1993 Skybox Marvel Universe Series IV

Back in the 90's comic book cards were all the rage...then they weren't worth the cardboard they were printed on.  Flash forward 20 years or so and some of these sets can be hard to find or down right expensive.  Being a comic fan and getting back into cards has made me want to track down some of these cards so I couldn't pass up buying a box of these Marvel Universe cards recently.  Let's take a look at the pack and what is inside.

Packs came in 4 different wrappers.  Silver Sable (pictured), Daredevil, Deathlok & Spider-Man - all with artwork by artist Ron Lim.

10 cards per pack...one card wouldn't fit on the scanner so I left it out.  Each card is listed as either: super heroes, super villains, rookie, alien races, unsolved mysteries of the Marvel Universe or famous battles.  I was a little surprised to see the selection of characters included in the set, but then I remembered these were produced in 1993 so the selection made a little more sense.  What still puzzles me is the inclusion of Marvel UK characters such as Dark Angel & Death's Head.  The cards feature all new artwork which is a plus.  However not all the artwork is that great.  The cards also appear to be numbered by comic book title or theme (Spider-Man is grouped w/ his villains, etc.) and the cards once put together make a larger scene.  I believe I got a full set out of my box so I'm looking forward to placing the set in pages.

The backs of the cards in my opinion look better than some of the fronts!  Each regular card has a head shot as well as a full body picture along with their name and real name.  Also listed is a ranking of different attributes.  This varies according to the character.  Origin, 1st appearance and a did you know blurb also appear.

I've got several years of these Marvel Universe sets and this one appears to be the weakest of what I've seen.  The cards are printed on thin cardstock and aren't UV coated.  The character selection even for it's year is odd at best.  However it was fun opening so many packs.