Behind The Scenes, Entertainment News, Interviews

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Marvel Masterpieces

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s trading cards, could be grouped into two major categories, super-heroes and fantasy art. Comic Images and FPG were the major players in the Fantasy Art category that focused on trading card sets for artists such as the Hildebrandt.

By May 7,2012  7

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s trading cards, could be grouped into two major categories, super-heroes and fantasy art. Comic Images and FPG were the major players in the Fantasy Art category that focused on trading card sets for artists such as the Hildebrandt Brothers, Joe Jusko, Boris Vallejo, and Julie Bell. In 1992, SkyBox decided to merge the world of Fantasy Art and Super-Heroes and the result was Marvel Masterpieces. Unlike the earlier comic book sets, which merely re-printed artwork from the comic books, the Marvel Masterpieces brand contained all new art from some of the more popular artists who were not necessarily known working with comic book characters. All of the art for the 1992 Marvel Masterpieces series, including the promo cards, was done by Joe Jusko. I recently asked Joe a few questions about working on the 1992 Marvel Masterpieces set.

Joe Signing at the San Diego Comic-Con in July of 1992

Joe Signing at the San Diego Comic-Con in July of 1992

Were you given a list of characters you could/could not draw or were you given free reign?

I was definitely provided a list. It’s fun going through the different sets year by year because it’s really easy to see which characters were at the height of their popularity when a particular set was produced. The classic characters (Spider-Man, the Hulk, etc.) are always included but the secondary characters change with every new release.

Were there cards rejected or that you had to change based on editorial feedback?

There were a couple of alterations made at the sketch stage with a couple of cards. I added more mole men to the Mole Man card, and I changed the trajectory of the Thor figure to have him flying more at the viewer than across the card as originally envisioned. The schedule was so tight, however (a little over 3 months for 104 paintings) that I only handed sketches in for the first 25 cards. The balance were sent in as finished paintings. The only change to the remaining 74 cards was the statuette on the Wonder Man card. It was changed from an Academy Award to a statue of him to avoid trademark issues.  The only card I abandoned and started over was Sabertooth because I just wasn’t happy with the original design.

What is the size of the actual art that the cards were created from?

The cards were painted very small (6″ x 8.5″) because the deadline was so intense and they were going to be printed at a very small size. Had I known they would have later been reproduced on a larger scale I would have painted them at least the size of a printed comic. As it was, there were bets in the office on whether or not I’d get the set in on time. My name doesn’t appear on any of the initial advertising because the idea of farming out the last dozen or so cards was briefly entertained, though I expressed my displeasure with that idea in no uncertain terms. Obviously, I finished the set.

Do you own any of the originals?

Unfortunately, no. I sold them as a collection to a dealer before the cards were even released. No one had any idea what those cards would become so the money I was offered seemed more than fair at the time. In hindsight, however……….

Namorita, one of Joe's favorite card

Namorita, one of Joe's favorite card

 

Do you have a favorite card?

Answer: Hard to pick a favorite, but I’m partial to the Black Cat, The Hulk and the Namorita card, which is an homage to one of my all time favorite comic covers, Dolphin in Showcase #79, drawn by Jay Scott Pike. That’s the one card I’d like to have back.

Non-Sport Update thanks Joe very much for his time. For more information on Joe’s upcoming projects and show appearances, be sure to visit his website at joejusko.com.

1992 Mavel Masterpieces Page After Page Adverstisement

1992 Mavel Masterpieces Page After Page Adverstisement

 

1992 Marvel Masterpieces Golden Apple Advertisement

1992 Marvel Masterpieces Golden Apple Advertisement

 

1992 Marvel Masterpieces Tour Sticker

1992 Marvel Masterpieces Tour Sticker

 

Non-Sport Update Oct-Dec 1992 cover featuring Joe's Marvel Masterpieces Wolverine painting

Non-Sport Update Oct-Dec 1992 cover featuring Joe's Marvel Masterpieces Wolverine painting

 

SkyBox International advertisement from Non-Sport Update Oct-Dec 1992 issue

SkyBox International advertisement from Non-Sport Update Oct-Dec 1992 issue

 

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7 Comments

  • Joe Jusko May 7, 2012 Reply

    Nice article! Thanks, Laura!

    The add mentioned in the interview that omitted my name is the last image you posted. I never even took note until other people pointed it out. LOL

    1

  • GRAHAM HEAD May 7, 2012 Reply

    I remember buying this as a master set for my sister. They were brilliant and set the benchmark for future sets. Still one of my favourites.
    I wonder if that dealer still has the originals.

    2

  • Harris Toser May 7, 2012 Reply

    The original Marvel Masterpieces is one of my favorite card series of all time. Joe’s art is just brilliant and the series was really ground-breaking in terms of it starting the painted card, original art card series. And the Wolverine cover shown is also probably my favorite Non-Sport Update cover. I still love looking at it.

    3

  • Bob Schaefer May 7, 2012 Reply

    If memory serves me right that first Marvel Masterpieces set was released on the same day as Superman #75 (the infamous “Death of Superman” and some other huge comics release, I think from Valiant. Anyway, we made a lot of money that day.

    4

  • rizzo May 17, 2012 Reply

    I’m a huge fan of your art, and have collected almost every card from this set…….I am only lacking the silver surfer promo card. Do you remember what magazine it was issued in? ??

    5

    • Joe Jusko March 14, 2013 Reply

      I don’t unfortunately. It might have been Wizard or Hero Illustrated.

      6

  • Nate March 12, 2013 Reply

    I have this collection of cards as well! Sadly at the time I didn’t realize the magnitude this series created. I was in a local comic shop who was going out of business and they had the full set of cards calling out to me! lol!
    My thoughts were more towards getting a full set at one time instead of collecting over the next few months!
    The Mephisto card is hand signed in a gold/bronze ink. # 647/5000. Wow Joe, you signed a lot of cards sir! :)
    I’ve kept all my comics and cards from that era safe and protected.
    Thanks Joe for setting the stage to so many future ideas and designs.

    7

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