Buzz Buys: Wolverine artwork & ink, Muhammad Ali, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Real World, Mantle ink, sports legends & more

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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WITH CLAWS I
The Card: Wolverine sketch card by Skip Charron -- 2017 Upper Deck Marvel Annual Sketch Cards (1/1)
The Price: $24
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There are a boatload of quality sketch cards out there in the world that seem seriously undervalued right now despite the fact that everything is one of a kind. This one is nice -- a color piece of an iconic character -- but these types of cards are also really the kind of item where one can't say "go grab all of these" as they are one of a kind and they can all be so different between artists and subjects. Why does this one lead off this time? To make that point -- if you can't find boxes, don't like prices on new Rated Rookies who haven't even hit your store shelves yet or just want to try something different ... then you might check out stuff you might not have at this time a year or two ago. That's what I did here.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... see all Marvel boxes here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

STYLISH GRAB
The Card: Shinsuke Nakamura 2019 Topps WWE Transcendent Collection Black Autographs (/5)
The Price: Just under $55
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Japanese star isn't that tough of an autograph to find -- it seems he's signed for pretty much every release since he arrived on WWE cards in 2016 -- but this was a bargain grab awhile back and one where the scarcity of the parallel made it a no-brainer. Since then, the cards from this set seemed to blow up or at least dry up. His autos from this set that are limited to 25 copies have sold for almost this much -- and asking prices on his auto at this volume from the 2020 set are $100 (or more) higher. I was able to pick off a few names I didn't mind from this set before they seemingly dried up but never did find the couple of big names I wanted. Someday ...  
Grab a box right here: Transcendent WWE (all years)

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THE GREAT ONE
The Card: Muhammad Ali 2011 Leaf Metal Ali Material Training Worn Silver Prismatic (/10)
The Price: $25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up came a few months ago when I grabbed a few Ali memorabilia cards on the cheaper side of things only to watch them to dry up as well -- or at least rise in price where I probably wouldn't grab them now. His cards from a few Leaf releases can still be found, but the better ones are getting more expensive and that's translating down to lesser cards. Metal event-worn cards limited to 70 copies have asking prices in the $50 range while other easier ones are $40 and up. I haven't seen any of the versions this rare sell recently, so I feel pretty good about this grab.
Grab a box right here: Other Sports boxes are here (when available)

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WITH CLAWS II
The Card: X-23 Peach Momoko autograph -- 2020 Upper Deck Marvel Anime Red Foil Artist Autograph (/120)
The Price: $11.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This artist from Japan brings a distinct style to Marvel Comics these days as she regularly does variant covers for the company across many titles. In the case of this Marvel card set, she signed a boatload of cards where she did the work bringing various characters to life for the base set -- 120 copies per for 90 cards. That's a lot of ink so you can land her sig on the cheaper side of things most times. I opted for a popular character back closer to when these dropped and found a good price. This same card is pushing $50 out there now based on a quick search. (Other characters not as high.) Her anime-inspired style has quite a distinct feel compared to some of the typical books and some of the art in this set has actually shown up on variant covers, too. I picked this up to have something different in the auto stash but it tuned out to be a better grab than that. 
Grab a box right here: 2020 Upper Deck Marvel Anime

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PROJECT PAIGE
The Card: Satchel Paige 2021 Topps Project70 by King Saladeen (/1,690)
The Price: $19.99 via Topps 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I think I picked this one up as part of a daily bundle but I would have grabbed it on its own either way as it's a colorful and energetic take on a baseball legend who really doesn't have a boatload of cardboard appearances. Topps, for example, has only made about 250 cards for him in all its history. If I could rewind the Project70 clock, I might closely consider a run of his cards.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... MLB boxes are here

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STRONG DEBUT
The Card: Damien Harris 2019 Panini Spectra Monumental Memorabilia Neon Blue (/99)
The Price: Under $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This swatch card was a cheap bargain grab for me probably this time last season but I hadn't had a reason to trot it out until now -- Harris had a pretty solid opening game this season with 100 rushing yards against the Dolphins on Sunday so here we are. I'm a sucker for the thick-stock Spectra cards with this sequin-style texture that looks like the card has several layers of them embedded into the card. Beyond that, I grabbed it since he fits the school ties part of my stash. Harris' autographs will move after good games not so much memorabilia cards like this ... but I still like them here and there.
Grab a box right here: Panini Spectra NFL boxes (all years)

