RELEASE PERIOD : NOVEMBER 2018
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The
ThunderBrats Series 1 set was released during the second half of 2018, within the month of November. The entire frisky set was created by artist Mark Pingitore who sketched and painted all nine characters to create an eighteen, twin-card parody release poking fun at the ThunderCats franchise. The first print run set, containing one asterisk (* © 2018 MARK PINGITORE PRTD. – MAGIC MARKER ART, LLC), was posted for sale on the Magic Marker Art website on the 28th of the same month and pre-orders had started on October 23rd, the month prior. The ‘PEEL HERE‘ gloss finish stickers, measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches, have an ingenious paw-print die cut which is reminiscent of the earlier Garbage Pail Kids releases with unique sticker die cuts. The ThunderBrats is a parody card set poking fun at the animated television series the ThunderCats, an elite group of Thunderians from the planet Thundera. THUNDER: a loud rumbling noise or crashing sound heard during a storm after a lightning flash; a thunderclap. A peal, roll, or crack of thounder; a thunderbolt. BRAT(s): a young kid or child, mainly a badly behaved one. |
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~ MINI DISPLAY BOX : IMAGE ENLARGED
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1a MUMM ROB ~ Nomenclature = Mumm-Ra. ~ Evildoer description: Mumm-Ra (aka the Ever-Living) — The main antagonist of the ThunderCats animated TV series. The character showcases absolute power and mastery of magic whose main goal is to eradicate the ThunderCats. Resides in the Black Pyramid. def’n: Mummy — A preserved human body (or animal), usually ceremonially and treated for burial, wrapped in cloth and bandages and oftentimes outfitted for the afterlife. |
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| 1b EVAN LIVING ~ Nomenclature = Everliving. ~ Evildoer description: ThunderCats (1985-1989 & 2011 reboot) — An animation series based on characters created by Theodore “Ted/Tobin” Wolf (a canine; rather ironic). def’n: Everliving — To live always; be immoral, eternal. A person who lives forever. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The character is often portrayed as a withered, corpse-like being that can alter his form by reciting a powerful incantation that transforms him into a muscular and menacing fiend. The Demon Priest is seen without his weapons of power, specifically his Sword of Plun-darr (plunder: to ravage, raid, devastate, lay waste, etc.) and his Ancient Spirits of Evil. ~ The character is seen splayed, standing in the popular GPK & CPK pose with outstretched arms and open-palmed hands. The first ThunderBrats sketch was shared on social media on 12/09/2017, almost a year before the series release along with other characters found within the G.I.JOKES, Nintendopes and Horrorible Kids sets. The original, tentative name for the character was ‘Mumm RAJ’. |
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2a LION OWEN ~ Nomenclature = Lion-O. ~ Feline files: Lion-O — Is the main protagonist and leader of the Thundercats. Not to be confused with the copy-cat evil Lion-O with red garb. def’n: Lion — A large, tawny-colored cat found in Africa and northwestern India. The male gender has a flowing, shaggy, dark mane. |
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| 2b HAIR BILL ~ Nomenclature = Hairball. ~ Feline files: Thunderians — Are inhabitants of the planet Thundera, and include the noble ThunderCats having feline traits; lions, from Latin leo. def’n: Hairball —A ball of hair that collects in the stomach of a cat as a result of the animal’s bathing technique of licking its furry coat. The compact, wet mass is often coughed up and vomited out. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The hunched over character is depicted coughing up and vomiting out a cat hairball. The box-mascot character is also seen with his Sword of Omens on his body, with the cat’s-eye closed and the power sheathed, but is not adorned with his Claw Shield. The catcall battle cry “Thunder… Thunder— Thunder— ThunderCats HO!!!” sounds like the roar of rumbling thunder, much like a lion’s roar. ~ The concept is a nice self-tribute to a Garbage Pail Kids cat character painted by Pingitore, based off of a tentative 2003 Garbage Pail Pets project by Jay Lynch (with the name ‘KITTY Splat’), for the 2015S2 30th Anniversary GPK set found within the GPP subset as cards 1a KITTY Kitty and 1b Hair Ball HARRIET. |
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3a PAN THOR ~ Nomenclature = Panthro. ~ Feline files: Panthro — The tempermental warrior is the chief engineer and pilot for the ThunderCats whose only known weakness is his fear of bats and his dislike of spiders. The character’s name is a combination of ‘panther’ and ‘anthropomorphism’; giving animals human characteristics. The suit spikes are projectiles or used for rappelling. def’n: Panther — a leopard (or cougar), especially a black one, belonging to the cat family. |
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| 3b NUN CHUCK ~ Nomenclature = Nunchucks (nunchaku, nunchuks, chainsticks, karate sticks, etc cetera). ~ Feline files: Thunderians — Are inhabitants of the planet Thundera, and include the noble ThunderCats having feline traits; in this case, panther-like qualities. def’n: Nunchucks — A Japanese hand weapon used for defense against frontal assaults, containing two foot-long, fighting sticks joined by a chain, cord or rawhide. |
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| THE FELINE FACTS: ~ The cat character is seen brandishing his weapon of choice, a pair of nunchucks, but swinging them much too forcibly, ripping an arm out of its ball-and-socket joint. ~ The painting is a homage to all weapon-rearing Garbage Pail Kids characters often seen rushing forward in attack formation: OS1 Savage STUART, OS2 Greaser GREG to name a few and very reminiscent of the morning star flailing OS11 MASON Mace character; all by artist John Pound. |
 
