Tag Archives: subscription box

January 26, 2016

Comic Block December 2015

By Jasomania

Comic Block Box

This month’s Comic Block had a Judge Dredd Theme.  I AM THE LAW!

Comic Block 8 Full Unboxing

Here is what was inside:

  • Judge Dredd 1 Comic Block Exclusive Variant from IDW
  • Scarlet Witch 1 from Marvel
  • Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 from DC / IDW
  • Comic Block Exclusive Superman / Lex Luthor Magnets
  • Judge Dredd I Am the Law T-Shirt

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First off let me say that this month’s Comic Block took a ridiculous amount of time to get here.  I got the “Your Order has Shipped” E-Mail on December 14rd and didn’t receive the box until January 12th.  My Comic Block was being processed by UPS for an entire month!  It’s not that I’m mad that it arrived so late in January, it’s that it told me it was coming and then nothing happened for the better part of a month.  Apparently the people of Comic Block tweeted out that the boxes were going to be late due to Christmas but still, we all knew Christmas was coming and it feels like a lack of plan on their part.

Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1

These multi-publisher crossovers seem to be what IDW does the most these days.  We’ve already seen one of these in the July Comic Block with Green Lantern / Star Trek.

I actually thought the Green Lantern / Star Trek crossover was a pretty solid book… The Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, not so much.

I’ll be honest I thought this book was going to be garbage the second I saw it, but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, after all it did have James Tynion IV as the author so it couldn’t be that bad?  Well it wasn’t god awfully bad but it wasn’t good either.  It was very meh, which might be worse than it just being a fun terrible book.  The story doesn’t matter because its so forgettable that I already don’t remember what happened and I literally just finished reading it.  The art is actually pretty terrible which was a huge disappointment.

Batman - TMNT Pic1

It is a watercolor shaded style which just looks cheap.

Batman - TMNT Pic2

The turtles look decent but all the Batman aspects look like they were drawn by someone who is drawing Batman for the first time.

Batman - TMNT Pic3

The Batmobile is probably the worst version of the Batmobile I’ve ever seen.

If you love the Turtles and Batman maybe this is for you, but for everyone else I would just pass.

Scarlet Witch 1

Scarlet Witch 1

When I found out this book was going to be in this month’s Comic Block I was very excited.  Scarlet Witch is one of the characters I don’t know very well but would like to find some good stories to dive in to.  Unfortunately this isn’t the book for that.

The only Scarlet Witch arc I’ve read was House of M in which Scarlet witch depowered all but a couple hundred mutants simply by saying “no more mutants” and Avengers vs. X-Men when she fought Hope Summers.  I enjoyed both of those stories but neither really gave me a clear explanation of what Scarlet Witch’s powers are, other than she is extremely powerful.  So I was looking forward to this comic to hopefully bring some clarity.

Scarlet Witch Pic 2

Clarity I did not get.  So apparently Scarlet Witch is not a mutant but is actually a real witch and her powers are possibly spell based?  This comic centers around Scarlet Witch going to a crime scene to help the cops out with a murder that seemed to be magically motivated.  This is super weird.  It is basically like a episode of Law & Order but with a mutant, in costume, helping out.  Turns out that the murder was actually possessed by a demon and said demon had actually possessed the lead detective that was with Scarlet Witch at the crime scene.  Scarlet Witch was able to exorcise that demon and save the detective.

Scarlet Witch Pic 1

This comic is weird.  It’s a crime procedural, Scarlet Witch has a ghost friend that hands around her apartment, and she walks around New York in costume without anyone giving her a second look.

Scarlet Witch Pic 3

There was also a part where Scarlet Witch talks about the Cat Massacre of 1730 which is a part of history that I could have been perfectly fine not knowing about.

Judge Dredd 1

Judge Dredd 1 - Comic Block Exclusive Variant

The shirt in this box had me pretty excited for some Judge Dredd, so much so I winded up watching the Dredd movie from 2012.  So I was very disappointed and confused when I actually did read the comic.  It wasn’t that it was particularly bad, its just that they are clearly going for a big arc here and this being the first issue we were left entirely in the dark of what was going on.

