What: 2024 Topps Stranger Things High Tek trading cards
Arrives: April 11, 2025
Box basics: Two serial-numbered parallels per eight-card box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps brings Tek to the Upside Down as the world awaits the long-delayed final season of the Netflix series that's heavy on nostalgic throwbacks.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2025 Topps Chrome WWE wrestling cards
Arrives: Jan. 31
Box basics: Two autos in every 12-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case) or two autos per 12-card Breakers Delight box (12 per case)
Checklist: Click here
Sapphire Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Sapphire Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps returns to the WWE ring for the first time since 2021 with a Chrome release that will be packed with star power and plenty of flash and ink ... but with smaller boxes.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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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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What: 2024 Leaf Metal Blue Mountain State football cards
Arrives: Nov. 8
Box basics: One autographed card per five-card box (10 per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Blue Mountain State's rumored comeback will include football cards for the Mountain Goats with plenty of reel world stars in play as well as a few from real-world football, too, in a jam-packed collection celebrating the cult classic.

Keep reading for more.

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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: DC Comics & IDW Publishing 10-pack comic bundle
Where to buy: Retail hunting for these ... BlowoutCards.com for non-sports cards

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

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What: The Umbrella Academy 2024 Autograph Expansion Series 2 packs
Arrives: March 6
Box basics: 13 autographed cards per pack (A and B packs made for this format)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Another batch of ink from this hit Netflix show based on a past Dark Horse Comics series arrives soon with a pair of packs that further expand its presence on cardboard.

Keep reading for more info and 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: Chatter after a big NBA night, NFL postseason, WWE to Netflix, new Hall of Famers to come tonight, 2024 Topps and more.

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What: The Umbrella Academy 2024 Autograph Expansion packs
Arrives: Jan. 24
Box basics: 15 autographed cards per pack (A and B packs made for this format)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: This hit Netflix show based on a past Dark Horse Comics series arrives early next year with an autographs-only update and two different packs completing the release.

Keep reading for more info and 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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THE PERFECT EARLIER SIG
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Blue Autographs (/50)
The Price: Less than a box these days
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you're a regular reader, then you know this set and this auto -- in all colors -- is high on my radar and that's why I grabbed this super-clean copy with an eye on grading. It's not totally perfect but I'm fine with that as the core reason I bit here was how clean this sig is with her original WWE ink, not the shortened one that has come about on her cards since this earlier signing. (It's not quite her pre-WWE auto, which is more of a puffy almost "tagging" writing style with big curves and loops on all letters.) A quicker auto happens for many signers as they ink more and more stuff and some styles just won't come back -- so that's another reason this one is a favorite ... plus, not that many of her WWE cards have this auto.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... but WWE boxes are 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: 2023 Leaf Metal Pop Century 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for 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 boxes: YuMe Toys Stranger Things Series 1 Upside Down Capsule Mystery Pack (two)
Where to buy: Will take some looking in toy realm ... BlowoutCards.com (for cards)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of highlights from this one.

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You'll be seeing more on cards and collectibles in pop culture tomorrow.

That's because King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch arrives Friday on Netflix -- a reality show that follows industry veteran Ken Goldin as he buys and sells collectibles through his online marketplace as captured by Omaha Productions.

The series promises appearances by Drake, Peyton Manning, Karl Malone, Mike Tyson, Ric Flair and Logan Paul, according to the network.

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What: 2022 Lost in Space Collector's Set trading cards
Arrives: April 27
Box basics: Seven autographs (at least one being a dual) per 16-card pack
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: This sci-fi franchise's Netflix reboot hits cardboard for another run with this one being a small-format release limited to a run of only 225 total packs.

Keep reading for more as well as a small selection of card images to come.

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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 ...

A COLLEGE CLASSIC
The Card: The Four Horsemen 1955 Topps All-American #68 SP -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: College football is back for another season, so I'll lead things off with a vintage classic. This card featuring Notre Dame quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Jim Crowley and Don Miller as well as fullback Elmer Layden is one that's been on my want list -- albeit very casually -- for a long time. I recently found one at a price that wasn't uncomfortable so here we are. I don't need a high-grade copy of this one -- just one that looks pretty good so I can say I have it. Besides their place in college football history, The Four Horsemen have a place in sportswriting history, too, as Grantland Rice gave them this name early on in what was a perfect 1924 season that ended with a national title. His New York Herald Tribune story started like this: "Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below." It's one of those pieces that's often cited when talking college football or sportswriting history and it's often emulated and it later sparked a marketing scenario -- the players would go on to pose on horses in uniform. In a lot of ways, that marketing is still replicated every Heisman season and beyond. This set is a landmark release, especially for college collectors, and this is one of a few big cards.
The Grade: BVG 2.5

Reality Check: Mine checks in low, but it's not the lowest -- there are 18 copies worse than mine and 14 others with this grade. It's very interesting to compare that total and then consider how few cards there are above a seven here.

