Monsterwax is a trading card company that specializes in Science Fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and horror

Horror fiction

Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

 themes. It was established in 1992, making it the oldest American card company still in business exclusively producing non-sports sets. Many trading card companies like Topps

Topps

The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...

 are corporate subsidiaries that primarily produce sports related issues. However, Monsterwax is a small privately owned company focusing primarily on non-licensed entertainment cards. They usually release only one to three series a year. Monsterwax generally limits their print runs to less than 500 boxes (a fraction of the industry standard) and numbers each box and checklist.

History

Monsterwax is best known for making retro style art cards similar to the ones produced during the golden age of non-sports cards (the 1940s – 1960s). They typically feature nostalgic wrappers, dramatic stories, and original artwork. The topics can be esoteric. Their first series, Tune In For Terror, profiled the popular horror programs from radio’s golden era. The Art of H.G. Wells (from 2005) connected The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The War of the Worlds together into one unbroken narrative. Don’t Let It Happen Here (2003) was homage to Horrors Of War, Fight The Red Menace, and other jingoistic hyper-patriotic card sets from the past. Like its classic predecessors, Don’t Let It Happen Here garnered a certain amount of publicity for showing graphic acts of violence while presenting informative news events from around the world.

Most Monsterwax products are designed by Kurt Kuersteiner (writer and company founder) and painted by a featured artist (often Ricardo Garijo

Ricardo Garijo

Ricardo Garijo is an award winning author and artist from Argentina, best known for his long career in comics.-Biography:Garijo became known outside his homeland in the early 1980s through his work at D. C...

 of Commando Comics

Commando Comics

Commando For Action and Adventure, formerly known as Commando War Stories in Pictures, and colloquially known as Commando Comics, are a series of British comic books that primarily draw their themes and backdrops from the various incidents of the World Wars I and II...

fame).

Monsterwax is often critical of aggressive industry practices. Their "Monsterwax Manifesto" criticizes the typical chase card ratios that force customers to buy several cases to finish a master set. They claim the practice alienates collectors and hurts the hobby. Although Monsterwax produces chase cards, they usually include a complete set of them in every box, which is not the industry norm. They also speak out against dumping of old products and often mock the “speculative attitude” of sports card collectors. Many of their advertisements are illustrated parodies of 1960s public service or comic book ads and commonly mock the sports card hobby.

Monsterwax occasionally uses the trademark Mystery Playhouse on their test products, which was the original name of the haunted house they sponsor every Halloween (since 1999) near their headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. The company financed event has since grown into a full-scale haunted attraction and was renamed the Terror of Tallahassee

Terror of Tallahassee

Terror of Tallahassee is an annual haunted attraction that opens every October in Tallahassee, Florida. With a performance area spanning more than 20,000 square feet [1], it is one of the largest haunts in Florida. Unlike the corporate haunts with which it competes, Terror of Tallahassee doesn’t...

 in 2003. The haunt was also used as the backdrop to the 2004 Nightslasher card set, which was a spoof of the TV series The Nightstalker

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...

.

Published sets

• Tune In For Terror (1992)
• Don’t Let It Happen Here (2003)
• The Nightslasher (2004)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• The Time Machine (2006)
• Island of Dr. Moreau (2006)
• Monsterfaces (2007)
• Urban Legends (2009)
• Shock Stories (2009)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (2011)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2011)