Funko Smuggler's Bounty - Rogue One

This box actually came last month, but I figured what better time to post it than the movie's release? As this post is going live I am in line waiting to see Rogue One!

This box was definitely longer than previous ones.

As always, we'll start with the patch and pin that greet you when you open the box.

The patch could almost look like Obi-Wan if you squint but it's Cassian Andor...wearing Han Solo's Hoth gear. I haven't seen the movie yet but I have watched a few interviews with the cast and I think I have a little man crush going on Diego Luna already.

The pin is the droid K-2SO. Based on what little we've seen from him, I think he's going to be a huge hit. They even made a kid's role play costume for him!

Funko delivers another first in a new product line this box with a mini-Hikari Vader. Although Hikaris look like they would be rubbery to the touch (at least I think so) they are vinyl figures. This figure came in five different colors: blue (hologram blue I call it), red, gold, clear, and of course, black. These "mini" versions are around 3" tall.

There are two exclusive Pop figures in this box which were no surprise. Funko has decided recently to give a sneak peek of their sub boxes. On one hand, it ruins the surprise of not knowing what you're getting. On the other hand, it might encourage you to buy a box if you see something cool will be in it. Funko doesn't seem to publicize it much, but you can usually buy past boxes from them and you can see everything that comes in the box.

Anyway, enough about that! This Deathrooper was a little difficult in the photo studio being 99% black. They did do the visor and the spots on the chin in a very dark green which you can barely notice looking at it under normal light. It's just a middle of the road Pop for me. They look badass in the footage but in figure form, they're not very exciting because they're almost monochromatic.

The second Pop is our heroine Jyn Erso. Being the star, she's got quite a few variants out there. This "commando" look is pretty cool. She's got some oversize goggles for her oversized head, a little tactical light on the side of her helmet, and a breathing mask on her chest.

The final item is a poster style Pop shirt. I have to ding them a point on this for leaving out K-2SO, but it's got AT-ACTs on it so they kind of balance out the loss. Whether it was intentional or not, Vader's red eyes are bringing me back to his original Marvel Comics appearance where he frequently had a red tint to his eyes.

I've been thinking of dropping my subscription. It's not that I don't love most of the stuff I'm getting, it's just the boxes are piling up! The next box is Hoth themed and comes with a Han on Tauntaun Pop hat looks pretty sweet. Plus, I don't know if I can pass on an Empire themed box. I can't wait til they get around to Bespin!

Star Wars Rogue One Playing Cards

The folks at Cartamundi are at it again! 

Another Star Wars movie means more Star Wars playing cards!

We recently got a Think Geek store at our mall and if nothing else, they have become my go to spot for playing cards. Walgreens has been pretty good but they don't seem to keep up with the new releases very well. I found a Rebels deck in Think Geek I didn't even know existed before seeing it in the store.

But we're here for Rogue One...

As with most recent releases, this deck is available in a collectible tin in addition to the standard tuck box. While I like the tins and think they look great, I prefer the tuck box because it makes it much easier to store them. Most of my collection is tuck boxes.

Each card has a Rebel symbol in one corner and an Imperial in the opposite corner. The three trooper Jokers above substitute Death Star halves for suit rankings.

If you use the Star Wars Card Trader app, a lot of the art in this deck will be familiar to you. The suits each have a theme to them, which is something I really enjoy seeing.

Clubs are a split image featuring the same character. These images can be seen in the SWCT app as triptychs. I don't know what you call them when it's only two images...bitych? duotych?  I suppose using all three panels with the playing card frame would have made them too small. Here's the card in the app used for the 4 of Clubs (top left).

Diamonds seem to be all about the Death Star. The art varies but every card in this suit has the Death Star looming large on it. How great is that Two of Diamonds? With Scarif being a "beach planet" there's been a lot of tropical style art coming out.

Spades seem to have a lot of different character based art. Lastly, Hearts is the informational suit with character images and descriptions. It sort of reminds me of the spotter decks used during war time, which is very appropriate.

For $4, you can't go wrong with this deck!

Merry Creepmas!

Whether you celebrated by posting, decorating, or just reading along, thank you for keeping the spirit alive!

Happy Horror-days, to you and yours

Shout out to Jay of The Sexy Armpit and Purple Stuff podcast for introducing me to what just may be the ultimate Creepmas song...

Cracked Monster Party (1989)

Well, this isn't exactly winter holiday themed, but it's got monsters and I'm giving it to you as a present...so I guess that works!

Click on the cover to get your very own copy of Cracked Monster Party from 1989! It's got plenty of horror-inspired hi-jinks.

