Nightmares on Cardboard IV: Non-Medalist #1

At long last, the last of the eraser crumblies have been swept away and the final images have been cropped. This means it's time to review this years submissions for Nightmares on Cardboard IV. The other night, after being shown one of the final pieces I received, remarked that I should "do something" with all of these wonderful homemade cards. The "something" she suggested involved displaying them with our traditional Halloween decorations. I would venture a step further to say, without the risk of hyperbole, that many of these would find a nice place in a museum. I think any art museum worth its salt would love to host a "Nightmares on Cardboard" exhibit. Both Halloween and the World Series go hand-in-hand with the month of October. Maybe this is something worth looking into, or perhaps I could create my own independent gallery.

In any case, it's time to get on with the tricks and treats. This year a trio of submissions stood out form the rest. Many of you readers, however, might find that one or two of the non-medalists got jobbed. The more I prepare to create this post, the more I think Devan belongs in this year's upper echelon. Let's begin with the email that accompanied his submission.

I find the approach Devan took to be fascinating. He's the only person in four years to create an entire sell sheet for his line of cards. Perhaps it's my waning interest in The Simpsons that cost Devan his spot in the top three. The "Treehouse of Horror" episode used to be one of the highlights of the fall television season, but its popularity has slipped in recent years. You can read all of the copy on the sell sheet. Man, did he put in a lot of work on this! I've also enlarged the fronts and backs of the individual cards so you can get a better look.




The second page of the sell sheet makes a few promises about case hits and the like. This actually looks pretty close to what you would find with any other non-sport product. I'd say this guy has a future in the industry.

Damn, he doesn't mention him by name, but how AWESOME would a Phil Hartman cut auto be? Troy McClure? Lionel Hutz?

Thanks for a great entry, Devan! I'm sure you will earn the admiration of this site's readers.