Judge Dredd Pic 1

The comic begins with Dredd waking up in a field and clearly something happened and a large amount of time has passed.

Judge Dredd Pic 2

Dredd picks up a couple of moppets.  They then go inside a weird building thing that looks like one of the mega cities and surprise it is a mega city!  And that’s it, we don’t get any more information or plot.

Judge Dredd Pic 5 - Copy

There is some weird stuff in this comic too.  There is this strange herd of animal people that spout off weird vaguely political things that get mowed down.  This might wind up being a great arc, its definitely got enough in this issue to have me intrigued.

DSC03574

Finally here is a Bonus Cat picture, Aeris really wanted to help with the whole unboxing process.

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December 13, 2015

Comic Block November 2015

By Jasomania

Comic Block Box

Another Month another Comic Block!

Comic Block 7

This month had a Star Wars Theme and we got two different Star Wars books.  There is again no sign of the allusive graphic novel this month, however we did get something new.  This box is the first time that the “extra” item has been a exclusive item.

Comic Block - Mjölnir

We got a cool little Mjölnir keychain which was a Comic Block Exclusive.  It looks like they didn’t quite have the rights to just call it Mjölnir though because on the description card it simply says “the hammer of the gods”.

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Here is the complete run down of what came in the box:

  • Star Wars: Vader Down Issue 1 Comic Block Exclusive Variant
  • Howard the Duck Issue 1
  • Pacific Rim: The Drift Issue 1 Comic Block Exclusive Variant
  • Star Wars Issue 1 Fan Expo Variant
  • “Hammer of the Gods” Keychain
  • Batgirl T-Shirt

Weirdly they didn’t put the Star Wars comic on the insert card of things inside the box.  I actually got copy of the same Star Wars Fan Expo Variant Cover from a Nerd Block box I got several months ago.  My guess is that they still had some extra issues around from that Nerd Block and added them to this box last minute.

Comic Block - Batgirl Shirt

I am a big Batgirl fan so this shirt should be something I really like.  The new Batgirl costume and the Rosie the Riveter homage are both things I would like in theory.  However, Batgirl looks terrible.  I don’t know if I can place it, but her face just looks off.  This is a huge disappointment because I would really like this shirt but because of how messed up Barbara’s face looks I doubt I’ll be wearing it at all.

Pacific Rim: The Drift Issue 1

Pacific Rim Tales From the Drift 1 - Comic Block Exclusive Variant

I really wanted to like this comic but in the end really disliked it.  I loved the 2013 film Pacific Rim so a comic that would take me back into that world actually sounded really interesting even though it was a licensed property.  There are so many aspects of the Pacific Rim world I wanted to know about and this comic managed to explore none of them.  It centered around a married pair of Jaeger pilots that are losing a battle with a Kaiju and getting exposed to radiation.  It goes back and forth between the fight they are in and flashback of with they first met.  That’s pretty much it.  The art is very stylized and looks like Adi Granov’s artwork from Iron Man: Extremis.  It doesn’t look bad but its so stylized that you can’t see any of the detail of the Kaiju or the Jaegar.  If I’m going to read a comic about giant robots fighting monsters I want to see it!  Maybe it gets better later on when the story kicks in but this first issue had me entirely uninterested.

Howard the Duck Issue 1

Howard the Duck 1

Please stop trying to make Howard the Duck a thing. The after credits teaser on Guardians of the Galaxy was perfect. After having a movie starring a talking Raccoon having a small little nod to Marvel’s goofier side was a great way to send off the film. Apparently what Marvel took from this is that people simply love Howard the Duck and want more of him! The fact is new audiences don’t know or care who Howard is, and older audiences who have nostalgia for Howard no longer read comics or care. There simply no audience this book is fulfilling.

