Book It, Buzz: Adding a comedy great for less than $10

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Comedian and actor George Lopez.

THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: ChupaCarter (autographed edition via publisher)
The Authors: George Lopez & Ryan Calejo (with illustrations by Santy Gutierrez)
The Specs: Penguin Young Readers Group -- released on Nov. 25, 2022 (272 pages)
The Price: $8.49 on sale ($16.99 cover price)
The Spot: Barnes & Noble (no longer on sale but still available signed)

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you've turned on a TV in the last 30 years, you've likely seen Lopez somewhere in standup comedy specials, movies or one of his past eponymous TV series. He's been busy -- also in there are producer and writer roles -- and he's even got three Grammy nominations (for his comedy albums) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to show for it along with his many credits.

Why this item: One thing you might not know is that he's written about a half-dozen books over the years and this was the first in a series that's up to four volumes (at least as of this July when the newest arrives) with each bringing some stories from his childhood and other tales from Latinx lore woven together with the help of award-winning children's author Ryan Calejo. It's an easy way to land an auto here of a pretty big name in pop culture over the years, though it's not a cover that shows the star. For this price, it was an easy addition.

Chase ink on cards: One might not realize it, but Lopez does have some trading card appearances, including about 50 different certified autographs. He's got a spot in 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter with all the parallels and stuff to chase there as is the norm in that brand as well as inked cards in 2020 Leaf Metal Pop Century where almost everything is a handful of copies per card (under /10). His easiest cards are /50 and /35 ... so not a lot ultimately out there -- and all of the Pop cards are sticker autos. Asking prices on those are often $30 and up and actual sales are $20 and up. Recent sales of his Ginter autos on eBay are $30 and $60 with asking prices of $100 and up on the few out there. He also has either regularly signed his base cards there for people or done private signings -- prices on those are similar if slabbed by third-party authenticators.

The Bottom Line: Would I pony up for for a certified card? Probably not -- I collect too much stuff to go too high -- but this was an easy non-card pickup to add some variety to the ol' autograph collection for less than $10.

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