Modern Marvel trading card sets usually take themselves seriously. But that wasn’t always the case. 1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Heroes takes a lighter approach, combining simple stickers with corny one-liners. It also happens to be one of the early sets of mainstream Marvel trading cards.
1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Heroes Checklist Details
The idea behind the set is simple. Each is a sticker of a Marvel character. It’s a basic piece of color comic art surrounded by a thick black outline. Backgrounds are white. What takes this set from being simply illustrations to something campy are the speech bubbles that are also on every card. There are puns and one-liners galore, enough to keep even the biggest dad joke fans occupied.
Topps revisits this approach and style with the follow-up 1976 Marvel Super Hero Stickers.
Although not the first set of Marvel trading cards, 1975 Topps Comic Book Heroes does include a lot more characters than 1966 Donruss Marvel Super Heroes. This is the set credited for bringing Marvel into mainstream trading cards. Rather than focusing on a broad mix of characters, the Donruss set has six sections for six different heroes. 1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Heroes goes beyond the cornerstones and has some secondary stars like The Falcon, Morbius and Medusa.
In addition to the stickers, there are nine checklist cards. These go together to form a puzzle of Fantastic Four #100.
Variations
There are a few different ways to collect 1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Heroes. If you go by the checklists that came with the set, there are 40 cards. That’s the most basic. But if you want to go with some significant variations, that list expands. It grows significantly if you want every possible versions where you get into minor changes but are variations nonetheless.
The Captain Marvel and Spider-Man-2 cards are the most notable variations. Both of these cards has versions with different captions. As a result, a complete set is often seen as having 42 cards.
Four other cards have subtle but noticeable variations based on where on the card the copyright info is. These are found on Dr. Doom, Ka-Zar, Sub-Mariner and Thor-1.
Another variation can be found with the backs. Most cards have white backs. Tan backs also exist. These are significantly tougher and are widely believed to have originated from an early test run.
The remaining 1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Book Heroes variations are subtle. The number of asterisks in the copyright can shift. This is typical for a lot of products in the 1970s and ’80s, usually indicating print runs or sheets. Some cards can also be found with copyright years of 1974 and 1975. For most collectors, these minor changes don’t matter too much.
1975 Topps Comic Book Heroes remains one of the most popular sets of Marvel trading cards ever. Single cards aren’t overly difficult to find. Prices on raw cards are usually reasonable, however big-name characters can command a premium. High-grade cards and unopened packs and boxes are where things can get expensive in a hurry.
1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Heroes Checklist
Set size: 42 cards
Packs per box: 36
Shop for 1975 Topps Marvel Comic Book Heroes boxes and packs on eBay.
Base Set Checklist
42 cards.
Buy on eBay:
Black Widow – I’m Natasha Fly Me to Miami!
Captain America-1 – I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy!
Captain America-2 – Look, Ma, No Cavaties!
Captain Marvel – Fly the Friendly Skies of United!
Captain Marvel – Which Way to the John?
Conan – Tick or Treat?
Daredevil – Badness Makes Me See Red!
Dr. Doom – I’m Dressed to Kill!
Dr. Octopus – I’m Just a Well-Armed Crook!
Dr. Strange – Darn Those House Calls!
Dracula-1 – Sure Doesn’t Taste Like Tomato Juice!
Dracula-2 – Flying Drives Me Bats!
The Falcon – You Bet Your Bird!
Frankenstein’s Monster – Maybe It’s My Breath!
Ghost Rider – Peter Fonda Look Out!
Hawkeye – Annie Oakley I Ain’t!
Hulk-1 – Who Stole My Right Guard?
Hulk-2 – Green Power!
Human Torch-1 – Tan….Don’t Burn!
Human Torch-2 – When You’re Hot, You’re Hot!
Iron Fist – Kung Fooey!
Iron Man – Fight Rust!
Ka-Zar – Be Kind to Animals…Or Else!
Kull – These Pants Don’t Fit!
The Living Mummy – Which Hand Has the M&Ms?
Luke Cage – I Was a 98 Lb. Weakling!
Man-Thing – I Dropped the Soap in the Shower!
Medusa – Darn That Cheap Hairspray!
Morbius, Living Vampire – Which Way to the Blood Bank?
Mr. Fantastic – I’m the Long Arm of the Law!
Shang-Li, Kung Fu – All Aspirin Is Not Alike!
Spider-Man-1 – Who’d You Expect? Little Miss Muffet?
Spider-Man-2 – Bug Off!
Spider-Man-2 – You Drive Me Up a Wall!
Sub-Mariner – Don’t Pollute My Waters!
The Son of Satan – The Devil Made Me Do It!
The Thing-1 – It’s Clobberin’ Time!
The Thing-2 – I’m Going to Pieces!
Thor-1 – Support Your Local Thunder-God!
Thor-2 – Who Said Blondes Have More Fun?
Valkyrie – Support Women’s Lib!
Werewolf – Only My Hairdresser Knows for Sure!
Fantastic Four Checklists
9 cards go together to form a Fantastic Four #100 puzzle.
