May 2016 Loot Crate - Power

If you got the May Loot Crate, you'd be playing with Power!
Because that's the theme...not because it came with a Power Glove.

Disclaimer
Loot Crate provides me with product every month in exchange for review/promotion.

This month's mag has a Hulk-tastic cover and fun things like Thanos' Muffins of Death (by Chocolate) cupcake recipe, a 5 page interview with Warcraft movie star Robert Kazinsky, and a guide to the Infinity Gems. They wrote some of the articles around the items we got which I like. Before, the loot was featured by itself with brief text talking about it.

The pin is from the new video game Battleborn and it unlocks same rare in-game items.

Our first item this month is an Age of Ultron based Hulk Q-Fig from Quantum Mechanix. This is the third Q-Fig we've gotten in recent months and they're pretty cool for being a few inches high. I really like the art style and the amount of detail they pack.

Now you can control of all Time and Space in your kitchen with the Infinity Mitt! But I wouldn't suggest using it for anything other than maybe taking toast out of the toaster. It doesn't seem to be well insulated or thick enough to pull something out of the oven.

UPDATE: Since writing this post I received a voluntary recall from Loot Crate stating there have been "isolated incidents" of the mitt not performing as it should:

"Loot Crate will take appropriate steps to secure the Infinity Gauntlet Oven Mitts that were distributed on an urgent basis. Please store this product in a safe place until we can develop the appropriate return or disposal protocol. Our sincere apologies for this inconvenience. Loot Crate stands behind the quality of the products we offer and will ensure that our Looters receive a replacement product of equal or greater value, or a sufficient refund."

Next to that is a Dragonball Z Plush keychain. The book says it's a keychain, I say it's a backpack buddy. I've never watched DBZ but yeah, it's a cute little Chinese dragon.

And this month's shirt is from Warcraft. Another insanely geeky thing I have had no interaction with whatsoever. There's only one Alliance for me, and it's got Rebels!

Here's a shot of the Hulk Q-Fig against the inside of the box. I love the grin on him. It looks like he could be really angry but it also looks like he's going to enjoy smashing you.

This month may have been Power, but I'm feeling more Prince Adam than He-Man. It happens to everyone from time to time, the loot just doesn't hit your preferred areas of pop culture. Not a big deal, considering how good they've been the past few months.

If you want to get Powerful loot breaking down your door every month, jump over to LootCrate.com and use promo code AEIOUwhy for 10% off any subscription.

April 2016 Loot Crate - Quest

It's dangerous to go alone, take this Loot Crate!

April's theme is Quest and whether you're trying to rescue a younger sibling from the Goblin King or get challenged to a Viking drinking contest, they've got you covered.

I've been playing around with a chromakey app for these photos to make them a little more exciting than the usual plain green background.

The booklet has a couple of recipes for "Tiamat Punch" and "House Cup" drinks and a guide for avoiding quests. It seems to be getting a little heavy with self-promotional ads as Loot Crate now offers several other sub boxes like Loot Anime, Loot Gaming, Firefly Crate, and Loot Pets.

The pin is a d20 on a shield. The pin unlocks a companion in the Neverwinter Nights MMO: a gelatinous cube! There's something I'd never have considered as a companion.

We'll kick things off with a mini-poster for Uncharted 4. Not much to say about this as I'm only barely passingly familiar with the game series.

Next is a pair of Harry Potter horcrux socks, just the thing to keep your piggies warm while searching across the land for mystical objects.

The other object is a little hard to see unless you click for the larger version. It's a d20 silicon ice mold. The "cube" it makes is probably a little bigger than a golf ball. The instructions say to fill it only 90% with water which is hard to do when you put the top on. Anyone know why? Anyone? That's right kids, when water freezes it expands which makes it a bit of a challenge to get it out of the mold.

It doesn't photograph well...heck, it's hard to see it in real life. But it does actually make a d20 shaped ice polyhedron!

From the History Channel's Vikings, and Chronicle Collectibles, comes a 1:2 scale drinking horn. In case you're wondering how you're supposed to put down a pointed drinking vessel, it comes with a neck strap.

And finally is this awesome Labyrinth shirt in tribute to David Bowie. Granted it's one of the movie posters and not a new design but it's Labyrinth!

If you turn the box inside out, you get an a-maze-ing surprise!

Overall, this Crate didn't quite fulfill its Quest for me. It sort of got to the ruins after the real adventures had already been there, killed all the monsters, and taken almost all the treasure but didn't find that one secret compartment in the floor that was stashing a little bit of loot.

