Inkworks Delivers Serenity

Thursday was a glorious day for me. Not like winning the lottery glorious but I was still quite pleased. I got in my box of "Serenity" trading cards from Inkworks and it certainly whet my appetite for more, much more.
I have been a fan of Joss Whedon's Serenity since it's first broadcast on the Fox network as "Firefly". At the time, I felt it was possibly the best Science Fiction Western ever, and that in many ways it was a much better show then many of the other 'space operas' we have been given over the years.
If you have not had a chance to see the show yet, the Sci Fi channel is showing the episodes on Friday nights and there is a DVD collection available that includes several episodes not shown on broadcast TV.
"Serenity", written and directed by Joss Whedon who created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" is the story of a group of adventures is set for release on September 30th and I for one have having trouble waiting. Combining the old west with space ships and blaster guns has never been easy, just check out Oblivion written by Peter David, for another good example. The horror of it is there has been way to many that was just plain outright bad.
With the release of this 72-card series almost 3 weeks before the film opens, fans of the TV show and those interested in the movie get a foretaste of the action and humor that made the original show such a Cult favorite.
The cards sell for $2.49 a pack and are also available 36-pack boxes if you want to go that way. And I usually do, I find it relieves tension to rip into those little packs.
Inside the box, you are guaranteed at least one full set of base cards (I got two) and at least one autograph and one-piece works card. My autograph was Jewel Staite who plays Kaylee, the intrepid and creative but also very beautiful mechanic on the ship. The piece-works was from Sean Maher who play Simon the brother to the character River who is enigmatic both on the small screen and I am sure will convey that to the big screen as well. What is interesting is you get a small sample of that in these cards.
When she is on one of them, you can see the emotion she will bring to the character on the cardboard. You are able to see her confusion, anger and even sorrow in her face. I can't wait to see her on a full size theater screen.
Back to the cards, other autographs will include Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Summer Lau, Sean Maher, Ron Glass, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Also, I think the design for the signature cards is a little different from previous Inkworks cards. At least they feel a little different, maybe a bit thicker?
Anyway, there is also a Serenity Collector's Album, which I am going to try and get as long as Patti does not know about it. Not that I am afraid of my wife, but after 18 years you learn when to keep a guard up. The album will retail for $19.95 and looks pretty dang nifty if I do say so myself.
It will look pretty good holding not only the base set, but my autographs and the other chase cards that include a 9-card Renegades puzzle that comes 1 card per every 11 packs, a 5-card Women of Serenity subset at 1 per 17 packs, 3 different box loaders and one case loader.
There is also an Uncut Mini-Press Sheet of the "Renegades" puzzle and there are only 199 sequentially numbered sheets of those and I will get one when hell freezes over. I can sneak in a binder, but an uncut sheet would be a little tough at $69.95 to get past her. Uhm… You know, a lot of you did miss my birthday last month… not that I would ever hint. Hint. HINT.
So, the set up is simple, 6 cards per pack, 36 packs to a box and 10 boxes to a case. Like I said, I got two full sets and about a fourth of another set. My chase cards gave me two of the Women of Serenity and four puzzle cards, so I think I came out ahead on that one. The cards come 6 to a pack and the collation was excellent. I found very few in sequence, which is part of the fun to me, sorting them all out.
But, I also found very few errors in cutting or stripping. I can't remember any of them where either the top or bottom was clipped or snipped in any way.
While the film will have lots of tie-ins, including action figures from Diamond Select Toys, a 3-issue comic "prequel" from Dark Horse (see our review of this Comic), the screenplay and magazines from Titan books and even a role-playing game from Margaret Weis Productions, I think these cards are going to hold a nice section of the market.
They are well done, well designed and give the buyer and fan a nice feel for what is bound to be an interesting film. One way or the other, it will be interesting. So far the film has gotten great reviews for audiences who have seen previews around the country, so as soon as the cards hit your dealer grab a few packs and get ready. Don't forget your Browncoat.
And here is a checklist, courtesy of Inkworks, so you can be sure of what you are looking for.

Just found out before we went to press, the Serenity action figures from Diamond Select each contain a collectible card that was created by Inkworks (different from the ones in the regular set).

