SDCC 2022 Exclusive Scarlet Witch Marvel Gallery Print by Simone Bianchi x Upper Deck

Check out Upper Deck’s beautiful San Diego Comic-Con 2022 Exclusive Scarlet Witch Marvel Gallery Print and its matching non-exclusive Vision Marvel Gallery Print! These evocative fine art prints by Simone Bianchi depict the complexity of Vision’s existence and the unwavering power of the Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch print is hand numbered out of 100, and the Vision print is hand numbered out of 250. Both 18”x24” Marvel Comics art prints will be available at the UD SDCC booth #307 for $59.99 each.

SDCC 2018 “Infinity Gauntlet Act III” Marvel Print by Crystal Graziano x Upper Deck

Check out the officially licensed San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Exclusive “Infinity Gauntlet Act III” Marvel Print by Crystal Graziano and Upper Deck! Inspired by the original 1991 Marvel Comics mini-series, Infinity Gauntlet, this print features Thanos wielding the completed Infinity Gauntlet and his beloved mistress, Death. Illustrated by artist Crystal Graziano and printed on eye-catching foil, this piece is the center of a three act Infinity War triptych print series.

San Diego Comic-Con 2018 “Infinity Gauntlet Act III” Marvel Print by Crystal Graziano measures 18”x24”, is limited to 250 pieces, and can be purchased at the Upper Deck SDCC booth #90255 for $74.99. The first two prints in this stunning triptych can be purchased, in a Regular Edition and a Variant Edition, at the Upper Deck online store.

“Wolverine Reflections” Marvel Screen Print by Raid71 x Upper Deck

Upper Deck Entertainment has teamed up with artist Chris Thornley (aka Raid71) to produce this epic officially licensed Marvel screen print featuring the world’s most beloved X-Men, Wolverine! “Wolverine Reflections” features four epic battles and heart wrenching moments from Logan’s life: his creation during the Weapon X program; the temporary removal of his adamantium during a battle with Magneto; a battle with a Sentinel; and the death of his beloved Mariko.

“Wolverine Reflections” by Raid71 is a 24”x36” hand numbered Marvel screen print. The Regular Edition is limited to 250 pieces and retails for $59.99, while the Variant is limited to 100 pieces and retails for $99.99. Both versions can be purchased now at the Upper Deck online store.

SDCC 15 Exclusive Marvel Daredevil Poster by Upper Deck

Upper Deck will be attending San Diego Comic-Con 2015 this year, and they’re bringing with them this really cool limited edition convention exclusive Daredevil Poster! Fans of the hit Netflix television series will definitely not want to miss out on this 24”x36” Marvel poster. The Blot loves the way Daredevil’s black and red silhouette looks against the brightly colored stained glass window in the poster’s background. And it was a nice touch adding Electra and Bullseye in the stained glass window’s design.

I just wish we knew more about this Comic-Con release – like who is the artist that designed the poster! And with a $99 price tag I hope this is a limited signed and numbered screen print and not just a generic mass produced lithograph. To find out more, fans should stop by the Upper Deck SDCC booth #307 to purchase this San Diego Comic-Con 2015 Exclusive Marvel Daredevil Poster.

Michael Jordan x Upper Deck x OBEY Giant BULLS Print by Shepard Fairey

Tomorrow is the 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it’s going to be a big one! Not only are “The Admiral” David Robinson, John Stockton, Coach Jerry Sloan and Coach C. Vivian Stringer being inducted, but so is Number 23, Michael Jordan. To commemorate the induction of arguably the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers into the Basketball HOF, Upper Deck is re-teaming with OBEY Giant artist Shepard Fairey to release a series of Michael Jordan screen prints.


This is actually the second time Fairey has collaborated on a series of prints with Upper Deck. The first series of prints featured LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and were entitled KOBE, MVP and GOLD. Right now not much is known about this first print in the upcoming Michael Jordan x Upper Deck x OBEY Giant Hall of Fame tribute series, including price or release date. What The Blot does know is that it is entitled "BULLS" and will measure 26”x36” and should be dropping sometime soon.

