If you’re looking for a cardboard time capsule of what was hot in the 1990s, 1996 Topps Barb Wire trading cards might be it. Pamela Anderson and those wrap-around arm tattoos that I’m sure some have regrets about.
Based on the film that was based on the edgy comic, the set is all about Pamela Anderson. And looking at it now, it’s kind of icky.
1996 Topps Barb Wire Checklist Details
The base set has 72 cards. While it’s focused primarily on the movie (with lots of images of Anderson toting guns and not wearing a lot), the end of the set does get to Barb Wire’s comic roots. A handful of cards reproduce comic covers as well as other art from the likes of Joe Linsner, Walter Simonson, J. Scott Campbell and more.
1996 Topps Barb Wire has a pair of inserts. Twelve Embossed Foil cards are inserted at a rate of one per pack. All feature Anderson’s characters and her different tight-fitting outfits. Think about those for a second and why an embossed foil approach was picked. Ew.
Four Laser inserts fall at a rate of two per box. Topps had big plans for laser-cut cards at the time. The technology allowed for lots of close and precise cuts. The look is distinct but it failed to catch on.
Just as the movie has been largely forgotten over the years, so too has the card set. It’s still available, just not at very high prices. The relative ease in which a master set can be put together is another factor.
1996 Topps Barb Wire Checklist
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Set size: 72 cards
Cards per pack: 8
Packs per box: 36
Shop for 1996 Topps Barb Wire boxes on eBay.
Base Set Checklist
72 cards.
1 Title Card
2 Checklist
3 Meet Barb Wire
4 Steel Harbor
5 Techno Torture
6 Congressional Conspiracy
7 Hammerhead Hostess
8 Her Brother’s Keeper
9 A Masterful Maitre D’
10 See A Badge?
11 Secret Motives
12 A Room With A View
13 Unwelcome Guests
14 Don’t Call Me Babe!
15 Special Delivery
16 Negotiations
17 Paid In Full
18 I.D. Check
19 Police Protection
20 The Long Arm Of The Law
21 First Impressions
22 Guest Of Honor?
23 Checking In
24 A Voice From The Past
25 Old Wounds
26 Resistance Headquarters
27 A Living Legend
28 Bitter Memories
29 A Rebellious Past
30 Let’s Make A Deal
31 Dead Men Don’t Talk
32 Bathing Beauty
33 Awkward Introductions
34 Biological Warfare
35 Technical Difficulties
36 Search And Destroy
37 Busted!
38 For Whose Eyes Only?
39 Schmitz On Ice
40 Junkyard Deal
41 Early Retirement
42 For Charlie
43 Dressed To Kill
44 Escort Service
45 Double Crossed?
46 Two-Faced and Triple-Chinned
47 Pryzer’s Surprise
48 Monster Truck!
49 Crack-Up!
50 Shish KeBarb!
51 A Moving Target
52 A Poor Choice Of Words
53 Mission Completed?
54 Credit Where Credit’s Due
55 Cover #1
56 Cover #2
57 Cover #3
58 Cover #4
59 Cover #5
60 Cover #6
61 Cover #7
62 Cover #8
63 Cover #9
64 Jim Balent
65 John Bolton
66 Dan Brereton
67 J. Scott Campbell and Alex Garner
68 Fastner and Larson
69 Joe Linsner
70 Esteban Maroto
71 Mike Mayhew
72 Walter Simonson
Embossed Foil Checklist
12 cards, 1 per pack.
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
E6
E7
E8
E9
E10
E11
E12
Laser Checklist
4 cards, 1:18 packs.
L1 Barbed Wire
L2 Bullet Holes
L3 Bubbles
L4 Tattoo
Promo Cards Checklist
P1 Barb Wire on motorcycle
P2 Barb Wire shooting
P3 Barb Wire with ammo
Comic Cover
