Subscription Boxlight

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clobberin_time_bs
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by clobberin_time_bs »

JohnMayo wrote:ComicBlock from NerdBlock seems like another one some of you guys might be interested in. You get three comics, a collectible and a t-shirt for $13.99 a month which isn't a bad deal. Has anybody tried that one? If the shirts are usually good, I might consider it. Odds are that I'd already have the comics but $13.99 for a comic themed t-shirt isn't a bad deal if I like the shirt.
I've subscribed to comic block since it started and haven't been disappointed yet. The comics are usually a good mix with a Marvel or DC in there with two indie titles in there as well. Probably half or more of the comics are those retailer variant covers so you can't get them anywhere else. The t-shirt is always great too. There was one of Spider-Gwen with a Venom Symbiot head that has been my favorite so far. The collectible item is usually the weakest part of the box. It's usually a pen or coaster or something like that but last month it was a Green Lantern Light up ring. Overall I highly recommend comic block, it is very much worth the cost.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by NDHorse »

Hilarious spoof video of all subscription boxes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mon ... ion=comedy
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by clobberin_time_bs »

Since you asked in the last episode I wanted to let you know I really enjoy the boxlight episodes. I subscribe to many of the boxes you subscribe to and the fun I have is comparing the items because, as you mentioned in this episode, sometimes they are not identical. Like last month our Morbius Funko Pops were different.

I don't know if you guys have 2nd and Charles stores in Texas but they are a cool little store that sells traded in collectible items as well as books and comics and DVDs. When I get stuff in these boxes that doesn't exactly excite me I take it there and trade it in. They've gotten to know me pretty well now and are always great about letting me trade those unwanted items in for cash or store credit which I usually immediately turn into more comics.

And the Michone figure is dressed that way because on the tv show, when the characters get to Alexandria, they make Rick and Michone constables of the community and that is the uniform they wear.

One last thing. I just subscribed to Comicboxer which is a subscription box that comes with 5 or 6 comics each month. The subscription price equals about cover price for each of the comics included in the box but they usually include a signed comic and/or some cool variants in the box that makes up for that, plus it's just cool to sample some different comics each month. This box probably isn't for you John since you get so many comics each month but some of the other posters here have expressed interest in a box of this nature.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by Perseus »

John, you mentioned in one of the boxes you had a hustle, loyalty, respect shirt or item. I'm not sure if you knew what that was.

That is the sayings of WWE's John Cena. Not sure if you wanted to know what that item was related to.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

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In looking for information on the Funko/Star War box mentioned in the recent episode, I found out that Funko apparently announced not only the SW box but also a DC box at SDCC back in July. The DC box supposedly should start sometime in early 2016, but I didn't find anything more specific than that.

Based on reports of unboxings of the first Smuggler's Bounty, it appears to follow the MCC model, although without a comic. I suspect the DC boxes will likely be almost identical to MCC. So if you like Funko and could use a new t-shirt every couple of months, the Funko boxes are a fairly safe boxing option given their more specific focus.

While I don't know what type of advertising might have been done for the Star Wars box, what I do find odd is that Funko didn't think to make mention of the Star Wars box to their Marvel Collector Corps subscribers. I'm not sure I would have gotten a Smuggler's Bounty subscription (I love Star Wars, but don't know that I need multiple Funko pops from it every two months), but getting in at the start would have made it more likely than jumping in one box late. I guess I now have 44 more days to decide. :)

As for the Subscription Boxlight podcasts, I enjoy them but wouldn't want you to keep getting boxes just to do the podcast. It is interesting to hear about the various different items in the boxes, sometimes even more so when you and Kay are trying to figure out what an item is or what property it comes from. As someone who finds the collector box concept interesting but is largely unwilling to get into it (so far just MCC) because of the concerns over just how little in each box I might find of interest, hearing about the different boxes and the "success" each one does or does not have in meeting your and Kay's expectations is both enjoyable and educational.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by NDHorse »

You may want to think about getting Kay a Comic Bento subscription for Christmas. From what I have heard you two talk about, it sounds like she doesn't read too many comics. This would be a great way to have her dabble her feet in the water (and something for you to talk about on the podcasts).
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by MisterFerro »

I don't if you know about this box yet but I recently saw it on twitter:

https://legionofcollectors.com/

This is DC's exclusive box that is debuting in March with a Batman v. Superman theme that includes Armored Batman pop vinyl.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by JohnMayo »

MisterFerro wrote:I don't if you know about this box yet but I recently saw it on twitter:

https://legionofcollectors.com/

This is DC's exclusive box that is debuting in March with a Batman v. Superman theme that includes Armored Batman pop vinyl.
Thanks.

