Just had these graded...

Ive got some Witchblade, The Darkness, and Fathom trading cards Ive been holding onto for years. Some are really cool like the sketch cards, the autographed cards, and the multiple cards that line up to make one image. I remember the most prized of these though were the motion cards. These were selling for like $100 each at the time because they were just SO rare and hard to find. I admit there were times I was tempted to sell mine and use the money to buy comics, but I held onto them because they meant something to me. They may be worth nothing today, but thats OK. I did try to find them on eBay but no luck.

Anyway, in an effort to protect and preserve my cards, I decided to try out the card grading services of PSA...Professional Sports Authenticator. Im not a big card collector but from what I was able to tell this was the most well respected of the card grading companies and they offered a service very similar to CGC for non-sports cards as well. Here is an excerpt from their web site...

Trading cards of all genres, both sports and non-sports, can be submitted to PSA. Once the card graders have determined the card to be genuine, they are then asked to determine whether or not the card shows evidence of doctoring. Doctoring is best described as the attempt to enhance the condition of a card by altering the condition, such as re-coloring or trimming.

Finally, assuming the card passes the first two stages, the experts are asked to grade the condition of the card on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best. Once the grade is rendered, the card is then placed in a tamper-evident case which contains all the pertinent information on the label, including the unique certification number. A similar procedure is also used for collectible coins and pins.

These are my cards and the grades they received...

1996 Witchblade Motion Card, NM-MT 8

1997 Darkness Motion Card, NM-MT 8

From what I could gather, the NM-MT 8 grade is equivalent to the CGC 9.8 grade for comics so I was pretty happy to see that.

If youve never seen these before and are curious what the back of the cards say...

Witchblade

The Witchblade, a cursed blessing?

Only known to be of an organic compound, the mysterious Witchblade makes a connection with its bearer the moment its worn.

Once activated by the wielder, the Witchblade has the ability to take on alternate shapes, usually that of a weapon. And since it cant function without the specific chosen being, it is no surprise that the Witchblade has an agenda to protect its owner from death at all costs.

Generally choosing a new wielder once per generation, but sometimes longer, the Witchblade requires a strong body, but more importantly...an unbreakable spirit.

The Darkness

ART BY

marc silvestri, pencils

batt, inks

jonathan d. smith, colors

Lucky lucky boy. Havnt you guessed, Jackie? You are the Darkness. You have the power. You can do anything. And youll pay the price.

Til next time...

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