You will need some sort of comic reader program to view the cbz file. I prefer CDisplay myself. Or you can just unzip it and look at the images individually.

Viscera Cleanup Detail - Santa's Rampage

Viscera Cleanup Detail (VCD) is a simulation video game currently available on Steam.

In Viscera Cleanup Detail, you step into the boots of a space-station janitor tasked with cleaning up after various horrific sci-fi horror events. Instead of machine guns and plasma-rifles, your tools are a mop and bucket. That hero left a mess, and it's up to you to deal with the aftermath.

Doesn't sound very Christmas-y does it? That's where the DLC comes in! In the Santa's Rampage DLC, you're sent to clean up a big mess at the North Pole. I will throw out a caution that the following images contain plenty of video game blood.

Being a simulation game, there's not much action...okay, no action. You've got your trusty mop and a few other tools to sanitize Santa's Workshop and dispose of elf and reindeer bits.

That weird spider-looking thing is your mop. I played around with the game for a bit and found it frustrating. I'm sure if I sat down to play it seriously (as much as you can where you do nothing but clean) I'd get the hang of it. See all that pretty blood? You get rid of it by mopping it up. After awhile, the mop gets saturated so you can guess what happens when you try to "clean" at that point. There's a machine that produces buckets of water to rinse the mop in but if you know over a bucket of dirty water...more mess. Also making more mess, if you're not careful, are your own feet. Stepping in anything gooey gets it on your shoes and you will track it around.

In addition to cleaning up all the red stuff, you have to dispose of any body parts, liquor bottles, or other unsavory things in the workshop.

As you'd expect in a janitorial game, the creators have quite a sense of humor. Click on the bookshelf to get a better view! Some of the titles include DIY Dentistry, Alimony Horror Stories, Reindeer Hoof & Antler Care, and Weight Loss Secrets of the Super Rich.

While walking around, you'll start to wonder just what the heck happened that caused Ol Saint Nick to go postal. There are a few letters on his desk providing clues. One from the elves warning of their wrath if work conditions don't improve, a lawsuit notice for damages caused by reindeer defecating on homes, and one from Santa's brother Krampus who's writing from jail asking for bail money!

It was fun to poke around the workshop for a bit but I found this is not my type of game. I enjoy the humor of the environments, If you check out the sci-fi ones you'll see some familiar looking things. There's plenty to clean in the levels but it just doesn't scratch the gaming itch for me. I could see some people, maybe even myself, enjoying this in an almost Zen way of chilling out. I just prefer to be the one causing the damage rather than cleaning it up.

Merry Monster Christmas

Even blogs are not immune from winter reruns. Here's a blast from Creepmas past.

Back in the heyday of monster movies and novelty songs, Len Maxwell released A Merry Monster Christmas in 1964. The comedy skits and songs might sound a bit corny, but I think the mix of classic monsters with the holiday season is pretty much perfect.

I absolutely love Igor on this album. There's just something about the way he exclaims "Master! Master!" that I find hilarious.

The album was remastered and release on CD in 2005, but judging from the Amazon reviews, they changed some of the material. As a Creepmas gift to you, I present it in it's original form.

Click on the album cover to open your gift!

O Horrid Night Winner!

The winner of the holiday horror anthology "O Horrid Night" is...

Crystal!

Keep an eye on your inbox.
Or whatever spare body part you have hanging around.

Didn't win but still want to check out the book?
You can still order a physical copy from FunDead's shop or an e-book from Amazon.

Thanks to everyone that participated!

Now Hear This - Creepmas Music

You can't properly deck the halls with parts of Charlie without some festive music playing, right? Here's a few suggestions to get you started.

The Krampus by Jonah Knight is a mellow, folksy song. You could probably slip this one on during a party and anyone actually paying attention will wonder what they're listening to.

Do the Krampus by Party the Hut is a fun surf-style ditty and it's pretty catchy. It sounds like it could have inspired a dance craze in the 50s/60s.

Krampus by Isolated Beingz is about what I imagine a holiday song from Insane Clown Posse would sound like. It's not for me, but I like to give options.
And, oh yeah, explicit lyrics galore.

One Hell of a Christmas certainly puts out one hell of a Christmas album. This hair metal ode to Krampus is definitely worth a listen. And while you're at it, check out the full album for some rockin holiday covers.

The final entry from Krampus Claus is more comedic. Let me see if I can describe it...Imagine Smurfs singing Christmas classics. Now imagine instead of saying Smurf every other word, they say Krampus. There you go.

