"The Trading Card Event of the Decade..."

The trading card event of the decade... that never happened. In 1995, SkyBox International and DC promoted a new series of Superman trading cards painted by fantasy illustrator Joe Jusko. The "All Superman! All Joe Jusko!" series was scheduled to be released in the summer of 1996, but the project was cancelled in late 1995.

The proposed Elseworlds-style storyline would have depicted Superman throughout different periods of history. In The Art of Painted Comics from 2015, Joe Jusko said, "We got through three-and-a-half or four of the storylines, and then Fleer, who'd bought out SkyBox at that point, wasn't crazy about the concept. That art's been sitting around up at DC since 1995, I guess." (p. 201)

On March 9, 1995, the Marvel Entertainment Group purchased SkyBox International Inc. for $150 million and merged with the Fleer Corporation. The Fleer plant in Philadelphia used to cut and collate cards was closed on January 26, 1996. The Upper Deck Company continues to produce trading cards with the SkyBox brand name.

In 2009, The Art of Joe Jusko published illustrations that were intended for the SkyBox series. One painting depicts a prehistoric-era Superman pulling a vehicle reminiscent of The Flintstones.

The Joe Jusko website has shared a photo of the painting used for promotional images. A Limited Edition set of 10,000 promo cards were distributed at the 1995 San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC). Joe Jusko autographed 1,000 numbered copies. Each card measures 5 x 7 inches.

Joe Jusko painted the entire 1992 Marvel Masterpieces set from Impel. Jusko also contributed Superman paintings for Kenner's Superman: Man of Steel cards and DC Villains: The Dark Judgment.