Written by Todd Friedman on . Posted in Trading Card Spotlight
Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Dan Tearle who is displayed on card number 671, from the Superstars of 2014 Collection. Dan is also featured on card 1153, 1326, and 1352. To say Dan is an artist is an understatement. Dan is very talented and has displayed his artwork in many different genres such as sports, Star Wars and of course video games. He has created the artwork for various gaming t-shirts, posters and logos for gaming websites. Dan is also a big competitor playing most of his gameplay on MAME and recreating the memories of the retro games when he was a kid. Dan has also created some very cool Walter Day trading cards for the collection. Some of these cards can be seen at this link, click here.
Are you still involved with drawing, and what role do you play?
Very much involved; along with my sports art, I work on trading cards for several companies such as Topps, especially their Star Wars sets. I do hand drawn one off ‘sketch cards’ which are inserted into packs as ‘hits’. It’s very cool to say my work is licensed by Lucasfilm, as the cards have to pass a strict approval process first.
Written by Todd Friedman on . Posted in Trading Card Spotlight
Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Tim Hanson who currently is displayed on card number 2309, from the Superstars of 2015 Collection. Tim is a huge Nintendo fan and gamer. Games like Super Metroid and Super Mario Bros. 3 to name a few. Tim finds himself collecting not only Nintendo but other retro gaming systems and newer consoles as well. His twitch channel, Timzy88, shows Tim playing his favorite retro games as well as modern-day first-person shooters on console and PC.
Do you remember your first video game / arcade you played and what do you remember about it?
The earliest memory I have is playing Super Mario Bros with my mother. I was around 3 or 4, and I can remember struggling to make a few jumps. I would pass the controller over to her, so she could make it for me and then I would take over. That slowly changed throughout the years, she was eventually passing the controller over to me in Super Mario Bros 3 or Donkey Kong County.
Written by Todd Friedman on . Posted in Trading Card Spotlight
Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Ken Horowitz, who is currently displayed on card number 3190, from the Superstars of 2019 Collection. Ken is a huge historian and a writer of many gaming topics. Sega is his love and he has been writing about it for the last 15 years. Ken runs Sega-16, the world’s largest resource on Sega’s hardware legacy. With over 200 interviews, Ken has talked about and learned almost everything possible about Sega. Beyond dominating Sega, Ken wants to preserve and keep the history of all gaming alive. Ken wants the newer generation of gamers to remember the past as well as the present. If interested, you can order Ken’s books on Amazon by clicking here.
When did you write your first book and what motivated you to do so?
Working on Sega-16 was the primary motivation. After writing about the Genesis for so long, I had a lot of information that was too big for a site but perfect for a book. I also had a ton of new contacts that I wanted to explore for more material.
It was also just a matter of how things worked out. I would really like to dedicate a book to each aspect of Sega’s business, from Japan to South America, and the U.S. portion just happened to be the easiest one for me to start with. I had all the topics I needed, and the people involved, so it just evolved from there.
Written by Todd Friedman on . Posted in Trading Card Spotlight
Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Zach Sharpe, who is displayed on card number 341, from the Superstars of 2012 Collection. Zach has had a major impact in the world of pinball as a player, writer and as an organizer. Zach was at one time in charge of the Illini Pinball Association and still helps out with the IPA when he can. As a major contributor to Play Meter Magazine, Zach has major pinball world championships to his name. Zach has finished first place in Gameworks Chicago, PinWars Tournament and the Southern Pinball festival. Zach is ranked 14th in the world on the IFPA (International Flipper Pinball Association). Currently Zach is the Director of Marketing for Stern Pinball in Chicago, Illinois.
What are your opinions about today’s generation of Pinball? How do you compare them to older, classic machines?
At the end of the day, it’s still pinball regardless of generation. While a lot of older machines have less “stuff” in it, at the end of the day as a player, you are battling gravity, defying physics, and ultimately trying to get 1 point higher than your opponent while playing. It is incredible though to see the advancement of technology and how much more robust the “world under glass” continues to improve.
Written by Todd Friedman on . Posted in Trading Card Spotlight
Our next Trading Card Spotlight features John Pompa who currently is displayed on card number 143, from the Superstars of 2011 Collection. With over 100 World Records on various video games, John is a true video game enthusiast. Some of the games he holds world records in are Daytona USA 2001 for the Sega Saturn, Widget for the NES and The New Tetris for the N64. Not only does he play video games, he is an avid collector of them as well. John loves challenges and feels video gaming is a great way to get through challenges in life as well. John is a supporter of Autism Awareness and feels that video games can help people with Autism in many ways.
What are your opinions about today’s generation of video games? How do you compare them to older, classic games?
I mean when it comes to graphics and stories there’s no comparison really, the newer generation has it there, but I always prefer the older “retro” stuff. When it comes to replay value, the older classics is where it’s at for me. I will never get sick of playing Super Mario Bros. 3, but something like Watch Dogs would be a beat once and done.
