Trading cards packed with bubble gum were popular among children and collectors in the 1970s. Superhero comics were also incredibly popular around this time, so it was only natural that companies such as Topps and Marvel would collaborate to make trading cards for their audiences. While many of these card sets took a more serious approach — such as showing character stats and important battles — occasionally, the sets would show a wackier, more fun side to the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe.
In the mid-1970s, Marvel and Topps collaborated on a more lighthearted approach to a Marvel-themed trading card set. The 1976 Marvel Super Hero Stickers set was a direct follow-up to the previous year’s set and featured everyone’s favorite heroes and villains on die-cut cards that doubled as stickers. The cards were distributed in packs of five that also included a stiff piece of bubble gum.
What made this set unique wasn’t the artwork or the fact that they were stickers, though — it was the thought bubbles that accompanied each character card. Somewhere in development, the creators of these cards thought it would be fun to show the Marvel Universe’s wittier side. Each card’s speech bubble gives a funny or witty one-liner, usually breaking the fourth wall by having the character comment on their appearance or the way they were drawn on that card. Other one-liners were based on mid-1970s popular culture.
Although the cards don’t have individual set numbers, each Marvel Super Hero Stickers card can be identified by the hero or villain’s name on the front. There are a total of 40 base set cards along with six variants, as well as nine puzzle cards that, when flipped over and put together, form an image of Conan the Barbarian #1.
There are currently only three competitors for the 1976 Marvel Super Hero Stickers set in the CGC Cards Registry. JW’s by JWAIRBORNE is currently 72% complete and includes cards graded CGC 4 or higher. JWAIRBORNE’s set is incredible — just check out the Bucky graded CGC 9, which is the highest-graded example in the CGC Cards Population Report! Similarly, JWAIRBORNE's Dr. Doom graded CGC 9 is tied for the highest-graded example in the CGC Cards Population Report, with none graded higher.
Check out the other Marvel Super Hero Stickers sets in the CGC Registry by clicking here.
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POKÉMON
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OTHER