What: 2022 Topps Garbage Pail Kids X MLB
Arrives: Now via Topps.com
Box basics: One chase card per six-card pack ... or the same format in a five-pack box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: The Garbage Pail Kids have been taken over by the stars of Major League Baseball in a new online release that's a twist on, well, everything.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

Continue reading →

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 it's a little heavier on football as that season is here.

--

AEW ORIGINALS ... AS IN ORIGINAL ARTWORK 
The Cards: Gummy Arts original T206-style drawings (1/1s) for Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, MJF, Powerhouse Hobbs & Sting
The Price: Less than an AEW hobby box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you don't know the work of artist Mike Noren -- aka Gummy Arts -- he's been drawing athletes or memorable pop culture characters in penciled cartoon-style reproductions of past cards or on new creations for years now. You can find constantly updating feeds of his work in timely posts over on Instagram or Twitter and then sometimes those get reproduced and sold as cards in packs. In other instances, he's let the original artwork go, too. Those vanish fast and can be pricey -- actually, his packs can vanish fast, too -- and for years now I've eyed the section of his site for original art (typically $50-80 depending on subject) that made it into cards. I had never found one that was must-have for me -- or at least found a must-have one in stock -- but one day after seeing a tweet of his I did my regular ritual and checked the site to find this set of five T206/Honus Wagner homages in one slightly pricier lot but had to grab them. I had remembered seeing the Rosa online but didn't remember any of these being made into actual cards. It turns out they weren't, so the only thing that exists f0r now (at least when I recently grabbed them) are these originals. Four are top AEW stars while one is an all-time great who has worked for every company ... really a no-brainer for me and I might have paid the typical full price for one or two of these. The Rosa card in a Tijuana jersey and others in their own Wagner-style threads made me laugh, while that Cassidy is not far from spot-on even in Noren's style. Poke around here on The Buzz and you'll see more of these ... just not in 1/1 original art form.
Grab a box right here: AEW cards are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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 box: 2021 Topps 1989 Bowman x Keith Shore baseball cards (Wave 1)
Where to buy: Initially via Topps.com ... BlowoutCards.com (when available)
First Buzz preview/checklist: Click here

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

Continue reading →

What: 2021 Topps 1989 Bowman x Keith Shore baseball cards
Arrives: Wave 1 live now via Topps.com
Box basics: 10 cards per pack
Order: Click here when available

What's buzz-worthy: Artist Keith Shore takes on the 1989 Bowman set -- at least in the pose of the Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card -- with a four-wave set released online beginning today.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: A new MLB drop from Topps, Aaron Rodgers, Luka Doncic, big pulls and "direction of the hobby" for NBA collectors?

Continue reading →

Update (Feb.17): The Project70 cards are now live and in the gallery -- new cards will be added daily after they are revealed.

--

Details are deliberately leaking out -- by some names you should know if you collected baseball cards in 2020 -- for a new artist-field baseball card line coming soon from Topps.

It's Project70 -- a new brand that will revisit past stars and designs in new ways in this year that's the 70th anniversary of Topps' start with baseball cards back in 1951.

The image above -- and then who's involved -- is all that has trickled out so far, but with the launch of 2021 Topps Series 1 coming in a matter of weeks this one should be arriving soon, too.

Continue reading →

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 are some really unique pieces and some normal stuff found over recent months.

--

BETTER THAN A BOX.
The Piece: Sasha Banks 2019 Topps WWE Undisputed original art by Rob Schamberger
The Price: Same as a box of this year's Undisputed cards
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: For the last two years, Topps' Undisputed sets have included a subset showcasing the work of WWE artist Rob Schamberger whose pieces also have been found on countless prints, shirts and more as well as in WWE Canvas 2 Canvas video shorts. How popular is his work? Well, wrestler-signed prints have their own section over at WWE Auction and he also had original card-sized works in last year's Transcendent boxes -- and this year's Undisputed set has his autographs as one of its chases. One card from last year's set that got my attention upon arrival was the Banks, which I even submitted for grading and I hadn't really thought about that one until just recently with this year's new set. What popped up? Well, he launched his new website, Schamberger Labs, where collectors can find prints, original pieces and more and that's where I found this original. For months now, I had been eyeing an original watercolor/ink piece to showcase here (story perhaps to come later ... if I do grab that one) but with the new site announcement one recent morning I checked things out and was shocked to see this original. (His photo is above since it's too large for me to photograph well.) I hadn't really imagined any art from this set ever being available but I grabbed it with little hesitation. I figured these pieces might be locked away in Topps' or WWE's possession given the card presence, but, no, the Banks and a handful of other pieces were up for grabs. (Some are still there.) These 11-by-15 pieces aren't overwhelmingly large to manage -- mine is in a photo top-loader for now -- and there's a strong chance I'll display it at some point, though I never really display any of my buys. (Well, beyond showing them off here.) This was one of my favorite finds of the year ... and it's been a good year (of shopping at home).
Grab a box right here: 2020 Topps WWE Undisputed

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →

The Topps Project 2020 baseball card of Ken Griffey Jr. that you see here has obliterated the sales records for the company's online offering of 20 memorable baseball cards re-imagined by 20 different artists.

This creation from artist Keith Shore -- a re-do of Junior's 1989 Topps Traded Rookie Card -- sold a record 99,177 copies in just two days, obliterating the previous high of 34,950 sold for one of the Mike Trout cards earlier this spring. (See all past cards in the series here.)

With today's numbers finally revealed, the overall volume of cards sold in this ongoing series has surpassed the half-million mark (650,102) less than a fourth of the way into its release -- two cards are offered every weekday via Topps.com until all 400 are done. Meanwhile, the re-sale prices on a number of these cards have reached into the thousands of dollars (despite having an original price of just $19.99) -- and that's left people pondering the possibilities of what happens when pop art meets the pop of the bat.

It doesn't hurt here that artists are often their own best marketers, right?

"Absolutely. The goal of Project 2020 was to appeal to the fans of the artists," said Jeff Heckman, Topps' Director of E-commerce. "Therefore the social media presence of the artist was an important factor in choosing the artist. We wanted the artists to have fun with the Project and engage with their community. So far, the engagement and interactions with the artists has been amazing."

Heckman fielded a number of other questions about Project 2020 ... keep reading for an exclusive Q&A.

Continue reading →

What happens when Topps selects 20 artists to re-imagine 20 iconic baseball cards from the past?

A new set called Topps Project 2020. 

The first two cards arrived today with Ichiro Suzuki's 2001 Topps Rookie Card and Sandy Koufax's 1955 Topps Rookie Card getting the nod from artists Ben Baller and Jacob Rochester.

How does it work? Keep reading for the details.

Continue reading →