Why I Am Perfectly Okay With The 50th Anniversary Logo On Vintage Collection Cards

First, if you are furious over the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary logo appearing in the upper left hand corner of some upcoming Vintage Collection cards (and the corresponding downstream reconfigurations), you're right. More accurately, you are in the right. If it bothers you, no one should tell you not to be bothered.

This is a hobby built on passion, and I, for one, will not get too picky over the various forms that passion takes. The exception is when that "passion" starts to make life so difficult on retailers that they reconsider whether or not The Vintage Collection represents good business, but that is very much a subject for a different day. Furthermore, we understand that this passion and its many forms is fully within the context of the hobby. Fans of all walks get emotional and irrational about their fandom all the time. If that goes up your back, find a new hobby. We take our pastimes seriously, but as just that: Pastimes. As the inimitable Randal Graves once said, "downtime's important."

So all of this is to say that this is in no way meant to belittle or invalidate your opinion if the 50th logo bothers you. It is merely to explain why it doesn't bother me, and it gets back to something I've said repeatedly: "modern vintage" is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. Much to the lament of me, Uncle Rico, and countless others who peaked at eighteen, time only flows in one direction.

When I look at the Vintage Collection, it's not about faultlessly duplicating what Kenner did in the seventies and eighties. It's about projecting forward an ideal version of what Kenner would and could do today with all of Hasbro's current resources. It will always be about blending the vintage and modern to me. Another way I've put this is to keep what's perfect, and perfect what is not.

We certainly don't complain about this when it comes to the figures. We want Hasbro to get them as right as possible. For me, this extends to the packaging. Among other things, this includes getting the correct character on the card if the vintage counterpart was erroneous. Hasbro did this with the VC68 - Rebel Trooper (Echo Base Battle Gear) figure. The card was corrected to the accurate character. The vintage Kenner card actually featured the base Hoth Rebel Soldier. Hasbro made that correction, and I don't recall anyone complaining. Just as the figure got more accurate, so did the packaging. Again, it's what an idealized Kenner would do today with all the knowledge that has been gained both in the industry and with respect to the property (note: the real Kenner would probably still be making "cheap" figures, however).

One could argue that the above packaging change is an improvement. Others, such as obtrusive warning labels, are not, and are a product of the time. Has anyone said that change is inevitable? The point being that the idea of ever having a faultless reproduction of the Kenner packaging is a fallacy. Even if Hasbro were willing, the world is not. So, I've just come to accept that the cards have to change. I actually look at the changes as markers of time, which is something I rather enjoy. I'm sentimental.

Knowing that the cards must change in some ways, I'm more tolerant when they change in others so long as the spirit is intact. With this in mind, I rather like seeing that Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary logo on a select number of Vintage Collection cards even if it means that a warning label needs to interrupt my beloved racetrack. This will serve as a reminder of the time when something momentous happened. In a time when Vintage Collection fans are dispirited and feeling like our business is largely unwanted, a retailer said something to Hasbro that we have been saying for years: give us more. We can all complain that the retailer is Walmart, but if you don't see the victory in this, you're missing the bigger picture. Someone out there is finally seeing value in our business, and that logo will forever be a reminder of that to me.

Don't get mad at Walmart for asking for more product. Get mad at the retailers who are content to sit on the sidelines.

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