Independent Trading Cards
Independent trading cards is a side of this hobby you’ve likely never heard much about. Of course Sports Cards are king, the vast majority of cards sold are in that category. The Non-Sports category is also huge, Topps makes Star Wars, Upper Deck has Marvel while Cryptozoic and Rittenhouse cover the other big franchises. Then, way down the list you’ll find the independents, making the sets that nobody else will. These are some of the most creative, artistic and just unique products in existence - yet almost nobody talks about them. It’s time to change that.
This page will keep track of Kickstarters running right now, or coming soon so you can find all these fantastic sets in one place. I’ll also link you to the major publishers and my own video reviews of their products so you can see just how cool these really are. They might be independent, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t high quality, high value productions.
Active Campaigns
If you’ve never run into Kute Afflictions before, prepare yourself - this is one of the most genuinely original things happening in cards right now. Julie Varley builds her sets around her own hand-sewn creations, the kind of eerie, lovable little horrors that each come with their own poetic backstory. There is truly nothing else like it on a shelf anywhere.
Running right now is her Visiting Hours promo, a subset celebrating the guest artists who’ve contributed to the Kute Afflictions sets over the years. It’s a quick promo campaign and the clock is nearly up - but Julie almost always opens late pledges, so even if the timer has run out by the time you read this, follow the link and grab one anyway. It’s the perfect low-cost way to get on board before the next full set drops.
Upcoming Campaigns
Two sets I’m watching closely, both launching soon - get your reminders set now so you don’t miss the early-bird tiers.
Cryptid Anthology: Legends & Lore from Indie Hobby is a brand new collectible set built around cryptid legends and folklore, blending original art with the stories behind each creature. Bigfoot, Mothman and the rest of the gang finally getting the card treatment they deserve - hit the link and click Notify me on launch.
The Mega Monster Card Catalog is the one I’m most excited about. Kurt Kuersteiner of Monsterwax has spent years tracking down every monster card set he could dig up - more than 500 series stretching from 1959 all the way to today - and he’s turning that obsessive archive into the ultimate reference for monster card collectors. If you love this corner of the hobby it’s essential reading. Follow it here so you catch the launch.
Independent Trading Card Publishers
RRParks
Let’s start with the biggest of the independents, RRParks Cards. A solo operation run by the always working Richard Parks. He’s been putting out independent sets for nearly 10 years now. Some truly incredible productions too like Mystery Science Theater 3000, 4 different sets, I have 2 of them here in the Archives. Also Ultraman, that’s right he licensed Ultraman and produces the official trading cards - by himself. His sets always include 1/1 sketch cards, he works with over 300 artists. Beyond the licensed productions he also publishes amazing historical sets such as Ancient Egypt, The Roman Emperors - and most recently Pirates.
His sets are almost exclusively available via Kickstarter. The absolute best way to keep track of what he’s up to is to follow his Facebook page The kickstarters typically run for 10-20 days and include only a few hundred copies of each set. Once they are gone, they are gone. You can also follow him on Kickstarter directly.
Every year RRParks puts out a simply mind blowing Halloween set, last year I reviewed 10 years worth of them in 10 separate videos. It’s trading card heaven.
History cards from RRParks featuring the Roman Emperors, all of them, and Egyptian artifacts including real mummy beads in a relic card!
Long Dog Cards
Next up is Long Dog Cards, run by the hugely popular Sketch Card artist Ingrid KV Hardy. Ingrid has done sketches for tons of Star Wars sets in the past, you can see her cards still selling for 100’s of dollars on Ebay. On her own she’s put out many sets using the same kickstarter system that RRParks has perfected. He sets feature unique themes, gorgeous artwork and some truly unique gimmick cards such as “real” Dragon Skin relic cards! Her Dragons set is still available on their website here.
Her most recent Kickstarter featured UFO themed cards from many famous artists, including a customizable metal card for master set backers. You will NEVER see anything like that from a major publisher, it just won’t happen.
The best way to keep up with her amazing releases is to join her mailing list, it’s not spammy you will only get emails specifically for upcoming productions.
Leg Day Cards
Leg Day Cards is another independent publisher run by a prolific Sketch Card Artist, Lindsey Greyling. Her cards also sell for 100s of dollars on Ebay. With Leg Day Cards she’s producing easily the most unique sets available today as you can see from the preview of some upcoming sets above. Her artwork has a perfect mix of insanely cute, horrifying and just insane - it’s absolute perfect and I love every card I’ve seen of hers. Most recently she ran a successful kickstarter campaign featuring a cat as Krampuss - the evil Santa Clause from northern European mythology.
The best way to stay up to date on her work, and see some fantastic preview art is to follow the Facebook page.
Krampuss was everything I dream about in a set. Cats, amazing artwork, horrifying artwork, cute artwork, it’s perfect.
RJF Image and Design
RJF is a publisher who often works with RRParks on collaborative sets but also has a number of their own sets available. Run by Richard J. Fowlks, an independent artist and designer, the sets tend to feature classic monster movie and other nostalgic topics. His most recent production was the Nosferatu 3rd edition which ran on Kickstarter late last year.
The best way to keep track of RJF’s latest work is to follow his Facebook page here.
I picked up all 3 of the Nosferatu sets during the last Kickstarter. Often these publisher will offer their older sets which is a great way to catch up if you are late in finding out about them.
Know any other cool independent projects or publishers I’m missing? Have your own kickstarter coming up and you’d like me to take a look? Get in touch here.