If you follow this blog it's probably not much of a surprise to hear me say I like Mike's early stuff the best. It's a combination of the style and the fact that those were the first sketches by him I had seen. I got into the hobby with the 2008 "Clone Wars" product- the animated movie, of which I was a big fan. Obviously all those sketches were of animated characters. So when Topps announced it's next product.. Galaxy 4.. I was all in (well, all in for as much as I could afford). Being a noob to the hobby, at first I didn't realize how big of a deal this set was going to be. But I was frequenting the Scoundrel Art message boards multiple times daily, and I soon found out. People on there were FREAKING OUT! And when I say FREAKING OUT! I mean "running around screaming, hands in the air, then falling on their knees and crying, then curling up in the fetal position and sucking their thumb FREAKING OUT!" And looking back, that was the appropriate response. Not only was this the first Star Wars Galaxy product made by Topps in 14 years, Topps was loading it up with all kinds of goodies. One Sketch per box, for the first time ever (in a Star Wars product) Shaped (die-cut) Sketches, Printing Plates, Artist autographed cards, Retail only Sketches, Foil Art insert cards with bronze (1:box), gold (#/500), and refractor (1/1) versions, Etched Foil inserts with the chance (1:44,000 packs) to pull the original artwork done by Joe Corroney, Lost Galaxy inserts, Retail only (and mega rare to find now) Galaxy Evolution Foil insert cards, and the piece de resistance... Lost Yoda Reprints, and signed (by artist John Rheaume) Lost Yoda Reprint cards. When you look back it was mind-blowing. I think the artists doing sketch cards for the set also realized what a milestone set this would be, because previews we were seeing of artist approved cards on Scoundrel Art were top notch amazing!

   I, of course, was looking forward to seeing what my favorite artist was doing for that set, and Mike crushed it! Which leads us to today's card. This card was a gift from a good friend as part of a major trade deal we had worked out. He knew Yoda was my favorite character and this one, well.. what a scene! The death of Yoda. Luke Skywalker by his side, mourning the death of the Jedi Master who taught him most of what he knew about the Force. Pretty powerful piece.

   And it's not like this piece is loaded with fine detail- it's not, but Mike conveys the moment in a beautiful way. I love it and I hope you do too!

   Thanks to all for stopping by and reading! Stay safe and check me out again next week.

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