NEW YORK — What do baseball players, Pokemon monsters and terrorists have in common?
They’re all featured in trading cards.
A brand new line of “Anti-Terrorist Trading Cards” hit the market just before the holidays.
While suspected terrorists make up the lion’s share of the cards, the series also features U.S. leaders and weapons, forms of biological warfare, heroes and symbols such as rescue workers, the White House and the Statue of Liberty.
Detractors say the cards’ creators just want to make a quick buck off the Sept. 11 terror attacks. But one of the cards’ creators, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he designed them to disseminate accurate information about suspected terrorists.
“For me it’s strictly to get the information out,” said the creator, who is Jewish and has family in Israel. Because of their high production cost and relatively low price, “the cards won’t have a high profit margin,” he said.
The series categorizes Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat as a suspected terrorist. He is “a confirmed murderer,” said the creator.
“This man has shaken hands with our president. It’s not something I think should be happening. So by putting their names on these cards we’re just letting people know that we think they are terrorists.”
Arafat’s is one of 42 cards in the “suspected terrorist” category, but it’s the one featured on the company’s Web site, www.terroristtradingcardcentral.com
This is not the only series of trading cards related to Sept. 11 on the market.
Topps, an established company, has released a series titled “Enduring Freedom.” But the Topps series emphasizes U.S. military and political leaders rather than terrorists. In fact, Osama bin Laden is the only terrorist in the series.
Topps does include Arafat, but in its “The World Supports America” section, where Arafat is shown giving blood “for the Americans.”
To depict him “as anything other than a terrorist is a lie,” countered the upstart creator, adding that hearing about the Topps card reinforces his belief that his own cards are badly needed.
So far, business has been slow. The company has done little advertising, and its Web site, which is the sole method of distribution, has received 500 hits and one order since its launch in late November.
The cards’ creator remains hopeful, however.
Meanwhile, he focuses on his mission: “I’m going to get the American people interested and get them angry at the right people.”