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4a CHEE TARA ~ Nomenclature = Cheetara. ~ Feline files: Cheetara — A female ThunderCat with a muscular build often wearing a one-piece orange leotard with the team emblem on her bosom and orange boots. def’n: Cheetah — A slender, long-legged, spotted cat from Africa and parts of Asia known as the fastest animal on land over short distances & having certain doglike characteristics. |
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| 4b SPEEDY EDIE ~ Nomenclature = Rhyme; the name Edie with the word ‘speedy’. ~ Feline files: Thunderians — Are inhabitants of the planet Thundera, and include the noble ThunderCats having feline traits; in this case, cheetah-like, non-cheater qualities. def’n: Speedy — Moving quickly; high-speed. To be quick, swift, fast, et cetera. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The cat character is seen making a mad dash, like the superhero Flash, off of the page, exit stage left!, or card, to the point of lifting the ‘PEEL HERE‘ die-cut sticker. The warrior is without her baton weapon, but is seen sporting some bangle (not ‘bangal’) bracelets. ~ The female feline isn’t necessarily a homage to any one Garbage Pail Kids character, but the concept does contain tributes to the OS6 character for cards 248a HECTOR Collector and 248b G.P. KAY painted by artist James Warhola (based off of a concept and painting by artist John Pound) that shows the die-cut sticker being peeled away from the card at two points, but the GPK character himself is doing the peeling. Once peeled, both versions have curved die-cuts showing the curled sticker without the white background. |
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5a TY GRA ~ Nomenclature = Tygra. ~ Feline files: Tygra — The architect, scientist and Council leader of the ThunderCats who has the ability to become invisible using his large bolo whip weapon. def’n: Tiger — A very large, solitary cat with a yellow to orange-brown coat transversely striped with black. From Old French tigre, from Latin tigris, from Greek. |
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| 5b MINY MOE ~ Nomenclature = Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. ~ Feline files: Thunderians — Are inhabitants of the planet Thundera, and include the noble ThunderCats having feline traits; in this case, eye-of-the-tiger-like qualities. def’n: Eeny, meeny, miny, moe — A children’s counting rhyme used to select a person in games such as tag. “…catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers, let him go…”. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The cat character is seen hanging upside down in a snare trap-like predicament, caught by the toe as outlined in the ‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe’ rhyme. The item of blame is the character’s weapon of choice, his Bolo whip, a cross between a whip and bolas that consists of a yellow handle, a length of blue cord and ending in three red balls. A bolas, in general, is a weapon thrown to entangle the limbs of quarry; in the cartoon, if wrapped around his body in a certain way he becomes invisible; in this case, he is not. His whip is able to fire energy blasts and produce fire balls. |
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6a SCARF ~ Nomenclature = Snarf. ~ Feline-like reptile files: Snarf (aka Uncle Osbert, by his nephew Snarfer) — An excessive worrier (not warrior) that acts as Lion-O’s nurse maid, when a child and now as an adult. def’n: Scarf — informal. To eat hungrily or over-enthusiastically; gobble, gorge, guzzle. |
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| 6b OBESE OSBERT ~ Nomenclature = Uncle Osbert. ~ Feline-like reptile files: Snarfs — A species of reptile-cat creatures, devoid of evil and native to Thundera; from the Vally of Snarfs (not the Smurfs’ Village). def’n: Obese — To be grossly fat or overweight. Portly, plump, fleshy, flabby, et cetera. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The worrywart stress eater is seen scarfing down a submarine sandwich, ‘SNARF‘ potato chips, a cupcake and candy bar; with other odds and (heavy) ends. ~ The image is a tribute to the OS1 Garbage Pail Kids character for cards 26a Slobby ROBBIE and 26b Fat MATT, painted by artist John Pound, seen eating an ice cream cone and box of candy while sitting on and busting a weight scale and the ground beneath it. Although the MMA snarf character is sans a body weight scale, he definitely registers on the Richter magnitude scale weighing enough seismograms to cause a small earthquake and devastation around him and destroying the ground beneath him. Seismo (not ‘size’mo) is of an earthquake; relating to earthquakes. |
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7a KIT KAT ~ Nomenclature = WilyKit and WilyKat. ~ Feline files: WilyKit and WilyKat (aka ThunderKittens, collectively) — Are twin siblings and the young mishief-makers of the ThunderCats. Kit being the younger sister and Kat being the older brother. Their weapons of choice being bombs and grenade capsules. def’n: Kit Kat — A chocolate-covered wafer bar; the small bar containing two twin wafers. |
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| 7b WILY WADE ~ Nomenclature = Wade; forename to go with the word ‘wily’. ~ Feline files: Thunderians — Are inhabitants of the planet Thundera, and include the noble ThunderCats having feline traits; in this case, a small, ferocious wildcat. def’n: Wily — Skilled at gaining an advantage; clever, sharp, astute, smart, et cetera. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The close knit twins are depicted riding one of their space ‘hover’ boards, carrying a trick lariat (used to tangle and ensnare foes), and pouches on their belt holding their chemical, smoke, etc. capsules. ~ The image is a tribute to the OS3 Garbage Pail Kids character for cards 118a Half-NELSON and 118b Glandular ANGELA, painted by artist Mae Jeon (based off of a concept and final painting of John Pound), seen with the male side making a muscle, wearing mechanic overalls with wrench in the pocket, and the female side in a dress, holding a purse. There are several ‘split’ personality GPK characters within the early releases, painted by John Pound; this image is also a tribute to OS2 cards 49a Double HEATHER and 49b Schizo FRAN (FRAN FRAN) that have two separate heads. |
