Cancelled: Topps Star Wars Living Set Will Finish With Card 500
It looks like the long-running Star Wars Living set featuring art from Kris Penix and Carlos Cabaleiro will end next week with cards 499 & 500. While this set is not for everyone, it’s been a great run starting back in June 2019, and we’ve been happy to feature every set since day 1. Click through to read a message from Kris Penix.
From Kris Penix (via Facebook)
I hate, hate, hate confirming this news. But sadly, yes, Topps has decided they no longer want to produce The Living Set.
Carlos and I haven’t known for very long. Topps requested we not mention anything until they announced it first and we have respected their wishes.
The cancellation of the set had nothing to do with Carlos and I. We did what we were told and kept Topps supplied with our art. We did it to the best of our ability and never bugged them. We made them money every week, even when print runs were lower.
So why was the set canceled? Before I speak to that I want to say that I’m not going to speak ill of Topps. They’ve provided me and many other artists incredible opportunities over the years and I don’t take that for granted. I really like the people that I worked with at the Topps offices and I am truly grateful to them for allowing me to get so much of my art out into the world. 500 hand painted Star Wars images for a card set is an incredible accomplishment!!!
However…
The reasons they gave for ending the set make zero sense from both an artist and fan’s perspective. They stated that: Star Wars has only a few characters left to choose from AND the new characters are not as collectible as the originals.
😐
So this essentially means there wasn’t a demand for cards from the Ahsoka show by collectors. No Kenobi from his own show. No Anakin from Revenge of the Sith. Han from The Force Awakens. No Lando or Maul from Solo. No Hondo. No Ventress. No Falcon. No Ghost. The list of potential cards left behind goes on and on and on…
I can assure you, as a Star Wars fan, we barely scratched the surface of this galaxy with these 500 cards. In fact, shortly before we were informed of the set cancellation, I sent Topps a list of roughly 100 animated characters between The Clone Wars and Rebels that we still needed to hit. Popular characters. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, Palpatine, The Droids. So many clones. So many jedi. So many weird separatist droids. It’s crazy to think about.
I can only speculate why it was REALLY canceled because I honestly don’t know. Perhaps they needed our budget for something else. Perhaps Disney no longer wanted it. Who knows?
What happens now?
We’re not sure who the final 2 cards will be next week. They have more of our art than there are cards left. We also don’t know if cards 401 to 500 will be made available as prints. We’ve asked. They haven’t answered.
Carlos and I will continue creating. We’re artists and we do what we do. This isn’t the end of us. We’re always compelled to make new and exciting art, especially when it involves Star Wars.
We want to thank every one of you that have stuck with us over the years. Your support has been everything! 💛 And if you wanted, feel free to email Topps or send them a message on social media if you’d like The Living Set to continue. TELL THEM AS MUCH! I still really want to paint live action Hera! 🙂
In the meantime keep an eye on this page.
Always in motion is the future.
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