If I had to guess, I’d say there will be two editions of each print released similar to the UD x OG Kobe prints, a dual signed print autographed by both MJ and Shep and a single signed print autographed only by Shepard. Knowing how much Upper Deck authenticated Michael Jordan signed memorabilia runs for, I feel pretty confident in saying the dual signed prints will cost a pretty penny.

Upper Deck Kobe Bryant GOLD Lithograph by Shepard Fairey (OBEY Giant)

A little over two weeks ago Kobe Bryant added the missing piece to an already amazing resume, winning an Olympic gold medal for the United States of America in Men’s Basketball at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The reigning NBA MVP from the Los Angeles Lakers is already a three-time NBA Champion, ten-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA All-Star MVP and he can now proudly add gold medalist to his list of sterling credentials. To commemorate this gold medal winning achievement, Upper Deck is adding a third limited edition lithograph to its series of Kobe Bryant Lithographs by Shepard Fairey.


The newest lithograph, entitled GOLD, comes in two autographed editions and can be purchased framed or unframed. The Kobe Bryant and Shepard Fairey Dual Autographed GOLD Lithograph is limited to just 100 pieces and sells for $1,299.99. The Dual autographed litho also comes with Kobe’s added inscription of “USA GOLD '08.” The Shepard Fairey Autographed GOLD Lithograph is also limited to 100 pieces and sells online for $349.99. Both lithographs can be found at the Upper Deck Online Store and are available to ship on October 17, 2008.


As much as I love this Kobe Bryant/OBEY Giant collaboration, the prices of the two lithographs are a little too high for The Blot. Neverthelss, if you think you might want one or both of these highly sought after collectibles act now, because both should sell out rather quickly. Both editions of UD’s first two Kobe/Fairey lithographs, KOBE and MVP, are already practically sold-out.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James USA Basketball Edition Upper Deck All-Star Vinyl Figures

To commemorate the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Upper Deck is producing two limited edition Team USA figures: a LeBron James USA Basketball Edition All-Star Vinyl Figure and a Kobe Bryant USA Basketball Edition All-Star Vinyl Figure. Both figures are wearing the exact same Nike uniforms Team USA is wearing in Beijing, and even has the special graphic featured on the backs of the Team USA Nike jerseys. (link) This is a great way to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, but only if we win the Men's Basketball gold.


The Redeem Team still has a few more games to win before they can bring the gold back to the United States. So far the U.S. Men’s Basketball team is 3-0 and on their way to doing just that. What I like best about these two figures is that they will never become outdated like many of the Upper Deck NBA All-Star Vinyl Figures already have. Players and teams move around so much that UD’s Shaquille O’Neal Heat figures and Kevin Durant Sonics figures are already inaccurate. Plus, who knows where LeBron will end up once his current contract expires. But LeBron and Kobe will forever be members of Team USA and will always have worn numbers 6 and 10 respectively for the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.


The Kobe Bryant and LeBron James USA Basketball Edition All-Star Vinyl Figures are both limited to just 500 figures and are on sale now at the Upper Deck online store for $74.99 each.

Upper Deck Kobe Bryant Lithograph by Shepard Fairey (OBEY Giant)

The Blot can’t believe this one never showed up on OBEYGiant.com, all of Fairey’s projects are typically featured there. I just happened to be checking out the Upper Deck online store to check out the latest All-Star Vinyl figure release and freaked out when I saw UD was releasing two ultra limited Kobe Bryant lithographs created exclusively for Upper Deck by Mr. OBEY Giant himself, Shepard Fairey.


