When the solicitation for 2012 Topps Prime hit the net a few months back, I was pretty excited for a few different parts of the set. Last year, it was a great way for collectors to have a running shot at a big pull, which made it a very affordable, fun and worthwhile break, and this year, it looks to be similar. On top of that, the design looks to be representative of what something like Triple Threads COULD be, and that is one of the reasons I am thinking of buying in.

My favorite part of the release so far has been the base cards and the base autographs, as the swooping borders and full bleed photography on the fronts are definitely stunning. I love when the player is the focus of the card, and Prime has made it a habit of producing some of the best looking base cards in this regard. I am a huge fan of auto parallels of base cards, and this tactic is definitely en force for this product.

The quad relic autos are also really nice looking, as they  find a way to squeeze on 4 swatches and still have enough room for a good size player picture and sticker. I wish these were on card, making them that much cooler, but its still too early in the year for that. Making the windows different sizes works much better than a straight shot across the bottom, adding some dynamic aesthetic where it would have been boring.

Of all the non base cards, these jumbo relic signatures are definitely my favorite of the set. I absolutely love the way the horizontal card is complemented by the vertical swatch window, which makes the ones out of prominence look downright silly in their hideous appearance.

As for the booklet cards, I think there was an opportunity missed. Where we could have had some really stunning cards that were done in the same vein as the base and quad relics, we instead have ones that dont seem to fit in as well. On the 5 piece, the player is all the way off to the left side, leaving the top blank, where on the 6 piece, they are up at the top. I would have loved to see more of a focus on balancing out the look of the card on both sides so that it doesnt seem so overweight on the player pic part of the book.

Moving onto the non-autograph part of this product, I really think the single player quad relic cards are done extremely well, as the separation works really well with the player in the middle. When you look at the quad player quad relics, it goes completely the opposite way, opting for more of a pizza in the middle, sliced out for each subject on the card.

With a MUUUUUUUCH better chance at pulling the top rookies, I think this product will be a perfect blend of the design work we covet from Topps with the Panini approach to numbering the autographs. Its the best of both worlds for 100 bucks. I have to say this is worth a shot at a box or two.