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 box: 2018 Topps Stranger Things Season 1 trading cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available ... others in stock)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of highlights from this one.

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What: The Umbrella Academy Season 1 trading cards
Arrives: July 29
Box basics: Two hits per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: This hit Netflix series based on a past Dark Horse Comics series hits cardboard for the first time with a mix of autographs and memorabilia cards -- and plenty more -- in every box as the show prepares for its second season to arrive days after this one.

Keep reading for more info and images.

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Tiger King has officially hit cardboard.

Leaf Trading Cards revealed on Monday a new licensed trading card for Howard and Carole Baskin -- two stars of the hit Netflix documentary series.

The cards are being sold as singles or in lots directly from the company ... keep reading for the details.

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Update (May 28): There's a third series now ... check out the gallery and get 'em here.

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The Garbage Pail Kids apparently have Netflix.

If you've been anywhere online of late, you might not have been able to avoid references to Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness -- and now you can't avoid them if you're a fan of Topps' culture-mocking line of commentary cardboard.

A simple 2020 Topps Garbage Pail Kids: Gone Exotic set has dropped on Topps.com and is available -- printed to order -- for the next seven days. Update: 3,285 Series 1 sets were sold.

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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: 2018 Topps Stranger Things Season 1 trading cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 11 (10 standard, one commemorative patch pack)
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 71
Base set completion: 
57 of 100 (57 percent)
Duplicates: 0

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What: 2019 Lost in Space Season 1 trading cards
Arrives: Dec. 4
Box basics: Two hits per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: This sci-fi franchise's Netflix reboot comes to cardboard in a release that's jam-packed with autographs and plenty more and limited to only 250 cases.

Keep reading for more as well as a small selection of card images to come.

Continue reading →

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year 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. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a little bit of everything.

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A BEGINNER BEAR ... 
The Slab: Paul "Bear" Bryant -- nickname autograph cut (BAS-certified)
The Price: $90
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'll be the first to say that this is perhaps not my ideal autograph situation, but when it comes to Alabama football, Bryant is about as big as it gets -- still above Nick Saban for now -- and landing an authenticated signed photo or slabbed cut of the legend known as "Bear" will typically cost at least $275 and often more. Bryant was one of the autographs that had been on my want list for years but because of the price I'd never really considered it because the quality of autos that can be iffy even for $275. So, when this one presented itself earlier in the year, I opted for a beginner 'graph -- something in a slab and enough to say I have one. I grabbed it and held onto it for here until football season arrived so here we are. Bryant won six national championships in his legendary career and when Saban wins another that will set a new NCAA record. Even then, Saban will still be coaching in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Paul W. Bryant Drive down the road from the Paul W. Bryant Museum -- all named after the coach who died in 1983 less than a month after he notched his record 323rd career win. Bryant's autographs aren't super-tough finds -- they're just pricey. He's had a handful of cut autographs in football releases in recent years but I've never gotten in on the chase there -- also pricey.
Grab a box right here: No boxes on this one ... but college football boxes are here

Keep reading for five more interesting items ...

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The Blowout MegaMix will be a big highlight at The National this year.

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 Today: The calm before the storm known as The National, cheap Michael Jordan cards, a big 2019 Bowman Mega Box pull, Jack of All Trades and plenty more in today's edition.

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You may not have finished Stranger Things 3 just yet, but there are already more toys on the way.

Just minutes ago, Funko revealed a new wave of Funko Pop as well as Mystery Minis to come showing us more of the characters and moments from the hit series' new season that dropped on Netflix today.

The Minis will include Jim Hopper, Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers, Eleven, Max Mayfield, Steve, Mike Wheeler, Joyce Byers, Dustin Henderson, Billy, Karen Wheeler, Erica Sinclair and Nancy Wheeler in a variety of moments and with figures as rare as one in 72 packs.

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If you head over to the official Coca-Cola store, aka www.cokestore.com, you'll see that today is May 24, 1985, and there's something new (that's old) on the way.

It's a new wave of New Coke, the famous bomb from back in the day, that's making a comeback alongside the forthcoming arrival of Stranger Things 3 on Netflix on July 4, 1985. (Work with them here.)

That's the day the kids in the hit franchise get their worlds turned upside down once again and to cash in on celebrate that, Coca-Cola has New Coke making a limited comeback. For $19.85 -- free shipping -- you can get a "1985 Limited Edition Collector's Pack."

And that's where collectors are turning things upside down over on eBay.

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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: 2019 Topps Stranger Things Season 2 trading cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 164
Base set completion: 
100 of 100 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 30

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