SerenityPremium Trading Cards from Inkworks


1 SERENITY
CHARACTER CARDS
2 MALCOLM "MAL" REYNOLDS
3 ZOE ALLEYNE-WASHBURNE
4 HOBAN "WASH" WASHBURNE
5 INARA SERRA
6 JAYNE COBB
7 KAYLEE FRYE
8 SIMON TAM
9 RIVER TAM
10 SHEPERD MERIA BOOK
11 THE OPERATIVE
12 REAVERS
STORY CARDS
13 EARTH-THAT-WAS
14 TROUBLE IN UTOPIA
15 RIVER'S ORDEAL
16 ESCAPING THE ALLIANCE
17 ABOARD THE SERENITY
18 FOUR ROBBERS AND A MULE
19 INSIDE THE TRADE STATION
20 ENTERING THE VAULT
21 A MONSTER AMONG US
22 THE BIG HEIST
23 SPOTTED BY THE REAVERS
24 THE GREAT CHASE
25 COMPANIONS-IN-TRAINING
26 MINGO AND FANTY
27 RIVER'S RAMPAGE
28 MEET MR. UNIVERSE
29 THE GIRL MOST WANTED
30 THE MINING CAMP
31 THE SHEPHERD'S FLOCK
32 LOVE...OR A TRAP?
33 INARA'S WORLD
34 THE DEADLY PURSUER
35 VISIONS OF HORROR
36 THE ROAD TO MIRANDA
37 FATEFUL DECISION
38 DEATH OF A FRIEND
39 TARGET: THE ALLIANCE
40 SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
41 THE MIRANDA LANDING
42 A TEAM WELL-SUITED
43 CITY OF THE DEAD
44 ARMED AGAINST TERROR
45 GHOSTS OF MIRANDA
46 THE OPERATIVE'S SHIP
47 SERENITY UNDER FIRE!
48 WITHIN A SEA OF SHIPS
49 DODGING ENEMY BLASTS
50 A LEAF ON THE WIND...
51 TAKING A STAND
52 A ROBOT'S BEST FRIEND
53 THE FIRST WAVE
54 ATTACK OF THE REAVERS
55 MAL'S VITAL MISSION
56 TEAM SERENITY STRIKES!
57 MORE THAN A WOMAN
58 THE UNSTOPPABLE ONE
59 THE FINAL ROUND
60 THE DEAR DEPARTED
61 REPAIRING A FIREFLY
62 TWO FOR THE ROAD
63 A NEW BEGINNING
BEHIND THE SCENES CARDS
64 ONE MAN'S BRAINCHILD
65 THE INARA CONNECTION
66 VEHICLES AND LOVERS
67 A GALACTIC WESTERN
ARTWORK CARDS
68 SPACE VEHICLES
69 THE MULE HOVERCRAFT
70 SHIPS OF THE ALLIANCE
71 RIVER AND THE TOWN

72 CHECKLIST

BONUS CARDS

RENEGADES 9-CARD PUZZLE (APPX. 1:11 PACKS)
R-1 RENEGADES - CARD 1
R-2 RENEGADES - CARD 2
R-3 RENEGADES - CARD 3
R-4 RENEGADES - CARD 4
R-5 RENEGADES - CARD 5
R-6 RENEGADES - CARD 6
R-7 RENEGADES - CARD 7
R-8 RENEGADES - CARD 8
R-9 RENEGADES - CARD 9

WOMEN OF SERENITY - 5 CARDS (APPX. 1:17 PACKS)
WS-1 WOMEN OF SERENITY - CARD 1
WS-2 WOMEN OF SERENITY - CARD 2
WS-3 WOMEN OF SERENITY - CARD 3
WS-4 WOMEN OF SERENITY - CARD 4
WS-5 WOMEN OF SERENITY - CARD 5

AUTOGRAPH CARDS (APPX. 1:36 PACKS)
A1 NATHAN FILLION AS MAL
A2 GINA TORRES AS ZOE
A3 ADAM BALDWIN AS JAYNE
A4 ALAN TUDYK AS WASH
A5 JEWEL STAITE AS KAYLEE
A6 MORENA BACCARIN AS INARA
A7 SUMMER GLAU AS RIVER
A8 SEAN MAHER AS SIMON
A9 RON GLASS AS SHEPHERD BOOK
A10 CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AS THE OPERATIVE
AR-1 AUTOGRAPH REDEMPTION (CHIWETEL EJIOFOR ONLY)

PIECEWORKS CARDS (APPX. 1:36 PACKS)
PW1 SHIRT - NATHAN FILLION AS MAL
PW2 PANTS - GINA TORRES AS ZOE
PW3 T-SHIRT - ADAM BALDWIN AS JAYNE
PW4 SHIRT - ALAN TUDYK AS WASH
PW5 SHIRT - JEWEL STAITE AS KAYLEE
PW6 PANTS - MORENA BACCARIN AS INARA
PW7 T-SHIRT - SEAN MAHER AS SIMON
PW8 T-SHIRT - CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AS THE OPERATIVE

BOX LOADER (1 PER BOX) & CASE LOADER CARDS (1 PER CASE)
BL-1 BOX LOADER 1 - THE TRUTH WITHIN
BL-2 BOX LOADER 2 - THE TRUTH WITHIN
BL-3 BOX LOADER 3 - THE TRUTH WITHIN
CL-1 CASE LOADER - BROWNCOATS UNITE

DST-1 SERENITY ACTION FIGURES BOX LOADER (1 PER BOX)

PROMOTIONAL CARDS
SP-1 GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
SP-i FREE CARD OFFER
SP-UK UK DISTRIBUTION
SP-SD2005 2005 SAN DIEGO COMIC CON
SPNSUSD SAN DIEGO COMIC CON NSU VARIANT ISSUE
SP-WW WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO
SP-CEE CHICAGOLAND EXPO

ADDITIONAL ITEMS
RENEGADES UNCUT MINI-PRESS SHEET 199 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED SHEETS AVAILABLE
SERENITY COLLECTOR ALBUM