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FROM THE REAL WORLD I
The Card: Judd Winick 2011 Cryptozoic CBLDF Liberty Autographs 
The Price: $13.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you're old enough, you might remember him from The Real World: San Francisco -- the third season back in 1994 where MTV told the true story … of seven strangers … picked to live in a house ... (you know the rest if you know). That reality series really planted the seeds for countless shows since and a number of its past cast members have had other spots in pop culture since -- some with cardboard. Not as many have appeared on certified autograph cards, though. This card comes from a set that helped The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which "is a non-profit organization that comes to the aid of those artists who are threatened by censorship and other legal troubles." Each box included an autograph or sketch card with other signers including Neil Gaiman, Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld and many more creators of note within that biz.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... non-sports boxes are here

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FROM THE REAL WORLD II
The Card: Mallory Snyder 2005 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Autographs 
The Price: $19.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up also is tied to The Real World and is one that I've known about for years but never grabbed -- partly because you simply don't see these cards out in the wild all that often unless they it's from a dedicated non-sports dealer. Heck, this might be the only one I have ever seen from any of the releases from Stellar Collectibles for a few years around this time. Snyder was on The Real World: Paris in 2003 and worked as a model with appearances in the annual issue a couple years before working elsewhere in the industry. Her dad, Todd Snyder, played for the Atlanta Falcons and has a team-released card but nothing else. I thought trivia here was cool enough to pick one up literally years after learning about its existence ... if not a decade. Funny what happens when one can't find enough blaster boxes out there in the wild.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... non-sports boxes are here

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IMPRESSIVE PIECE
The Card: Earl Campbell 2014 Topps Five Star Legends Relics (/25)
The Price: $11.45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This oldschool game-used swatch was interesting enough on its own -- it's vinyl painted on fabric from that looks like the sleeve stripe and it actually might be embedded into the card upside down. It's from a relatively rare premium brand and I had been watching it at probably double that price -- and then I grabbed it when it presented itself cheaper. This is the standard card here and there are no parallels to chase. I really liked the aesthetic of the Five Star NFL stuff from the last couple years and this was the finale. I'd grab a lot more bargain-priced gems from this release if they presented themselves like this one.
Grab a box right here: 2014 Topps Five Star NFL

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A COUPLE OF GREATS
The Cards: Buddy Rogers & Lou Thesz 1983 Wrestling All-Stars Series A 
The Price: Less than $5 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This legendary pair comes from a landmark release -- the last of the three Wrestling All-Stars sets that are essentially the early start of a modern take on wrestling cards. They weren't sold in packs -- these were mail-order sets (1982 Series A and B and then this one) -- and the checklist is loaded with pretty much everybody who would go on to be part of the pop culture explosion that was the 1980s. These two were still around -- Rogers retiring in 1982 and Thesz in 1990 -- but they were big-time legends by the point these arrived. These were ridiculously under-priced with both being bigger cards if graded. (Not easy as they are over-sized.) These not the biggest names in the sets but they are among the bigger ones historically.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... WWE boxes are here

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THE SULTAN OF SWAT
The Card: Babe Ruth 2020 Topps Brooklyn Collection Black (/75)
The Price: $6.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This parallel pick-up features a photo I like to see for the legendary slugger and it's also on the kind of stock that is very friendly for grading in my experience. That and it being a rarer card got me. It was also relatively cheap for a brand that's pricey and doesn't include a bunch of stuff in a box -- a recipe for there being far fewer than 75 copies of this one out there in collections. Will I slab it? It's on my maybe list at the present.
Grab a box right here: 2020 Topps Brooklyn Collection

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GOT MY MANTLE AUTO
The Card: Ryan Mantle 2014 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase Red Autographs (/5)
The Price: $4.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Is he related to Mickey Mantle? Well, I can't tell you for sure -- but it looks like a no -- but what I do know is that a Ryan Mantle who is 10 years younger than this guy played in the minors. He was The Mick's cousin -- his cards say so. This one? Not so much, but he's got certified auto cards. So much for my trivial grab here ... but, hey, I've got a rare Mantle auto now.
Grab a box right here: Leaf Perfect Game (all years)

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HALL OF FAMER INK
The Card: John Hannah 1998 Topps Stars Rookie Reprints Autographs
The Price: $10.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Hannah is one of nine members of the New England Patriots in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he was the first. This is a reprint of his 1974 Topps Rookie Card with some foil and ink attached and it was an easy grab for the price -- it's clean and he's an Alabama guy so that's another reason I picked it off. You can find a lot of football Hall of Famers on autos and memorabilia cards from this timeframe on the cheap side of things -- though those are starting to get (a little) harder to find as people revisit past releases instead of new stuff.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... NFL boxes are here