Look Howard the Duck has an important history with Marvel. When the character was created in the 70’s it was subversive and edgy (I know that sounds strange but it really was) but that time has passed. Howard was always a comic aimed at older audiences so if you were a fan in the 70’s you were likely in your 20’s which would place you in your 60’s now and most likely not buying comics. If you are in your 20’s to 30’s then you didn’t grow up with Howard the Duck and your only experience is the terrible movie from the 80’s.

What about new audiences you ask? It doesn’t really matter the roots of the character if it is being written well today right? Well that would be correct, but it’s not being written well. Howard the Duck’s shtick is comedy and Marvel has solidly filled that spot with Deadpool. The comedic elements of this comic are just a shallow echo of what it would be if it were Deadpool. But even worse than that this comic just isn’t funny. There were a couple of enjoyable moments but I didn’t laugh once reading it and it felt way more like a chore to read than anything else.

Star Wars Issue 1

Star Wars 1 - Fan Expo Variant

This is a great comic let me say that to start with. It feels fresh and gives us an original adventure with everyone’s favorite space gang. It has plenty to fill your nostalgia void along with a new adventure and story to get you excited to read more.

That said the nostalgia factor of these new Star Wars comics are going to be the death of them.  I am 100% ok with this comic being what it is.  It takes place between A New Hope and Return of the Jedi and centers around the original main gang.  Star Wars is a big world though and it would have been nice to see some of these new Marvel Star Wars comics not center specifically around the characters of the original trilogy.  Again I’m totally cool with there being this Star Wars and the Vader comic but do we really need a Chewbacca and Lando comic too?  The Force Awakens is going to introduce a slew of new characters so hopefully that will push away from the original trilogy which has been done to death.

Star Wars: Vader Down Issue 1

Vader Down 1 - Comic Block Exclusive Variant

First and foremost I really love this variant cover.  It is the best cover I have seen of all these new Marvel Star Wars covers and something worthy of being framed.  The comic itself is the first issue of a Marvel Star Wars Crossover event called Vader Down.  Vader is investigating some intel on the location of some rebels and winds up overwhelmed surrounded by rebel forces.  While he is able to take out a few X-Wings he is overtaken by Luke and crash lands on the planet of Vrogas Vas.  Luke also manages to crash his X-Wing and the two begin searching for each other.

The overall story was good and I enjoyed the book.  The amount of issues involved in this crossover is a lot and honestly it just wasn’t great enough for me to buy in like 10 issues to find out what happens.  I might check it out in 6 months with the issues start appearing on Marvel Comics Unlimited.

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October 20, 2015

Comic Block September 2015

By Jasomania

Comic Block Web Clipping

I am aware that we are half way through October before I am getting this up but I as George Washington famously said, “shit happens”.

Comic Block September - Unboxing 3

First lets get the run down of all the goodies in this months box:

  • Deadpool Vs. Thanos 1 from Marvel Comics
  • Dangergirl 1 Exclusive Comic Block Variant from IDW
  • Mirror’s Edge: Exordium 1 from Dark Horse
  • Mad Max: Fury Road 1 Exclusive Nerd Block Variant from Veritgo
  • Saga T-Shirt with Prince Robot
  • Green Lantern light up ring

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Solid box top to bottom.  Not only did we get a Green Lantern Ring and awesome Saga T-shirt but we got four comics this month instead of our normal three!  I’ve mentioned this before but part of the promise of the Comic Block has been that we will occasionally get exclusive variant covers and graphic novels.  While we have gotten variant covers o’ plenty there has yet to be a single graphic novel.  Perhaps next month?  I did read all the comics in the box and below are is my rundown of each issue.

Mad Max: Fury Road 1

Comic Block September - Mad Max Fury Road 1 Nerd Block Exclusive Variant Stitch

Witness!  From the best I can bet this comic book takes place between Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome and Mad Max: Fury Road.  It starts with a couple page run down summarizing the events of the first three Mad Max movies which feels like way more information then we actually need.  It then has Max go to Gastown to participate in a Battle Royal style Thunderdome situation in hopes to win a V8 engine.  Max is victorious however killing of one of the members of the Buzzards gang attracts their attention.  The Buzzards find where Max has been hiding, steal his engine, stab him, and tie him to the ground to be left for dead.  Max passes out and a mysterious woman frees Max and bandages his wounds.  The comic ends when Max wakes up.  The mysterious woman enlists Max’s service for an unknown job in exchange for saving his life.

