Gory Gear: Bodybag Trading Cards

“…the badly decomposed bodies of 12 women were found in the crawlspace…”

“Scattered throughout…were the dismembered bodies of 7 local children…”

“The headless body of an unidentified female was found on a set of railroad tracks…”

“Her left arm was completely severed from her body.”

“The unknown assailant used a chainsaw to dismember both of the girls.”

“She had been bludgeoned to death with a lead pipe…”

“A large, gaping slash ran across her mouth, believed to have been inflicted with a straight razor.”

“…suffocated with a shower curtain and stabbed 27 times in the face with an icepick…”

“She had been beaten so severely that the back of her skull cracked open like a melon.”

These graphic quotes are taken directly from mock crime stories featured in Troy Holbrook’s Bodybag Trading Cards. Despite how shocking the stories on the cards are, the photographs are even more disturbing. They feature the grisly remains of the victims in stark black and white. The black and white photographs, just like the story, aren’t real…but they definitely look very realistic!

Creator Troy Holbrook not only came up with the overall concept for the cards, but he also did the special FX, the photography and the actual writing of the fictional crime stories featured on the back of the trading cards. The results clearly demonstrate his skill and passion in all three areas.

First of all, the special makeup effects are the most striking aspects of the cards. Everything from the blood running down the models’ faces to the cuts, disfigurements, bruises, etc. looks extremely realistic! The gore is so incredibly life-like that it only adds to the illusion that the photographs are real. One headless corpse in particular will make you do a double take!

Secondly, the stark black and white photography significantly heightens the realism of the trading cards. It’s easy to imagine the photographs as crime scene photos from police archives. Holbrook has captured truly horrified emotions on his models’ faces. He also sets up his photographs in a way that ensures the models are never exploited. Though nudity is shown, it’s never in a titillating way, but rather in a cold, clinical way much like crime photography the cards emulate.

Thirdly, the stories on the back of the cards pull everything together and tell us a story about the visceral photographs on the front. The stories themselves are realistically written, including names and ages of the deceased along with locations of the crimes. The small details and the matter-of-fact way the stories are written lend credence to the realistic tone the trading cards have. In fact, I had to actually contact Troy and ask him if the stories were actually pulled from headlines or if they were all made-up. He assured me that they were fictional accounts that he himself had come up with for the trading cards.

This is the first edition of the Bodybag Trading Cards, and they include 15 high-quality trading cards. The cards themselves are very thick and are UV coated on the back and front. They are an amazing set of trading cards that vividly depict the murder victims of mock serial killers.

If you’re a serial killer buff like me, there is no doubt you will enjoy these startling trading cards. Fellow fiends of the macabre will be tickled blood red by these grisly depictions of mock murders and horrific crimes!

Get yours today at www.bodybagtradingcards.com!