When Cryptozoic stormed on to the scene I tried to jump right in and get some information for the collectors out there. It started at C2E2, but all the announcements they made about sets that weekend (Fringe, Walking Dead, Big Bang Theory) were so fresh the Cryptozoic employees staffing the C2E2 booth didn’t have any information to share. I did get a contact. I had a contact and collectors had questions so I quickly threw a short email interview off to Cryptozoic. That was in March.
The interview response came a couple of weeks ago, so the interview isn’t as cutting edge as it was in March, but I did ask some questions I don’t think have been asked in other places. . . So here it is. . .
Webjon: First, we all know Cryptozoic as a gaming card manufacturer. What drew you to manufacturing non-sport cards?
Scott Gaeta, Cryptozoic Chief Operating Officer: Well, gaming was just our first product. The people here actually have a lot of experience when it comes to producing trading cards, comics, toys, posters, and all sorts of pop culture collectibles. Considering the talent we have in the trading card space, getting into them was a no-brainer.
Webjon: What do you see as the biggest differences between the gaming card market and the trading card market, and what are you most excited to bring to non-sport cards?
SG: The biggest difference is that trading cards are purely a collectible compared to gaming cards where the cards are basically just game pieces. Besides great licenses, we really want to bring our expertise in building community. Being able to share the things your are into with others is a huge part of the experience and hopefully we’ll be able to help grow the community for trading cards.
Webjon: Entertainment card distribution is going through a bit of a renaissance. Consumer packaging is being condensed in many cases and instead of a traditional large set split into packs in a box we are starting to see many sets being released as a much smaller set released as more expensive premium packs. What models can we expect from Cryptozoic?
SG: All our upcoming projects follow a traditional pack/box model. We are looking at different models depending on the brand but I see the traditional model being our main focus the majority of the time.
Webjon: Smallville was one of the most requested sets to get continued after former manufacturer Inkworks closed. As Cryptozoic continues this line will you be complementing the design of the earlier sets for collectors who will be building on to their existing Smallville collections? There are some key autographs missing from the previous releases, if you can secure some of those autographs you’ll have a guaranteed hit!
SG: We can’t copy another company’s designs. Those designs are their intellectual property. That said, we make great looking cards and will make sure that our designs are the best they can be. We have a huge list of potential signers we are working on and will get as many as are willing to sign. We really want Smallville to go out with a bang and make this set one to remember.
Webjon: Inkworks’ Supernatural release was also cut short due to the demise of the company. Any chance we’ll see Supernatural from Cryptozoic?
SG: It’s not something we’re working on right now but we’ve definitely had a lot of requests for this set. We’ll keep an eye on it and if we see enough demand we will certainly look into it.
Thanks for the interview Scott, Jenna and all of Cryptozoic!
I think we are all looking forward to what Cryptozoic brings to the non-sport table! If you guys have any burning questions for the new kid on the block drop me an email or leave ‘em in the comments and I’ll see if I can get ‘em answered.
Jon