The comic was so-so.  It spends too much time recapping the old Mad Max movies and not enough time moving the plot forward.  Very little actually happens.  The art is really inconsistent.  At times it looks great and extremely detailed, but at other times the faces of people look like mushy blobs.  They also go to great links to make Max not look like Mel Gibson or Tom Hardy which is a weird choice and distracting.  This is only an issue 1 so it’s job is really just to set things up but I wished we had gotten a little more.  With so little happening I wasn’t able to form any strong ties to anyone or anything so don’t have a lot of motivation to find out what happens next.

Deadpool Vs. Thanos 1

Comic Block September - Deadpool vs. Thanos 1

Deadpool has been up against a lot.  He’s been up against X-Force, Hawkeye, Carnage, and now Thanos.  I’m a little unsure on the actual plot of what happened in this comic, there were a lot of moving parts.  There was some stuff about Death being kidnapped and so the dead on earth were unable to actually die.  There was a fight between Deadpool and Thanos for the affection of Death.  Thanos kind of killed Deadpool and then brought him back to life so they could team up and find Death.  It was a little confusing, but there were a lot of jokes, breaking the fourth wall and talking about tacos.

I have real mixed feelings about Deadpool.  I like him in theory but I find most of the fourth wall breaking and jokes to be more gimmicky than actually funny.  The comics I have read with Deadpool up to this point have been ok but because of all the jokes and such there never really feels like there are any stakes.  There were some genuinely funny parts in this comic but not funny enough to get me to buy more issues.

Mirror’s Edge: Exordium 1

Comic Block September - Mirror's Edge Exordium 1

If you don’t already know Mirror’s Edge is based on a video game for PS3/Xbox360/PC that came out in 2007.  It was fairly groundbreaking at the time for being a first person shooter that involved little to no actual shooting.  It is based in a futuristic society which “runners” use parkour moves to navigate around the city delivering messages.  If I remember correctly the game sold ok but not stellar.  Everyone loved the aesthetic of the world but the game itself was painfully short (4-6 hours long) so people didn’t want to shell out 60 dollars for it.  I played it back in the day and remember liking it but also it giving me head aches from moving around so fast.  Also, if I can bitch for a moment I really hate when games allow you to have weapons but actively do things to discourage you from using them.  Either take the weapons out or make them usable don’t half ass it.

Anyway, they are finally making a sequel next year after being in some form of development over the last 7 years so this comic is most likely a tie-in or prequel.

The comic begins with Faith (our protagonist) on a mission.  She gets two guards to chase her in order to allow her team access into a building in order to steal data.  While running from the guards she accidentally interrupts some sort of deal between rival gangs and gun fire erupts.  Faith tries to get away but is captured by the gang working for the crime lord Dogen.  She is taken to Dogen who is impressed by her work and offers her a job.  She declines and leaves, trying to steal some of Dogens art on the way out.  Faith returns to her base of operations and their leader Noah is mad at her for the risk she took going on a rogue mission in the first place.  The comic ends with Faith going back to Dogen and accepting his employment.

This was a really great first issue of a comic.  A lot of things happen but they are presented in a controlled manner in which the reader can actually follow along.  They keep talking about this beatlink thing which apparently most of the advanced runners have and Faith does not.  Not having a beatlink is a slight to Faith and a cause of animosity between Noah and Faith.  Call me old, but I actually side with Noah in this when he is angry at Faith for her risky behavior.  He seems fairly reasonable and Faith just seems like a brat for not wanting to listen to him.  Overall I really liked the comic and will probably pick up more of the issues as they come in.  While I didn’t love the original Mirror’s Edge game, I did always like the world it created and liked revisiting it in this comic.

Sidenote I really liked that Dark Horse didn’t have any ads in this comic until the very end.  It was a real pleasant reading experience to be able to go through the story and not be distracted by ads every other page.

