Star Wars Rivals by Funko Games

I first heard about Star Wars Rivals during the lead up to this year's May the Fourth "celebration." (May 25th will always be Star Wars Day for me!) From what I saw it was going to be a Walmart exclusive and in conjunction with the Fourth, they were supposed to have events or something to kick off the release. 

 

 Now that I'm actually reading the Funko game site, the starter set was available for pre-release online at Walmart starting 5/4 with wider availability in June. Still doesn't explain why I haven't seen any until a few weeks ago. Update: I stopped in Walmart today (7/27) and they had the starter set next to the action figures but the boosters are still in the game section...two aisles apart!

No Starter Sets to be found, just a lonely, single box of booster packs near the board game section. Luckily, you only need one Light Side and one Dark Side to play the game. 

 

We'll break it open after the...well, break. 

Dungeons & Dragons Mystery Minis (Series 1) by KidRobot

 It feels like it's been more than a few months since I first caught wind of KidRobot's Dungeons & Dragonis Mystery Mini series. After waiting and waiting to see them pop up at a local store, I deicded to snag a couple online.

As far as blind packed figures go, I felt they're a little pricey. But I say that as someone that has no clue what KidRobot figs are going for right now. Most places I found online have them around $15. I ended up ordering from ToyWiz who had them at $13.99. Plus they gave a first time sign up bonus of 5% off. They also have series 2 up for pre-order so I guess I'll be grabbing a couple more!

Here are the contents and odds for Series 1. If you're not familiar with these creatures, they're all based on the artwork from the original AD&D Monster Manual. That original art is what gives them their interesting, slightly weird style. As you'll see, they basically took the illustration and turned it into a 3D figure. And if I had planned this post out better, I would have taken the pics from the same angle as the illustrations.

Personally, I was hoping for the Dragon or Rust Monster as those stand out for me and take me way back to flipping through the Monster Manual when I first got into D&D . They're just certain ones that have stuck with me. I also like Mimics but prefer them showing off a lot of teeth. So, what did I get?

12 Year Blog-iversary

 Initially, I wasn't even going to do a celbration post this year. Twelve is one of those weird tween years where you're a couple years into double digits but not quite a teenager. Thirteen is where it's at! But, once I decided to do this post, there was only one image that would be worthy to kick it off.

If you can't hear this image, you probably had a terrible childhood.

Over the years, I've made 1324 posts which averages to 110 per year! I try to do one a week and every day in October, taking most of September off to prep.

The all time Top 10 posts stayed the same but the order shook up a little bit.

I do actually enjoy doing these annual posts because I'll always remember certain things about my life at the time I started the blog. 

Monthly Media Recap - June 2023

Depending on when you're reading this, I may be in a theater for one last go round with Dr Jones. I'm really hoping he gets to go out on a high note. 

Streaming

Psych (s1, Amazon Prime)

Mrs Dex has been telling me for years that I would love this show and she's 100% correct! She recently found two of the stars are doing a rewatch podcast where they go episode by episode and talk about them. Since she was going to watch anyway, I figured it was a good time to jump in. It is incredibly funny and I think it's only improved by listening to the podcast after each episode.

Slasher: Solstice (S3, Netflix)

This season is focused on the occupants of an apartment building that are being stalked by a masked killer known as the Druid. I have to applaud the writers for having so many characters with interconnected story lines. The series continues to impress me with the brutality and gruesomeness of the kills.

Muppets Mayhem (Disney+)

Thank you, whoever had faith that you can make an entertaining Muppet thing that doesn't include any of the "big name" cast. I've always liked the Mayhem (who doesn't?) and it was really cool to see them center stage for an entire series. The celeb cameos were all great too.

Black Mirror (S6, Netflix)

I can't believe it's been four years since the last season! This group of five new shows is branching out a bit from what we've come to expect and I'm here for it. The final episode, Demon 79, is a testing ground for possible companion series called Red Mirror that would lean more towards horror.