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 ... and it's one of my biggest groupings ever.

RARER THAN RARE ...
The Book: Batman No. 457 -- second-print newsstand edition
The Reason Graded: This one is why you grade. Why? Well this book is more than obscure ... it's obscure on top of obscure with a pop report that shows that in a couple ways. I had this sitting in a junk box of books -- comics bagged in bulk with others taped shut in between a couple boards -- since the late 1990s with it having absolutely no thought in my mind for that time. When I opened up the bag, though, I remembered its cool cover -- that's why I saved it -- and in the here and now it's an example of how the grading world has changed a lot of stuff. It wasn't popular back in the day and that makes it more valuable (potentially) now. What is it? It's a second printing of a newsstand copy for an issue that had the debut of a key character, Tim Drake as Robin. The regular edition of this book has been graded almost 1,400 times -- actually still a modest number for the era -- but a newsstand copy is something else. And a second-printed newsstand copy? Nobody wanted that. How many could have even been made and how many went unsold or were trashed? There's some mystery there as with a lot of things but the pop report talks.
The Grade: CGC 9.8 (Universal)

Reality Check: Just four copies of the 78 graded have checked in at my mark -- not bad considering I got this in some Sears catalog mystery box with like 25 comics for $10 back in the early 1990s. It wasn't a really impressive buy at all at that time -- a lot of stuff that just wasn't appealing or was later printings and I'm betting some of them were pitched or given away. Nobody wanted that then. But now? The numbers game and speculation has people on eBay sellers challenging the market. A 9.6 -- with twice as many copies as this one in existence -- has an eBay asking price of ... well just see it for yourself. It's not alone, either, as a 8.5 checks in with an asking of $3,800, an 8.0 checks in at $3,500 and a 6.5 is $1,499. Other versions (first print direct and newsstand) are cheaper along with direct second prints as they've all got far higher pop reports. People like the easier versions a lot -- eBay highs as much as $255 but not for this one -- and who knows where the other three 9.8s might even be? What might mine command? I'm not sure ... but I know this is pretty solid potential for something that was pocket change from years ago. Again, this is why you grade.

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

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What: 2022 Topps Rip baseball cards
Arrives: Now via Topps.com
Box basics: Four Rip Cards per box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Rip Cards are back with a shot at notable ink as a part of the chase -- ink you might recognize with nods to important cards from the recent past -- as well as minis that are inside the cards if you dare to tear.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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: 582 Montgomery Club is coming back, NFL Week 13, new pulls and more.

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Group breaks have been a game-changer for the card industry for several years now and from time to time Buzz will jump into a BlowoutTV break of some type and break down the results of what he landed by picking up a team. There are near-daily breaks right here with Matt on Blowout TV during weekday working hours and even more from Houdini and others over on the forum in the evening.

Now, it's time for this post's break breakdown -- a spot in an MLB mixer with some vintage flair.

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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: NFL chatter, collecting USA Football, new pulls and more in today's edition.

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Processing is already under way for collectors cashing in, and the Blowout Cards store credit is already flowing for those who were lucky enough to find the MVPs in packs of 2022 Topps Chrome as part of the Topps MVP Buyback Promotion that began on Saturday.

Wait, what? 

Well, in case you missed out on the big reveal last week, Topps is buying back copies of Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt cards from 2022 Topps Chrome -- even base cards can get you $20 apiece and you can land more credit if you land better copies of their cards.

The cash-in is for store credit via Blowout Cards and it's good for Judge and Goldy cards from Chrome as well as its Logofractor Edition. It also will be in play when the 2022 Topps Chrome Sonic set drops in February.

How does it work? Submit cards to Blowout with the detailed instructions at this link. It will run until March 31, 2023, when a new baseball season begins.

Keep reading for even more details or if you have questions.

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What: 2022 Topps 1952 Topps by Naturel baseball cards
Arrives: Now via Topps.com (ships in February)
Box basics: One encased art card and one six-card pack per box ... or one encased art card and five six-card packs with one exclusive foil parallel per Collectors Edition box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: The legendary trivia of 1952 Topps being dumped to the ocean floor lives on along with some new takes on the classic old design using today's superstars all in one spot using the artistic vision of Naturel.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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: Scouting Cyber Monday deals, NFL Week 13, retired MLB players who need to sign again, 2022 Bowman Chrome and more ...

