I have been fascinated with Bernie Wrightson’s artwork and style. Some time ago, I started collecting all of the cards released by FPG Cards back in 1993 through 1996. I have nearly a complete collection of Bernie Wrightson’s FPG Cards… I recently got a sealed box of More Macabre cards at a thrift store. I recorded a timelapse video of George and I openning all 36 packs looking for a rare metal card or a signature card. But. I digress.

In 1983, Marvel Comics and Bernie Wrightson released an illustrated version of Frankenstein with an introduction by Stephen King. This book has been reprinted several times and is my favorite way to read Frankenstein. It’s a great pairing of the original text with dark illustrations. I like Bernie’s take on Frankenstein’s monster. It feels true to how Mary Shelley described the creature and its construction.

Table of Contents

Primary Card Sets

FPG published four primary card sets from 1993 to 1996 featuring the artwork of Bernie Wrightson: Master of Macabre (1993), Frankenstein (1993), More Macabre (1994), and Bernie Wrightson Stockers (1996). The primary card sets included cards that you could collect by buying packs of FPG cards.

1993 Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre

This card set includes 90 cards of which 45 cards are original to FPG and 45 cards feature classic paintings from Bernie Wrightson.

1. Lazarus Syndrome
2. Foul Harvest
3. Resurrection
4. Stalemate
5. After Midnight
6. The Premature Burial
7. Hangover
8. Knights of the Living Dead
9. Late Caller
10. Just Before Dawn
11. Tapeworm
12. Mudslide
13. Parole Review
14. The Prize
15. Heads Up
16. Moving Day
17. Taproot
18. Larva
19. Theo and Roger
20. First Frost
21. Panthera
22. Centaura
23. The Kiss
24. Cosmic Volleyball
25. Exterminatrix
26. Out All Night
27. Night’s End
28. Unrevokable Invitation
29. All Freaked Out
30. Avenger
31. The Black Cat
32. Masque of the Red Death
33. The Cask of Amontillado
34. Murders in the Rue Morgue
35. Sleepy Hollow
36. Heads, You Lose
37. Lower Berth
38. Free Fall
39. Amphibious Indigents
40. Freaks
41. Visitor
42. Badtime Stories
43. Hanover Fiste
44. Moonpool
45. The Barbarian
46. Spellbound
47. Drop In Any Time
48. The Oz Effect
49. Exterminator
50. Mausoleum
51. The Very Devil
52. Newts to You
53. Indecision
54. Distant Thunder
55. Gesundheit
56. Ramone and Escamillo
57. Lost in the Woods
58. Creeper
59. Purgatory
60. Technicolor Yawn
61. Harry, The Happy Headsman
62. Orthodonty 1
63. Soft Soldier
64. Gentlemen of Adventure Wear Arrow Collars and Shirts
65. The Quagmire
66. Siegfried
67. Amphiuma
68. Loggerhead
69. Under Distant Moons
70. Up For Air
71. Stegosaurus
72. T-Rex
73. Snapper Attack
74. Seventh Inning Stretch
75. You Can Never Find Godzilla When You Really Need Him
76. Amphibious Assault
77. Fish Sticks
78. Devolution
79. From Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-Leggedy (Beasties and Things that Go Bump in the Night, May the Good Lord Deliver Us.)
80. Taking No Chances
81. Defender of the Keep
82. Guardian of the Well of Souls
83. Vitus and Hjalmar
84. Rude Noises
85. Stormdrain
86. Indigestion
87. Midnight Snack
88. Eels
89. Mementoes
90. Checklist

1993 Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre (Frankenstein Subset)

The Master of Macabre card set also included 45 black and white cards featuring Bernie Wrightson’s best Frankenstein artwork.

1. The Unexpected
2. Wretched Condition
3. In Search of Secrets
4. The Lecture
5. Deep in Study
6. Dirty Work
7. Failure
8. Recourse to Death
9. The Creator
10. Eye of the Beholder
11. His Eyes Were Fixed on Me
12. A Flash of Lightning
13. My Imagination Was Busy
14. The Scaffold
15. Confrontation
16. Fear My Vengeance
17. The Maw of Death
18. The Brook
19. Escape
20. Despondence and Mortification
21. A Hideous Reflection
22. Close Attention
23. Perpetual Exile
24. The Leather Portmanteau
25. Accursed Creator
26. Ready, Aim, Fire
27. Descending the Mountain
28. Strasbourg to Rotterdam
29. For the Sake of Information
30. A Filthy Process
31. The Laboratory
32. Never Again
33. Cast Into the Sea
34. Discovery
35. The Coffin
36. Bitter Tears
37. Lifeless
38. Utter Exhaustion
39. The Journey
40. Mountains of Ice
41. With a Feeble Voice
42. Departure
43. Where Can I Find Rest but in Death
44. Abandonment
45. Frankenstein Checklist

1993 Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre (Hologram Cards)

Three hologram cards were randomly inserted in the Master of the Macabre packs of cards.

