A flurry of activity lay in store for the hobby throughout the new year. In hindsight, such buoyancy seems remarkable considering the times, but our industry reflected the country's resiliency and determination. Now, here are NSU's top features:

Optimism ruled the industry as manufacturers geared up for 2002. Topps fanned collector enthusiasm by forecasting big budget releases Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones and, later, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Rittenhouse Archives would further build its sci-fi card catalog with Complete Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise Sea. 1 along with nurturing its ongoing James Bond affiliation through Die Another Day. Other vigorous firms such as Inkworks, Dynamic Forces, Dart Flipcards and Comic Images all harbored major plans. But amid such spirited endeavors had been an underlying acknowledgement of the new reality.

The 9/11 attacks led America into its first war of the new century. The resulting military action shared few conventions with any previous U.S. conflict. Our hobby's history is replete with war subjects. Some sets became touchstones of the pastime. There exists a direct lineal heritage from Horrors of War to Red Menace, and onward to Civil War News and Battle. The Desert Storm sets of 1991 aided in ushering in the modern era of collecting. But with the wolves seemingly at our front door, any 9/11 set smacked of opportunism. Topps' Enduring Freedom effectively silenced critics with an objective view of that autumn Tuesday morning and the preparations for a new kind of war.

Renowned artist Joe Jusko produced an electrifying image of Captain America saluting fallen members of New York's police and fire departments. It had been a time of pulling together in one direction. Topps donated proceeds of Enduring Freedom and the decal issue United We Stand to the Twin Towers Fund and the USO. Every other non-sport firm in some fashion followed suit. Inkworks, which published American Pride stickers that November, donated its profits to the American Red Cross Liberty Fund. Dynamic Forces worked to connect illustrators such as Jusko and dozens of comic book artists with charitable organizations that included New York's Police and Fireman's Widows and Orphans.

Stargate SG-1 had been a reliable ratings generator for cable television networks, a generous revenue source for MGM and a dependable non-sport license for Rittenhouse Archives. Season 4 allowed full coverage of a year's worth of Stargate episodes. (Rittenhouse's previous Premiere edition focused on the series' first three seasons and included a signature card of lead actor Dean Anderson.) Nine autographs packed out in the new release along with seven costume cards. Two different SketchaFEX cards created by artist John Czop augmented three other insert levels.

Six years had elapsed since Top Cow Productions debuted Witchblade, an international smash hit comic book series laden with a superstructure of mythos and an ever-expanding timeline featuring historical and contemporary characters. Numerous women, from antiquity through future epochs, have been bearers of the jewel-encrusted gauntlet. Dynamic Forces captured them all in the artistic gem Witchblade: Disciples of the Blade. A reported 28 illustrators contributed works for the 72-card base, topped off with nine pack-inserted artist signature cards and roughly 2,000 sketch cards.