Alec Burkhardt started a thread about it and bralinator also emailed me about it.

I've ordered the first one on a "wait and see" approach before getting a yearly subscription. Odds are good that I'll get the annual subscription.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by MisterFerro »

I just now saw the thread.

I'm definitely going to order the March box but I'm iffy on the yearly subscription. I am worried about spending money on theme boxes that are a big miss for my tastes.

*edit*

But I am more likely to want to get the various theme Legion boxes than the more general type boxes like Lootcrate.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

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MisterFerro wrote:...I am more likely to want to get the various theme Legion boxes than the more general type boxes like Lootcrate.
That is starting to be my take on some of the boxes. The better the focus, the more likely I am to like most of the items in the box.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by Alec Burkhardt »

While I think the Marvel/Star Wars/DC nature of Funko's three subscription boxes provide a stronger focus than the more general Lootcrate, Nerdblock, ComicConBox, etc. boxes, I have decided that I would rank the IP nature of the boxes second behind one's interest in Funko Pops in terms of recommending them to a person. Basically, if a person isn't interested in collecting Funko Pops, I'm not sure these subscriptions are worth it even if a person is really into Marvel/SW/DC.

Of course Funko Pops seem to be a fairly prevalent part of many of the subscription boxes, so I suppose that statement somewhat applies across the board. But with the three Funko subscriptions you are guaranteed that there will always be a Funko Pop, and at least a variant of what is available in stores. So it is the major draw in each box.

I think previously when speculating about a possible DC box John suggested they do it in-house, using DC Collectibles largely in place of the Funko Pop. I think that would have been interesting, although I suspect that it is also much easier to let someone else handle the program. While I like Funko Pops, something like action figures or small figurines (say Eaglemoss size) would appeal to me even more.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

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Alec Burkhardt wrote:While I think the Marvel/Star Wars/DC nature of Funko's three subscription boxes provide a stronger focus than the more general Lootcrate, Nerdblock, ComicConBox, etc. boxes, I have decided that I would rank the IP nature of the boxes second behind one's interest in Funko Pops in terms of recommending them to a person. Basically, if a person isn't interested in collecting Funko Pops, I'm not sure these subscriptions are worth it even if a person is really into Marvel/SW/DC.

Of course Funko Pops seem to be a fairly prevalent part of many of the subscription boxes, so I suppose that statement somewhat applies across the board. But with the three Funko subscriptions you are guaranteed that there will always be a Funko Pop, and at least a variant of what is available in stores. So it is the major draw in each box.

I think previously when speculating about a possible DC box John suggested they do it in-house, using DC Collectibles largely in place of the Funko Pop. I think that would have been interesting, although I suspect that it is also much easier to let someone else handle the program. While I like Funko Pops, something like action figures or small figurines (say Eaglemoss size) would appeal to me even more.
You bring up a number of great points.

The idea of smaller figurines is a great idea. I've got a collection of 2" tall Super Sentai Red Rangers that were released nearly a decade ago with the red ranger for each of the (then) 30 teams. They are roughtly the sixe of the Eaglemoss figures you mentioned, maybe slightly smaller. I'd like to be able to get a handful of figures at that size every month or every other month. Because they would be small and light weight, a box could easily have a dozen or so if they wanted to. Imagine getting in each box a Justice Leaguer, a Legionnaire, a Titan and a few other heroes, villains and supporting characters.

Sure, they would be tiny and non-poseable but that really isn't a major downside since you could display a bunch of them in the space a single Funko Pop figure takes.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by NDHorse »

Hey John, thanks for the nod in this month's trades podcast for the info I give on the Comic Bento subscription boxes. Oddly, all of the books in the December Comic Bento box were NOT on the Diamond list. This was weird because I recently read on a Reddit post that they do most of their purchasing through Diamond.

The theme for December was "Throwback". The books I got were:

Youngblood Vol 1 Focus Tested - By Joe Casey and Derec Donovan - this was an OK attempt to bring back Youngblood in the '00s. I only got Youngblood for about 4 issues in the early 90s when I was a teenager, so I didn't have too much of an affinity for them. This one didn't get me to want more. I have been curious about the Alan Moore stuff though.