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OH, BROTHER!
The Cards: Mr. America 2021 Topps WWE Living Set -- five-card bundle
The Price: Direct from Topps ($27.99)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This masked star wasn't around long but he made enough of a mark to appear in the Living Set for July 4 weekend -- and that's something that even Hulk Hogan hasn't yet done. (Or has he?) I grabbed this as it was the first card appearance for Mr. America. Will it be the last? We'll find out when more WWE releases start arriving with past and present stars on the checklist.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... WWE boxes are here

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PRIME PIECE
The Card: Julio Jones 2012 Panini Black Friday Breast Cancer Awareness Relics
The Price: $4.45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Alabama guy hit my stash on this card this time since it's a cheap mem option with a cool swatch from the heart of the football -- that's part of the Wilson logo branding. The price was right and these promo pack cards won't remain as plentiful out there in the wild compared to the regular stuff.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but promo packs are here

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TOOK TIME TO FIND
The Photo: Rene Russo 1989 Major League promotional press kit photo 
The Price: $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a single press kit photo from the memorable baseball comedy Major League and, for whatever reason, it's an image that I had not landed in years of casually looking. Why? Well, apparently this one wasn't included in many of the kits of photos that were sent to newspaper sports departments to promote the film. (Makes sense to a degree as she's not in a uniform?) But it was in other versions of the kits sent out. I've never had one until now despite owning perhaps five other kits of at least two varieties with differently focused info and images. Go figure. Nowadays, stuff is all just done digitally ... so you won't find these collectibles for newer releases.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... MLB boxes are here

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PROMO VERSION
The Card: Barry Sanders 1991 Upper Deck Promo
The Price: $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If this card doesn't look right, that's because that's not the image used on his card in the first UD NFL set. This promo card, for whatever reason, has a better image than the standard card and it's one that I've always wanted to track down and maybe slab. They aren't all that expensive but finding clean copies with today's grading standard in mind can be tough. There are other more memorable promos from a few sets around this time that are probably more popular, but I'm a sucker for circa 1990 NFL in a lot of ways and Barry Sanders cards can often be right in there.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... NFL boxes are here

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MAT APPEAL
The Card: Alistair Overeem 2013 Topps UFC Finest Fight Mat Jumbo Relic
The Price: Under $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Just as I did last month, this is another jumbo Relic from a UFC event where you can see exactly where it came from with a little research. The back of the card tells us that it comes from UFC 156 and then this photo shows us all -- that it's from the Xyience xenergy logo's bar code that the fighter is right above in that image. Well, that one or the other version of the logo across the Octagon. The stripes on this card are too narrow to be anything else. For the price, I liked this card.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but UFC boxes are here

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BIG DEAL
The Card: Walt Frazier 1976-77 Topps 
The Price: $11
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'm not sure I was thinking on this vintage pick-up for the price, but it is a very, very clean copy of a Hall of Famer's card from a set that is not the norm and that directly affects condition. (Too bad I didn't notice that bottom-right corner issue.) These cards are oversized -- 5.25 by 3.125 inches -- and that made them hard to store if they were even cut cleanly via Topps and survived packaging and handling before getting into fans' hands. This one is still nice but that corner nixed any oversized-slab plans (though the realities of grading right now in any size didn't help) that I had here.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but NBA boxes are here

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BEFORE PROJECT70
The Card: Brittney Palmer 2010 Leaf MMA -- Rookie Card?
The Price: Around $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Project70 artist has appeared on cardboard since 2010 thanks to her work for UFC and in 2010 she appeared on both Topps and Leaf cards. More than half of her cards in that first year are autographs. The rest? Well, all but one are memorabilia cards and this appears to be her only standard card from that year. So ... technically it's a Rookie Card but for whatever reason some out there say it's not. (She didn't have a standard-set card otherwise until 2011 Topps UFC Moment of Truth.) Some might prefer the official UFC stuff ... but this card was first and it was in packs amidst other MMA stars in the base set.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but UFC boxes are here

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A PROOF STRIP
The Item: 1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Extra Edition (un-numbered) parallel card strip (Kenny Lofton, Andy Pettitte, Tom Glavine, J.T. Snow, Sandy Alomar Jr.)
The Price: $2.49
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This just screams 1990s to me with the player selection and it's an interesting card strip as these are un-numbered copies of parallels that are typically limited to 250 copies. For the price, I liked this one as a novelty grab with its only challenge being storage. I think I tucked it into the back of a top-loader with some other flats. I'd like to be able to find some particular stars I collect here but just finding oddball items like this can be challenge enough. The value, over time, will come with player collectors seeking their guy on a unique item.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... MLB boxes are here

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