Danger Girl: Renegade 1

Comic Block September - Dangergirl 1 Comic Block Exclusive Variant

I don’t know about you but I find this comic is best read while playing Mystikal’s Danger (Been so Long).  So I know nothing about Danger Girl, and as if the comic was reading my mind, it was filled with exposition.  It even took a pause halfway through to explain exactly what the Danger Girls are.

Comic Block September - Dangergirl 1 Comic Block Exclusive Variant Pic 2

It starts off with Danger Girl Abbey Chase at age 12 running through the streets of Egypt.  This scene was amazingly over the top.  At one point she’s literally climbing a stack of woven baskets filled with snakes.

Comic Block September - Dangergirl 1 Comic Block Exclusive Variant Pic 1

Abbey and her handler David move to Norway where there some more exposition about her Dad being on some super secret mission.  The two are ambushed and David dies in the struggle.  Abbey manages to escape and the comic jumps 13 years to a 26 year old Abbey in the Amazon jungle.  Abbey is once again being Chased (see what I did there) and narrowly escapes a villainous woman with a snake eye (literally).  The comic ends with Abbey giving  more exposition and a glimpse of the weird emerald the Snake Lady was trying to steal from Abbey.

This comic was all well and good but nothing in it really grabbed my attention enough to want to read more.  The over the top villains and ominous dark family history was just so typical that it almost felt like a parody.  On the plus side the art was at least good and like Mirror’s Edge there weren’t ads in the interior of the book.

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October 9, 2015

Comic Bento Unboxing: October 2015

By Jasomania

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.

Comic Bento Unboxing 1

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.

Comic Bento Unboxing 2

Comic Bento Unboxing 5

Comic Bento Unboxing 5

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.

Comic Bento Insert Front Comic Bento Insert Back

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.

Comic Bento Unboxing 8

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

Comic Bento - Daredevil - Season 1

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

Comic Bento - Superman Batman Vengeance (Vol. 4)

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

Comic Bento - Executive Assistant - The Hitlist Agenda (Vol. 1)

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

Comic Bento - X-O Manowar - Enter Ninjak (Vol. 2)

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

Comic Bento - Highlander (Vol. 3)

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.

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September 18, 2015

Comic Block August 2015 Unboxing

By Jasomania

Comic Block Web Clipping

August’s Comic Block came with the following items:

  • Bombshells 1 from DC Comics
  • X-Files Season 11 Issue 1 from IDW (Comic Block Exclusive Variant)
  • Red Sonja / Conan 1 from Dark Horse (Comic Block Exclusive Variant)
  • Heart and Brain Comic Block Exclusive Print
  • Spider-Gwendom T-Shirt

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First let’s take a look at the art print that came in the box.  This is the second time that a box has include a art print, the very first box had a cool Batman Print.  This month came with a print that was a Web Comic that was ok, but not particularly funny.  I’m not familiar with the web comic and it had the level of humor of a Bazooka Joe wrapper.  Regardless I would rather there be an art print than some of the random extra items that some of the other boxes have had.

Comic Block August 15 - Comic Print

Next was the Spider-Gwendom T-Shirt.  It is a White shirt with the following print in the middle.  While I’m happy to now have my first Spider-Gwen T-shirt, it is kinda of creepy.

Comic Block August 15 - Gwenom T-Shirt

Bombshells Issue 1

Comic Block August 15 - Bombshells 1

If you have been following my blog than you already know I am a big fan of the DC Bombshells.  I picked up quite a few of the variant covers of the initial set back in August of last year, and have picked up even more of this years set.  I was actually planning on picking up this issue myself at my local comic shop until I went online and spoiled myself that it would be included in this month’s comic block.

The first thing to know about Bombshells is that it is a Digital first comic.  This means that it is released weekly on ComiXology with every 3 issues collected and released for print each month.  So then it makes sense that this issue is split up into three parts.

