed Marvel card sets showcased a mix of well-known and rising characters from Marvel. As fun as these memorable sets were, they can’t begin to hold a candle to the work that Skybox was doing in the 1990s. Since the early ‘60s, there have been numerous lines of Marvel-inspired trading cards that have showcased the sillier side of these heroes (Topps’ fondly remembered 1976 line of Marvel Super Heroes Stickers) to cards celebrating the company’s storied history (Fantasy Trade Card Company’s Marvel Superheroes First Issue Cover set). Everything from toys to coloring books competed for the attention of burgeoning Marvelmaniacs, and it’s no surprise that trading cards were quickly thrown into the mix. Due to the unprecedented success of Marvel Comics, the publisher’s stable of heroes quickly became a merchandising juggernaut. These were relatable figures who balanced real world problems like wanting to fit in with the pressures that come with protecting New York City (then later, the universe) from all manner of unbelievable threats. Characters like the members of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and on and on felt more grounded in reality than their comic book peers, and readers immediately took notice. We can’t clarify this enough: When the age of Marvel Comics superheroes began in the 1960s, everything changed.
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