Loot Crate's Heroes Part Deux

This month Loot Crate revisited its Heroes theme, which has probably been my favorite crate thus far. Heroes 2 was DC comics heavy with a Batman figure and a Wonderwoman poster. It also featured a great exclusive hardcover edition of Regrettable Superheroes. To me, this box was a mixed bag. I loved some of the pieces and was totally ambivalent toward others. The big item this month was an adorable classic Batman statue from Quantum Mechanix. 

The speech bubble on the base has a tiny dry-erase board so you can write your own sound effects. The book Regrettable Superheroes is a compendium of the worst heroes ever to make it to print. A lot of them are ridiculous, some are gross, or stupid, and most of them are just super lame. I had a lot of fun with it and I definitely lol'd over a few of the particularly bad ones.

One of my favorite pieces though was the awesome Wonder Woman pin-up poster. I'm not a big fan of DC heroes in general but I've got a soft spot for Wonder Women and the vintage, Rosie the Riveter feel makes it that much better. This poster will definitely end up on my wall. Two symbols of female empowerment? Yes please.

On the fail side, there was a Batarang multi-tool (read bottle opener), Legend of Zelda sweatband and Spock hand car air freshener. After over a year of crates I have three air fresheners and three sweatbands. I'm kind of an indoor kid, I really don't have call for sweatbands, and Guy Fieri is not one of my style icons. Know what I'm saying?

Overall, I'm going to say a solid B on this crate. The small things felt a bit like filler, but the big things were a big hit. Another note, Loot Crate has now started to offer the "Level Up" service. There are different ways in which you can level up your basic crate be adding a premium item like an accessory (scarf, bracelet, etc), pairs of socks or a wearable (shirt).
For more information visit Loot Crate here

Unite! LootCrate pays homage to the team. (spoilers)

May's Loot Crate was all about teams. This month's crate focused on pop culture's favorite squads from the Avengers to the Power Rangers to the Justice league. Although heavy preferential treatment goes to Marvel on this one, just saying.
The big prize this month is a t-shirt featuring the green/white power ranger. In addition to being super soft and comfy, the design is just plain cool. Out of all the crate shirts I've gotten, this one is probably my favorite. Besides Tommy was always my favorite Power Ranger. He had that long hair and the bad-boy attitude. *Sigh*

With the Avengers: Age of Ultron out this month, May's crate also included a trio of Marvel/Avengers items. First up was a Marvel ice cube tray which makes ice cubes in the shape of Captain America's shield, Iron Man's face, Hulk's fist, and Thing's face. It is also made out of silicone which makes it an ideal mold for soaps, chocolate's or anything else crafty geeks could come up with.
Also included in the Marvel loot was a pair of shoelaces (I got the stealth ones: grey and black) and an Avengers decal in all white. The decal was super cool and nice quality.

Among other crate perks there was an exclusive variant cover of Bravest Warriors #1. Normally this wouldn't be a comic that I would pick up, but the art style is adorable and its definitely worth a read.  There was also a Loot Crate edition Mad Magazine which was meh. I never really read Mad as a kid so there's no nostalgia there, just shitty 7th grade jokes. The Rick and Morty puzzle was fun, because really when was the last time you did a puzzle? Yeah, me too. Last was a set of Team Fortress 2 pins which I totally adore because there's a Balloonicorn pin and a sandvich pin. DC got short shrift this month as the only reference to the Justice League was in one of the unite pin options. The pin either featured Batman shaking hands with Superman or Iron Man shaking hands with Captain America. (I got the Marvel one)

Overall top marks for May's crate mostly because the t-shirt and the Marvel stuff. I'm really a fan of the things that are more practical like the ice cube tray and the shoelaces and my problem with some previous crates was the profusion of stuff that was just for fun (like the Monopoly-esque Firefly universe money) but was destined to be taking up space on my desk.
To find out more information on past crates, subscriptions and to sign up visit Loot Crate.

LootCrate takes a look back

This month's LootCrate theme was rewind. It was jam packed with all the nostalgic things nerds of a certain age loved back in the day in all their pixelated, low-res glory. I am a sucker for all things retro myself and this month didn't disappoint. I really like that the crate themes have broadened a little bit and gotten away from being quite so gaming heavy. I also appreciated that more of the items in this month's crate were really usable. 

This month included an exclusive tee featuring Voltron. The blue-on-black is subtle and has kind of a Tron-esque vibe that I love. I'm definitely going to be getting some serious mileage out of this one.

I really like that there are more usable items in this month's box. The 8-bit sunglasses probably won't replace my daily wearers, but they'll be fun for specific outfits and they're UVA rated so they're not just for costume. Probably my favorite item this month though is the Space Invaders tie from Black Tie Geek. I'm already working to put together a work outfit to feature it but it would also make a great headband for those who are not so necktie-inclined. The comic notebook is a small blank book pre-divided into panels for at-home comic artists. It even includes a small stencil for all the thought bubbles and sound effects.

Next up is this little guy, a 10-doh! figure by Squid Kids Ink. Its a little anthropomorphized NES cartridge. He's even got his own little zapper. Each one of these little guys features a parody of a classic Nintendo title. 

