By Alan Biegel
Even James Bond isn’t immune to Coronavirus threats. Instead of an April release, November 25 now marks the long awaited return of British Secret Agent 007 to cinemas. InNo Time To Die,James Bond (Daniel Craig) will face Safin (Rami Malek), a mysterious villain equipped with dangerous new technology. And while this film, reportedly Craig’s last, will eventually make a non-sports appearance in some fashion, our cover story this time focuses on Upper Deck’s upcomingJames Bond Villains & Henchmen Trading Cards,a set that celebrates dastardly deeds and those that do them.
While Upper Deck now has the license to thrill, Bond has nonetheless had a long history with trading cards. Beginning with P.C.G.C. sets in 1965/66, documenting Bond’s exploits progressed to a Topps set in 1979, a pair of Eclipse products in 1993, three Connoisseur Editions and other Bondian sets from Inkworks starting in 1996, and publication of no less than 23 different sets from Rittenhouse Archives occurring in 2002-2017.