Publications

Non-Sport Update - 

The Wrapper - 

Card Collectors Conventions

Philly Non-Sport Show - Allentown, PA will be the temporary site for Philly's next event that takes place Nov. 3 & 4 at Merchants Square Mall.  Non-Sport Update magazine is co-promoting this show along with long-time Philly host Frank Reighter.

Philly! promo (2002)

New Jersey - DLM Promotions' next event takes place August 24 & 25 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Exhibition Center in Secaucus, NJ

Chicagoland Entertainment Collector's Expo - The CECE is the Midwest's only non-sport trading card event.  The most recent show took place Sept. 8 through 10 in Prospect Heights, Ill.

CECE promo card depicting guests from the 2003 event

Hobby Activities, Card Shrines

Allender's House of Checklists - This tremendous repository of non-sport card titles includes selected classic sets such as Mars Attacks and nearly every major and limited-release contemporary trading card product.  It remains the Internet's most useful tool in identifying that illusive chase card from the master set you're working on.

(1962)

Amok Times Online Newsletter - A massive site that covers all Star Trek card sets past and present, with news of upcoming releases worldwide.  Features include new card finds and a comprehensive checklist guide for most, if not all, Trek sets.  The site's webmaster maintains a fan-based message/bulletin board.

Brands (1967)

Dinosaurs Attack! - In 1988, Topps reworked its Mars Attacks premise (itself an appropriation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds).  Artistically compelling and editorially uproarious, Dinosaurs! was cursed by its insidious overproduction.  The set is as common today as Mars Attacks is as rare.  Nevertheless, this site provides scans of the 55-card issue and its 11-sticker supplement.

Topps (1988)

The Dinosaur Fan - The prehistoric creatures have preoccupied many trading card producers since the 1920s.  The Fan's webmaster has built an extremely interesting site with animated graphic wipes that switch from scan to scan.  A listing of companies that have produced dino-cards over the decades is surprisingly extensive.

(1961)

Garbage Pail Kids Archive - Topps published 15 GPK series from 1985 through 1988.  This site captures its short, but prolific run.  Of particular interest are scans of 40 proposed stickers that were to comprise a 16th series.  The Archive contains a price guide for sets, unopened packs and boxes along with data on sticker variations.

Topps (1985)

Webjon.com -  A colleague at Non-Sport Update constructed this Web several years ago and includes entertaining graphics and well thought out insights regarding the trading card hobby.  Includes reviews of entertainment/collectible shows such as Wizard World, and The Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo.

Zelda's Mars Attacks Home Page - The former editor of Non-Sport Update first constructed these pages in 1995, making it one of the oldest trading card shrines on the Internet.  The navigational structure is well laid out.  Visitors can read all 55 card back texts (an expensive proposition for card collectors), view original sketch roughs drawn by Topps' artists and become familiar with MA's primary illustrator Norm Saunders through an interview with his daughter/artist Zina.

(1962)

Star Wars Trading Cards - Similar in size and scope to Amok Times, this site is home to checklists, Star Wars collectibles news and "Collectors Connection" message boards.  Checklist information also includes many internationally produced card issues. Hobbyists also participate in an online trading area where cards, stickers and collectible game cards are discussed and swapped.

Topps (1978)

Vintage Non-Sport Cards - An online forum for collectors who discuss issues dealing with pre-1970 material.

John Mann's Wacky Packages Page - Here is the oldest repository of Wacky lore on the Internet.  Images of  the initial 1967 Topps die-cut series through the final issue in 1991 comprise the bulk of this web.  Pages also contain scans of original sketches submitted to Topps by Jay Lynch, as well as new illustrations by other artists based on the Wacky premise.  Research includes the actual product names Topps parodied -- packaging that, in many cases, no longer exists.

Topps (Spring 1973)