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.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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.

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 pack: Giant-size Box of Mystery comics repack box
Where to buy: Check the story for the chain ... hit BlowoutCards.com for non-sports cards

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 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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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 ...

MY FIRST NEW-LABEL SLAB ...
The Card: Derrick Henry 2016 Panini Origins Rookie Autographs #112
The Reason Graded: My latest submission of stuff from CSG is already back -- in times far faster than what's posted on their site -- and this card of Tennessee Titans star (and former Alabama Crimson Tide standout as well as Heisman Trophy winner) Derrick Henry was my choice for my first fast sub under their new format. Why? I thought it looked quite flawless with a solid on-card sig with literally nothing obviously wrong with the card. With this being perhaps my best NFL auto for him I opted to slab it since thick-stock cards like this have tended to grade cleanly for me.
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (10 auto)

Reality Check: I was a little surprised this didn't check in higher as the only couple of white spots on the card appeared to be to be part of the design's specs and splats but ... I'll live with it. This one might also be reflective of CSG's tough standards, which don't appear to have gotten easier at all with their new slabs and slightly tweaked scale at its top. (Cards previously in a CSG Gem Mint 9.5 are now Gem Mint 10s.) All in all, I'm good with this card and their new scale and look -- straight-on scans don't do these slabs justice. While I liked the previous style (and own plenty) this one is tight and right ... just like their time for return, price and structure that lets you see the front and backs of the cards as they were in-house. There won't be tampering/fake slabs when you can look up the card online -- a big plus over other slabs if you ask me.

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

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Minor league cards can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item. 

BARBEQUED BASEBALLS?
The Card: Nate Alleyne 2018 Grandstand San Jose Giants #34
The Buzz On This One: We'll just accept it as a given that a clubhouse manager needs a baseball card -- it happens in the minors -- but what might lead one to be grilling a baseball on a card? You know ... I have no idea but here it is. You know what's weirder? The fact that this guy has multiple baseball cards where he's toting water bottles and one where he's running a vacuum cleaner at home plate. The year before this one? Golfing with a baseball. Don't believe me? Click here.

Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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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 ... and this time around there's a little bit of everything (but a little more wrestling than usual as WrestleMania is coming soon.

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THE CHAMP IS HERE ...
The Card: John Cena 2005 Topps Heritage WWE autograph
The Price: A lot less than others out there ... whew.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked this one up sometime last year when I couldn't find a lot of key WWE wax and it's definitely a solid grab and hold for the long term if you ask me. Why? Well my price was a lot cheaper than other copies of this card back then so that helped me finally pull the trigger and grab one ... and it seems that notable debut cards and first autos for a lot of wrestlers are really picking up steam of late (mostly on the guys' side as they were arguably undervalued). This is Cena's first certified auto and also from the first year of Topps' current run of WWE cardboard ... a release where ink wasn't even in every hobby box and those boxes are seemingly long, long gone in unopened form. He's been a signing machine over the years, so he's not necessarily a tough auto -- but many of those autos are on stickers and his sig has definitely devolved into more of a symbol to help him sign a ton of stuff in less time than it took for him to do these. You can see a "Joh CnA" here which is more than normal these days, though he's not signing much now. His only autos that I have seen of late are in Transcendent releases and that means he's not had traditional in-pack ink since 2018. Love 'em or hate 'em, he's been an iconic star for years now but his ring days are definitely winding down, so another thought here ... we'll see him in the next Suicide Squad movie soon. His ink makes sense to go the route of Rock, Austin and others ... though he's got a ton more out there than they do. It all starts with this card.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but new WWE boxes are here.

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It's not a Flerken ... it's the Mile High Comics mystery box guardian known as Cambridge. (Something like that.)

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.

Disclaimer: This one's definitely a different kind of Buzz Break ... just for fun. 

The box: Mile High Comics Five-pound Mystery Pack comics box
Where to buy: Via Mile High Comics ($29.95)

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What: 2019 Cryptozoic CZX Super Heroes and Super Villains trading cards
Arrives: Nov. 22
Box basics: One autograph, one sketch, one film cel, one CZX STR PWR, one parallel and one base card per six-pack box (six boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Cryptozoic brings DC's biggest characters and the actors who played them on the big screen to high-end cardboard with everything from Batman Begins in 2005 to the recent releases like Aquaman and Shazam! and includes autographs from some of the biggest names in the franchises, too.

Keep reading for more info.

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The cultural phenomenon known as Stranger Things is coming to cardboard soon with the supernatural coming-of-age tale getting the Topps treatment beginning in October.

The full final details are still to come for 2018 Topps Stranger Things trading cards -- most notably how many hits per hobby box and which cast members are signing autographs for the set (see all of the early details so far right here) -- we've opted to take a look at the key cast members for the first season of the hit series from Netflix.

It might surprise you to see what some of this series' stars have already done -- and what's to come soon -- and then to ponder the power of this set in the future if the autograph list includes many of them and, atop that, there's widespread demand. (That potential is scarier than a visit from The Demogorgon or a call from Will Byers.)

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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: Fairfield Superhero Collector Box
Where to buy: Target ($9.99)
Packs per box: 12

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This year's San Diego Comic-Con is about a month away and Funko has already started to tease its exclusive toys that will be for sale at the show of all shows for pop culture and entertainment.

The Everett, Wash.-based company is releasing its previews in waves with iconic characters from Star Wars, Scott Pilgrim, Marvel, cartoons, DC Comics and TV shows already among those teased.

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"Huh, what was that?" The voices ...

The voices said that you, too, can own Harley Quinn's baseball bat from Suicide Squad -- and that's true thanks to the creators at The Noble Collection. This replica prop will begin arriving via comic book dealer channels in the United States next month.

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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 ... and this is Hour 3.

The case: 2016 Funko Suicide Squad Mystery Minis vinyl figures
The cost: $12 
Original cost: $83.88

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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The wait for the latest comic book blockbuster continues, but the wait for the new collectable caps does not.

Suicide Squad arrives in theaters on Friday, bringing a new group of DC Comics stars to the big screen for the first time but New Era has it covered already with the release of its Suicide Squad Collection today.

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Funko is all set for the arrival of the Suicide Squad movie and has new releases coming in several lines coming to prove it.

The Lynnwood, Wash.-based company revealed pieces in seven lines on Wednesday afternoon, including several of the characters in the DC Comics-created film coming on Aug. 5.

For starters, there will be a Vinyl Vixens figure for Harley Quinn and ... keep reading to see them all.

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The first Saturday in may is a holiday for comic book collectors as it's Free Comic Book Day.

A total of 50 books from nearly that many publishers have been created specifically for the day -- and they can only initially be had by making a visit to a participating shop.

“We have an incredible selection of Silver comics for fans for Free Comic Book Day this year, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our 15th anniversary of the event than with such a diverse range of titles for readers of all ages,” said FCBD Marketing Director Dan Manser. “Free Comic Book Day is such an important day for celebrating fans and their local comic shops, as well as introducing new readers to comics. Our Silver-level supporters have really helped make this year special with such an interesting selection of titles.”

A dozen of the books are from Gold-level sponsors of the event, and you can see a gallery and list of all 50 books ... if you keep reading.

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There are plenty of movies that are probably on the radars of collectors these days, whether it's the newest sports movie or one of the countless comic book-inspired releases coming soon.

While there's inevitably plenty to collect for these films before their arrivals, what we see first are the trailers and that gave Buzz an idea ... something extra that gets 'em buzzing. Up first is Suicide Squad, a DC Comics-inspired creation arriving on Aug. 5 that we'll see plenty of in the coming months. This trailer arrived yesterday -- check it out and tell us what you think.

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