Upper Deck talks the future of Marvel Masterpieces & what happened in the 90s

Travis Rhea spoke to us about the premium nature of these cards and the decision behind making them thicker than other collectibles.

Sam Chandler

February 7, 2024 8:00 PM

Collectible cards and Marvel is a combo that make so much sense together. All of the superheroes and villains are memorable, with the artwork being what really draws people in (and then the storylines keep them hooked). We recently got to speak with Travis Rhea, Senior Brand Manager at Upper Deck, about the Marvel Masterpieces collectibles and dig into what happened to the product back in the 90s.

During out conversation with Travis Rhea, Greg mentions that he remembers seeing the Marvel Masterpieces everywhere back before he went off to college. “It’s funny that you mention that they were kind of everywhere, because that was kind of the problem, actually,” Rhea said with a laugh. Back in the early 90s and even into the new millennium, some of these collectibles were overproduced with quite high print runs, meaning that they were absolutely everywhere and maybe didn’t have the same level of rarity that is needed for a collectible.

One of the interesting things about this new line of Marvel Masterpieces is the thickness of the card. Collectors will immediately note that these are several times thicker than a standard trading card. For Rhea, this was a logical choice as the company realized that the artwork and the entire thing was a premium item and as such should feel like one.

The conversation with Rhea is incredibly insightful, with the Senior Brand Manager going into a lot of detail about how Upper Deck creates these cards. Additionally, Rhea revealed that Upper Deck is developing some binders so consumers can store the cards neatly. Be sure to check out the whole interview and then head over to the Shacknews Interviews YouTube channel for more exclusive conversations with developers and people who work on collectibles.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler

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