RITTENHOUSE ANNOUNCES CONAN TRADING CARDS

Rittenhouse Archives, noted publisher of collectable card sets, has announced two Conan sets for 2004.

First up will be a limited edition set of nine full-color cards from CONAN THE BARBARIAN, all featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger from various scenes in the film. This collection will be issued in an edition of 999 copies and will be available by March, ‘04.

"Conan is clearly on his way to achieving his greatest popularity ever in the next few years, and the card sets we have planned in 2004 will hopefully help play a role in that process," commented Rittenhouse President Steve Charendoff. "While there have been Conan card sets in the past, there have never been sets like the ones we’re planning. There have never been cards of the ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan’ before, and those are sure to be a hit with collectors."

Next up will be an 100-card art set culled from the pages of the comic magazine Savage Sword of Conan, originally published by Marvel in the mid-Seventies and Eighties. Long-time fans will remember that the black & white comic magazines from that era were unencumbered by the then-powerful Comics Code, allowing for more mature content. Savage Sword of Conan featured some the best Conan artists of the period, including John Buscema, Alfredo Alcala and Rudy Nebres, as well as definitive work by super-star talents like Neal Adams, Michael Kaluta and Howard Chaykin.

"In terms of the art-based Conan sets, we will be remastering/recoloring what are certainly among the most dynamic and desirable works of fantasy art ever created for any character. To have the opportunity to work with this vast and impressive collection of art, which literally consists of thousands of pieces, quite honestly, it ranks among my greatest thrills," concluded Charendoff.

Rittenhouse will be presenting a mix of cover paintings (from talents like Boris Valejo, Jeff Jones, Joe Jusko and others) and newly-colored (for the first time) interior art. In addition to the 100-card set, bonus card sets that will include hand-drawn sketches from Conan artists whose works appeared in Savage Sword of Conan. These hand-drawn cards will certainly be highly sought-after by collectors of original art and by Conan fans in general. In terms of other bonus card sets, Rittenhouse will issue sets dedicated to the women of Conan’s world and the poetry of Conan (as published in Savage Sword).

This unique set of Conan imagery will be released in Spring, ‘04.