If you want to get sweet swag dropped on your doorstep every month, head over to Loot Crate and sign up! Use code AEIOUWHY for 10% off any subscription plan.

Disclaimer
Loot Crate supplies me with product every month in exchange for a review and/or promotion on social media.

March 2016 Loot Crate - Vs

Disclaimer

Loot Crate provides a carton of cool to me every month in exchange for a review and promotion.

There's a whole lot of fighting going on lately and I don't just mean at Trump rallies! We've got Daredevil facing off against Punisher, the court case Batman v Superman, and soon a full blown Civil War! This month's Loot Crate is all about epic match-ups.

The exclusive pin features what should have been the greatest galactic throwdown: Aliens vs Predator. I can only hope that premise gets the movie it deserves someday!

The mag has tips for geeks and gamers to defeat any opponent, a Where's Waldo-esque Spot the Spock game, and how you can cultivate that evil doppelgänger look.

Can't decide if you like Daredevil or Punisher better? Thanks to this reversible hat from Bioworld, you don't have to! The characters might be hard, but the fabric is soft when keeping your noggin warm.

Next up is an exclusive one-shot of Harley Quinn where she uncorks a genie bottle and all sorts of crazy ensues. Well, I guess more crazy than normal! And there's also a BvS Mighty Wallet from Dynomighty featuring movie poster artwork. These wallets are pretty rad being made from a single folded sheet of Tyvek.

Artist Juan Ortiz not only provided the art for this month's shirt, but he has an entire book (Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz) featuring poster style art for every episode of the original series! Every. Episode.

Lastly, my favorite thing in the box: a Titan AvP figure! This vinyl figure is about 4.5" tall and is awesome! Looters randomly got an Alien or Predator. Sure, Predators look cooler, but Aliens are creepier. I love all the detail they put on this lil guy.

And here he is in front of the interior of the Loot Crate box. The other side, of course, has a Predator hunting ground jungle scene.

I give the March Loot Crate 4 out of 5 skulls of my enemies! They picked some great franchises and everything really follows the Vs theme very well.

If you'd like to get some geeky goodness delivered to your door every month, head on over to Loot Crate and sign up! You can get 10% off any subscription plan by using promo code AEIOUwhy. The April theme is Quest (see right sidebar) and I'm pretty excited for it as it's going to have something from Labyrinth in it!

February 2016 Loot Crate - Dead

Disclaimer
The fine folks at Loot Crate supply me with a box o' goodies every month
in exchange for review and promotion

Ah February, the month of love. The month The Walking Dead returns to TV and Deadpool is tearing up the box office. Naturally this month's theme is Dead.

Let's dig in, shall we?

Plenty of fun to be had between the pages this month: a brief zombie apocalypse survival guide, an interview with iZombie's coroner, Rahul Kohli, and a recipe for Deadpool tacos. If there was one thing the Deadpool movie was missing, it was Mexican food!

The pin is an undead Loot Crate. Whoa, hold the phone! I just had to add 'undead' to my spell check dictionary. What kind of a world is this? Anyway...the pin has a secret code on the back to unlock Carl Grimes in the Road to Survival Walking Dead mobile game. Not bad!

Quantum Mechanix delivers an exclusive Deadpool figure. He's the perfect size for a desk, being only a few inches high. I'm still not entirely convinced the dark cloud behind him is smoke but it makes sense as he's jumping out of an explosion. Some people will get a variant X-Force outfit version.

What better way to get yourself clean after a day in the zombie apocalypse than this Walking Dead soap-on-a-rope? Or you could just leave it out in the bathroom when you have company over.

On the left is an exclusive Walking Dead big head construction figure from McFarlane Toys.

Here's Daryl against the inside of the Loot Crate box. These figures look pretty cool but as "construction" toys they suck. The parts don't snap in so as you try to assemble it, you end up popping off other parts. If you look close, you can see his right shoulder peg sticking out slightly. Once you get it together, set it somewhere to admire it.

And rounding out the Crate is a Deadpool shirt! I'm not sure why his guns are excited for tacos, but hey, it's Deadpool, so who knows? I promise this will be my last time griping about the shirts being made for 20-somethings and being practically see through.

Overall, this was a pretty solid Crate! I'd give it 4 out 5 Headpools.

If you want to get sweet swag delivered to your bunker every month, head over to Loot Crate. You can enter promo code AEIOUwhy for 10% off any subscription plan. Even if you only order one box, you can still save 10%!