• H1 – Rude Awakening
• H2 – Uninvited
• H3 – Late Arrivals

1993 Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre (Gold Hologram Cards)

Three gold hologram cards were randomly inserted in the Master of the Macabre packs of cards. The card indicates that there are 2,500 gold hologram cards for each promo.

• H1 – Rude Awakening – Gold
• H2 – Uninvited – Gold
• H3 – Late Arrivals – Gold

1994 Bernie Wrightson Series II: More Macabre

1. Undead
2. Till Death Us Do Part!
3. Full Throttle
4. We’re Back!
5. Dead Tired
6. More Bad News
7. Cemetery Club
8. Return Engagement
9. Nobody in Particular
10. Bad Boy(s)
11. Visitation
12. Curiosity Killed …
13. Why Was I Not Made of Stone Like Thee?
14. Moonrise II
15. Malpractice
16. Tarman
17. Stereo Burps
18. Long Pig
19. Woody
20. Familiar Face
21. Asparagus Dream
22. Don’t Axe
23. Tendrils
24. Wetlands Sunset
25. Bad Hair Day
26. Mossum
27. Uprooted
28. Nowhere to Hyde
29. Feeding Frenzy
30. Headquarters
31. Heartburn
32. Queen of Hearts
33. Heartbreaker
34. Big Mistake
35. Bridal Suite
36. The Tryst
37. Overbalanced
38. Facetious Tamahto
39. Hieeyaaah!
40. Auntie Social
41. Salamandra
42. Avenger
43. Slim Odds
44. Nocturna
45. The Scout
46. Alice Saurus
47. Spell That Again
48. Damp Cellar
49. A Garniture of Gargoyles
50. Club Members
51. Reptile Ride
52. Berserker
53. Death Throes
54. F’Pete’s Snakes
55. Mugging in the Moonlight
56. Prowling
57. Leap of Faith
58. Defenseless
59. Moonrise
60. Mine!
61. Lycanthrope
62. Kindling
63. Bloodlust
64. Sunburn
65. Guess Ooze Coming to Dinner?
66. Bubblehead
67. Subterrestrial
68. C-Section
69. Vermin
70. Eat Explosive-Tipped Lead!
71. Quick Changes
72. Final Encounter
73. Amphibious Assault Again
74. The One That Got Away
75. Moray Pattern
76. Breaching
77. Blood Tide
78. B.F.T.
79. Exterminator
80. Night Surf
81. Stargazers
82. Bad Girls
83. Lucinda
84. Allosaurus Fragilis
85. Bong!
86. Punkin Ladies
87. Resurrection Revisited
88. Boys’ Night Out
89. Highway to Hell
90. Checklist

1994 Bernie Wrightson Series II: More Macabre (Metallic Sternn Cards)

Five Metallic Sternn cards were randomly inserted in the More Macabre packs of cards.

• MS1 – The Intrepid Captain Sternn
• MS2 – The Soft Drink Conspiracy
• MS3 – Noble Mission
• MS4 – Let’s Eat
• MS5 – Running Out of Time

1996 Bernie Wrightson Stickers

1. Undead
2. Lazarus Syndrome
3. Foul Harvest
4. More Bad News
5. Soft Soldier
6. Sunburn
7. Purgatory
8. Woody
9. Uprooted
10. The Prize
11. Mugging in the Moonlight
12. Prowling
13. Moonrise
14. Out All Night
15. Tapeworm
16. B.F.T.
17. Indigestion
18. C-Section
19. (no name)
20. Why Was I Not Made of Stone
21. Heads Up
22. Technicolor Yawn
23. Stereo Burps
24. Auntie Social
25. Under Distant Moons
26. Newts to You
27. (no name)
28. Nowhere to Hyde
29. Headquarters
30. Free Fall
31. (no name)
32. Lucinda
33. Stegosaurus
34. Allosaurus Fragilis
35. T-Rex
36. Stalemate
37. Guardian of the Well of Souls
38. Devolution
39. Mementoes
40. Midnight Snack
41. Highway to Hell
42. Resurrection Revisited
43. Full Throttle
44. Nocturna
45. Familiar Face
46. Wetlands Sunset
47. Asparagus Dream
48. Club Members
49. Spellbound
50. Slim Odds

