The latest might be the greatest -- so far -- but there are plenty of past VeeFriends to collect if one decides to go there ... and it appears that quite a few of you do.

This newest release, Topps VeeFriends Chrome 2025, is packed with flashy characters and sets -- we'll get to those later -- and it's been a near-instant sellout at that link. But, there are two previous sets that paved the way for this one that might be worth looking at before exploring this new one.

The O.G. was VeeFriends x zerocool Series 1, a collection that arrived in 2022 with 268 characters and 15 sketches that introduced Series 2 characters. It "was designed to bridge the gap between NFTs and real-world collectibles, allowing collectors to own physical versions of their VeeFriends Series 1 NFTs," per the company.

That first one was in a premium format and a limited release of only 1,000 boxes (250 cases) showcasing characters drawn and created by the guru behind it all, Gary Vaynerchuk, while the second series introduced them as "fully personified and colored characters" in a collection of more than 250 characters and also almost 100 additional other cards. It took on more of a modern gaming trading card game form. Both series have NFT counterparts and include rarer finds among the various tiers and autographed cards from Vaynerchuk. (You also might want to see this box in the Blowout store for a different option.)

What is VeeFriends some might ask? It "combines stories, games, events, collectibles, and technology to build a community around a movement of kindness and accountability," the company said, using their "characters and their attributes to create a better world. These characters foster a sense of community and inspire creativity, self-discovery, accountability, and personal growth."

What kind of interest and demand was there for these sets? Well, anybody who was at the National Sports Collectors Convention in recent years likely remembers their colorful and busy booth -- at a sports card show -- but don't take our word for it. Just click here for a look at eBay sales. There's big interest.

And now, this newest set introduces something into the mix that wasn't there before -- the power of Chrome. Let's take a look at what's in there this time.

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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: 1992 Star Pics Saturday Night Live
Where to buy: Hunt around ... BlowoutCards.com for newer (better) non-sports

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

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Silent Bob would be proud of this pack of Mallrats.

Sometimes when you think you've seen it all in card collecting, it just takes a glimpse into the bargain bin to discover something that's been there waiting for you for years. This time? Well, it's an oddity that Buzz found in a recent buy of some MiLB team sets.

It's a Sport Pro set for the 1989 Spokane Indians ... a simple 26-card release for the San Diego Padres' A-ball affiliate at the time -- a championship squad no less -- where the players, coaches and manager you will know all went to the University City Mall to take their baseball card photos.

No, really. They went to the mall.

The mall is no more -- it was demolished back in 2015 after a 50-year run (for those who don't know what a mall is, go ask your parents) -- but the cardboard lives forever because of some memorably stupid scenes that make for cardboard treasure if you ask me.

Outfielder Brian Span's card from his second and final season as a pro -- he hit just .213 for Spokane that summer -- is a textbook example of the oddities in this set. He's posed with a cardboard cutout of Whitney Houston holding a big bag of tapes (Too early for CDs, right?) from DJ’s Sound City, a chain described as "a fixture in Spokane's Music Market for almost 20 years." Its mall shops died in 1996 citing "stiff competition with discount stores and decreased traffic at music stores in malls."  (Just wait for iTunes and iPods, guys.)

There are other cameos and other cards that will make you want to go shopping right now and grab an Orange Julius before you hit the arcade. Keep reading among the cardboard oddities that can offer a trip back in time.

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In some areas of the sports world, pin collecting is a big deal and has been that way for decades.

Olympic pins, press pins and other areas of collecting in this wearable genre -- one that's arguably bigger away from sports -- can all carry some flair within their pieces, but none of them are like one artist's line of pins showing pop culture icons and carrying nods to sports personalities.

Its name? Patti Lapel. 

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Is there one non-sports autograph you'd want to own? If you're a fan of anything beyond the sports world, there's probably one name that comes to mind first.

In some cases -- Star Wars and Star Trek, for example -- a personality may have plenty of autographs, but in others there may be just one.

Or none at all.

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