Comic Block August 15 - Bombshells 1 Image (2)

The first part introduces Batwoman.  Batwoman is the star player of the Gotham Knights and does vigilate work on the side.  For reasons not really explained the players on the Gotham Knights all where disguises and keep their identity secret.

Comic Block August 15 - Bombshells 1 Image (3)

Batwoman breaks up a robbery at the Ballpark (which we won’t go into how ridiculous it would be to rob a ballpark), and we see her romance with Police Captain Maggie Sawyer.

Comic Block August 15 - Bombshells 1 Image (4)

It ends with a cliffhanger with Amanda Waller recruiting Batwoman to help stop the war.

Comic Block August 15 - Bombshells 1 Image (5)

The second part introduces Steve Trevor whose squadron is shot down by Amazonians as they unknowingly fly into their airspace.  This is a much shorter section so not much else happens in it other than he is brought to Wonder Woman for questioning.

Comic Block August 15 - Bombshells 1 Image (6)

The last part takes place in Russia with Kara and Kortni Duginovana aka Supergirl and Stargirl.  I’m not sure if both have powers but Kara definitely does.  They are fighter pilots for Russia and during their first mission Kortni’s plane malfunctions and Kara must reveal her powers to save her.

I enjoyed this comic enough that I’ll start picking up the other issues as they are released.

X-Files Season 11 Issue 1

Comic Block August 15 - X-Files Season 11 Issue 1 Comic Block Exclusive

I did not like this comic much at all.  I was in the process of giving up until I realized I only had 4 more pages to read.  If you are into the X-Files this will probably be your jam but it has been since the late 90’s since I’ve seen an episode so I was more than a little confused.

Comic Block August 15 - X-Files Season 11 Issue 1 Comic Block Exclusive Image (7)

For reasons unexplained Mulder and Scully are not together and the FBI is looking for Mulder who is on the Lam.  We don’t know what he did or why the FBI is after him.  Mulder finds the debris of satellite and there are some wolves.  I don’t know.  It’s a confusing mess and honestly I just didn’t care.

Red Sonja / Conan Issue 1

Comic Block August 15 - Red Sonja Conan 1 Comic Block Exclusive

This is my first time to read either a Conan or Red Sonja comic so going in I am unfamiliar with the characters.

Comic Block August 15 - Red Sonja Conan 1 Comic Block Exclusive Image (8)

The story centers around Red Sonja and Conan preparing for a war in Kush.  There are several smaller mercenary forces that are going to team up for this attack and it has been decided that the leader of each fraction will fight to the death until only one remains.  Red Sonja and Conan decide that rather than fight each other that they will lead together.  This upsets the remaining warlords so the pair make quick work killing them off.  While this is happening a wizard named Kal’ang is in the final stages of making some sort of super potion that will give him immense power.  He gives a couple of his men a taste of his unfinished potion that, while not giving them full strength as the completed potion will, still greatly increases their strength.  The superpowered troops try to surprise Conan and Red Sonja and are quickly killed.

Comic Block August 15 - Red Sonja Conan 1 Comic Block Exclusive Image (10)

After the attack Red Sonja and Conan decide to immediately go to war instead of waiting until the morning.

Overall it was pretty good.  I thought the art was great, it was a cartoonish style but not so much that the people stopped looking real.  The level of violence felt inconsistent.  It’s not that I even minded it but it seemed like it just jumped from being extremely mild to cutting off heads pretty quickly.  It was just jarring because the level of sexuality and language was extremely tame so I just assumed that this book would be for younger audiences.  I don’t think I’ll pick up the series but I liked it well enough and might keep an eye out if it falls in dollar bins.

Well that’s it folks.  I’ll probably keep doing these posts monthly as I’ve been enjoying writing them and it encourages me to really read all the comics I get in the box.

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July 8, 2015

Comic Block June 2015 Unboxing

By Jasomania

Comic Block Web Clipping

A new month and a new Comic Block!  I guess if I do more than one of these unboxings I’m going to convince myself I need to do them every month.  The slightly odd thing about these Comic Blocks is that because they ship at the end of the month you don’t actually get June’s box until July so the month constantly seems off.  It’s not that big of a deal I just don’t want the internets to feel I waited a whole month to post this, the box just came in the mail this week.

