Upper Deck 2023-24 DC Annual Trading Card Checklist and Review

Your one-stop for all things DC as we review the newest release from Upper Deck - 2023/24 DC Annual !!

Whether it is Marvel or DC, the Upper Deck Annual sets have always been nice introductory collections with a small-ish sized base set with tons of parallels and inserts, all at a reasonable cost. Upper Deck's foray into the DC Universe is no different.  

The Characters

As you would expect, the best of the best are found in this set, including Superman, Batman, the Joker, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Harley Quinn and Nightwing. You can see the entire checklist below to ensure that your PC character has enough cards worth collecting from this set. 

DC fans, however, may be upset to find out that certain characters are absent from this release. Darkseid, Cyclone, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow and Two-Face didn't make the cut this go around. 

Overall, I think the variety of characters is exciting, but we would definitely have swapped out some lower tier names (Onomatopoeia, King Shark, Killer Moth, The Drummer, etc) for some of those missing. 

The Art

Feel free to see for yourself below, but the art in this set is very good and part of the reason opening these packs is exciting. While not on par with Masterpieces or some other upper-echelon sets, DC Annual is also not priced to compete with those premium sets. 

Interestingly, some less-known character cards are truly made by the fantastic art. Some of these include Ravager, Zealot, and Ghost-Maker who literally looks like DC's version of Moon Knight. 

Perhaps the most fun and crazy art can be found in the Knight Terrors insert set which we will discuss below. Definitely providing some DC Horror vibes!!!

The Inserts

There are some wonderful insert sets (and plenty of them!) in DC Annual. Some of our favorites include the Knight Terrors, providing DC Horror vibes! Each card gets wilder and just when you think you've collected them all, don't forget there are Red Parallel /199 and Green Parallel /99 versions too!! And of course the 1/1 printing plates in black, cyan, magenta, and yellow (Ugh!).

Outside of the auto and sketch cards, the Premieres ( /99 ) cards, and the tiered Suspended Animation and TITAN Lenticular sets, every other insert set has numbered parallel versions in addition to the base insert set. 

The Parallels

We have already touched on just how many serial numbered parallel cards there are in the DC Annual release many times over. The base set alone has:

Blue Parallel 1:1 (blaster), Variant Cover 1:3 packs, Silver Sparkle Parallel 1:4 packs, Green Parallel /499, Gold Linearity Parallel /88, Hologram Parallel /24, Crystal Clear (Plexi) Parallel /10, Purple Diamond Parallel 1/1.

Printing Plates /4, Hologram Printing Plates /4, Silver Sparkle Printing Plates /4

Similarly, the insert sets have parallel versions as we discussed above. 

The parallel cards add that much needed sense of limited supply and pulling that card worth that extra $. So needless to say, choose your favorites and best of luck!

.....

Let's be clear here - despite its entry level pricing - I challenge that no one will ever successfully complete the ENTIRE DC Annual set. There are just too many inserts, numbered parallels, and so many 1/1 card opportunities. So, set your expectations accordingly. Choose your PC character(s), decide on your favorite insert sets (we love Knight Terrors and Dawn of DC), and happy hunting your numbered parallels! Who knows, hopefully a coveted autograph or 1/1 will end up in your collection too by the end of it all!

Happy Collecting,

Philly Cards & Comics

2023-24 DC ANNUAL CHECKLIST:

BASE CARDS