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.

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What: 2025 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: May 2025
Box basics: Four autographed cards and two 1/1 proofs or printing plates per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release returns once again with some big names in store and a little more to be found in every box.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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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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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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ICONIC ARRIVAL
The Cards: Caitlin Clark 2024 Panini Instant WNBA (All-Rookie Team) -- Rookie Card (/26,980)
The Price: Whatever a 10-pack cost was from Panini
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There's no doubt that Clark owned the WNBA in her rookie year and for most of this year her only pro cardboard came via Instant ... but I passed. Why? I figured I'd wait and see what popped up that I liked in packs -- and then when I opened one of her college career boxes I found interesting stuff but not cards all that slab-worthy with the details for cutting and printing. (Too messy for the risk to me.) As an easy slabbing decision, I grabbed a 10-pack of this card within hours of its arrival online. Why? It's clean and simple -- iconic -- and I knew that I'd want one or two of these in a slab with a high mark. How does that happen? Well, you have to have a few to pick from -- to eliminate obvious flaws like centering or corners -- and in this case three of my 10 might get sent in. The rest were too off-centered for my taste. There were plenty of these made so there's no rush, but it'll happen at some point in 2025.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WNBA cards are here.

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What: 2024 Leaf History Book Pop Culture Edition Chapter 1 trading cards
Arrives: Jan. 10, 2025
Box basics: Two booklet cards per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf offers up nothing but booklet cards from the non-sports realm for this newest release in its History Book brand and it's packing some of the biggest Hollywood names from the past and present -- sometimes in the same booklet.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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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 ... 

MAMI'S HOME ...
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Transcendent WWE (/50) -- Rookie Card
The Price: Less than some of my others ... and less than a new hobby box.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: My lucky No. 13th copy of this RC from a super-deluxe release puts me over the 25-percent mark for stockpiling this card's entire print run and while it was still a pricey pick-up it wasn't my highest one, either. How many more will I find? Not sure ... but I do have a price ceiling, even for this top WWE badass and this badass card. I picked up this one awhile back and it got lost in my shuffle of WWE stuff awaiting a slot here, but since she's back from injury and ready to do some mauling she leads things off this month.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... check out other WWE boxes.

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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: 2002 TVT Records TV Guide 50 All-Time Favorite Themes Soundtrack
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for traditional non-sports cards

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

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What: 2024 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: May
Box basics: Four "premium cards" per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release returns once again with some big booklets, big names and big surprises all in store -- and sometimes all on the same card.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 Leaf Pop Century Decadence trading cards
Arrives: Oct. 27
Box basics: Three framed autographed cards per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf takes its Pop Century brand of non-sports autographs high-end in this debut edition as it meshes chromium-stock autographs with a framed presentation.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 The Bar 1/1 Cut Autographed Edition trading cards
Arrives: May
Box basics: One autographed 1/1 graded/slabbed The Bar creation per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The Bar is back with unique creations in every box this time with a mix of pop culture and historic figures presented with art and autographs.

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What: 2023 Pieces of the Past Art & Music Edition
Arrives: January 2023
Box basics: Two hits per four-pack box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Pieces of the Past once focuses on pop culture with a celebration of artwork from the past and then the names and faces of music and more among more recent years in both cuts, original artwork and more.

Keep reading for more info and a selection of images.

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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: 1991 Starline Hollywood Walk of Fame trading cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

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

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What: 2021 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: October
Box basics: Four autograph or memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release is back for another Metal go with notable names from Hollywood and standouts from other areas of pop culture, too, all in one spot -- and there are some Metaled Pro Set SuperStars MusicCards to be found, too.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2020 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: August
Box basics: Four autograph or memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release is back for another Metal go with notable names from Hollywood and standouts from other areas of pop culture, too, all in one spot.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 5 is here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye. (And this wave was so big that there could easily be five more ... check it out.)

2016 Panini Absolute Football retail Premium Box
At this sale price, this one is definitely worth checking out since last year's rookie crop is stacked and this one includes two exclusive hits -- one blue auto and one blue memorabilia card -- in every box. This one is a simple retail take on a memorabilia-focused favorite of mine and there could be even more retail-only colors found in boxes, too. If those are big names such as Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott -- or any of the other newcomers that are making a mark -- you're way ahead with this price. Either way, it's a fun rip -- and you can grab it by the case, too. 

Keep reading for a few more picks among this newest wave.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 1.

The boxes: 2017 Leaf Pop Century Signed Photograph Edition (two boxes)
The cost: Click here

What's inside these? Keep reading ...

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The Emmy Awards may not have drawn the ratings Sunday night, but the Garbage Pail Kids will make sure that people will be talking about TV.

The 2016 Garbage Pail Kids Prime Slime Awards set is here with 20 stickers of those who were up for honors or watching from the audience as winners came and accepted their awards in typical Hollywood fashion.

Among them? Spoofs of Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson and Amy Schumer to name a few.

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The Upper Deck Gallery's latest offering includes some of the most-iconic characters in recent film history as part of a montage print for a film that would carry the same gravitas.

The film is Pulp Fiction and a pair of prints by artist Dave Perillo are the latest creation from the company in a series of pieces featuring past films and comic book characters.

“I was super excited for the opportunity to work on this project for the Upper Deck Gallery, especially since Pulp Fiction is one of my all-time favorite movies," Perillo said. "It is such a fantastic story filled with so many unique characters. I love how the movie has a retro quality to it without really specifying when it takes place. My goal was to translate that into the print, hopefully doing it justice.”

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