What: 2024 Topps Star Wars Masterwork trading cards
Arrives: April 16, 2025
Box basics: Four hits in every four-pack hobby box with two autos guaranteed (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' high-end Star Wars brand arrives once again, packing a hit in every box and stars from throughout the galaxy on both film and television.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design, new finds, a big Star Wars Superfractor pull and more.

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1 -- Still reacting to the 2025 Bowman design tease

2 -- Results from six boxes of Cheers cards

3 -- New MLB pulls are here

4 -- A big Star Wars Superfractor pull

5  -- Worth the wait

6 -- Ripping into some Donruss NFL

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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LEGENDARY INK
The Card: Ichiro Suzuki autographed 2001 Topps Rookie Card (BAS 10 auto)
The Price: Not as much as you might think ... but also not that cheap.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Clean copies of this iconic Topps flagship Rookie Card are not easy finds in general with the boxes and sets likely bricked now if they remain unopened -- that means the gloss will be snowy if you're lucky to peel the cards apart at all -- and then the dark green border and high-gloss on soft stock here is always going to be problematic. When I spotted this card among many where Suzuki has signed for literally years (Mill Creek Sports) without a premium price, I bit on this just before his Hall of Fame results hit. (We all knew he was going in ... but I didn't know if his prices were going to rise.) This copy is super clean vs. many cards out there with some very light roughness on maybe one edge and a light touch on the bottom-left corner ... but some of what's seen in my photo is just how the light is reflecting. I generally don't do a ton of bigger buys for my collection, but this one's cost wasn't that much more than some of the hot and plentiful new release hobby boxes. I went with a safe and iconic bet for my (for me) premium spend and went with the sure thing on an iconic card for a living legend. I pulled his ink once from an unlicensed release -- and it was in one of my earliest Making The Grade posts here -- but a signed RC means I'll likely never need to sweat his stuff again. (Might window shop, though, or bite if price is right for a nice certified.) One more fun part of my card? If that label had a simple added line of Beckett/Fanatics witnessed instead of signed for Mill Creek and then slabbed, the price likely would be double what I paid. I wouldn't pay that -- and this one is a win in my book.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading, so here's this month's grading diary.

CLOSE TO PERFECT
The Card: Shohei Ohtani 2018 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Ohtani's historic 2024 season had me assessing all of my cards from my 2018 stash -- mostly lower-end stuff that's heavily graded -- but not graded by me. Why? I don't grade the heavily submitted stuff because a lesser mark wouldn't be as worthy of going through the process and, really, in most instances a card can always be found already graded if it's needed. But, with his 50-50 season being so big, I opted to slab a few basics and this is one that made the cut. The stock used in 2018 is almost as thin as it gets and all that dark ink definitely showcases flaws, but I picked a pair of cards I thought were perfect from my stash and sent them in.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: I don't know where I missed a perfect mark here but I'll still take a 10 ... less than half check in there and I think it's really harder than that -- people are examining their stuff harder before sending them in. The fact that these have checked in as low as a seven show how this one isn't easy sledding when it comes to slabbing. And as for my perfect aspirations? Well, it doesn't exist.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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What: 2024 Topps Star Wars Chrome Black trading cards
Arrives: March 19, 2025
Box basics: One encased autograph in every box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The Topps Chrome Black formula goes intergalactic once again with Star Wars as the formula that has been previously used for Topps' dark line gets some minor tweaks.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2025 Kakawow Aura Disney trading cards
Arrives: March 2025
Box basics: One to four "limited numbered" cards per 10-pack box (10 boxes per case)
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: This international card-maker turns its focus to everything Disney with another massive collection -- more than 1,300 cards across 20 sets this time -- as part of a release that's limited to only 4,000 cases globally.

Keep reading for more info.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 2025 Wild Card Decades "One" trading cards ... two 1980s packs
Where to buy: Click here
First Buzz preview: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Wild Card Decades "One" trading cards ... 21st Century pack
Where to buy: Click here
First Buzz preview: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ... 

