Non-Sports Retail Releases

[CicadaMound]

If we're going by the standards of vintage nonsports, there are boxes of Sun-Maid raisins with Octonauts coloring panels on the back, and Kellogg's cereals with Lightyear decals and Avatar: The Way of Water tattoos and cutouts of Pandoran fauna for a memory/matching game.

I know these are extremely borderline and very degenerate, but at the same time they're more soulful and closer to the origins of the hobby than standard sets.

[BobCollects]

I've updated the first post for 2023. So far the only retail releases are 2022 Upper Deck Marvel WandaVision blaster boxes and 2021 Topps Garbage Pail Kids GPK Goes on Vacation retail tins.

[CicadaMound]

I have another fruit snack issue - definitely real cards this time, with numbering and everything. Bear Fruit Rolls have a 60 card set with illustrations of animals, one card per pack. I got mine at a Fresh Thyme Market, an organic grocery store chain, but Non-Sport Update says they're available at Whole Foods and Amazon, and probably other grocery stores too. Judging from the pictures on Amazon there are other series available, but I'm not clear if those are from flavors normally available in the US.

Here's their website (archive.org link from February 3, 2023) with pictures of the cards. Older snapshots have different descriptions of the cards so there might be more sets from the US version of the product.

The illustrations are pretty cute.

[BobCollects]

I've updated the first post with info on 2022 Upper Deck Marvel Studios' The Falcon and The Winter Soldier blaster boxes and the upcoming 2021-22 Marvel Annual blaster boxes.

[BobCollects]

I've updated the first post with info on the most recent Marvel retail offerings and the upcoming Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi blaster boxes.

The last time I was in a Target, I saw a few Falcon and Winter Soldier blasters and some Garbage Pail Kids blasters in the trading cards/collectibles aisle. I don't think Walmart had any non-sports the last time I checked.

[CicadaMound]

Tastykake is doing a promotional tie-in with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, including packaging with hexagonal cut-out cards. I stumbled across a few products at a Target today.

[Scifi Cards]

Both Star Wars 2023 Chrome and Obi Wan Kenobi blasters arrived on my doorstep on Saturday.

So these should both be in the wild elsewhere as well.

Ed

[Rictor]

If you're looking for a large chain store besides Target that sells Marvel blasters, I've seen them at Barnes & Noble behind the counter with the sports cards.

[BobCollects]

I've updated the first post with the two recent Star Wars blaster boxes and the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home blaster box.

The Upper Deck store has WandaVision, Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Fleer Ultra Avengers, 2021-22 Marvel Annual, and Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings blaster boxes for sale.

I'm pretty sure I saw The Book of Boba Fett blasters at Walmart the last time I stopped by.

[glen87]

i am missing it, or is it not listed?

[glen87]

target:

https://www.target.com/p/2022-marvel...x/-/A-85766812

[BobCollects]

Woops. Could've sworn I added that. Thanks.

[CicadaMound]

I don't see Topps Star Wars, the "flagship" release with the blasters and super boxes, on your list.

Also, I was in Walmart today and saw another fruit snack release, this time featuring YouTube streamers - BloxSnax Aphmau/NinjaKidz/Unspeakable FruitBlox. https://www.bloxsnacks.com/

The cards are packaged as perforated four-card panels inserted in the box with the snacks, without a wrapper, meaning they can break off in the box before you open it.

The snacks themselves are okay, kinda generic. They're "clean label" but more sugar than anything.

Unfortunately they seem to be replacing the Bear snacks that are less processed rolls of fruit leather.

Plus, Sun-Maid raisins are ABC Mouse themed and have sight word flashcards on the boxes.

edit: And Target is selling Stranger Things Season 4 blasters online now too.

[CicadaMound]

I stumbled across a couple new sets in the card aisle at Target today, Harry Potter and DC Comics Ooshies Collector Cards. They're distributed by Bullsitoy, the toy division of Target's card distributor Excell, and "Designed and imported" by Headstart International Pty. Ltd., an Australian toy company, and come with ten cards and an "Ooshie", a cheap painted rubber chibi character pencil topper that looks kinda like a knockoff Funko Pop. The DC ones have been out for a while now at Walmarts apparently, there are YouTube videos from months ago with packaging missing the Bullsitoy information. This is the first I can find of the Harry Potter cards though.