Incredible Hulk Marvel Masterwork Vol 2 TPB - These are the old Tales To Astonish issues 59-79 by Lee, Kirby, and Ditko. I haven't read this one yet, but classics like these will I am sure enjoyable. (Side note - other boxes appear to have gotten a Daredevil or Captain America Masterwork volume.)

Battlestar Galactica Vol 1 Memorial by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Cezar Rezak - This is a classic Battlestar story that involves time travel and alternate timelines. While I am a huge fan of the recent Battlestar reboot, I have never gotten into the Classic stories as much. However, this was

The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story - This book was amazing. It is an oversized hardcover ($50 cover price) with story by Vivek Tiwary and art by Andrew Robinson. This blew me away. This is not the Pete Best story, but rather about Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager. It is his story of his drive to make them "bigger than Elvis." It also deals with his ordeals of being a closeted gay man in the 60s (I am sure that wasn't easy). Great story and the art was amazing ( just check it out http://thefifthbeatle.com/graphic-novel/ ). I definetly recommend this one to anyone and it looks like the hardcover is on Amazon for $15. Grab this one people.

Overall a good month with The Fifth Beatle taking the prize by far.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

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Loved the Subscription Boxlight this month. I enjoy you and Kay's podcasts because they seem more casual when compared to the data driven Mayo Reports.

And now to what I usually talk about, Comic Bento. The Comic Bento theme for February was Amped. It seemed like it was supposed to have a rock & roll theme. Here we go!

1) Spider-Man: Edge of Spider-Verse v1 (Marvel) by various. This mini-series was a collection of alternate universe Spider-Man stories that was supposed to be a prologue to the Spider-Verse story. I haven't read a Spider-Man book regularly since Erik Larson drew it, so its obviously been a while. I hear about what is happening and heard about Spider-Verse, but didn't know what it was really about. This book didn't get too much into the Spider-Verse story other than to introduce a bunch of alternate Spideys. This collection also has the first appearance of Spider-Gwen, which I liked very much and may try to check out more with her.

2) Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare (Dynamite) by Joe Harris and Brandon Jerwa (covers by David Mack). Alice Cooper is the Lord of Nightmares who because of a contract with Satan had to perform concerts in our world (or something like that) but tries to regain his throne. It also contains Alice Cooper's first appearance from Marvel Premiere #50. I enjoyed the art and story much more than I thought I would. Cooper isn't portrayed as pure evil as one would expect and goes on a journey to save a little boy. Good stuff. It did inspire me to check out Neil Gaiman's The Last Temptation from the early 90s which is also about Alice Cooper. I haven't read that one yet, but the art by Michael Zulli looks amazing.

3) Put The Book Back On The Shelf: A Belle And Sebastian Anthology (Image) by various. This is an anthology book of short stories that are inspired by the music of Belle & Sebastian. I have heard of Belle & Sebastian before, but never really listened to their music. It is what one would expect from an artsy independent comic. This format is just like the Tori Amos: Comic Book Tattoo book from eight years ago which I own (I used to be a huge Tori Amos fan back in college). As with an anthology, some are better than others, but nice to grab if I only have a few minutes to read something.

4) Death Sentence (Titan Comics) by Monty Nero and Mike Dowling. I haven't read this one yet, but the summary describes a group of people who develop super powers, but will die in 6 months. A quick glance gives it a bit of a punk rock feel. Looking forward to it.

3 out of 4 of these books ranked in the top 15 on the February trades list with sales of about 3,000 copies. Comic Bento's numbers seem to have been going up since I started getting it 9 months ago when it was about 2,500 copies. Next month's theme is Powerless and as of right now, you have about 15 hours left to sign up for that box. I really like Comic Bento and it is a great value for the approximately $20 each month. Give it a try.
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Re: Subscription Boxlight

Post by JohnMayo »

NDHorse wrote:Loved the Subscription Boxlight this month. I enjoy you and Kay's podcasts because they seem more casual when compared to the data driven Mayo Reports.


More casual is a great description of the episodes I do with my sister.
NDHorse wrote:And now to what I usually talk about, Comic Bento.
As always, thanks for posting the information about Comic Bento.
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