Loot Crate - December, 2014 - Anniversary

Heya, peeps! Mike here, and this month, I wasn't sure if I would be writing a Loot Crate entry or not since Canada Post is notoriously bad during the Christmas season. To my surprise, I found my box at the front door yesterday, which was a Sunday. Either the postal service actually worked on a weekend or my Crate was accidentally delivered to someone else earlier in the week and then they left it at my door. Either way, I'm just glad I got it! :)

For those of you who haven't heard of Loot Crate, it is a monthly subscription box that caters towards "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a themed box of 6 to 8 items. What's interesting is that Loot Crate has different subscription programs. Here's a breakdown:

1 Month Plan - $19.37 USD / $29.95 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $55.11 USD / $84.00 CAD per 3 months

6 Month Plan - $105.99 USD / $162.00 CAD per 6 months

DECEMBER - ANNIVERSARY

This month, Loot Crate went with a theme that is a little out of the ordinary. Instead of something "nerdy" like dragons or space, they decided to celebrate the anniversaries of nerdy franchises. 30 years of Ghostbusters. 25 years of Simpsons. 30 years of Tetris... I'll stop there 'cause now I'm feeling old! Ha ha! Anyway, Looters were promised some sweet items, including an exclusive Pop! figure, so I was really excited for this box. What did I get? Here's a list:

- Loot Crate Mini Magazine ($2.50 CAD)

- Loot Crate Theme Pin ($0.75 CAD)

- Ghostbusters Door Hanger ($3.00 CAD)

- Tetris Stickers Set ($17.00 CAD)

- Simpsons Mighty Wallet ($12.00 CAD)

- Captain America Air Freshener ($5.00 CAD)

- Groot Socks ($13.00 CAD)

- Batman #36 Comic Book ($5.00 CAD)

- Joker-Batman Pop! Figure ($15.00 CAD)

- Crunchyroll Coupon ($7.50 CAD)

- Candy Cane ($0.15 CAD)

Custom Loot Crate Box

I guess it's no surprise that we Looters got a custom box yet again. Seriously, Loot Crate rocks in this regard. What I love about this month's box is that not only is it the Batcave, it's a Funko Pop! Batcave! It's official - This is my favourite custom box so far!

Loot Crate Mini Magazine

This month's magazine is one of the best I've seen. I was blown away by the cover designed by Josh Mirman, who is known for his art style of using words to create characters. Inside, there is an interview with none other than Stan Lee! Wow! A definite treat for True Believers!

Loot Crate Theme Pin

I want to criticize the simple design of the pin we got this month, but I can't because I actually like it. Sure, it's just the Loot Crate logo with a couple of stars next to it on a gold background, but it looks good. Thumbs up over here.

Ghostbusters Door Hanger

This is honestly not the best Ghostbusters item they could have given Looters, but it's still very cool. Plus, it's 2-sided and exclusive to Loot Crate. I'm not really a fan of the Slimer side, but the Ghost Bustin' side is definitely being displayed on one of the doors in my house.

Tetris Sticker Set

This is cool. Really, really cool. I love stickers and this Tetris set is just awesome. I can't wait to show them to my niece, who I'm sure will have half of them all over her stuff in a matter of minutes!

Simpsons Mighty Wallet

I love the Simpsons and I've always wanted to get a Mighty Wallet. Now, I have a Mighty Wallet with an awesome Simpsons design on it! Sweet!

Captain America Air Freshener

Apparently, Captain America smells like vanilla. Let the jokes begin!

Groot Socks

This! THIS! This is the kind of item that keeps me coming back for more Loot Crate month after month. Easily my favourite item in this box and one of my favourites from Loot Crate so far!

Batman #36 Comic Book

I love the Loot Crate exclusive cover on this comic and the fact that it comes with some bonus digital comics. However, I will say that I would have preferred a #1 or #0 comic over one that puts you right in the middle of a story arc. If you Google "Batman 36", you'll see that this issue is actually the second part of the Endgame arc. I understand that DC probably hopes that people will buy #35 in order to be able to read the story arc as a whole, but I feel that a better way to get people into a comic series is to get them in from the start with a #1 or a #0.

Joker-Batman Pop! Figure

Now, we come to the most talked-about item that was announced for this month's Loot Crate - The exclusive Funko Pop! figure! I admit that this is not even close to anything I would have expected. Batman is awesome, but I honestly don't know what to think of this figure. It's so... weird... I'll just leave it at that.

Crunchyroll Coupon

I had never heard of Crunchyroll until I received this card and I really appreciate the 30-day trial. I love Anime, so I'm hoping to take full advantage of this trial.

Candy Cane

A December subscription box wouldn't be complete without some nod at the fact that it's Christmas month. It's why Nerd Block is such a disappointment. They don't even acknowledge the fact that Christmas exists. I understand not everyone celebrates Christmas, but why be PC about it? Christmas is fun! So, this candy cane? It's awesome. Thank you, Loot Crate.