Do you have any favorite Creepmas tunes?
Let me know!

HorrorNaments

Whether you're decorating for Creepmas, Halloween, or you just want to keep that spooky vibe year round, you'll want to check out HorrorNamets!

Their current collection clocks in at 30 horror themed ornaments and they look amazing.
Here's just a few to give you an idea of why you should have stopped reading and clicked over to their site already!

Of course there's the patron saint of Creepmas, Krampus himself.

 I love the look of this guy! Generally I like pumpkin-headed people but you don't see too many pumpkin-headed creatures.

There must have been some black magic in this ol' hat. I really like the eyeballs for buttons.

Every holiday tree needs a creepy clown or it's just not complete.

They've got plenty more HorrorNaments including skulls, pumpkins, a haunted house, and traditional monsters like vampire bats, a mummy, and a werewolf.

Happy Krampusnacht!

 
December 6th may be the Feast of St Nicholas, but today is Krampusnacht! Although the idea of holding parties and parades to celebrate the darker icon of the holidays started in Austria and Germany, more and more places in the US have embraced it.

By the way, if you're reading this during the 13 Days of Creepmas and don't have a clue who or what Krampus is, click here!

You wouldn't really know it by watching, but this video was taken in Virginia last year. I'm totally on board with what the interviewee is saying and hope more cities over here start having Krampusnacht celebrations.

Here's my Krampus Pinterest board if you just can't get enough.

Don't forget to enter the "O Horrid Night" book giveaway!

O Horrid Night: Book Giveaway

Salem MA based FunDead Publications held a launch party over the weekend for their latest release, O Horrid Night: Chilling Holiday Tales for the Black-Hearted.

I wasn't able to attend but I did reach out to them and they have so graciously donated a copy of the book for a Creepmas contest! Winner will receive the book and other FunDead treats.

From the back cover:

Pristine, white snow shrouds evil things that revel in the longest, darkest night of the year. A fresh waft of peppermint brightens a monster’s foul breath. World weary ghosts have only until dawn to seek their retribution. The wind howls through the trees, or is that a choir of unearthly voices? 

“O Horrid Night” revives the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve, when it is said that the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest, and spirits may walk the earth. Such tales were in vogue in Victorian England (remember good old Jacob Marley), but the origins of the tradition stretch back in time, in celebrations of the Winter Solstice, Yule, and Sol Invictus. 

 Gather your friends and loved ones together, get cozy with warm drinks or a roaring fire, and give them the gift of a spine-chilling ancient holiday tradition.

Don't like contests? (What is wrong with you?)
You can still order a physical copy from FunDead's shop or e-book from Amazon.

Writers and artists may want to keep an eye on FunDead's site as they will be looking for submissions again in 2017.

Rules & Junk
To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below.
Contest is only open to US residents. Winner will be drawn on 12/10.

 When leaving a comment, make sure you either have your email address in your profile or you put some way to contact you in the comment.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Krampus Krafts

Here's a few decorative Krampus items to help you celebrate the season.

Etsy seller Wyrdworks offers a couple of Krampus items to liven up the home.
First are these 5" Krampus candles ($20) in one of two festive colors! These look like a great sculpt, definitely something I'd get more for a decorative piece than to light it.

Second is some Krampus soap. For just $12, two heads are better than one with this pack.

WenssWeirdCreations hand makes these adorable 7" tall Krampus ornaments.
And it's just $8!

TheSewingSensei has a 9" tall Krampus doll for $20. I really like the look of this one because it looks like he came out of an episode of Adventure Time.

If you've got a little extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to check out this Baby Krampus ($100) by Drakenstein Art. Even if it's out of your price range, definitely check out the others in their Baby series including Beetlejuice, Sam from Trick R Treat, and Jack Skellington.

I just got a set of these postcards from EricOctober. You can't go wrong with 20 for $10!

There's plenty more Krampus stuff to be found on Etsy. It makes me happy to see him getting so much love. Maybe one day he'll break into the big time in the US.

Brad McGinty Holiday Postcards

Artist Brad McGinty is back with another set of oddball holiday postcards.

While the holidays are a time of joy for many, they can also be dangerous! This helpful reminder postcard could prevent family and friends from spending needless hours on the porcelain throne.

All I'm going to say is be careful under that mistletoe, kids.

This one is my favorite although I don't know if you'd actually be able to slap an address on it and get it delivered. Just the thing if you need to cancel last minute.

In addition to these three new ones, all of his previous years holiday postcards are still available. Head over to GlorpGum.com and get yours today!