Even though the well off Star Wars trading card sets seems to be endless, it took a long time for the franchise to release any sort costume or prop cards. Leave it to a magazine, a good cause and a dead Ewok to make the first Star Wars relic card happen.
Non-Sport Update offered an exclusive variant cover of a Star Wars-themed issue at the 2010 Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo. Sure, Mark McHaley’s artwork is amazing and the 300-copy print run made the issue more enticing, but the big draw was the inclusion of the first Star Wars memorabilia card that has a swatch of Ewok fur from Return of the Jedi.
In general, I’m not a fan of costume cards. Like game-used jersey cards in various sports products, they’ve become somewhat commonplace and generic for me to really get behind them. But Ewok fur!
The card features more artwork from McHaley. Not only is the fur embedded on the card, but it actually fits into the design, giving the Ewok a fuzzy belly. Sheer brilliance, in my opinion.
The card is fully licensed and was produced by Topps for the project. The issue also included a certificate of authenticity from the Prop Store to vouch for the Ewok swatches. Proceeds from the sales of the variant issue went to charity, so it’s also for a good cause.
Since the release of this card, Topps has included a few Star Wars memorabilia cards in a couple of their products. 2013 Topps Star Wars Jedi Legacy was the first to have pack-inserted relic cards. The high-end 2015 Topps Star Wars Masterwork also has them. 2014 Topps Star Wars Return of the Jedi Widevision 3-D has a handful of Relic Sketch cards that mix memorabilia and original art.
(Full disclosure: While I am a columnist for Non-Sport Update, I had to pre-order a copy like the general public and paid full price like the general public.)
