To Trade or not to Trade...?

While cleaning out the basement one day, I stumbled upon some old boxes that held many treasures. Pushing through some Legos and army men, I discovered stacks and stacks of old trading cards that I had collected throughout my kid years. Blowing off the dust, I began to sort through some of them, realizing that I had once held a pretty impressive collection. I thought I would share some of the types of cards that I used to enjoy; so sit back, pop in a piece of stale stick gum, and enjoy the article...

First up, is the 1989 Batman movie trading cards. Just seeing those packs of cards brings back so many memories. I can recall going to the store and begging my parents to let me buy a few packs, only to stress my brain on which pack that I would choose. You see, one pack featured Batman, while the other pack featured The Joker, creating the ultimate dilemma of good vs. evil. In the end, I am sure that I was fussed at to hurry up, pressuring me to grab whatever pack was on top of the pile. The cards featured scenes from the movie as you see here...

These were among my favorite trading cards growing up. I suppose that I could brag, and inform you that I actually collected the whole series...but why would I do that??

While I admit that the Dick Tracy trading cards weren't the hottest item out, I enjoyed several packs while they were in existence. Actually, I have quiet a few of these things. I am not sure why I liked them, for I don't even remember thinking the movie was all that great...

I guess it was all the random goons Tracy had to deal with, or perhaps I enjoyed his Big Bird colored outfit...regardless, I collected them, and I still get a kick out of them today. Some of those cards, are just so ugly, it's ridiculous!

Now this was a series of cards, that I still find random to this day...Desert Storm trading cards? Not that the cards were a bad thing, they were just random. My dad picked up a few packs of these on his way home one day, figuring that I would enjoy the weapons, tanks, and military stuff featured on the cards.

Well, as it would turn out, my dad was right. I thought the cards were cool, as they allowed me to stock up on pictures of heavy artillery and planes and stuff. Although we picked up a few more packs of the Desert Storm cards,the store we bought them from decided to get rid of them, and that was the end of that.

Garbage Pail Kids, what can I say, they were simply great! What other cards allowed kids to collect the most disgusting and foul cartoon images around, and still have the privilege of chewing stick gum? Ok, Dinosaurs Attack! might have, but I sadly never had any of those, so we count count them.

Basically the cards were a spoof of Cabbage Patch Kids, but instead of wholesome fun, we had gross images of mutilated kids doing obscene things...what else could a kid want? The funny thing is, I traded some duplicates with a co-worker a few months back, after we got into a discussion about how much we used to like Garbage Pail Kids. Some kids never grow up I suppose.

Even though I didn't have any Dinosaurs Attack! cards (I'm not bitter, I promise), I did collect Jurassic Park cards when the movie first came out.

The cards, like any other movie cards, featured our favorite characters, movie scenes, and dinos doing their thing. I always liked dinosaurs, so I guess that's why I enjoyed reading these cards and looking at their pictures. I have to say, the card featuring the T-Rex with the tire in his mouth, always seems to bring back a little excitement from my Jurassic Park days. Now if they only made a card of that guy getting chewed up while on the commode...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, need I say more? While I collected the cartoon series and the movie cards, the cartoon trading cards were always my favorite. It was just so exciting to rip open a pack of cards featuring our mutant friends, and adding them to my collection.

The cards featured individual characters, as well as scenes from the cartoon (and stick gum). There is no telling how much money was spent on TMNT cards, but in the end, I collected the whole set! I fount a few packs of these at the mall a few years ago, and for .50 cents, you best believe I bought a pack or two for ol' times sake.

I can't say that I was a huge collector of Gremlins trading cards, but I did have a few. Although Gizmo was one of the nicest monsters to ever be featured on a trading card, as a kid, I just didn't collect cards that featured this...

As cute as that is, I was looking for more of the mean Grimlins cards, for those were just more entertaining and fun. All in all, Gremlins trading cards were ranked the lowest in my book, but they were still good enough for my collection, and in my collection they will stay.

Now here is a series of cards that I would have fought you on the playground for. Marvel Universe trading cards were awesome, as they featured pictures of our favorite Marvel heroes and villains, and gave us stats on the back of each card.

After I had collected Spider-Man and Wolverine, the rest were second string. Don't get me wrong, they were awesome cards, but once you have your favorites, some things just don't seem as important. Marvel Masterpieces would soon find there way into my trading card collection, but they couldn't touch my Marvel Universe! (BREAKING NEWS) This paragraph may have just qualified me for 2008's biggest nerd award.

And finally, I will end with an American classic. Baseball cards are timeless, in the fact that I can still look at them today, and remember the fun times shared with my dad. We would stop by the store and grab a few packs to open together, just for fun...and it was just that. I still have these cards in a converse shoe box in my closet, and maybe one day I will give them to my kids. However, by then trading cards will probably be digital or something.


Even though trading cards are not as popular as they once were (and certainly not as cheap), it is always fun to look back at the ones you collected as a kid. The cards I shared with you, were only some of the ones I enjoyed as a kid. I am sure that everyone had their own favorites, so share them in the comments section! Thanks for reading, and remember; if you get an old pack of cards, don't try the gum... twenty year old gum is not good and it will shatter your teeth...TRUST ME!


Thanks to everyone I borrowed pictures from, you helped make this article possible!