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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: NFL and soccer chatter, a question for college fans, an autograph mystery and some new breaks.

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If you found the MVPs in packs of 2022 Topps Chrome, you have a buyer.

That's because Topps is buying back copies of Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt cards from the set as part of the Topps MVP Buyback Promotion that begins on Saturday.

The program lets you can cash in for store credit at your local card shop or via Blowout Cards if you don't have one and it's good for cards from standard Chrome release as well as the Logofractor Edition and the 2022 Topps Chrome Sonic set coming in February 2023.

It will run until March 31, 2023, when a new baseball season begins. It's part of a Small Business Saturday effort from the company -- a move to help out all of the card shops around the country as well as spark even more interest from collectors.

Keep reading for the full details.

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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: Scouting Black Friday deals, World Cup, NFL chatter, Zach Wilson, Topps MVP Buyback Promotion and more in today's edition.

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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: Pro Football Hall of Fame, scouting Black November, new pulls, MLB chatter, NFL Week 12 and, of course, the Topps MVP Buyback Promotion.

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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: World Cup, soccer breaks, NFL Week 12, new NBA and NLB cards and some non-sports, too.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as Blowout Cards' Black November sales have arrived this year.

The latest waves are here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz once again had to ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five that caught this collector’s eye ... and there's far more that just might suit your tastes in the big sale.

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CHASING AARON JUDGE INK ...
2014 Bowman Inception MLB
First, I'll mention with my picks here that I do my shopping mostly on the traditional low-end to the mid-range stuff in the not-so-distant past -- so a box like this might be closer to my high-end of things when it comes to risk factor ... but a rough box here will still give you nothing but autographs. The biggest names her? Aaron Judge, Byron Buxton, Julio Urias, Kris Bryant, Xander Bogearts, Carlos Correa, Noah Syndergaard, Jose Abreu, Nick Castellanos, George Springer and many others who are still around the bigs (and some who are definitely not). There are a lot of parallels in play here, too, with some other stuff like printing plates, dual-auto cards, patch autos and even booklets. But if you land Aaron Judge he pays for the box ... and maybe more if it's a rarer version. Every box includes five cards -- five shots at him and other names here ... and they weren't short-printed signers back then, either.

Keep reading for a few more boxes you should consider (and are likely to end up in Buzz's cart).

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What: 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards
Arrives: Now via Topps.com for 582 Montgomery Club members
Box basics: One autograph every 18-pack box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Allen & Ginter X arrives once again for the fans of the darker shade of tobacco cards -- every card is black here instead of the traditional A&G white -- for yet another season.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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: 2022 Topps Now Postseason Atlanta Braves team set
Where to buy: Sold via Topps ... BlowoutCards.com for other MLB

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

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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: Collecting J-Rod autos, World Cup, MLB breaks, teams that cost more, "hobby good" and more.

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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: NFL Week 11, the World Cup, NBA chatter, Bob Dylan's autopenned books, custom non-sports autos and new MLB pulls in this Monday edition.

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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: NFL Week 11 chatter, AEW puts on a show, MLB breaks and chatter, comics and inside nine CASES of Prizm World Cup.

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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: The World Cup is coming, NFL Week 11, a one-and-done box, MLB chatter and more.

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Nice serial-number there ...

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: The 2022 Bowman Chrome checklist, scouting Black November, new MLB breaks, AL MVP and more.

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What: 2022 Topps Chrome Update baseball cards
Arrives: Dec. 14
Box basics: 24 packs per box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Chrome Update will drop via both retail (Target) and hobby channels this year -- and it's coming next month with all those top rookies and more waiting to be found.

Keep reading for more and a gallery 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: 2022 Topps Update baseball cards (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview/checklist: Click here

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

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What: 2022 Topps Black & White baseball cards
Arrives: Now via Topps.com
Box basics: Two parallels and three inserts per 30-card box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Black & White arrives once again with a lineup of just 100 base cards and parallels where color is the chase.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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: An Allen & Ginter case over-delivers, new pulls, the Hall of Fame ballot, NFL chatter, Justin Jefferson and Cosmic Chrome chatter.

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