Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Name of Card Set: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Production Company: Mirage Studios
Distribution Company:The Topps Company, Inc.
Year of Production: 1989
Pack Contents: 5 cards, 1 sticker, 1 stick bubble gum

Details:

Dude! Perhaps one of the most popular and successful comic/cartoon/action franchises of all time, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have enjoyed success for over 25 years. What began back in 1984 as a comic book has exploded into multiple television series, movies, video games, merchandise and more! One of the first pieces of merchandise made available to collectors way back in 1989 was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trading cards from Topps.



The details of the release were fairly standard for the time. Scenes from the popular cartoon were captured on the front of the heavy cardboard stock, while the back contained descriptions of various scenes and plot developments. And of course the cards are loaded with (pizza) cheesy catch-phrases that just reek of 80’s nostalgia.



Available in four different wrappers (pictured above), collectors had plenty to shout “Cowabunga” about. This was not the first time Topps issued multiple wrapper variations for a card set, but it might be the best implementation of the idea to date. Having a wrapper for each turtle just seemed right…and it gave children just one more thing to collect!



Inside the packs were five cards, one sticker and one stick of pink goodness. The stickers were by far one of the best parts of the release, featuring bright colors and detailed artwork. Sadly they were not die-cut, so you had to stick the whole ‘square’ onto your Trapper Keeper, but they were still totally cool! The back of the stickers featured puzzle pieces that (when assembled) formed larger images of the individual stickers.



Hopefully you enjoyed this brief look at the first trading card set related to the heroes in a half-shell. There’s much more where this came from, so stay tuned to Toypedia for more goodies!!