Promo Cards

• 1992 – Master of the Macabre – Advance Comics – Mudslide
• 1993 – Master of the Macabre – Previews Magazine – Frankenstein Hologram
• 1993 – Master of the Macabre – HWDC – “Monster chasing woman” (3.5″x3.5″ card)
• 1994 – More Macabre – (P3) – “Two men running” (black back)
• 1994 – More Macabre – (P4) – “Tree monsters” (black back)
• 1994 – More Macabre – (unnumbered) – “Swamp thing” (white back)
• 1994 – More Macabre – (unnumbered) – “Werewolf” (white back)
• 1994 – More Macabre – #17 – Feeding Frenzy (on left) / More Bad News (on right) – (5″x7″ card)

FPG Binders

FPG offered two binders to hold all of the cards in the Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre and More Macabre card sets. Each binder includes artwork from the sets, a pocket for a promo binder card, and rings to hold three-ring card sheets.

Master of the Macabre Binder

More Macabre Binder

FPG Binder Cards

There were two promo cards only offered with the FPG three-ring binders. There is a pocket on the inside of the binder to display the promo card.

Display Boxes

Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre

The first series of Bernie Wrightson’s Master of the Macabre cards from FPG came in sealed, numbered boxes of 36 packs of 10 cards. Each box has a unique number on its seal out of 90,000.

Bernie Wrightson Series II: More Macabre

FPG released Bernie Wrightson: Series II More Macabre cards in sealed boxes and didn’t include a unique number for each box.

Bernie Wrightson Stickers

Promos

Advance Comics

A promo card was made for Advance Comics featuring artwork from the Master of Macabre card #12 – Mudslide. The back of the promo card is marked with the Advance Comics logo and a copyright date of 1992.

The Advance Comics Promo card was bundled with the March 1993, Number 51, issue of the Advance Comics magazine.

Previews Magazine

A promo card came attached to the cover of the March 1993 issue of Previews Magazine.

Previews Magazine Promo Sheet

Previews Magazine Cover Card Set

Previews Magazine released a set of cards featuring the covers of their magazine. Series I of the cards included a card of the cover image of the March 1993 issue of Previews Magazine.

Previews Magazine Panel Insert

To promote a new set of cards, Bernie Wrightson – Series Two: More Macabre, FPG included a 5″x7″ promo art panel in the August 1994 issue of Previews Magazine.

San Diego Comic Con 1993 Six-card Panel

San Diego Comic Con 1994 Five-card Panel

Comic Images / Previews Promo Card Set #1

Comic Images released 5,500 sets of cards featuring 21 cards: 16 regular cards, four chromium cards, and one surprise hologram card. The surprise hologram card is the Frankenstein hologram card included on the Previews Magazine cover of the March 1993 issue.

Uncut Sheets

Advance Comics Promo Cards

HWDC Promo Cards

28″x20″

Bernie Wrightson Master of the Macabre Cards

Frankenstein Cards

27″x40″

Bernie Wrightson Series II: More Macabre

Metallic Sternn Cards

20″ x 14″

Binder Cards

20″ x 7.5″

Searching For Answers

I am trying to collect as much as I can from the FPG line of cards featuring the artwork from Bernie Wrightson. I research eBay, card lists, blogs, and websites to find some new things. I still have some remaining questions and looking for a few items. Contact me if you have some info or want to trade.

• I am looking for the “Gold Hologram” cards from series one. I have opened a lot of packs and have never come across one.
• I am looking for an uncut sheet of The Master of the Macabre series of cards from 1993.
• What were the HWDC Promo Cards made for? And, why are they 3.5″ x 3.5″ cards?

References

• Jeff Allender’s House of Checklists – Bernie Wrightson: Master of the Macabre FPG – 1993
• Jeff Allender’s House of Checklists – Bernie Wrightson II: More Macabre FPG – 1994
• Jeff Allender’s House of Checklists – Bernie Wrightson Stickers FPG – 1996
• FPG Universe – Bernie Wrightson: Master of the Macabre
• FPG Universe – Bernie Wrightson: More Macabre