Comic Bento Unboxing: October 2015

This is my first month using Comic Bento which brings you a box full of graphic novels every month.  This months theme is Fight the Fight so all the comics had a fight related theme to them (which what comic doesn’t fit that description?).  The first thing I noticed was that this box weighed a lot, over four pounds to be exact, they are not kidding around when they say a box full of comics.

The comics themselves came wrapped together in a thick plastic bag with a bubble wrap insert.  Being the thing weighed 4 pounds I don’t think the bubble wrap would really save it.  However, the comics were, in fact, completely undamaged, so I do have to give Comic Bento props for going the extra mile to make sure that the comics make it here in one piece.

There is a paper insert inside that describes the theme (this month is Fight the Fight!) and gives a break down of everything in the box.

So now that I’ve shown you the outside and packaging its time to find out what is in the box (insert Brad Pitt from Seven gif here).  I’ll also note that this would be where I would normally put in a small review of said comic.  However, because these are all graphic novels (and 5 at that!) I haven’t had a chance to read them yet.  So like Harry Potter, Twilight, and Infinity War, this blog post is going to be a two parter and I’ll post my review later when I get a chance to read them all.

First up is Daredevil Season 1 written by Anthony Johnston and art by Willington Alves and Nelson Pereira.

Next is Superman/Batman Vol. 4: Vengeance written by Jeph Loeb and art by Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines.

Next is Executive Assistants: Hit List Agenda written by Vince Hernandez and art by Oliver Nome.

Finally there is X-O Manowar Vol. 2: Enter Ninjak written by Robert Venditti and art by Lee Garbett.

But wait, there’s more!  This month there was a bonus comic with none other than the Highlander.  You’re welcome in advanced for this getting this song stuck in your head.

Highlander Vol. 3: Armageddon written by Brandon Jerwa and art by Carlos Rafael

Now that we have unboxed here are some initial impressions.  First I was very impressed and happy with the care that was taken in the packaging.  Like I had said before everything was in perfect condition and brand new.  Second I was a little disappointed that the novels seem to be a mix / match of different volumes instead of all being the first volume of each series.  All and all this isn’t that big of a deal.  Each of these should contain their own story arc and be self contained, so they will still be enjoyable.  However it would have been nice to have the first volume in each.

The Comic Beno is probably the best deal I have seen in these subscription boxes.  The monthly cost is $20 dollars per month (which can drop to $17.50 if you choose a 6 month subscription) plus $5 dollars for shipping.  I did a calculation of the combined cover price of everything in the box and it came out to $84.95.  So with shipping, and the 20 dollar plan, you are still saving $59.95 which equates to 76.5% off cover price.  Now I know that this is the “suggested” MSRP and that you can likely find them all cheaper than that but even so it’s still a great deal.

Lastly the quality of the books in this box is very good.  Not only were the big two represented by there was a good showing of smaller publishers and nothing in the box that felt like filler.  It would have been real easy to have just had this filled with things from the clearance rack but Comic Bento did a great job of putting in characters I already know along with characters I am soon to know.

So the bottom line is if you are in the market for a comic subscription box that gives you a massive amount of comics to read each month this is the box for you!

Disclaimer: I was provided my Comic Bento box as a promotion for writing this piece (Thanks Comic Bento!).  However all the thoughts and opinions about this are my own.