August 2014 Loot Crate - Heroes

Hot on the trail of last month's Villains Loot Crate are the Heroes!
The theme for this month starts before you even crack open the box.



Hmmm, that looks like a street with an open manhole cover.
I wonder what could be inside?



BAM! Turtle lair!
I was pretty impressed with the Villains taking over the inside of the box last month, but this is a whole new level. I hope they continue to think inside the box in the future.

You should probably click on that so you can get a better view, there's all kinds of crazy detail in there. Next to the video game, there's a Guardians of the Galaxy poster. To the left of the couch is a punching bag. Behind the couch is a weapon storage area with all the things an aspiring martial reptile could want. The rug in front of the couch is actually a little fold back flap to make the couch a bit more 3D so you can put someone on it.



Here's a closer view of the couch and interior right wall. There's a Harley Quinn poster on the wall which was in the Crate last month. I wonder who put that up? My money's on Mikey. The Konami Code is always inside the box, but I'll let you in on a little secret: if you go to Lootcrate.com and enter the code, you might uncover something.



Here's the monthly mini-mag full of heroic goodness. There's a two page spread recapping the origins of a handful of heroes, and article on what it means to be a hero, pics taken by Looters, and a couple of puzzle pages for fun.

It links nicely with the Villains cover.



Let's get to the goods!



Of course there's TMNT stuff in the Crate! They did send out the bandanna sunglasses and figures in all flavors. The Kidrobot figure is pretty cool. The "Ooze Action" is just a coating on the weapons that makes them glow in the dark. No sticky, messy goo here. In addition to the Turtles, there are Splinter and Shredder figures in the line.



I've never heard of Shwings before but they have quite an assortment of styles to choose from to spruce up your kicks. I'm not planning on getting doused in chemicals that have been hit by lightning so I won't be using these on my sneaks in the near future. I said I'm not planning on it, but if it should somehow happen, I"m open to it.

There's also a MegaMan air freshener, the monthly button with mini-mag cover art, and a Deadpool inspired cereal box magnet. Interesting that Deadpool showed up in Villains last month and Heroes this month!



And here is the star of the month! They probably should call this month GrootCrate, but it would have ruined the surprise. This Pop! vinyl bobblehead from Funko was made exclusively for LootCrate subscribers. And that's all they've been talking about since he got leaked online. In case you haven't been looking for Guardians of the Galaxy merch like I have, Groot toys are super-hot right now. The regular, non-exclusive Groot Pop! figure is going for more than three times retail on Ebay right now!
Hold out if you want one, more are coming.



Groot being Groot, he insisted on being shot out in the wild. What makes this Groot special (I mean, other than him being Groot!) is his mossy coloring and glow in the dark left hand to simulate his glowing performance in the movie. The normal Groot looks like this. I also like the twigs on top of his head. They could have just done the head without them and it would still look great but I think they give him even more character.

A huge thanks to the awesome inhabitants of Loot Crate for sending me this product to review. I really look forward to these every month! If you want to get cool geeky swag in your mail every month, head over to Loot Crate and sign up with code "AEIOUWHY" for 10% your order. Get on board for September's Galactic Crate!

Here's one more shot just because I had so much fun with Groot. If you haven't pre-ordered the Dancing Groot Pop! yet, I have a feeling the first wave might sell out quick.

League Post - Dinner Party

This week the League of Extraordinary Bloggers has been tasked to hold their ultimate dinner party. Invited guests can be living, dead, and/or fictional.

I was good up until the fictional part. It's hard enough putting together just five people from real life people, never mind all of literature, TV, movies, and video games! So I'm thinking this may call for some creative interpretation, also known as cheating the topic.

For starters, here's my real world guest list. Not to be confused with the Real World, although it could be interesting to see these people living in a house together.

If you know me at all, it's no surprise that Vincent Price is numero uno on my guest list. I'm pretty sure I'd have no problem with him being my only guest for the evening! His daughter is coming to Salem in October and I'm hoping really hard that I"ll be able to attend her lecture. It'll be the next best thing to being able to actually meet him.

Second is Roger Corman, King of the B Movies! Not only do I love B movies, but he's worked with so many people during his career, he's got to have some fantastic stories.

The next two gentlemen should need no introduction. I'd love to pick Walt's brain about theme park design and attractions. Maybe even ask him to design his version of a Star Wars ride, after showing him the movie of course!

Jim and Kermit are a package deal. I wouldn't make Jim perform, technically. I mean, if I'm bringing people back from the dead, I'm sure there's some magic way Jim could "be" Kermit without having to be under the table, right? I don't even know where I'd start with them. Sesame Street and The Muppet Show have had such an impact on me. I'd probably be more star struck and tongue tied trying to talk to Kermit.

My last guest does need an introduction and his name is Howard Scott Warshaw. Maybe you've heard the name, maybe not. But if you owned an Atari 2600 as a kid, chances are you're familiar with at least one of his games: Yar's Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or E.T. Yar's is one of my favorite video games ever and the Atari was a big part of my childhood.
I promise not to bring up E.T.

Now we come to the fictional party list!

Right off the top, it has to be The Doctor, but which one? Maybe he'd start at 1 and regenerate into each version as the night wears on. Or he could just randomly rotate between 4, 9, 10, and 11 all night. Wouldn't that be fun? Or some (or all) could show up at once, not like that hasn't happened before.

Next is probably my most loved character in printed fiction, Tasslehoff Burrfoot from the DragonLance novels. He's like a halfling with ADHD and has a habit of "borrowing" things that aren't nailed down. He's pretty much fearless and if there's trouble to be found, he'll won't just find it, he'll find it and poke it with a stick!

From Marvel comics, a pair of distinctly different doctors: Doom and Strange. When it comes to comic characters, I tend toward the more mystically inclined. Doom might try to steal the TARDIS, but I'd bet Tasslehoff would be stowed away in there and drive him crazy. And Strange I've been a fan of almost as long as I've been reading comics. I'm much more into his extra-dimensional adventures than the Earth-bound ones.

I was going to put Rocket Raccoon in the last chair. But as much as I'm into Guardians of the Galaxy right now, I have to put Adventure Time's Finn as my final fictional guest. He knows how to party but if Tas isn't plundering the depths of the TARDIS, he and Finn will probably run off to find adventure somewhere. There's so much doctor going on at this party, I had to use this particular image of Finn, even though he's not a doctor.

Check out other League members' guest lists
Retro Robot Review has got some creative inspirations
Author! Author! over at Kalem Klub
Super Powered Fiction invites some world changers

Check out all the participants at Cool and Collected!

Guardians of the Galaxy - Hey Groot

Here's a neat little video that Guardians director Jams Gunn tweeted out last night. If you liked the movie, I think you'll enjoy it. If you haven't seen the movie, you probably won't have a clue as to what it's all about.