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For the Love of V-Day! Part 2
My
trip down memory lane for Valentine’s Day continues with this second part
devoted to everyone’s favorite mutant super hero team! Valentine cards are
always a big thing for me to collect this time of year and nothing is better
than vintage X-Men Valentine cards. Let’s look!
This
pack of cards was from 1993 and features the iconic images of the X-Men from
that time period. I recently purchased these brand new from my comic store a
couple years ago and it was the perfect item to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This
set came out at a time when X-Men popularity was really big. It seems as if
X-Men Valentine cards would be a bit silly, but there were times in the past
where a person could find all kinds of Valentine cards to their favorite
properties. I was in high school in the late 90’s and every year I would have
the most difficult time picking out which card set to purchase and pass out to
friends.
When
turned around the box shows off a sample of the cards found inside while also
sharing a fun message about this set, “For kids, teachers and special friend.”
Or grown adults. I loved purchasing Valentine cards when I was younger. The messages
and combination of images are so much fun.
This
cluster of smaller cards shows a smattering of choices for a special Valentine.
Wolverine does appear the most out of the other X-Men characters, but there is
also a Beast card, and that is everything. The images for these cards were
not exactly new; they were straight from the comics with hearts added for
effect. The card with Magneto is priceless. He was a real villain in the 90’s,
a serious threat, and with those hearts levitating off his hand he just seems
like such a sweetheart. (Let’s just make sure Rogue doesn’t check this card
out. Ba-da-bum.)
Wolverine
shows up again with the other popular face of the X-Men: Cyclops. Something
happened in the 90’s with the X-Men comics. Cyclops and Wolverine were really
pitted against each other which became a major plot point decades later. The
only thing missing from this card was Jean Grey. In fact, one of the biggest
problems I have with this set is that Jean Grey was never featured at all. This
was also one of the problems I had with the 90’s in general; Jean Grey was left
out of a lot of stuff. I recall being so flustered that ToyBiz took forever to
release a Jean Grey action figure. However, that is neither here nor there.
This is about Valentine’s Day!
Up
next is everyone’s favorite Cajun. I remember Gambit being such a big deal in
the 90’s and he is certainly one that I would have loved to be a special
Valentine with. I had such a crush on Gambit back then. He was written with
such “bad” guy swagger and that accent! I think what also helped Gambit’s cause
was the animated cartoon. Or maybe it was the trench coat? Either way, I had a
soft spot for Gambit in the 90’s. The Wolverine card was nice too, but I feel
like this set had just too much Wolverine.
Speaking
of trench coats, Jubilee made it on a Valentine card! She was one of those
characters that fans either really liked or really loathed in the 90’s, but I
was always a fan. The 90’s was when I really began reading X-Men comics. X-Men
issue #1 was a big deal as was the cartoon. The X-Men simply ruled the 90’s.
This is how I remember it at least and these cards capture a glimpse of the
popularity of the band of mutants. I also love the card below Gambit. The image
plays off of the fastball special that the pair have been famous for. Granted,
it does not exactly look like that is what is happening on the card, but they
were very popular for that.
Up
next is more Wolverine. (Really? Not even a Psylocke Valentine card?) However
Storm gets a Valentine card too, which would have been cruel had she not
appeared on this set. In many ways she is the female face of the X-Men. I know
Jean was the first female member of the X-Men; nevertheless Storm has always
been an important presence in the Marvel Universe. She was the first female
figure to be made from the amazing X-Men toy line by ToyBiz in the early 90’s
as well. Also, this suit of hers has long been a fabled appearance of everyone’s
favorite goddess.
The
final cards in this set are of Wolverine, yet again, and Rogue, one of my
favorites. Rogue from the 80’s turned into a very different Rogue in the 90’s.
I followed her story lines from the comics and cartoon because I just related
to her. She was an outsider in a group made up of outsiders. The plot point
regarding her inability to touch or get fully close to another human was just a
tragic and amazing story. Her brief romance with Joseph/Magneto? Not so much. I
just could never understand that whole story.
The
90’s was an important decade for the X-Men. They exploded into comic supremacy
at the start of the decade and by the end of the decade they ushered in the
start of what we now know as the “good” modern super hero movie. These Valentine
cards really bring all this up for me. Not only do they make me love V-Day even
more, but they also remind me why I have cherished falling in love with one of
the greatest super hero teams to ever exist.
Were
you a fan of the X-Men in the 90’s? Whom would you have wanted to be your
Valentine back then? Share your thoughts and enjoy these retro Valentine cards.
They are simply X-traordinary. See what I did there? Take care everyone and
stick around, there is still some more love for Valentine’s Day on Retro-Daze.
IllustratorErik Posted on Feb 17, 2014 at 04:49 PM
I remember I found a set of Animated Series X-Men Valentines at a Goodwill store once. Whats weird is that the cards only had picture of the characters posing, no message or hearts or anything, just a basic "To: and From:" on the back. I'm almost certain that the art was recycled from some trading card game. However, that made it easier to paste all the cards onto a board to make a sort of makeshift poster for my room.
Vaporman87 Posted on Feb 10, 2014 at 02:50 AM
Awesome Trash Man. I must look these up.
The Trash Man Posted on Feb 10, 2014 at 12:55 AM
Godzilla-themed Valentine's do exist.
I remember stumbling upon a box of them at a dollar-store back when I lived in L.A [this was, uh, 2005/2006?]. I have no idea what happened to them, but there was also a sheet of stickers included that I used to "decorate" my name-badge at work.
Moth-ah-raaaa..!
MissM Posted on Feb 08, 2014 at 08:08 AM
pikachulover, I remember getting some Tiny Toons valentine cards. I loved them so much. I really miss Tiny Toons. That was such a great show. Now Marsupilami sounds interesting, I'm not really recalling it.
Vaporman, yeah, these images are totally from Jim Lee's art in the comics. lol How did the search go for any Godzilla Valentine's Day cards? I'm sure they had to have had them.
pikachulover Posted on Feb 07, 2014 at 07:49 PM
My friend used to have a huge crush on Gambit. I don't think I would have given X-Men cards in 1993. I usually went for something boys and girls would like. I think in 93 I either gave Tiny Toons or Marsupilami.
Vaporman87 Posted on Feb 07, 2014 at 04:43 PM
You can definitely tell some of these V-day card images are taken straight out of Jim Lee's work with the X-Men. Great stuff!
These would have fit right in with my choices for Valentine's Day card exchanges in school. Anything to do with super heroes and such (as I mentioned in the first part of this series). One thing I would have really enjoyed was if there were some Godzilla related Valentine's Day cards.
In fact... I'm going to go look that up right now. :)
Thanks again Miss M!!!
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