First lets look at the full box and all it’s glory

Comic Block June - Full Unboxing

Here is the full rundown of items in the June Comic Block:

  • Groot #1 Exclusive Comic Block Variant Cover
  • Ghostbusters Get Real #1 Exclusive Comic Block Variant Cover
  • 21st Century Tank Girl #1 Exclusive Comic Block Variant Cover
  • BVS. T-Shirt from ShirtPunch
  • Avengers Pen and Note Pad

Here is a look at the insert that comes in that box that explains all the items.

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This month every comic book was an exclusive Variant cover instead of 2 out of 3 from the May Comic Block which is awesome.  Still no sign of the elusive trade paper back that we were promised would be in some of the boxes, so perhaps next month?  The overall quality of comic books remains very high.  The issue of Groot and 21st Century Tank Girl justify the purchase price of the box alone in my opinion (sorry Ghostbusters).  It looks like the trend will be that all the comic books are number 1 issues of new ongoing series which is awesome.  They are trying to get people on board new series rather than handing out random overstock back issues.  We’ll start by taking a look at the non Comic Book items in the box.  This month had a cool Batman vs. Superman T-Shirt which I like a lot more than I did last month’s Comic Book Guy T-Shirt.  The box also came with a Avengers Pen and note pad which looks like something you’d find on the shelf at Wal-Mart or Target and is pretty meh.  I would have rather they included an art print like they did last month then have something so generic as this pen.

Last month I posted my unboxing before I actually read the books so I thought it might be better this month if I read them first and wrote a little blurb about each one.

Groot #1

Comic Block June - Groot 1

As Rocket famously stated, Groot “Don’t know talkin’ good…, so his vocabulistics is limited to “I” and “am” and “Groot,” exclusively in that order”.  So when Marvel announced they were going to release a Groot solo ongoing series I was curious how it would turn out.  While this may be a Groot solo series, Rocket is just as much a star and does the heavy lifting in the speech department.  However, the end of this issue makes me think that Rocket and Groot won’t actually be with each other going forward like they were in this issue.

This comic was great.  It had the humor and wit that the Guardians of the Galaxy Film brought and was a joy to read cover to cover.  I’m still not sure I’m going to pick up Groot as an ongoing series but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for it to start appearing on Marvel Comics Digital Unlimited.  My favorite part though had to be this little reference to Man of Steel.

21st Century Tank Girl #1

Comic Block June - Tank Girl 1

This is actually the book I was most exciting about.  I don’t know much about Tank Girl so it was pretty sweet to find an issue in this month’s box.  This issue (and series I’m assuming) is an anthology issue so it had 4 different stories with various writers and artists in it.  All the stories were funny, raunchy, and violent.  I don’t know if I will add this to my pull list but if future issues are in this anthology format this it will be good to know I can pick them up later and not be lost.

Ghostbusters Get Real #1

Comic Block June - Ghostbusters Get Real 1

This is the comic that I was least excited about in the whole bunch.  In general I am pretty weary of comic books that are based off of TV Shows or Movies.  I’m sure that there are plenty of good books out there but it just isn’t my cup of tea.  That being said this comic was ok.  I’m not going to buy more of the series, but I enjoyed the issue well enough.  The plot is that the elder God Proteus attacks the Real Ghostbusters (from the 90’s cartoon) causing them to go into the universe of the regular Ghostbusters.

I am vaguely aware that the Real Ghostbusters existed and that it is different from the normal Ghostbusters so I was able to understand that part.  They give you all the information you need anyway so even if you aren’t familiar with the intricacies of Ghostbusters you would be able to follow along.

The target audience for this book is for children around 8 to 12 so if you got a kid that is into Ghostbusters this might be a good pick for them.

Full disclosure I was not paid for this post and bought this comic block with my own money.  I am doing this unboxing for my own entertainment, however, if the people at nerd block wanted to give me free things I would love to take them and review them here.

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