Marvel is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jim Lee’s X-Men trading cards by collecting them into one book. The Uncanny X-Men Trading Cards: The Complete Series will bring together all 105 trading cards from the original set. It will also include bonus cards and other behind-the-scenes information. The annotated collection will arrive on July 5, with pre-orders available now.
Who Is Jim Lee?
Jim Lee is likely most known for his work with DC. However, back in the early ’90s, he gained notoriety for his work on Marvel’s X-Men. In 1991, Lee penciled the iconic X-Men #1, which would go on to be the bestselling single issue comic of all time. From that success, Marvel decided to bring Lee on to design their new line of X-Men trading cards. According to Marvel, this would be the first time an artist created all of the original artwork for a complete Marvel trading card set.
Why Are These X-Men Trading Cards So Special?
Lee’s 1992 line of trading cards depicted the X-Men as never before. The cards became a prized possession for X-Men fans, from character portraits to full battle scenes. Fans could even collect a nine-card puzzle set that showed off Xavier’s Danger Room, which became a challenge to collect. What was great about this set is that fans of both the comics and animated series could enjoy them.
In fact, these cards are often credited for contributing to the boom that the X-Men series experienced in the ’90s. These cards highlighted iconic characters from Wolverine and Cyclops to Juggernaut and Magneto. Along with the art, fans also got insight into the characters and comics with additional bios and trivia.
Collecting these cards became a game for X-Men fans. It was always exciting to buy a pack, and hope you get that missing card or your favorite character.