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| 8b REP KILLIAN ~ Nomenclature = Reptillian. ~ Evildoer description: Mutants — A barbarian-like warrior from the planet Plun-Darr (‘plunder’) who constantly wage war against the ThunderCats and enslave Brute-Men. def’n: Reptillian — An animal belonging to the class Reptilia; a reptile. Dry, scaly skin. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ The reptillian character, with more of an amphibian appearance, is seen standing stoically with his stocky body and holding his weapon of choice, a battle axe which is dripping with blood and also uses his strong muscular tail as a weapon by swinging it and knocking his oppenents off of their feet. His water dragon-like ears are different from the ears of other reptillians within his race. The leader gains little respect and must browbeat and insult the other Mutants into doing his bidding. |
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7a MICK JAGA ~ Nomenclature = Mick Jagger; nomenclature parody of the English singer-songwriter. ~ Feline files: Jaga — The mentor and warrior master of all ThunderCats is/was the most elderly of the Thunderians still possessing a physique at the time of his departure. def’n: Jaguar — A large, feline from dense forests of Central and South America with a yellowish-brown coat and black spots known as dark rosette markings. |
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| 7b GHOST LEE ~ Nomenclature = Ghostly. ~ Feline files: Thunderians — Are inhabitants of the planet Thundera, and include the noble ThunderCats having feline traits; in this case, the heavily built jaguar. def’n: Ghostly — Having a ghost-like appearance and sound. Unnatural; spectral. |
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THE FELINE
FACTS: ~ Although the cat character’s bald head and bushy eyebrows are covered by his helmet, his white beard and light blue outfit can be seen matching his transparent, oxygen-deprived blue skin. The ex-warrior is not seen holding his weapon of choice, a sword, but he used to hold the Sword of Omens before ‘passing’ and passing it along to Lion-O. He often appears to the young leader in spirit form and continues to act as a mentor even after death. All Thunderians have fangs, claws and slit-pupils. ~ The image isn’t necessarily a tribute to any specific Garbage Pail Kids character but is a nod towards the images containing a ‘R.I.P.‘ (Rest in Peace often parodied as Rest in Pieces) and a freshly shoveled or dug-up mound of earth around it. |
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1. The first ThunderBrats
Sketch was shared on social media on 12/09/2017, almost a year before the series release, along with other characters found within the G.I.JOKES, Nintendopes and Horrorible Kids sets. The original, tentative nomenclature for the character was ‘Mumm RAJ’ and ‘EVAN Living’ with the former being changed to ‘Mumma ROB’ for the printed product. |
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2. The term or name
ThunderBrats first made its appearance on a piece of parody artwork commissioned and conceptualized by James Houx (www.gpkcustoms.com) and painted by artist Mark Pingitore in 2016 and posted to the GPK Customs website on August 26th of that same year and titled ‘THUNDER Brats‘. The image contains all nine characters found within the ThunderBrats set with different gags except for the WilyKat twin character (already digested?) and also includes the Cat’s Lair. |
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3. Two Color Rough
artwork pieces were posted to social media as sneak peeks to the upcoming set on 06/20/2018 and 06/26/2018 for the Mumm-Ra and Lion-O parodied characters, respectively. The final artwork images became characters for cards #1 and #2 within the set, also respectively, with the later becoming the main mascot for the box artwork. |
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4. The ThunderCats
Emblem is parodied for the ThunderBrats set by changing the majestic roaring feline side-profile image into a cry-baby cat with aligator tears and a screaming mouth with curled tongue. |
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5. The first card
mock-up Sneak Peeks on social media occurred on 10/01/2018 for the 1a Mumm ROB character showing off the new paw-print die cut and soon followed for card 3a Pan THOR on 10/26/2018 (not pictured), for card character 4a Chee TARA on 10/30/2018 with her special, peeled paw-print die cut sticker that led up to the online release on 11/28/2018, and for card 7a Kit KAT on 11/30/2018 (not pictured) following the online release date. |
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6. The eighteen,
twin-card set with nine characters has three different die-cut stickers. The regular paw-print die cut appears on seven of the nine card images, the horizontal image for card #2 has a short, truncated paw-print die cut, and the Die Cuts of card #7 have a peeled paw-print die cut sticker. |
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7. Although the last
release for Horrorible Kids Series 3 set was the first official box release for Magic Marker Art, the ThunderBrats ‘1st Series’ would have the first official mini box release that would contain the entire 18 card set. Social media received a sneak peek of the front of the mini Display Box on 10/09/2018 showing off the final artwork for cards 2a Lion OWEN and 2b Hair BILL. |
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8. Since the eighteen
card set contains two completed 9-card puzzles on the reverse card backs the Checklist for the release has been placed on the underside of the mini display box for the set. It is interesting to note that card 6a SCARF has nomenclature of a single forname, like Prince or Madonna, with no second word. |
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9. The first two
