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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DOGPOOL'S DEBUT
The Book: Prelude To Deadpool Corps No. 3 -- first Dogpool appearance
The Price: Under $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was an impulse/curiosity buy once I saw Dogpool -- a character that I'm admittedly not that familiar with -- on this cover of Empire in advance of the Deadpool & Wolverine movie to come as well as in a preview trailer. Why? Well, one reason I grabbed this was that the lone graded copy of this book on eBay at that time had an asking price of $400-plus. While I know that's high, you never know what people might grab if the that pup steals the show or at least picks up some headlines alongside Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds when this one hits. (Weird thing have happened with Baby Yoda and Star Wars' Porgs in recent years.) This comic cover isn't exactly the same as what we're getting on the big screen dog-wise, but with the movie figuring to generate a lot of buzz and perhaps include a lot of cameos I've been looking at stuff here and there ... and I really need to go find that magazine, too. It's actually got higher asking prices on eBay than this book and has sold for more than $20. (It's a UK mag ... so it's perhaps not as easily found just yet.) The comic has had CGC 9.8 sales of $85 and $299 in recent months, too, so there's definitely some speculating ... and there should be. This movie will be huge.
Grab a box right here: BlowoutCards.com for non-sports cards

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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It's always about the details -- and this time they spoke to me.

My newest item in this Collecting Game-used series is admittedly not game-used as in game action but it's pretty definitely used in its documented details and is unique ... as in I think it's perhaps the only one of its kind and a first.

It's an MLB Authenticated Alex Avila Detroit Tigers home jersey -- one that's tagged from back in 2009 but didn't get itself an MLBA sticker until after the 2022 season. How did that happen? Well, that's a mystery of its own -- and I can't solve that one -- but what struck me as interesting beyond that year, his first of 13 in MLB, was that uniform number for starters.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and oddly enough it was documented in a different way for the first time tomorrow back in 2009.

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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 ...

THIS IS WHY YOU GRADE ...
The Book: The Amazing Spider-Man #361 -- first full appearance of Carnage (Marvel cards here)
The Reason Graded: As you probably read in a past piece where I previously graded my other newsstand copy of this iconic issue, I have a stash of early 1990s books that are all quite clean as I was picking off stuff from a bookstore without rack damage. I was more of an art fan/collector than a reader -- it was all about art and condition -- and this cover-price pickup came at a time where cards were starting to get too expensive to me in 1992 so I dabbled. I have had this stashed all this time and while the pop report here is heavy for sure ... how many of them can be newsstand 9.8s? I suspect it's a definite minority of that 5,000-some books.
The Grade: CGC 9.8 (Universal)

Reality Check: When I graded my other copy of this its pop was at 20,179 and there have been big gains at 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8. The eBay asking prices on this one for newsstand include $6,999 (not getting hit), $2,500 for a pair, just under $2,200, $2,000 and a bunch down to $750. Not that helpful. Actual eBay sales? Highs around $1,200 down to around $600 ... so definitely still a little all over the place. Recent sales are also still in that range for this key issue. No matter the timing or the price paid ... this is an example of why you grade good stuff. All it cost me $1.25 and grading fees.

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

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Normally with items I've collected for this Collecting Game-used series what you see above is an image of an item in use with definitive photo-matched proof that the item I've found was in Player X's hands on X date.

In this case? Well, this 2014 Topps Alex Avila card shows him with a bat that could be the one I have ... or it may not be. There's no definitive proof here, but the start of the wear and tear on the top of the bat -- cropped off on the card -- that can be seen on this card's original photo taken by MLB Photos' Mark Cunningham on Aug. 3, 2013, in Detroit could be the start of things.

Why do I say could? Like many of Avila's sticks, my bat got used and abused. Like really used and abused. I'm not sure what his routines are or whether his best bats got used for all aspects of play (games and BP) but the bat I landed earlier this year was absolutely mashed -- and it's unlike any I have ever seen in person or have in my stash. It's also a bat that could have survived the off-season, too, based on images I have examined from July 30, 2013, and forward. Why do I say that? Well, that's this merely this bat's born-on factory date.

Keep reading to see the details in this month's CGU piece.

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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 ... and this time around there's some new stuff and some oddball stuff as I'm still waiting on a bunch of pick-ups to arrive.

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A BIGGER DEAL 
The Card: Jasson Dominguez 2020 Bowman wall art (/99)
The Price: $17.50 (after promotional discount)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy's iconic card this year has eluded me beyond a couple of standard Bowman cards I pulled in blasters -- all I really wanted was a clean grading-worthy Chrome, but no -- so I opted for a limited version of a card that's a big deal this year but in bigger form as Topps wall art. This is an 11-by-13 version of the card that Topps sold on its site for $24.99 (sold out) but with a 30 percent discount if you buy three posters of any kind. I opted for this one and some other stuff you'll see here in the coming weeks and months. Will Dominguez pay off for the many chasing him? We'll find out eventually but this one fits into my stash pretty well no matter what as I try to pick off Rookie Cards as wall art -- mostly Heritage but I also include a few other iconic cards.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of these ... but 2020 Bowman can be yours in a few forms here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 box: 2017 Donruss Elite NFL cards (Walmart blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 4
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 20
Base set completion: 
12 of 100 (12 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Rob Gronkowski, Larry Fitzgerald, Joe Flacco, Tyreek Hill, Doug Baldwin, Eli Rogers, T.Y. Hilton, Sammy Watkins, Brandin Cooks, Demaryius Thomas, Sam Bradford, Jeremy Hill

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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 box: 2017 Topps Update baseball cards 
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for nearly all wax formats)

Packs per box: 11 (10 standard plus one medallion pack)
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 101
Base set completion: 
81 of 300 (27 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Corey Seager, Giancarlo Stanton, Francisco Lindor, George Springer, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Stephen Strasburg

Rookie Cards (30) – Notables include Andrew Benintendi, Bradley Zimmer (2), Aaron Judge (no logo), Lewis Brinson, Yulieski Gurriel, Jordan Montgomery

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