Trading Card Tuesday: The Raptor

Y’all—

Welcome back to our special Villains Takeover edition of Trading Card Tuesday! Throughout October, we’ll be bringing some of the most nefarious characters in the Omniverse straight to your inbox!

And you’d better buckle up, gentle readers, because this week sees the return of the eternal evil known as The Raptor. If you’re new to the Omniverse or need a refresher on this killer creep, be sure to check out his first appearance here on Substack:

We were blown away by your response to Hecate last week! Thank you to everyone who commented and sent messages. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that we’ve received some really great questions from you about The Omniverse and our trading card series, and we’ll be working up our first fan correspondence feature before the end of 2023. If you have a question, comment, fan theory, or joke you’d like to send our way, write thenewfuturists@gmail.com or just respond to this email! Please include “Omniverse” in the subject and if you’re okay with your letter being included in a future installment of a fan letters feature please indicate “OKAY TO PRINT.”

One last piece of business: last Tuesday we introduced a poll to ask our awesome readers which character you’d like to learn more about. Luis and I left one spot open in our first set of trading cards and we want YOU to choose the character we feature. Well, ain’t it just like democracy: we had a tie! All of the contenders received a healthy number of votes but American Spirit (2045) and The Serpent (1983) were deadlocked. So it’s time for a runoff vote! Who will come out on top— America’s high-flying hero or the vengeful viper of New Cawkaigne? The new poll will be open until Tuesday, October 17th!

Best wishes to all of you for another chilling week! We’ll see you back here on Tuesday, October 24th for our next Trading Card Tuesday! Until then, please open the door and let the Raptor into your heart…

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2019 – THE RAPTOR

Ben and I talked about The Raptor always looking very dapper and well- dressed. He is “attuned to fashion”, as Ben stated. He may be a terrifying psychopath, but he always has time to figure out his killer sense of style. The 2019 film Joker was a point of reference for this era with its ambiguous late 70’s early 80’s grimy aesthetic that I knew I wanted to pull from. Raptor has been alive for over a century at this point, so I definitely wanted him to have a laid-back vibe and a more casual attitude, especially now with his new powers. He’s been doing this for decades. He’s got this. He can travel anywhere in an instant. Just give him a sec to grab his coat and he’ll be right there. I took a look at a fashion line called Etro that Ben had mentioned and really found myself drawn to that look. I think it worked well with where the character is in 2019. I think Raptor at this point of his life just likes a good long coat.

- Luis Valero-Suarez

Am I in my long coat era (flag for follow-up)?

Okay, so I love stylish villains. There’s something incredibly campy but also diabolical about making sure your fit is on point before going to do some crime. I definitely referenced Etro and Dries Van Noten in my initial description of The Raptor’s taste in the 2010s. I’m absolutely gooped by the inspirations Luis drew from those labels. The bold patterns coupled with the brash colors capture a killer dandy vibe. I also really dig the floppy fashion boy hair. In talking with Luis about the Raptor, his lewks, and his powers, I got really excited to tell a longer story with this character. Who’s ready for the tale of the 2019 Halloween Massacre?

In designing the layout for our “digital age” (2001-2025), I was struck by how minimal many of the contemporary superhero trading cards are. Borders seem to be out of style. Branding is front and center, but text isn’t very prominent. I wanted to draw on the color scheme that Luis used to bring the Raptor’s teleportation powers to life as a means of keeping the design elements as unobtrusive as possible. Overall, I have to say I dig the current trend that emphasizes the character art.

—Ben Bolling

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