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CROSSING HIM OFF 
The Card: Joe Montana autographed 1988 Topps card (BAS slabbed)
The Price: About $65
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Rewind the clock to the early/mid 1990s and Montana is the unquestioned top QB on cardboard with perhaps only a small number of RBs or WRs even coming close to competing with him for popularity on cards. Back then, in a new era of certified autographs from brands such as Pro Line and Classic or mail-order autographed items, there was ink to chase but Montana was never, ever on my radar. Why? Look at that auto ... there's still not much going on there that would have sparked me to pay a premium price for a glorified initialgraph with a slight more added on. Fast-forward to now and the Hall of Famer still has all those rings and all those MVP awards, but he's been surpassed on the stat sheets and cards ... it happens. The 68-year-old has done a lot of signing for Leaf for its releases and buyback brands -- I think this was one from there -- in recent years and it had been on my radar for literally months as I really like the look of many of his 1980s Topps cards. A relatively clean copy with an on-card auto is a no-brainer if the price is right and I got this one for about half of the asking price of man identical copy I'd been watching. All these years later, I can cross Montana off my ink-needed list.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but NFL cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Wild Card Decades "One" trading cards ... 1990s pack
Where to buy: Click here
First Buzz preview: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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What: 2024 Topps Star Wars Hyperspace trading cards
Arrives: Feb. 19, 2025
Box basics: Two autographs per 12-box case -- four serial-numbered parallels per box
Checklist: TBD
Odds: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps takes a planetary approach to Star Wars with "a first-of-its-kind product celebrating the many different planets in the Star Wars Universe." This time? Naboo, Kashyyyk, Hoth, Bespin and Mustafar.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz.

GETTING EVEN BETTER?
The Card: Victor Wembanyama 2023-24 Panini Haunted Hoops -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I'm basically casually ripping at best when it comes to NBA these days -- just can't collect it all at today's prices (and might not want to with that) -- but the holiday-flavored version of Hoops got me to bite a few times since it's got a good volume of stuff in a box and a pair of Wemby RCs on the checklist. Is this a big card in the big scheme of things? Nah, but the printing and cutting here was so clean I knew I needed to grade it. Why?
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: Because this should be the result more often than not as long as the centering is there ... and the stats here show that to be the case roughly half the time. The phenom seems to be getting better with time and once the wax dries up for even stuff like this there could be interesting trends that buck the idea that stuff is overproduced these days -- it is ... but not when there's increased demand for a popular player. I need to scout singles more for this guy and cards I like ... I think there's more potential here over time than people might think based on soft prices for raw cards. (Even if boatloads of his cards are already graded.)

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Wild Card Decades "One" trading cards ... 1980s pack
Where to buy: Click here
First Buzz preview: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Wild Card Decades "One" trading cards ... 21st Century pack
Where to buy: Click here
First Buzz preview: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Continue reading →

What: 2024 Kakawow Cosmos Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary All-Star trading cards
Arrives: Jan. 31, 2025
Box basics: Two to five "limited numbered" cards per 10-pack box (10 boxes per case)
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The international card-maker turns its focus to everything Warner Bros. once again with a massive collection -- more than 3,200 cards across 31 sets this time -- as part of a release that adds to the mix of possible finds, too.

Keep reading for more info.

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What: 2025 Wild Card Decades "One" trading cards
Arrived: Jan. 17, 2025
Box basics: One encased 1/1 autographed card and four other  1/1 encased cards per box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Wild Card offers up its first official Decades release after a preview set last year -- but this time it ups the ante with a 1/1 card in every pack and a 1/1 autograph card in every box.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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What: 2024 Topps Star Wars Galactic Antiquities trading cards
Arrives: Feb. 5, 2025
Box basics: Five autographs and one sketch card per nine-card box
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps ushers in the "new standard of ultra premium for Star Wars trading cards" with a release that includes hits, premium base cards and nods to the past.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2024 Leaf Vivid baseball cards
Arrives: March 2025
Box basics: Five autos per seven-card box (10 per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The third edition of this colorful Leaf line includes some new creations such as a classic combo from the reel world seen above as well as plenty of the stars of the past and present on the field.

