Book It, Buzz: A Hollywood auto for the price of a pack? Yep.

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common. So, with that said, here's the first of what just might become a monthly department here on The Buzz.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Hollywood veteran Selma Blair.

THE RUNDOWN ... 
The Book: Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up (autographed edition via publisher)
The Author: Selma Blair
The Specs: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group -- released on May 17, 2022 (320 pages)
The Price: $14 on sale ($28 cover price)
The Spot: Books-A-Million for this one

Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Whether you know her from the Hellboy franchise, Legally Blonde, Anger Management, Cruel Intentions or even Introducing, Selma Blair, the documentary about her ongoing battle with Multiple Sclerosis, there's been a lot of memorable moments on the screen for this Hollywood veteran. Despite a variety of roles and a lot of them in the prime "card years" of the late 1990s and beyond, she doesn't have a ton of cardboard but there's some -- even some certified autograph and memorabilia cards -- but not ink you'll find for this price, so that's why I bit.

Why this item: This was an easy addition to the stash for next to nothing compared to her cards, which can cost five times this or more. I was a little worried when my copy of the book arrived without the sticker on the dust jacket -- it wouldn't surprise me if people have tried swap shenanigans with returns -- but comparing the auto to her other sigs on cards over the years and then on items and copies of this book (ink on these is all over the place style-wise) I'm confident this one is fine. And, it's actually more of a full signature than a lot of the other options -- and this version also has been authenticated by companies for re-sellers, too.

Chase ink on cards: Blair actually has a number of lower-volume auto appearances in the past with Americana (2011) and Pop Century (2017) sets that aren't as easily found as boxes now ... but you can hit BlowoutCards.com for non-sport cards.

The Bottom Line: One of these books vs. a hitless hanger box at retail ... I'll take the sure thing for my autograph collection this time.

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