January 2016 Loot Crate - Invasion

Attention Earthlings:

The Supreme Overlords at Loot Crate graciously provide their humble servant with goodness every month in exchange for sharing it with the masses.

Look to the skies and you just may witness the latest Loot Crate: Invasion!

Run for your lives!

Loot Crate seems to be stepping up their game in the new year. The magazine is now printed on sturdier matte paper where it was previously more "magazine"-like and glossy. They've also changed the monthly button to a cloisonne pin. The cardboard backing tells you how to access some extra DLC Loot! This month it's the first issue of a comic called Letter 44.

The magazine has a brief guide on how to survive an alien invasion, an article on tv/movie invaders, an X-Files Who's Who, and an interview with this month's shirt artist. There's also a X-Files crossword and a match the alien to its ship page.

Kicking it off is a pair of 9" x 6" mini art prints from Quantum Mechanix. I love these! I have a few 11" x 17" mini posters hanging up of other classics from the 50s and 60s. Not only do I really like the sci-fi of that era but you can't beat the poster art.

The smallest item in this month's Crate is probably my favorite! This little bugger might be only 2" high, but he's full on 3D! I would have preferred the green/blue variation just because when I think Space Invaders, I think of the original, all-green graphics. It'd be really cool if they made the other Invaders in this form too. Then of course, I'd need the tank and shields.

While we're talking Space Invaders, here's what happens if you turn the Crate inside out! The astronaut hero has a ray gun to battle the descending aliens and their flying saucers.

I'm not as excited as a lot of people are about X-Files coming back but there's no denying this shirt is awesome! Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised and it will be really good.

The adorable facehugger comes from Kidrobot. Who knew an egg laying parasite could be so cute? The rubber band is so you can attach it to your face and pretend you've got an ovipositor down your throat. Fun!

I have a feeling the Multipass from Quantum Mechanix will be a huge hit with people. I've only seen The Fifth Element once so I'm not crazy into it but I know it's got a following. The card holder is made so you can slide Leeloo's ID out and put your own in its place. It also comes with a chain so you can wear it around your neck.

Last is an X-Files LED flashlight so you don't have to search for alien life in the dark. They even included the batteries for you!

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty stellar Crate that most sci-fi fans would be into!
I give it 8 out of 10 mutilated cows.

If you'd like to get out of this world goodies dropped off at your door every month, head over to Loot Crate and use the code AEIOUwhy for 10% any subscription plan.

December 2015 Loot Crate - Galaxy

Disclaimer thingy:

Loot Crate supplies me with a box o' swag every month in exchange for a review

 and/or promotion.

From the far reaches of out space comes the December Loot Crate: Galaxy!

Strap yourselves in, we're about to blast off!

Well, there's not much to tell you about the magazine this month that isn't printed right there on the cover. Unless you don't know who Drew Wise is, which is ok. He designed the shirt you'll be seeing in a bit. The button this month is different from the previous ones. It's a nice shiny gold color.

This is the inside of the Loot Crate box. At least, it was the inside until I turned it inside out.

It turns into a neat cryo-chamber to hold your goodies in stasis.

Here's the shirt I mentioned by Drew Wise. He's done quite a few ugly holiday shirts using 8-bit inspiration. This is one all about space exploration! And yes, it has NINE planets.

Most of the smaller things in this month's Crate came packed in this HALO 5 tin ammo box. I'm not a HALO player but it is pretty cool. It has a military-style clasp and hinged lid. Also in the Crate, is a promo code to redeem from in game gear.

These items are Loot Crate exclusives. First is a prop replica patch from Galaxy Quest as seen on the command uniforms. Second is a pair of BB-8 socks which are neat-o. Having seen the movie, I'm glad at least BB-8 has lived up to the hype. He's awesome!

Finally is a Funko Pop Vinyl exclusive from The Force Awakens! It's Han in his snow gear. I have to wonder if the blue coat is an Easter Egg for the fans. For years, there was debate as to whether his Hoth coat from The Empire Strikes Back was blue or brown. If you remember it as blue, you're in the majority...but you're wrong. I'm not going to go into all the details, but head over to Robot's Pajamas for an in-depth explanation.

The back of the box shows a few more Pops from the new movie. I can't wait to get Sidon Ithano! Who's that you ask? Without spoiling anything, he's the captain of the ship from the cantina. Yeah, I have a weird thing for background characters that have a few seconds of screen time.

If you want to get a stellar box of goodies delivered right to your door every month, set your navicomputer to LootCrate.com. 

