Topps Mends My Broken Heart

Finally!

Here we have my favorite Jose Canseco card of 2015 and it comes from none other than Topps’ flagship, series 2.

Before I begin I have to say that this year’s flagship design is easily my least favorite, ever. Not only is it not a favorite but it’s become overused, as it’s been featured in two series, wall posters, Debut, and even the awful Bunt project. Oh, and Chrome eventually.

However, this card is a flat out winner in my book. From the awesome 90’s throwback design that looks like something Fleer would have made, to the awesome photo and even autographed parallel. It’s a perfect Jose Canseco baseball card.

I’ve grown tired of companies including Jose in their autograph subsets while leaving Jose out of their base set and robbing collectors of cool parallels. This is one of the most eye-catching cards I’ve seen this year and a must-have for me to add to my nearly 25-year old Canseco collection.

Thank you, Topps.

My Topps Heartbreak

This year has been somewhat boring for me thanks to a so-so year in collecting. While I did love Gypsy Queen and Museum Collection, I’m no fan of the flagship design and there have been several releases that did nothing for me. That was all going to change when my all-time favorite brand, Finest, was due to drop. This was to be followed by Topps Archives, so I was expecting a very good June for this old collector. Unfortunately, both releases came and went and no Jose Canseco card to be seen.

I did find myself drooling over this badass 1986 themed Jose Cruz Jr. during what was his  “prime” years in Toronto. People forget perhaps because of the way he flamed out but little Jose was a phenom with power and speed much like the bigger Jose. While I’m no Cruz collector, his ’97 Bowman, Bowman Chrome, and Bowman’s Best releases all hold a very special place in my collecting heart.

This card just may find a home in my collection some day.

Topps Tier One (Or How Tanman Ruined Collecting for Me … for Good)

No, I’m not here to bash the hobby or Tanman’s amazing work with custom cards. Simply put, Tanman’s custom Canseco cards have shown me that one man can make better cards than Panini, Topps, and Leaf’s efforts and it’s changed me as a collector. Long gone are the days when I chased every single Jose Canseco card. The parallel madness that took over a decade and a half ago made that impossible for those with mortgages, car payments, kids, what have you. Today I collect mostly what appeals to me, well, I did … until I saw the amazing cards Tanman was producing. New innovations, styles, and creativity from one man was putting the big manufacturers to shame. Now, I only want the best of the best (or about 20% of what’s being released) all because Tanman opened my eyes. The days of inferior custom cards have come and gone and if one man has done this alone, just imagine what possibilities are just around the corner. The days of “Broder” cards and other customs are finished and with guys like Tanman around, card companies should beware and be very scared.

That brings us to 2015 Topps Tier and the only Canseco card that’s surfaced so far. It’s a beautiful, on-card autograph and the brand itself is classy and fun (review and giveaway coming soon) but do I need this card? Not really. I’ve seen way too many Topps horizontal cards this year and this one is not much different than the rest. It’s way better than the 2015 Prizm Jose card but nothing special in my eyes. Also, unless Jose dies suddenly, the value of his autograph will continue to decrease due to the massive amount of autographs being produced. I wouldn’t even mind a few relic and base cards at this point. Anything to switch up the pace for goodness sake.

Not that he needs my help but if you haven’t visited Tanman’s site to see his customs or read his fascinating posts, do yourself a favor and spend the rest of your day there. It’s forever changed my view of our hobby and my 25-year chase for the perfect Jose Canseco collection. Something tells me this man is going to make a huge splash in this hobby in the coming months and years to come. I for one can’t wait to see what he has in store.

Judging Canseco Part 1 of 2

During my month-long absence from the sports cards online community, two different companies releases new Jose Canseco cards. Unlike Topps’ amazing work with Jose cards in Gyspy Queen and Museum Collection, both companies delivered less than stellar cards. My Topps Tier Canseco review will arrive tomorrow. For now, we will review the two cards I’ve seen in 2015 Prizm.

I busted a few packs of 2014 Prizm and absolutely loved the Finest wanna-be release and while Topps’ Finest brand will always be my king, Prizm offers a very unique chromium brand from a non-licenses rival company. Below you will see two Canseco cards from ’15 Prizm, one a sticker the other on-card. While I don’t expect any type of logos, it would be nice if Panini America used Oakland A’s colors or at least something similar as it’s obvious to any Canseco fan that these two photos come from Jose’s glory days in Oakland, most likely 1990-91.

I absolutely love the Signatue Distinctions card despite being shaped like a penis and its parallels look amazing. The card below, which features a sticker looks as bland as any recent Canseco I’ve seen in a year and is a definite “pass” for my Canseco collection.

Overall, I’d give Panini’s Canseco effort a C+. It’s a lower score than I expected to dole out simply because one of the cards is so awful that it brings down the overall grade. It would have been amazing to see Jose in Diamond Kings but I guess it was not meant to be. Don’t worry, Topps’ Tier One Canseco didn’t fare much better but that’s for tomorrow’s review.

When it Rains, It Pours … but I Got A Poncho

It’s been a little while since my last post. Thankfully, all is well in my life just been extremely busy lately and neglected not only Wax Heaven’s readers but the winners of past contests and trades. I have corrected both those mistakes with this post and with a trip to the post office thirty minutes ago. En route to its respective winners are card lots of Gypsy Queen, Museum Collection, and a small trade for Braves cards. Thank you to all for your patience.

 

As for my unexpected absence, it was nothing bad. It was actually one big thing, mixed with several things which created a perfect storm that took away my time and lots of it. For starters, I purchased a new Camaro SS with my income tax check which coincided with being hit by cupid’s arrow that same month. So, more personal time in my love life meant less time for doing nerdy things like organizing my Jose Canseco collection and writing about said now worthless collection.

At work, business picked up dramatically and so did my schedule when the office admin had to be let go. This pushed my hours of work from 8-10 per day up to 14 and my week from 5 days to 7. Thankfully, her replacement is currently in training. Lastly, my home computer broke which left me having to use my office computer and most good sites like card forums and such are blocked on it.

The big thing … I’m training for police academy. On March 7th, my birthday, I weighed 276 lbs. It’s not yet June and I’m down to 219. My goal is to be under 200 lbs, which would be a first since 1997. I’ve already aced my entrance exam (CJBAT), next up is the dreaded obstacle course. So again, less time on cards and more time for working out made it impossible to blog as often.

Anyway, I’m back and ready to start writing about my 25 year-old hobby and really, a passion at this point. To those who received packages today, I included some extra goodies. Hope you guys enjoy. To those waiting on new articles, stay tuned. I’ve been blogging since 2007 so there’s always something new and exciting to write about.