CGC Cards Registry Featured Set: 1992 DC Cosmic Cards - Holograms

During the 1990s, comic books surged in popularity, as Marvel Comics, DC Comics and multiple independent publishers pushed boundaries, produced original stories, implemented successful marketing campaigns and made comic books and graphic novels more accessible than ever. The increased interest in comic books also led to a significant rise in collectible trading cards based on popular comics from Marvel and DC.

In 1990, the first Marvel Universe cards were released by Impel Marketing, which changed its name to SkyBox International Inc. in 1992. The Marvel Universe cards became an instant hit and were notable for their focus on Marvel's most iconic characters. The cards featured superheroes, supervillains, famous battles and other popular events pulled directly from comic book stories. Following the popularity of the Marvel Universe cards, Impel purchased the rights to produce trading cards based on DC Comics characters, as well.

In February 1992, the first DC Cosmic Cards hit shelves. Mirroring the prior Marvel Universe sets made by Impel, the new DC cards included a stacked checklist of superheroes and supervillains that also featured bonus cards: the sought-after Hologram Hall of Fame inserts. As CGC revisits the popular 1992 DC Cosmic Cards Series 1 set, CGC Cards Registry set owner Sensei Ryan's top-ranked DC Cosmic Cards Series 1 Holograms set showcases all 10 cards from the insert subset. The set owner compiled a high-grade set that earned five Top Pops, with no cards graded below CGC 8, which helped the set owner earn the prestigious Top Ranked distinction.

1992 DC Cosmic Cards Series 1 was a landmark trading card set for the comic book publisher that is responsible for legendary DC characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and so many more. While most of the DC Universe is included in the 180-base card set, a licensing issue meant Batman and other characters in the Gotham universe were left out of this particular set.

Each box of 1992 DC Cosmic Cards Series 1 contained 36 packs, with 12 cards inside each pack. The first series included a 180-card base set that was separated into multiple sections: Hero Heritage (#1-21), Villain Heritage (#22-30), Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (#31-78), Earth’s Mightiest Villains (#79-111), Heroes from Beyond (#112-125), Villains from Beyond (#126-141), Great Battles (#142-168), Classic Covers (#169-178) and two Checklists (#179-180).

Taking more cues from the prior Marvel Universe trading card releases, the DC Cosmic Cards set also featured 10 Hologram Hall of Fame inserts. These special inserts were created with advanced card technology of the era that allowed the card maker to print full holographic imagery of comic characters on cardstock. With odds of finding a hologram in only one out of every 10 packs on average, the hologram cards were a fun insert to hunt down while opening packs.

All 10 cards from the Hologram Hall of Fame subset featured vertical images illustrated by Walt Simonson. The design is simple, with a solid border, a DC Comics logo at the top left and a text box at the bottom that includes each character's name or nickname. Most of the cards showcase standalone characters except the first card in the hologram subset, which features dual characters: #DCH1 Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

The backs of the cards are all the exact same, no matter the character. Each back shows an image of Superman and a dialogue box of the superhero imploring collectors to track down all 10 hologram cards. A large text box that includes every card number and character name takes up the bottom half of the card. In addition, the top right corner has a small green box that says "1992 Series 1," even though the cards have a 1991 copyright at the bottom.

Like many sports cards and non-sports cards of the era, 1992 DC Cosmic Cards Series 1 was overproduced with a massive print run, and the set has a modest premium today. Although the hologram cards are rarer than the base cards, even those can be found fairly easily and for more-than-reasonable prices. While the cards may not be high-dollar items, the 1992 DC Cosmic Cards Series 1 was an integral set that helped steer the rise in comic book-based trading cards to where it is today, holding a nostalgic place for DC Comics fans and card collectors alike.

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.

CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs and stamps.

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