OVERVIEW

My first December Loot Crate was wonderful. I was blown away by not only the amount of items, but by how awesome most of them were. I even have a new item added to my all-time favourites list! The thought and effort put into making this box and all the ones I've received before it are what are keeping me on as a subscriber. I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store!

Speaking of 2015, in January, the theme is going to be REWIND. I'm super excited since I love retro stuff! If you're interested in learning more about Loot Crate, please check out their Web Site. And, if you would like to subscribe, you can get $3 off using the code REWIND

This concludes my final blog entry of 2014. Here's wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and very MERRY NEW YEAR! See you in 2015!

~ Mike

Nerd Block (Classic) - December, 2014

Heya, peeps! Mike here, and I bet you're looking at this entry and going, "WHAAAAAAT?!" I mean, I did say back in March that I was Nerdvorcing Nerd Block, right? Right. So, what's this madness, you ask? Well, my buddy Ryan just HAD to tell me that the December Nerd Block Classic had an autographed item that I could not pass up since it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for Jess (which is why she isn't allowed to read this entry until after Christmas, ha ha). Yes, I was swayed to give Nerd Block a booty call because of an autograph. Sigh.

A lot has changed since the last time I was a subscriber. The overlords over at Nerd Block HQ apparently thought it was cool to create a bunch of different Blocks, so now there's Nerd Block Classic, Nerd Block Jr. Boy, Nerd Block Jr. Girl, Horror Block, and Arcade Block. It blows my mind that they think this is a good idea. What's next? Sci-Fi Block? Fantasy Block? Nerd Block Baby? Nerd Block Teen? Nerd Block Young Adult? I can kind of understand why they're splitting everything up, but for me, one simple Nerd Block should be enough. Adding a Jr. was okay, but now it's just too much.

Anyway, in case you didn't know, Nerd Block is a monthly subscription box and each month, people receive all sorts of products from "nerdy" franchises. Here is some information:

- $19.99 USD plus shipping per month

- $30 CAD total per month in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

DECEMBER, 2014

Like I said above, I came back to Nerd Block because of a stupid autograph. Of course, when I clicked the "Subscribe" button, I was still hoping to be wowed by the other items in the Block. So, what did I get? Here's a list:

- Harry Potter Butterbeer T-Shirt ($15.00 CAD)

- Firefly Peanuts T-Shirt ($15.00 CAD)

- Tetris Notebook ($10.00 CAD)

- Gremlins Gizmo Plushie ($15.00 CAD)

- KRE-O D&D Figure ($2.50 CAD)

- Autographed "Willow" Poster ($10.00 CAD)

Harry Potter Butterbeer T-Shirt

OMG! WHY?! Had this shirt arrived one week earlier, I would have been able to wear it to my friend's Harry Potter birthday party! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Still, I love this shirt. Great design, good colour combo. It's a keeper!

Firefly Peanuts T-Shirt

This month's Nerd Block is special because Shirt Punch gave subscribers 2 shirts instead of one. The second shirt in my Block had the above Firefly design drawn in the classic Peanuts style. It's nice, but not for me. My only complaint is that the shirt was stained, as seen in the second photo above. It's worse because the shirt is white! I'm gifting this item, so I hope my buddy I'm giving it to won't mind washing before wearing.

Tetris Notebook

I like and don't like this Tetris notebook. It's cool and all, but when I first saw it in the box, I wasn't really blown away. When I showed it to Jess, however, she immediately wanted it, so it's hers now.

Gremlins Gizmo Plushie

I loved the Gremlins movies growing up, so getting this plushie was pretty awesome.

KRE-O D&D Figure

I love Lego and Lego-like toys, but for some reason, I've never been able to bring myself to actually buy any of the KRE-O Dungeons & Dragons random figure packs I've seen in stores. It may have something to do with the poor quality of the KRE-O Transformers toys I've bought in the past. Or, maybe they just don't look very good. I mean, check out the figure I got. Lego Castle totally kicks its butt...

Autographed "Willow" Poster

We now come to the reason why I subscribed to Nerd Block this month. That above is a poster card of the movie "Willow" featuring a real deal autograph of Warwick Davis. Nerd Block had stated that the poster could have his autograph or that of Val Kilmer. Jess loves both actors, so I  just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get her this poster. I admit that the size of the poster was smaller than I expected, but I'm still happy with it. I'm sure Jess will be delighted when she finds this under the Christmas tree!

OVERVIEW

I'll be honest - I was completely underwhelmed by Nerd Block. Sure, the combined value of the items was more than worth the price I paid and I'm happy to have an awesome poster for Jess, a cool T-shirt for my pal, and a shirt for myself. However, as a whole, I generally feel "blah" about this Block. Others may have been blown away, but I just didn't get the feeling of joy and excitement that I normally get from unboxing a Loot Crate. So, this December Nerd Block shall forever be known as my One Month Stand.

I'm sorry for cheating on you, Loot Crate.