Hey Borderhounds... I wanted to announce a special appearance that I'll be recording tomorrow with my old friend Tony Vela for his podcast, based on his longtime site - Wrestling Trading Cards! I'm excited to hang with him for many reasons... first and foremost, he's been a friend and supporter for many years and I miss his face. Secondly, we'll be chatting about collectibles and trading cards (including MY OWN). Yes, if you weren't aware - I have a bunch of obscure cards donning my imagery as well as my own independently released set of cards that were released back in 2009 that were sold exclusively at pro wrestling events and appearances. Who would have thought that they'd be a thing; or even remembered SO many years after?!? Crazy enough, WTC has this set and thousands of others embedded in their archives and it is absolutely incredible. You can catch a glimpse of the 2009 ETH Brimstone Trading Card Set at the site HERE.
Now, as aforementioned... I've had a bunch of different trading cards done of me and for different reasons. One of the coolest renditions of me put into trading card form was with the Star Wars - Empire Saber Guild. In 2015, they legit made me into Darth Brimstone which blew my mind! The card was developed to raise money for their charity and I'm proud to have lent myself to the cause. It is incredibly awesome how they took a couple of photos of me and turned me into a character that honestly, I'd love to see on-screen... of course I am partial! One day, I would love to have them
dress me up in the garb and make-up as this character and do some fun stuff with my brother Ray Park (Darth Maul) to do some fun stuff for a charity. I truly appreciate the intense love and integrity the Empire Saber Guild, 501st, Mandalorian Mercs and other Lucasfilm Affiliate Groups have for the lure of the Star Wars Universe and the people surrounding it! I've been fortunate throughout the years to be a part of many things with all of these groups alongside friends of mine including actors and cosplayers within this unique community. Getting to know these people and their passion for the Force (as well as the Dark Side) has been an experience that I'll always treasure. Anyway, this was one of the coolest experiences - ever as simple as it perhaps may have been... being a small part of Star Wars is SO much better than NOT being a part of Star Wars!!! Now if I could only learn how to toss around that double saber...
Now this next card set came as a complete surprise to me as it is incredibly sought after; but really hard to find! In fact - I didn't know they even existed until a fan had sent them my way (which was uber awesome of them btw). So I believe these are from the 2009 or 2010 Rafo Wrestling Keceri Stickers set - I'm pretty sure they are from Bosnia. Not quite sure how I ended up in this one; but never look a gift horse in the mouth - here are the fronts and backs of the two Brimstone cards in the set. First is #156 which is an old photo of me that was used in the early 2000's - I thought it was a cool promotional photo back then; but what did I know.
They also had me at #157 with a rare cross-armed pose that I personally hate doing - I have always thought of it being way too cliché. I still can't get over how young I look in these pics!!! Seriously, can we grab Cher and turn back time a bit? Maybe Marty McFly can hook a brother up... alright - enough with the corny jokes. Without further ado - #157...
Moving right along (hope you're still with me) - Another pretty cool rendition of me in Trading Card form was being added as a playable character within the Alice of Wonderland Series circa 2014. The concept was extremely steampunk-pirate-esque with throwbacks to a lot of the Alice in Wonderland characters. Truth be told, I never had the opportunity to actually play the game; but the cards were sold throughout the Continental US via artist and designer Troy Zurel at comic conventions and trade stores. The card depicts me (Brimstone) as a badass steampunk pirate which I think is pretty fun and funny all in one! The specific card seen above is one of the actual sample cards that were used pre-production.
Lastly, I have another fun one that was used as a promotional item for the Great Allentown Comic Con in 2013. The set of cards featured all the guests who were appearing at the event and they were a huge success. I was #2. Considering a limited edition of these bad boys were ever made - they are hard to come by; but not necessarily sought after since not many people know that they were available! As to where most of the trading card sets that I've been a part of have been based around wrestling (there are many more out there, I just don't have copies of them myself), this card actually spotlights a portion of my career in comics as a character as well as toys, games, kid's books and more. It even made reference to the use of Brimstone related items on the Big Bang Theory (which has always been a fun win for me). Due to the pandemic - the Allentown and Philadelphia events that I have traditionally done for upwards of ten years have all succumbed (at least temporarily) to
COVID-19. Maybe when the world begins to open up a little more, they'll start running again and perhaps even bring back their trading cards! I would love to grace another one at some point to join forces with a pairing of my favorite cons to sign for!
I'm excited to discuss this journey further with my pal Tony on WTC and I'll make sure to let everyone know when it will launch - perhaps updating this post with the link; or video itself. I may speak about the ETH 2 - Padded Room Series that had been completed; however never released years back! I have also been contemplating doing a Grindhouse Radio Series and perhaps even another limited edition Brimstone set for fans who are interested in getting behind them! Thanks again for taking yet another stroll down memory lane with me... I've been blessed to have done a lot in my career and sometimes forget some of the cool things that I've accomplished. Being a collectible trading card is certainly one of those really REALLY cool things!
Again, thanks for the time - reading - and repeated support! - Brim