KISS will go down in history as one of the best bands ever when it comes to marketing and putting on a show. Part of their early merchandising blitz included trading cards. 1978 Donruss KISS is split between two series. And while it’s simple on the surface, things are a little more complicated for completists.
1978 Donruss KISS trading cards has a 132-card checklist, 66 for each series. Donruss was making a big push with music cards at the time, releasing sets for Elvis Presley and the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band around the same time. The design of the KISS set is very similar to the Elvis set. Card fronts have a large photo surrounded by a thin, somewhat ornate border. The card number is in the bottom corner of the card. Running along the bottom is a line of copyright info. Cards have no captions.
Most card backs double as puzzle pieces, although a handful have short bios.
1978 Donruss KISS gets a little more complicated with 19 variations that were added to the mix later down the road. When Peter Criss left the band, his cards were replaced with ones featuring new drummer Eric Carr. It also meant some cards have the same front but different backs to created an updated puzzle. These variations are not
available in regularly marked packs though. They came in generic entertainment packs that came in Donruss Fun Bags. These repackaged bags come with a mix of sports and entertainment cards. Sports packs are visible, but non-sport cards are not. This makes tracking down the appropriate Fun Bags tough. Understandably, 1978 Donruss KISS variations command a premium.