Upper Deck commissioned Shepard to make these headshot lithographs to commemorate Kobe Bryant’s winning of the 2007-08 NBA MVP award. The two lithographs, entitled KOBE and MVP respectively, are 22'' wide x 28'' high and incorporate the Lakers team colors, purple and gold. Both lithographs are produced on French archival paper and come dual signed by both Kobe Bryant and Shepard Fairey with the MVP lithograph having the additional inscription “07-08 MVP” signed onto it by Bryant. Both lithographs come numbered and are guaranteed authentic by Upper Deck with UD’s official hologram affixed to it.


The only drawback to these amazing pieces is the price. With both the KOBE and MVP lithos limited to a run of just 50 pieces, the price is much higher than your typical OBEY Giant print. The MVP lithograph is $1,049.99 while the KOBE lithograph is $949.99. Both have the option to come framed for an additional $250. With only 100 of these Upper Deck Kobe Bryant Lithographs by Shepard Fairey in existence, demand will be high for these pieces by Kobe fans, Lakers fans and OBEY fans alike. So if you have the flow available, I would definitely not sleep on these stunning pieces of art. While they do not ship until 8/15/2008, both lithographs are available for purchase now.

Fairey also designed the logo for KB24.com, Kobe’s official website, which is a pretty cool Kobe Bryant Crest. Long time readers of The Blot Says… should know these lithographs combine two of my all time favorite things, the LA Lakers and OBEY. So you can understand why I am so excited to see Fairey’s interpretation of KB24. I don’t know how I’m going to get my hands on one of these awesome lithos, but have no fear, The Blot will figure out a way.

UPDATE: Upper Deck has updated their Upper Deck x Kobe x OBEY Giant store with two new options for those of us interested in a Kobe Bryant lithograph but not looking to spend $1,000 on it. You can now purchase either the KOBE or MVP lithographs signed only by Shepard Fairey for a much more reasonable price of $349.99. Both of the Shepard Fairey only signed lithographs have a limited run of 100.

Kevin Durant Upper Deck All-Star Vinyl Figure

Today Upper Deck released their Kevin Durant All-Star Vinyl Figure for sale at their online store. The figure commemorates the former Texas Longhorn becoming “the first ever Seattle player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.” (link) The figure comes in three versions: Home Edition (limited to 500), Road Edition (limited to 1,000) and Black Edition (limited to 250). The Home and Road Edition Kevin Durant vinyl figures are being sold for $74.99 while the Black Edition retails for $99.99. You can also purchase the Kevin Durant Dual Pack for $149.99 which includes two Kevin Durant All-Star Vinyl Figures, one Road Edition and one Black Edition.


I think Upper Deck moved a little too quick to make a Kevin Durant All-Star Vinyl Figure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Durant, but I’m always hesitant to buy any sports collectible of an athlete in their professional jersey because of the way players today tend to jump to a new team as soon as their contract is up. Considering this is only Durant’s first year on the Seattle Sonics, what’s to say he doesn’t end up playing somewhere else in 3-4 years and is ultimately remembered for playing on his second, third or even fourth team. On top of that, it is almost a given than the Sonics will be leaving Seattle in the next few years, meaning these figures will be obsolete in no time.


In fact, the owner of the Sonics has already said he’d be happy to leave the team name, colors and records in Seattle for a future franchise to take over. That would mean Durant’s team would have new jerseys, colors and a new team name as soon as next year once the team is relocated to Oklahoma City. I don’t see how anyone could justify spending $75 on a figure that could be out of date in less than 6 months. The argument from Upper Deck that while “the future home of the Sonics may be up in the air, Seattle will always be the site of Kevin Durant's rookie campaign” just doesn’t cut it for me. (link) It’s really too bad Upper Deck didn’t make a Texas Longhorns variant figure of Durant, because The Blot would scoop up one of those bad boys in a heart beat.