Keep reading for more.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

THIS CARD GOT ... NUKED
The Card: Steve Dalkowski 2009 TRISTAR Obak Autographs (unsigned)
The Buzz On This: This one comes from a set that features a lot of minor-league names you know and others you don't -- and in this case, well, you probably know the type of player (check his real, yet unreal, stats) but not this particular card. The back notes the trivia that gets him here -- click here to learn more in The Buzz Archives -- but that's not why I had to have this. This is the card that was planned for Dalkowski as a certified autograph to go into packs but it was never released. Sheets of this released did get out with this and other cards on them, which were then cut down into singles and I had to have it. I had eyed the sheets for a long time but never bit -- storage is just not as easy with uncut sheets.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

THEY'RE BACK ... SOMETIME SOON
The Item: Stranger Things Season 1 Target-exclusive Blu-ray set (2016)
The Reason Bought: How many Netflix series these days get a physical DVD release of any kind? How many get chain store-exclusive variant versions? Not that much of anything TV gets a physical release, really, not at least anywhere near the volumes of the past and that thought, along with the fact that the final season of this franchise is finally dropping sometime this year, got me looking here. I really liked the feel of this DVD set that's made to look like an old 1980s VHS sleeve that's had plenty of wear and tear and I also liked the idea of a graded item with that feel -- one where its actual flaws can blend in well and not stand out as glaring reasons why an item didn't grade higher.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (A+ seal)

Reality Check: There are definitely other* copies of this one graded, but a pop report doesn't yet appear to be live for CGC Home Video (or it was down when I prepped this) and my number didn't come up on the verification search, either. That's OK for me as slabbed movies and games aren't as high on my radar in slabs as cards and magazines in terms of a "commodity" ... these are more the kind of shelf item with maybe some longer-term potential substance to them. To me they're more of a name-your-price novelty -- and, as an aside, I do like CGC's cases a lot more than others in this realm. This was a relatively cheap addition as well -- less than a lot of retail card boxes -- and over time affordable items can build a collection. One scary part? This is not far away from being 10 years old ... time flies.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The boxes: 2014 Topps UK Transformers movies trading cards
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... Click here for newer non-sports cards

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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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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IT'S POGPOOL!
The Books: Deadpool No. 5 (2024) -- Dogpool from Deadpool & Wolverine variant
The Price: About $13 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pair of books came in and went right back out to CGC for slabbing within hours. I may or may not land 9.8s ... but I don't care. I simply needed that movie star in a gimmick slab and I opted to send both as they were clean but perhaps not perfect ... just like Dogpool. Well, they're closer to perfect than Dogpool, but ... I'll have more to say when I get the slabs back. There are a lot of Dogpool books from the past -- and I've noted two previous pick-ups in this series (including his debut) -- but this one is most-tied to the hit movie. If there are more movie covers like this coming -- or they already exist -- they'll get a look from me. In fact, I need to go look after I finish this.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but non-sports cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →

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? Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke but without the Daenerys Targaryen price tag.

Continue reading →

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

STRONG SEASON ... WHAT'S NEXT?
The Card: Juan Soto 2018 Topps 582 Montgomery Club Set 1 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: A big season that came up short of the goal ... but now it's time for a historic payday while still in his mid-20s. Soto's Rookie Cards (2018) aren't all that rare, really, but there's a lot of demand -- but they still might be good buys depending on where he goes next. (Mets? Watch out.) All those thoughts were in mind when I popped this one into a submission earlier this year along with other key names from this small set for Club members. It's not a traditional RC since it's from a small set, but it's still a good Soto to me ... so I slabbed it.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: Top grade of a small volume works for me. I'm sure there will be more and I'm sure the pops are higher elsewhere, but the range of the grades here shows it might not be the easiest kind of card to grade thanks to that retro stock.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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