May 2015 Loot Crate - Unite

Disclaimer

Loot Crate supplies me with a box of geek swag every month in exchange for a review/sharing on social media.

This month, Loot Crate is all about great team-ups.

Readers Assemble!

Our magazine talks to Boom! Studios on their 10th anniversary and has a list of the top 5 comic book teams. The list is clearly wrong as not only is the Justice League ahead of the Avengers and X-Men, but they take the top spot. It's not that I don't like DC, I know as a very young lad, I gravitated more toward DC (probably because of Batman '66 and Superfriends) but now I just love Marvel!



I admit, I've never heard of Rick & Morty but the image on this jigsaw puzzle has garnered a sliver of my interest so I may just have to check it out.
There's also a 4-pack of Team Fortress 2 buttons.



Here's a pair of Loot Crate exclusives: Mad Magazine and Bravest Warriors! Mad Magazine is a classic. Ah, I still remember the hey day of comedy mags when you could buy Mad, Cracked, and Crazy. Overkill? Maybe, but it was awesome. If you haven't heard of Bravest Warriors, the only thing you need to know is it's created by the same guy that does Adventure Time, it's sci-fi, and it can get weird! You can check it out on You Tube.



A trio of Mighty Marvel stuff! First is a silicone ice cube tray with Iron Man, Cap's shield, the Thing, and some fists that could possibly be Hulk's. Next is a pair of black and gray shoelaces that have some kind of design on them that I can't really make out. And then there's an Age of Ultron window sticker.



 Lastly is this Power Rangers shirt. I think I was about a decade too early to be caught in the Power Rangers phenomenon. Even though I grew up on Godzilla movies, I probably felt I was too old for this craziness when it debuted. Now, I'd probably enjoy the cheeziness. I've watched (and loved) about 20 episodes of the Japanese Spider-Man show from the 70s, so I think I'm ready!

Even as someone that's never really watched the show, I have to say this design is pretty cool. Although I bet if I were to wear it someone would inevitably come up to me and start talking about the show. To which I could only reply with a blank stare.

 I often see people complaining about Loot Crate not being worth it and I generally find at least one or two things that I really like every month. This month, I could really take it or leave it. But that's the chance you take when you get a blind box o' stuff.

If you'd like to get a box full of geekiness delivered every month, sign up at Loot Crate and use the promo code AEIOUWHY for 10% any subscription plan.

Summer Swap 2015 Update

A huge thanks to everyone who signed up for Summer Swap 2015. Most of the spots were filled in the first 24 hours! Ladies and gents, here are your Summer Swap 2015 participants:

Creepy Glow Bug
Pop Pop It's Trash Culture
Wonderful Wonder Blog
Good Will Hunting 4 Geeks
Awake Oh Sleeper
William Bruce West
DI Treasures
Branded in the 80s & Shezcrafti (a two-fer!)
Cool and Collected
Strange Kids Club

and my Twitter pal Morbius Kromwell

And here's where the Swap Box will be traveling in no particular order.



A little more than half of you voted Dracula in as the Summer Swap 2015 mascot! Donatello came in second, Zak Saturday and Rinzler tied for last place with only one vote each.

 How about a little peek inside the box?



It may not look like much, but I can assure you, there are plenty of goodies buried under what you see here. The box will be going out on Saturday. There will be an envelope laying flat on the bottom with instructions/guidelines so be sure to look for that.

Where is the box headed first? I haven't decided yet but I will email that person on Saturday.

Summer Swap 2015

To paraphrase Picasso, "Good bloggers copy, great bloggers steal." In honor of this, I'm stealing an idea from the Retroist/I See Robots where they had a "Junk Box" that made its way around the country. I signed up for it twice and the box never made its way to me. The point of this sad tale is that I have stuff that I've been picking up that would have been sent to someone out in the blogsphere and that stuff is still sitting around along with several months worth of Loot Crate loot that's just collecting dust.

So the question that came to me is: "Why am I keeping this stuff?" 

The answer is "I have no idea!" but that's great for you!

What I'm doing is putting the call out to fellow pop culture nerds, bloggers, toy geeks, and all around cool people that want to swap their dust collecting stuff for different stuff. In short, if you're reading this, you're the intended audience! Funny how that works.

So what exactly am I going on about?

Summer Swap 2015 or #SummerSwap2015 as it shall be known!

If you've got a better name, I'm open to suggestions.

How's it work?

I'll start it off with a Large Flat Rate Priority Box packed with stuff. That box will get mailed to the first person. They'll take some stuff out of the box and put some of their stuff in and send it on to the next person. Rinse and repeat until everyone on the list has gotten the box and it comes back to me. You can use a new large flat rate priority box if the original is too beat up but I think it'd be cool if it looked like a suitcase from an old movie with people decorating it with doodles, stickers, or what have you.

When does it start?

Either after 10 people sign up or several days go by without a new sign up but I'd like to get at least 5 people.

What can I send?

Whatever you want that fits in the box! Trading cards, magazines, comics, figures, books, oddities, pretty much anything you think someone else might enjoy. Or whatever stuff you're tired of looking at and want to get out of your house!

Who can join in?

I'd say anyone, but there's a catch. Because we're sending a box full of goodies, I want to make sure it gets to all intended destinations, so there's some trust involved. If you're someone that's done mail exchanges with me before or if you're someone I consider in my Circle of the Blogosphere, you're good. If you don't fit either of those, maybe you know someone that is and they can vouch for you or I'll figure something out.

What do I need to participate?

Some stuff to donate to the cause

$18, the cost of shipping the box 

Good communication skillz! You'll need to check in with me when you get the box as well as when you send it and provide your tracking number.

What do I do when I get the box?

Open it! Bask in the glory of surprise stuff!

Also, it'd be really cool if you could shoot a couple photos of what you scored and what you're putting in. It doesn't need to be a full blown post if you don't want, Instagram works too. Send me a link to your post and I'll post it here, tweet it and basically get it out there. Take a shot of the mascot with your collection, at a favorite eatery, or a local landmark. 

Have fun with it! 

The Mascot

Currently, these guys are vying for the coveted spot of Summer Swap 2015 Mascot. They'll travel in the box to your home. Who do you want hanging out with you and your collection?

How do I sign up?

Sign ups are now closed but you can keep up with Summer Swap 2015 by clicking on it on the right under topics.