Last, but certainly not least this month's comic was Marvel Star Wars #1. This is Marvel's first Star Wars comic since 1987 and it was a great opening effort. The story takes place after the events of Episode IV and features Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker sabotaging an imperial weapons depot. The art is outstanding and the storyline seems promising. I will definitely be picking up the other books in this arc.

All in all, this month was probably my favorite crate so far. If you're interested in a subscription or more information on LootCrate visit them here.

December's LootCrate is about Anniversaries

The theme for December's LootCrate is Anniversary. 2014 marks a lot of anniversaries in the nerd-o-sphere. Both Marvel and DC turned 75 this year, while both the Ghostbusters franchise and Tetris turned 30 and The Simpsons turned 25. Each beloved nerd entity is nicely represented and I thought the variety of types of products was a nice touch.
The crowning glory of this month's crate was the exclusive Funko Pop figure of the classic tv Joker dressed as Batman. It makes more sense when you see it.

He's adorable, with his little crazy eyes.
Along with the Joker, DC's side is represented by an exclusive Batman comic.

Marvel's side is slightly underrepresented. Enclosed this month were dancing baby Groot socks and a Captain America air freshener (it smells like vanilla, not freedom, sad). I realize I say this as a Marvel fangirl, but I'm a little disappointed by the inequality here. However, check out the Groot socks, so cute!

D'awwwww!
The Simpsons got a nod with a paper wallet. Made out of super tough Tyvek paper, it features a ton of classic characters. We had fun playing name that character.

Also included were a Ghostbusters hotel-style do not disturb sign, a set of Tetris stickers in bright neon colors. I can't wait to adorn something with them, I just haven't decided and I don't want to waste them.
Overall, another valiant effort LootCrate. I love the Joker figure even though Batman isn't really my jam. I think it was a smart decision to broaden the themes for the crates. They really do have something for everyone and this crate contained more useful goods than in the past.
Full disclosure: I paid for my LootCrate subscription.
More info on subscriptions and pricing at LootCrate

October Loot Crate is Fear-ful!

Hey everybody, its Loot Crate time again. For those of you who aren't familiar with Loot Crates, they are a subscription service providing a monthly box of geeky, nerdy goodness all matching a particular theme. There are always exclusive items, including figures and t-shirts. Its like a little box of ComicCon. 

In all honesty, I've been getting crates ever since my last review but I keep missing the window in getting a review posted. But I made it and today we're talking about October's crate, Fear. This spooky themed box featured an exclusive t-shirt and it was awesome.

It's a skull, made out of cats. Take it in. 

How to Survive a Sharknado survival handbook. Its a worst-case scenario style guide for SyFy channel movie disasters. A must-have should you encounter a ghost shark or a Mongolian Death Worm. (Spoiler alert - a shot-gun is almost always a good idea)

Probably the geekiest item in the box, a Sledgesaw-Hammer pen from Dead-Rising 3. It came packaged in a teeny-tiny footlocker box. Not my jam game-wise, but my action figures will delight in wielding it.

The Walking Dead comic #132, I would've been disappointed in a horror-themed crate with no Walking Dead.

Overall, outstanding crate. Not my favorite thus far because last month's crate, Galaxy, was so very flail-worthy and horror is not my genre but still excellent. Loot Crate's new broader crates offer something for everybody. I'm happy with every crate even if the theme is not my jam. 

For more info on Loot Crate visit them here. 

Full disclosure, I have a subscription that I pay for.

June LootCrate Rolls Out

Guess what everybody! Its June Loot Crate time! Here there be spoilers, so if you haven't received yours yet or you haven't ordered one stop here. Okay I've warned you, so lets dive in!

The theme for this month's crate was Transform, and that meant a load of sweet Tranformers stuff. Definitely great preparation for the new Transformers movie, Age of Extinction which comes out next week, don't you think?

Looks promising! I spy a Transformers/Back to the Future mash up tee and a blind box figure!

So stoked to wear this Back to the Future/Tranformers mashup tee. Perfect, red is my favorite color.

It's Soundwave! My box ended up being Team Decepticon.

A Hexbug! I've seen these little guys before but never played with one. They're incredibly fun.

Also in the box, a sticker sheet of popular Major League Gaming team logos, a coupon for a MLG membership, a MLG sweatband, a Decepticon sticker, Warheads (these were such a huge part of my childhood), and the June Loot Crate pin. 

This is my second loot crate. I meant to do an unboxing last month but I got so excited that I ended up just tearing into it instead. I have to say that I'm really impressed with how well the system works and the value of each crate compared to the cost of the subscription. To be fair, there is a fair amount of plugging for partner companies and some of the crate merch is the sort of swag you might pick up at a con but I would definitely recommend Loot Crate to anybody who is a serious pop culture/video game geek. 

Loot crate subscriptions start at $19.37 for a one month subscription and they can be found here. If you like what you see its not too late to get June's crate. Keep an eye out for coupon codes, they can save you a bundle.

Full Disclosure: I paid a normal subscription price for my crate.