Book It, Buzz: Kumar's ink with cash left over for White Castle

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? Actor Kal Penn.

THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: You Can't Be Serious 
The Author: Kal Penn
The Specs: Gallery Books on Nov. 2, 2021 (384 pages)
The Price: $14 ($28 cover price)
The Spot: Booksamillion.com

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You probably know him best from the Harold & Kumar movies -- I know I do -- but Penn has a lot of credits on big-name TV shows and then other films. Among them? Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, ER, NYPD Blue, Van Wilder, Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, Malibu's Most Wanted, 24, Law & Order SVU, House, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Designated Survivor, Superman Returns and plenty more. Despite all of those roles, I don't think he has a certified auto card. In fact, I can only think of a single card appearance at all ... so this was an easy one to grab for the cost to add a newer name to the autograph stash in what is a collection of short stories from his life.

Why this item: This being in a slasher sale made it an easy grab. Unless he's done signings, your only other option would be signed items with third-party authentication.

Chase ink on cards: None that I know of -- his only standard card that I know of is in the role of "Stanford" in 2006 Topps Superman Returns. (There could easily be others in the non-sports realm but I haven't run across them -- a lot of sets I have not explored and franchises he had a role in have had cards.)

The Bottom Line: A big name added to the stash on the cheap works for me.

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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