Thursday, March 27, 2014

2014 Cryptozoic ARCHER Box Break: An Awesome Adam Reed Auto and A Guaranteed 1/1 Sketch Card!

Archer is one of my favorite shows and it's by far one of the best out there. When I saw Cryptozoic was going to release an Archer set with autos, Totally Fabricated Relics, and 1/1 Sketch cards commemorating some of the great moments -- and great characters -- from the first four seasons of the show, I knew I had to pick up a box. Autos and sketches are both seeded 1 in 24 packs, so a box should come with one of each. Here's what I pulled along with a complete base set of 73 cards.


My autograph is by far my favorite card from the break that concludes my holiday-funded Blowout purchase. It's a John Hancock from one of my favorite characters and one of the best names on the checklist: Adam Reed as Ray Gillette. Reed, in addition to voicing the hilarious and often-paralyzed Ray, is the creator of Archer as well as the likewise-phenomenal Frisky Dingo (which was Archer before Archer).


Here's a great clip prominently featuring Reed as Ray. Oh, and look at that on-card autograph. The way it should be. Kudos to Cryptozoic. Hopefully H. Jon Benjamin and Aisha Tyler will sign for the next release of Archer.


My guaranteed 1/1 Sketch Card is of Lana Kane, portrayed by Aisha Tyler. The artist -- after much research -- is Josef Rubinstein. The sketch has really grown on me since I busted the box last month, and I'm happy to have pulled a main character and a card with a lot of color.

I am seriously in love with these 1/1 sketches to the point that they are now one of my main collecting wants, needs, and desires. I will happily trade for any 1/1 Archer Sketch and strongly consider buying if you prefer that route. From what I've read there are perhaps as many as 3,600 1/1 sketches floating aimlessly in the cardboard world, trying desperately to find my collection. I want as many as I can get my hands on.


The back of the autograph cards are very well-done. I've seen some that actually include a photo of the actor or actress who voices the character.


Here's the back of the 1/1 Sketch Card. Each Sketch Card has the 1 of 1 stamp and this back. Some of the artists chose to sign the back of the card rather than initial or sign the front. There are a handful of rare artists, and I hope to get my hands on at least one original sketch from one of these harder-to-find artists.


Here's an example of the base cards, and I went with an episode that depicts one of my favorite moments from the show. Both Archer and his mother Malory reminisce about a Halloween from his youth in which he was dressed as Charlie Chaplin. However, both remember it as Archer being dressed as Hitler. I tried to find the clip, but alas, you'll just have to watch the show.


The back of each base card is vertical in its layout and includes a quote from the episode depicted on the front. Interestingly enough, the base and insert cards all list the year as 2014 while the autographs and sketch cards list 2013. The set was pushed back by a number of months from late last year to February 19th of this year, which explains the discrepancy.


Finally, the front of the checklist and the six inserts I pulled, which is right in line with the box odds. The inserts can't be completed with one box -- a lone insert set can't be finished off with one box -- so it'll be off to eBay should nobody have any to trade. My favorite insert set is of course Welcome To Whore Island.

2 comments:

  1. That is awesome! I love the show! I didn't know these existed until now....may need to make some purchases now

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  2. Michael- You definitely should! If you do and pull anything you're willing to move, please let me know!

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