The cards have illustrations in the Ooshie style, with the Harry Potter cards as flat chibi character portraits, while the DC cards have more dynamic poses with shading. There are base cards and rainbow holofoils, plus some of the DC cards have spot gloss on the characters while some Harry Potter cards have gloss patterns over the entire card.

The DC cards also have a rock paper scissors game element on them.

Looking at their website, Headstart has also issued Marvel Ooshies with cards in Australia.

https://youtu.be/zZGFWrDcWeA?t=222

[BobCollects]

I've updated the first post with Marvel Beginnings Volume 2 Series 1, Zerocool Stranger Things Season 4, Star Wars Flagship, Garbage Pail Kids Chrome Series 6, and Marvel Studios Loki.

Apparently Upper Deck did not release a blaster box for Marvel Studios Eternal.

[Havok211]

A few more for 2023 are Cardsmiths Bob Ross Series 1, Street Fighter Series 1, Killer Klowns From Outer Space Series 1, and Currency Series 2. I know that GameStop sells them for sure. Not sure if you include sticker sets as well, but if so Panini released a Spider-Man 60th Anniversary Sticker Collection.

Also Upper Deck Funko Pop Marvel Infinity Saga. Sold at Hot Topic and I’m sure other places as well. And it may have been mentioned already but I don’t recall seeing it said, but Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings Vol.2 Series 1.

[BobCollects]

Originally Posted by Havok211

A few more for 2023 are Cardsmiths Bob Ross Series 1, Street Fighter Series 1, Killer Klowns From Outer Space Series 1, and Currency Series 2. I know that GameStop sells them for sure. Not sure if you include sticker sets as well, but if so Panini released a Spider-Man 60th Anniversary Sticker Collection.

Also Upper Deck Funko Pop Marvel Infinity Saga. Sold at Hot Topic and I’m sure other places as well. And it may have been mentioned already but I don’t recall seeing it said, but Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings Vol.2 Series 1.

Thanks for the info. I never go to GameStop so I would never know the Cardsmiths hanger boxes are sold there.

[YayNJ]

Anyone mentioned 'Crainiacs" that came out recently?

[BobCollects]

I've updated the first post for 2024 with info about 2024 Topps Garbage Pail Kids GPK Kids at Play blaster boxes.

GTS Distribution has listings for blaster boxes for three upcoming Marvel sets: Marvel Metal Universe Avengers, Marvel Beginnings Volume 2, Series 2, and Marvel Annual 2022-2023. However, more recent sets like Fleer Ultra Midnight Sons and She-Hulk Attorney at Law didn't get blaster boxes.

[CicadaMound]

Target's selling packs of Five Nights at Freddy's Holographic Trading Stickers in their card section, they're in Pokémon-style cardboard packaging and are standard trading card-sized.

[CicadaMound]

Those FruitBlox snacks have changed over to a Season 2 of designs.

Also, Tastykake is doing another promotional tie-in with cutout cards, this time for The Garfield Movie. The cards are the standard size this time, unlike the hexagons from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

[CicadaMound]

There's a new variety of Bear Fruit Snacks available at Target with a new series of cards. Bear Fruit Splits have two different flavors of fruit leather in one bar, with cards featuring "Bear's Super Science Squad". The cards themselves are 6 cm by 14 cm, which is slightly bigger than tallboy size - actually collecting these is going to be a ... bear. (They do fit in postcard sleeves)

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by CicadaMound

There's a new variety of Bear Fruit Snacks available at Target with a new series of cards. Bear Fruit Splits have two different flavors of fruit leather in one bar, with cards featuring "Bear's Super Science Squad". The cards themselves are 6 cm by 14 cm, which is slightly bigger than tallboy size - actually collecting these is going to be a ... bear. (They do fit in postcard sleeves)

Is the card sticky?

[CicadaMound]

Yeah, it's ever so slightly tacky and smells like the fruit, plus it leaves a residue on the card sleeve. That's part of the fun, though, dealing with the challenges of a card that comes in direct contact with food.

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by CicadaMound

Yeah, it's ever so slightly tacky and smells like the fruit, plus it leaves a residue on the card sleeve. That's part of the fun, though, dealing with the challenges of a card that comes in direct contact with food.

SHLAB IT!