Shaq In Vinyl

About a year ago The Blot was introduced to the designer toy craze through Kidrobot.com and the release of a Madvillain vinyl figure based on the great underground hip-hop album Madvillainy by MF Doom and Madlib, who collectively went by the moniker Madvillain. I loved the album and thought the figure was pretty cool. Once I found out about Kidrobot and did some investigating, I realized there was a whole world of designer vinyl toys out there that is in very high demand and sell at retail and in the secondary markets for some pretty high dollars. If you’d like to find out more about designer toys you can find a brief overview of the genre at Wikipedia here.


The modern designer vinyl toy originated in Asia where they are immensely popular and has only gained real popularity in the U.S. over the past few years. What makes a toy designer is that the toys and figures are limited edition and produced in very small runs, anywhere from 50 to 2,500. Once a toy is sold out, that version is gone forever and will not be produced again. The toys are typically either designed or created by actual artists/designers from other fields or have created quite a following in the designer toy market.

The reason I bring this up is that Upper Deck, most famously known for their baseball cards and autographed memorabilia lines, has recently started to produce their own line of designer vinyl toys. The sports line All Star Vinyl started last year and has released figures in the four major sports, baseball, football, basketball and hockey. For the most part the design has been awesome. The figures aren’t as lifelike as McFarlane’s sports toy lines are but still look like the athletes while being more artistic and almost cartoony. Upper Deck started the All Star Vinyl line with a set of Lebron James figures and then moved on to recreate some of the most popular athletes in each sport, including the likes of Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Sidney Crosby, Kobe Bryant, Babe Ruth and many more already announced.

Originally the figures were priced at $50.00 each and they would release 2-4 styles of each figure and each style has a limited edition run of anywhere from 250 to 1,500. For instance Kobe Bryant has 5 different styles with varying edition sizes. He was released in a Gold Jersey (limited to 1,500), Purple Jersey (limited to 500), White Jersey (limited to 250), All Black Edition (limited to 250) and a Retro MPLS. Jersey (limited to 500). While the Kobe All Star Vinyl figure really interested me I decided to hold off for what I hoped would be the centerpiece to my small designer toy collection, a Shaquille O’Neal figure.

The Shaquille O’Neal figure was announced a few months ago and had was released on November 26th to the public. I was pretty excited since as most of you long time readers of The Blot Says… know, Shaq is above and beyond my favorite athlete of all time. Plus the illustrator of the figure, MAD*L, is my favorite designer toy artist. Needless to say I was planning on making the purchase ASAP until I learned two discouraging things about the figure. The most important one was that Upper Deck, due to the toy line’s increased popularity, had decided to raise the price of their All Star Vinyl figures from $50 to $75. Besides the fact that they add another $5, that’s $80 for a toy. The Blot may be a lot of things and like a lot of bizarre stuff but one thing I’m not is someone who’d buy an $80 toy. That’s absurd! $50 was pushing it but I know you can find Kobe’s on eBay for under $40 which makes the figures a lot more reasonable compared to competing designer toys on the market.

The second and much more serious problem is that the figure looks absolutely nothing like Shaq besides it being a huge guy wearing an O’Neal Miami Heat jersey. Please take some time to look at these pictures of the figure and tell me if that face looks anything like the Diesel. I mean I see the resemblance in the picture on the packaging, but they did a horrible job with translating the drawing to the actual figure. That combined with the price makes it pretty unlikely, even to a huge Shaq fan like me, to purchase this figure.

And this leads us to The Blot’s Rant of the Week, what in the hell is Upper Deck thinking selling the figure for this high of a price and who in the hell is buying these at such an exorbitant price? I’ve bought some ridiculous things in my time and this seems like a huge stretch even for me. If any of our readers have purchased any of Upper Deck All Star Vinyl figures in the past please leave me a comment in our comment section and let me know what your reasoning was behind it. If you’re interested in seeing what other sports heroes Upper Deck has made or will be making go to the All Star Vinyl site and if you’d like to see which figures are still available for purchase you can go directly to the Upper Deck store.

I’ve included some pictures of previously released figures below: