Basics: 2017 Topps baseball cards

The retail breaks have started to hit eBay and the hobby arrival of 2017 Topps Series 1 is coming in about 13 hours. Here’s your catch-all post for all that can be found on The Buzz so far for the hobby’s flagship baseball card set and the first MLB release of the new year.

>> Above are the hobby odds, which can be seen in our massive ongoing gallery.

>> MLB Network cards & First Pitch celebrities are among surprises.

>> Basics: 2017 Topps Series 1 First Buzz preview & checklist

>> Gallery & Checklist: 2017 Topps Series 1 Rookie Cards 

>> Bonuses: Here’s a checklist and breakdown of silver promo packs

Look for a Buzz Break — and a contest for you to have a shot at a free hobby box — here on Wednesday morning.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

First Buzz: 2017 Topps Doctor Who Signature Series trading cards

What: 2017 Topps Doctor Who Signature Series trading cards
Arrives: June 21
Box basics: Four autographs per four-pack box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What’s buzz-worthy: The heavily collected Doctor Who universe comes to cardboard once again with an autograph in every pack this time around.

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

Daisy Ridley auction proceeds to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research

One of the galaxy’s biggest stars is the focus of an auction to benefit a pretty big cause.

It’s a 2016 Topps Star Wars Masterwork silver-framed auto of Daisy Ridley — and only 10 copies of the card were made. The card was pulled in an episode of Box Busters and is being sold by Beckett Auctions to benefit a charity fighting cancer.

First Buzz: 2016-17 Panini Aficionado basketball cards

What: 2016-17 Panini Aficionado basketball cards
Arrives: March 24
Box basics: One autograph and one memorabilia card per 10-pack box (12 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: An enigmatic 1990s baseball release returns with its textured printing for a release on the hardcourt and it’s “designed, built and tailored to be a true collector’s product.”

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

First Buzz: 2016-17 Donruss Optic NBA (retail & hobby details)

What: 2016-17 Donruss Optic basketball cards
Arrives: April 5
Box basics: One autograph per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What’s buzz-worthy: We’ve got early word on some of the retail inclusions to come in Panini America’s Optichromed version of its Donruss basketball set. There will be exclusives found only in certain pack types for both inserts, Holo parallels and autographed cards on the retail front. Update: We have added the full hobby information.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

Panini readies NBA Day promotion along with arrival of Prestige

There too aren’t many details revealed just yet, but Panini America is readying an NBA Day promotional set for an upcoming release.

A 40-card 2017 NBA Panini Day set will arrive in promo packs around the same time as the previously announced 2016-17 Panini Prestige, which is set to arrive on March 8, according to details released by the company today.

First Buzz: 2016-17 Panini Prestige basketball cards

What: 2016-17 Panini Prestige basketball cards
Arrives: March 8
Box basics: Two autographs and one memorabilia card per 24-pack box (16 boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: Prestige is back off the bench for the first time since 2013-14 with some new inserts and inclusions but also some familiar names.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

Topps launches new year of Topps Now WWE with massive lineup (plus ongoing 2017 gallery)

A big weekend for the WWE to start a new year has spawned the biggest lineup of Topps Now WWE cards to start a new year on cardboard, too.

A total of 23 cards for NXT: Takeover San Antonio and the Royal Rumble events are now available as part of the 2017 Topps Now WWE lineup for 24 hours or until sold out in the case of Relics made for the line.

Including all Relics and parallels, Topps released just 55 Now WWE cards last year.

First Buzz: 2017 Topps Stadium Club baseball cards

What: 2017 Topps Stadium Club baseball cards
Arrives: June 28
Box basics: Two autographs per 16-pack box (16 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What’s buzz-worthy: Stadium Club brings its traditional lineup of inserts and photography-focused cardboard but adds some new elements — namely Chrome.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

First Buzz: 2017 Topps Finest baseball cards

What: 2017 Topps Finest baseball cards
Arrives: June 7
Box basics: One auto per mini box with two minis per master (eight master boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What’s buzz-worthy: Finest returns to a full hobby release for its 25th edition with some new looks back — at the NBA edition of the brand, for example — and new Wave Autographs in the ink rainbow and more.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

Topps details silver pack inclusions for 2017 Topps Series 1 release

We’re just two days away from the official hobby arrival of 2017 Topps Series 1 baseball cards and among the promotions for the hobby’s flagship brand are Silver promo packs that take us all back to 1987.

Topps has revealed the final checklist and details for those packs and the 2017 Topps 1987 Chrome Refractors set today.

Image Comics marks 25th anniversary on Wednesday

It was 25 years ago this week that the comic book world changed a bit with the formation of Image Comics.

The new company brought us Spawn, The Savage Dragon, WildC.A.T.s. and Youngblood in its earlier days and The Walking Dead in later years.

As part of that anniversary, comic book shops around the country are celebrating Image Comics Day on Wednesday with some new arrivals from the company, which was created by Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. 

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 30)

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

What’s Buzzing Today: Busting Bowman Draft, waiting on Topps Heritage, NFL Quarterback Challenge cards, rare Derek Jeter finds & much more.

Buzz Break: 1998 Team Best Top Prospects Signature Series

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: 1998 Team Best Top Prospects Signature Series minor league baseball cards
Where to buy: Check eBay

Packs per box: 18 (plus one box-topper)
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 109
Base set completion: 
50 of 50 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 45
Triplicates: 6

Base cards of note – Rick Ankiel, Kris Benson, Lance Berkman, Russell Branyan, Eric Chavez, J.D. Drew, Troy Glaus, Gabe Kapler, Mike Lowell, Gil Meche, Aramis Ramirez, Ruben Rivera, Jimmy Rollins, Vernon Wells

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 29)

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

What’s Buzzing Today: Big breaks, Dr. Who, Matt Ryan, SI Swimsuit cards & more.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 28)

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

What’s Buzzing Today: Big Star Wars pulls, NFL Draft re-do, a Tom Brady question … and questionable Tom Brady cards?

First Buzz: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis Special Edition

What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Maximum Crisis Special Edition
Arrives: June 9
Box basics: Three Maximum Crisis booster packs, one of two variant foil cards and one of two preview cards for the summer booster set.

Buzz Break: 1999 Team Best Baseball America’s Top Prospects

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: 1999 Team Best Baseball America‘s Top Prospects minor league cards
Where to buy: Check eBay

Packs per box: 18
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 109
Base set completion: 
97 of 100 (97 percent)
Duplicates: 6

Base cards of note – Rick Ankiel, Bronson Arroyo, Lance Berkman, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Michael Cuddyer, Aubrey Huff, Chad Hutchinson, Carlos Lee, Mark Mulder, Corey Patterson, Carlos Pena, Brad Penny, Jayson Werth, Randy Wolf

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 27)

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

What’s Buzzing Today: Big cards from the past, bit pulls, big surprises & more.

Dedicated collector’s custom card hobby becomes option for everyone

It started as a hobby to bring cards that didn’t exist to life — and now it can help bring your legends’ cards into existence.

Tanner Jones is a dedicated Jose Canseco collector who lamented the fact that for years his retired but controversial slugger hadn’t been found on all of the new, creative cards being made — and often not with all of his MLB teams. So he started making cards of his own — and then one day a year ago the idea of his Custom Cuts kits was born.

“I have had so many people ask me ‘How do you do it?’ and I’ve seen the desirability of making your own creations go up significantly,” Jones said. “After thinking about it for a while, I thought to myself people are already acclimated to the thought of cut autos why not cut pictures as well? I played around with the template idea quite a while ago, and then back-burnered it until a few months ago.”

For now, there are just two types of kits available — and they allow buyers a start on making their own cards using their own images or documents, while some have used them to re-purpose components of damaged cards into new creations.

So, about that odd Willie Nelson Americana memorabilia card …

Willie Nelson couldn’t wait to get on the road again, going places he’d never been and seeing things he may never see again.

And we’re pretty sure he never saw this.

It’s a 2008 Donruss Americana Celebrity Cuts Materials Prime card and a small number of them have been pulled via BlowoutTV recently with a detail that many people might have missed.

What is it? Well, this is card No. 97 in Celebrity Cuts and a look at card No. 96 on that checklist as well as the autographed version of this card offer some clues … keep reading.

First Buzz: 2017 Topps Diamond Icons baseball cards

What: 2017 Topps Diamond Icons baseball cards
Arrives: Summer
Box basics: Seven autograph cards, two auto Relics and one Relic per 10-card box (four boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What’s buzz-worthy: Topps unleashes another high-end brand that includes “the best of the past, present and future” with nothing but this and nothing but on-card autographs or cuts that make what Topps calls “the ultimate pack-breaking experience.”

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

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 26)

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

What’s Buzzing Today: Some big pulls from retail boxes, strong Star Trek packs, new vintage, Rob Dibble rainbows, great comic book reads and more.

Buzz Break: 2009 TRISTAR TNA Impact wrestling (blaster box)

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: 2009 TRISTAR TNA Impact wrestling (blaster box)
Where to buy: Check eBay (hobby on BlowoutCards.com)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 24
Cards in this box: 24
Base set completion: 
23 of 99 (23 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – A.J. Styles, Brother Devon, Traci Brooks, Beer Money Inc., Sting, Mick Foley

TNA Debut cards – Brutus Magnus, Sarita

Gallery & short-print info: 2017 Topps Series 1 baseball cards

The formal arrival of 2017 Topps Series 1 baseball cards is less than a week away, but that’s not stopping us from getting a head start on a gallery of what’s to be found here.

While the flagship brand for the hobby will have a few box formats when it arrives next Wednesday, this sneak preview came from different packs. (No, retail hasn’t hit early but above is what you need to look for when you hit the store.)

Keep reading for a glimpse at more of what’s inside.

eBay Buzz: Free McDonald’s Special Sauce bottles already hot at auction

McDonald’s launches its new sizes of Big Mac sandwiches today and as part of that celebration it is releasing 10,000 serial-numbered bottles of its Special Sauce to the public.

They’re free — but they’re only found at selected locations for a limited time on a first-come, first-served basis … if a visitor knows the password. The only other way to get your hands on one? Check out giveaways on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Some states have just one or two locations — meanwhile Houston, Texas, has five — while some states have none at all. That means there will be a market on eBay — simple supply and demand — and there’s already one there with a bid.

How much is the bottle? You have to see it to believe it. 

Update: And that could be low. There’s also one completed sale so far.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

>> Click here to shop for cards on BlowoutCards.com.

NL MVP Kris Bryant lands card No. 1 honor for 2017 Topps (updated)

Update: Kris Bryant is card No. 1 in the 2017 Topps set as revealed on the show. He was chosen via a collector vote.

“It’s a huge honor to be chosen as Card No. 1 since it has depicted so many legends before me,” Bryant said in a prepared release. “It’s very humbling and nice to know it came from the fans.”

“Kris Bryant is an outstanding player with an infectious personality,” said David Leiner, Topps’ GM & VP of North American Sports & Entertainment. “He’s done so much in his career and has created fans throughout baseball regardless of team loyalties. He’s the perfect pick.”

—

Want a first look at the MLB Network baseball cards to be found a week from today in packs of 2017 Topps Series 1?

Watch the Network on Thursday and it should happen — and we’re betting card No. 1 will be unveiled, too.

Although we can see the John Smoltz autograph here, the cardboard news — whatever it is — will come on Network’s Hot Stove morning show tomorrow between 9-11 a.m. Eastern.

Legendary Dr. Seuss characters coming to Funko toy lines

There would be a rhyme here but there’s no time here — the Funko news must be passed.

Simply put, Dr. Seuss is coming to toy stores soon thanks to the Everett, Wash.-based company as part of four lines unveiled Wednesday that help celebrate The Cat In The Hat, Sam I Am and so many more of the memorable characters from the children’s books that have sold millions of copies worldwide.

Mary Tyler Moore’s only certified autos come in perhaps unexpected place — a Press Pass Elvis set

One of television’s female icons has died.

Mary Tyler Moore was 80 years old and died Wednesday after a recent health scare that had her hospitalized for the last week.

“A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile,” said Mara Buxbaum, Moore’s representative, to The Huffington Post.

Her iconic roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show helped change how women were seen on television — but you won’t find a number of certified autographs to help collectors remember her place in entertainment history.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 25)

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

What’s Buzzing Today: Star Wars breaks, NBA, MLB & NFL pulls, top shortstops & more.

First Buzz: 2016 Panini Select NFL

What: 2016 Panini Select football cards
Arrives: Feb. 22
Box basics: Two autographs and one memorabilia card per 12-pack box (12 boxes per case).

What’s buzz-worthy: The colorful rainbow and prime memorabilia that Select is known for returns to the gridiron once again with more than one insert card per pack — and the first cards of 2017 NFL Draft hopefuls

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery.

First Buzz: 2017 Historic Autographs Kings baseball cards

What: 2017 Historic Autographs Kings baseball cards
Arrives: Feb. 22
Box basics: Two autographs per box (four boxes per case)

What’s buzz-worthy: The first Historic Autographs release of the year goes high-end with a release that will be limited to just 80 cases.

Keep reading for more information.

First Buzz: 2017 Leaf Memorabilia Treasury

What: 2017 Leaf Memorabilia Treasury
Arrives: April 2017
Box basics: Five memorabilia pieces per box.

What’s buzz-worthy: Leaf Trading Cards follows up its Treasury release of last year with the same type of surprises inside — autographed and notable items from the sports world and beyond.

Keep reading for more.

Garbage Pail Kids keep going with Trumpocracy (ongoing gallery)

The Disgrace to The White House is over, so now it’s time for the Trumpocracy.

It’s the latest Garbage Pail Kids set to emerge from Topps as an online-only release and it arrived on Tuesday with a number of moments that have dominated the airwaves since just Friday.

Update: The ongoing gallery has been updated to add each day’s cards and will be updated as new ones arrive. Keep reading to get all of the details on the set and see the newest cards.

Gallery: Rittenhouse Star Trek 50th Anniversary autographs & more

The recently released Star Trek 50th Anniversary set includes plenty of ink with two autographs and a memorabilia card in every box but there are some interesting surprises inside the product as a whole.

Each 12-box case is guaranteed to include one of five Captain’s Autograph cards from the five leaders at the helm on each of the past TV shows — William Shatner as James T. Kirk, Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko, Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway and Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer.

But that’s not all of note in this one if you look closely at the checklist.