Sunday, April 25, 2010

1991 Star Pics Soaps of ABC

The 90's showed to be the era of the return of all things cards.  In 1991, Star Pics inked a deal with ABC to promote their soap operas with a set of trading cards.  Specifically, they agreed to focus on "All My Children (AMC)," though other soaps can be found throughout various packs.  The packs contain 10 cards for 99 cents.  It is possible I have one of three packs known to exist (that was supposed to be funny, cue the laugh track).

The first card out of the chute is NOT from AMC, but rather from "General Hospital."  The photos on the cards are actually not bad as far as cart art goes.  At least, the 'studio-style' pics aren't bad.  The candids (below) appear to have been taken via Polaroid. I digress.  The second card is a checklist.  The checklist is numbered to 72 and it does not include the non-AMC cards so far as I can tell.  Then again, I have no idea who is whom.  The next card shows two people that probably started soaps in the first place.  I think Adam and Erica have been around long enough that evn if you dn't watch, you have a vague recollection of having seen their faces before. Maybe on a milk carton?

Cue the bad photo police.  This looks to be taken at a Christmas party perhaps.  The back of the card features the "Kane Family Tree."  I have to admit, it does not criss-cross as much as I figured such a thing would.  And instead of telling kids not to do drugs, AMC went with "Don't Drink and Drive."  I have to give kudos for the blood trails in the photo. Nice touch.  Of course, the problem with soap opera telling you not to drink and drive is that the people on the shows get a reset button and will come back 10, 20, even 30+ years later.  We don't get no stinkin reset button.

I have no idea who is one the left card above, but from the photo, I would guess she is a tad unstable.  The next two cards are trivia cards.  Evidently, there weren't enough actors to portray on cards.  or maybe they just thought folks would like to test their AMC knowledge. 
The final two cards featur the younger guys on the show.  Are they famous? I have no idea, though the guy on the right does look like someone trying to look like the dude from Boston Legal.  Yeah, I could Google it, but, really, what's the point?

I am curious to know who the audience was for this set.  Women who weren't sports fans?  Were they targeting women, trying to get them into the card-collecting hobby?  Now, before anyone goes all ballistic on me, I do realize that sports fans and soap watchers are not mutually exclusive.  I know this becuase I dated one who made it apopint to let me know we were not mutually exclusive.  It was, in fact, very much like a soap opera.

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