Punch in code AEIOUwhy to save 10% on any subscription plan.

November 2015 Loot Crate - Combat

Choose your weapon, warrior! November's Loot Crate theme is COMBAT!

Disclaimer: Loot Crate provides these goodies in exchange for promotion and review.

The cover of this month's mag has characters from each of the represented franchises ready to make their stand. We've got Street Fighter's Ryu, Katniss (on the van) from the Hunger Games, a Vault Dweller from Fallout, Shredder from TMNT, and a sniper that's probably from a Blizzard video game.

Articles include epic video game rivalries, a look at why "Kids Vs Kids" is a popular theme, and an interview with WWE announcer/commentator Kyle Edwards.

First up is a pair of rad Shredder sunglasses. Perfect to keep the sun out of your eyes while fighting off kung-fu reptiles! Along with a prop replica of Katniss' Mockingjay pin.

Unlike previous exclusive comics, this one isn't just a different cover. It's a completely original comic crossover between Street Fighter and the Loot Crate offices. I haven't opened it yet but it sounds like it could be a fun read.

Next is a blind box figure series called Cute But Deadly, based on characters from different Blizzard video games. This is Arthas and while he's one of the more common figures (odds of getting him are 5:36) I think he's the best looking one by far. The figure is about 3 inches tall and they crammed a lot of details into it. Just check out all the skulls on his armor!

The Crate also has a sheet of Cute But Deadly magnets featuring more of the characters from the blind box set.

And finally is a Vault Boy bobblehead! This particular pose is exclusive to Loot Crate. Click on the pic to see a larger version and read the fine print on the box. I haven't played Fallout since the original but I'm especially eager to check out the latest games because it takes place in New England!

Here's Vault Boy standing in the wasteland that is the interior of the Crate.

I have mixed feelings on this Crate. While I it was a good assortment with some cool items,  I don't have particular love for most of the franchises. This would be the backup piece that goes in my boot, not my main weapon.

If you'd like to get a box of geeky goodness droppe don your doorstep every month, head over to Loot Crate and sign up! Use promo code AEIOUWHY for 10% off your order. December's theme is galaxy and includes items from The Force Awakens and Halo 5!

October 2015 Loot Crate - Time

Disclaimer

Loot Crate supplies me with this product in exchange for review/promotion.

Unfortunately, October's Loot Crate theme was not horror/Halloween related so I had to put off this review until now. On the plus side, it's one of the most bodacious Crates I've received in awhile! Station!

October's theme was Time, so it's kind of fitting that we're talking about October in November! It's like we're going Back in Time! No? Stretching too much?

Anyway, to get things rolling, here's the monthly magazine and button. I love that the cover brings together the top three (to me anyway!) time travel franchises. Contents include tips on cosplaying the time travelers, interviews with some of the folks that make Loot Crate happen, and a tri-page foldout featuring the DeLorean license plate on one side and an elaborate flow chart on the other to help you figure out which Doctor would fit your tastes.

This 1:5 scale Hoverboard might not actually work but it's still pretty darn cool! They did a fantastic job on the details with this and it was a great design decision to put it on top of a mirror so you can see the under side as well. I have to wonder why they didn't make the stand parts out of translucent material so it would have more of a hover look to it.

Jump starting this post up to 1.21 gigawatts is a Loot Crate exclusive Doc Brown Funko Pop. These figures are normally adorable anyway, but the goggles make Doc extra cute. And look at that, he's missing an eyebrow.

Because even Time Lords need to eat, we've got a Sonic Spork! The handle is fashioned after the 11th Doctor's sonic screwdriver. It doesn't do anything fancy like light up or make noise but I don't know what you expect from your spork other than it functioning as a spoon and/or fork.

Rounding things out is this excellent shirt. Sadly, it seems to be an athletic fit shirt. Totally bogus since I would wear the heck out of it!

Speaking of excellent things, check out the interior of the Crate. It's not one of the complex interiors where you have to reconfigure the box but the graphics are awesome! I'll be adding this into my rotation of desktop wallpapers. If you look on the sides, you can see a couple of familiar vehicles behind the stage curtains.

Rating this Crate on a speedometer, I'd say it gets up to around 80 out of 88 mph. I'm only dinging it a little for the fit of the shirt because I can't wear it.

You don't have to play games with Death to get your own box of geeky goodies every month. Just head over to Loot Crate and subscribe using promo code AEIOUWHY for 10% off any subscription plan of your choosing

Until next time, be excellent to each other.