Preorder ad announcements for the set hit social media on 10/15/2018 and 10/22/2018, stating ‘PREORDER COMING SOON‘ and ‘PREORDER STARTS OCTOBER 23RD‘, respectively. The ads showed the final artwork for four out of the nine characters within the set, showed the mini box in counter display mode, and announced that the set would cost $25. |
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10. The third Ad
Announcement shared on social media on 10/23/2018 stated ‘PREORDER NOW‘ and a fourth ad was shared on 11/05/2018 stating ‘PREORDER ENDS NOVEMBER 9TH‘ and to help promote sales added images of the Horrorible Kids Series 4 promo card handed out at the Oct 2018 Philly Non-Sport Card Show and a ThunderCats decal sticker as ‘PREORDER BONUSES‘ while supplies lasted. |
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11. As mentioned
within the fourth online ad on 11/05/2018, collectors who preordered the ThunderBrats mini box for $25 would receive a Lion OWEN Bonus Sticker (while supplies lasted). The decal sticker measures roughly 3.5″x4″. |
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12. The fifth preorder
Ad Announcement shared on social media on 11/09/2018 was more of a warning stating ‘LAST DAY FOR PREORDERS!!‘ without the bonus material and a sixth and final ad posted on 11/28/2018 mentioned that the product was ‘NOW AVAILABLE‘ to order on the website and showcased three card images; all preorders had been shipped out to collectors that same week. |
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13. Mark’s appreciation
for parody and Garbage Pail Kids can be seen on his Magic Marker Art’s website in the form of his personal Mascot, a self-caricature modeled after OS2 cards 74a MARK Bark and 74b Kennel KENNY painted by John Pound; this would be the first ‘Mark’ name within the GPK canon. Pingitore’s original character was biting down on a No.2 pencil instead of a dog bone, but has been changed to a marker to correspond with the LLC; note that the checklist on the bottom of the mini box has a B&W image of this character with the word ‘MAGIC‘ on the marker and name ‘MARKER‘ on the dog bowl. |
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** DISASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE + HORRORIBLE
KIDS + G.I.JOKES + MUTAGEN CANISTER KIDS + THUNDERBRATS **
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NO.
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CHARACTER CARDS
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SERIES NO.
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YEAR
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ARTIST
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1a
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MUMM
ROB |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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1b
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EVAN
LIVING |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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2a
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LION
OWEN |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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2b
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HAIR BILL
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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3a
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PAN
THOR |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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3b
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NUN CHUCK
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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4a
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CHEE TARA
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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4b
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SPEEDY EDIE
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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5a
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TY
GRA |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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5b
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MINY MOE
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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6a
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SCARF
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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6b
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OBESE
OSBERT |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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7a
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KIT KAT
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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7b
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WILY WADE
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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8a
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SLY SETH
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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8b
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REP KILLIAN
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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9a
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MICK
JAGA |
1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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9b
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GHOST LEE
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1
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2018
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MARK
PINGITORE |
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NO.
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CHARACTER CARDS
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SERIES NO.
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YEAR
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ARTIST
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A BIG THANK-YOU TO PING FOR FINAL ARTWORK IMAGES AND
LOGOS
