1994 MARVEL MASTERPIECES - SABRETOOTH

15" x 11". Original acrylic painting on board. Painted for the 1994 Fleer Marvel Masterpieces card collection. This character was one of the very first that Brothers Hildebrandt painted in the series. You can see the care and extra time they spent in the detail - detail that was lacking on the later pieces as the crunch of having to paint 140 different characters started to register!

The original Marvel Masterpieces line is one of the most impressive ever for comic trading cards. With high art the focal point, it's tough to go wrong. The entire set features artwork by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. This is similar to the first Masterpieces set released a couple of years earlier that had card fronts from Joe Jusko. 1993 saw a large roster of artists contribute cards whereas the 1994 set was exclusively by Brothers Hildebrandt.

The 1994 Fleer Marvel Masterpieces base set has 140 cards. Focusing exclusively on characters rather than events, the artwork is trademark Hildebrandt. Highly detailed and colorful, their interpretations take a more realistic approach.

Card fronts use art as the focal point. Paintings are presented with a full-bleed layout. The only additions are a small nameplate and a Masterpieces logo, both in gold foil. Backs are a little busier. One side has a close-up image of the character's face. It's the same painting as the one used on the front. The other side has a very short write-up on the character, as well as a quote from the Hildebrandts usually describing the creation of the painting made for the card.