nerd block

Horror Block November 2015 unboxed

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This is a post I’ve been putting off for a few days now because quite frankly, I find these so dull to write (which I then imagine means it’s pretty dull for you to read). So as I say every single time, this is the last box I will ever get. But I’m dead serious this time (I think) because I triple-checked that my subscription was totally done with. Things aren’t easy when you’re poor as fuck. Christmas time + moving into a new flat + broken television + father visiting in a week’s time = one extraordinarily poor lady.

As you can tell from the sexy picture above, this was taken in haste. Why? Because I am so uninterested in most of this box that I didn’t bother bringing it home. Also, I thought at some point I would have had time to take a nice photo of some of these items, but then I realised that winter is a perpetual month of endless hell and darkness. So thanks, florescent lights of the office, you allowed for one atrocious photo!

If you can’t tell, there is quite a smattering of items this month. From the really great to the really… meh. So… what’s in the basket box?

1. Bela Lugosi t-shirt from ShirtPunch.com<

I love me some Bela Lugosi, so it was rather nice to get a shirt from Horror Block that I could actually get excited about. Plus ShirtPunch! are now also doing limited-time collectibles twice a week. Like the shirts, they will be constantly changing, though which items will be available and on what day and time available will be a mystery. That's certainly one way to keep people checking back.

2. Addy Miller autograph

The worst part about being a horror fan lately is being out of the Walking Dead loop. I have absolutely no interested in it. If you’re really into this show, every subscription box in the world must be fantastic. A young Addy Miller appeared on the show as a young zombie girl back in the premier. The print is pretty fantastic, and it comes with an authentication card.

3. Sharknado vinyl bobblehead

This is hands-down the, uh, most “interesting” item I’ve ever gotten in a sub box. But yes. Here it is: a bobblehead of David Hasselhoff with chainsaw! While I do love me some B-movie goodness, I never watched Sharknado or any of its incarnations. Turns out no one in my office has either because NO ONE will take this thing off my hands. This is an exclusive item to Horror Block. How exclusive, I don’t know. But if I liked this movie, I would certainly find this hilarious (I think).

4. Rue Morgue December issue

I am SO happy to see a proper issue of Rue Morgue back in Horror Block this month. While their books are quite interesting, I always want a copy of this magazine. This is such an expensive mag to buy in the UK, unfortunately, so I will have to savor it for sometime before being able to afford another issue. There’s a pretty great interview with Michael Dougherty for his new movie, Krampus. It’s a cool Q&A which mostly talks about Trick ‘r Treat, but really just says what we Halloween-obsessed always want to say: “Screw Christmas. When’s Halloween?”

5. Bloody cleaning cloth

As I’ve said a few hundred times now, I’ve moved into a new place. Getting cleaning supplies in this block actually made me excited. So that either means I am a.) lame b.) old or c.) both.

6. Twilight Zone Mystic Seer

This exclusive from Springz ranks among some of the best stuff I’ve ever gotten from a subscription box. I’ve seen every episode of the classic Twilight Zone at least half a dozen times. In the episode “Nick of Time” William Shatner and Patricia Breslin come across a fortune-telling machine in a cafe. This little Mystic Seer appears on the top of the machine. This is meant for a car, but I’ve currently got this proudly displayed on our bookcase. Well done, Horror Block. All the classic horror stuffs, please!

Nerd Block Classic November 2015 unboxed

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Another Nerd Block Classic arrived (unexpectedly) this week with a rather festive look. As you may have noticed from the picture above, I am one item short this month. In this box was an exclusive Sherlock Titans figure. I finally got someone to take one of those horrible beasts off my hands and out of my house. Nightmare-inducing toys aside, this box was pretty great. I had meant to cancel it, but I missed the deadline, obviously. But it was a mistake worth making. There was a real Christmas theme to this months box as December’s classic block will be (unsurprisingly) Star Wars themed.

1. “Back to the Nightmare” t-shirt from ShirtPunch.com exclusive

Some things were really not meant to be. And this Nightmare Before Christmas/Back to the Future mash-up is probably one of those things. This is one of the more puzzling cross-overs I’ve seen. I think this was probably one of those lapses in judgement by trying to include two subjects are timely instead of related. The art work and style doesn’t really mesh well between the two halves. But then again, it’s a shirt. It will be pretty nice for post-Christmas “I’m too full to move” days.

2.Bill Murray “John Wayne” print

I had look this one up because a.) Nerd Block didn’t give any explanation for this print and b.) I really had no idea what the hell this was supposed to be. This is a nice enough print if you’re really, really into Bill Murray, I guess. Apparently this is a reference to the movie Monuments Men which is hilarious? Beats me. But that’s what I learned from YouTube. It’s certainly a really weird item to include. Although, I suppose Murray is a bit of a champion to many, but maybe it’s not something that will be a hit with “nerd” markets.

3.Firefly ornament

My husband and I are huge Firefly and Serenity fans (our “mousepad” is a hardback copy of volume one of the Dark Horse comic). Nothing pleases me more than this gorgeous Christmas ornament. The firefly-class ship Serenity is replicated here in really fantastic detail. It’s even more impressive with the lovely box it comes in. I’m a big sucker for this. Even though it’s plastic, it’s really heavy and so nice it could definitely be left out on display for the rest of the year. IMG_0027IMG_00284. Star Wars: The Force Awakens calendar

This is the one and only time I will say thank God my husband likes Star Wars. This is one of those smaller desk calendars that are pretty useful for places like work. I guess I really can’t say anything more interesting on the subject. At least this is another item that will have a home instead of ending up in the dark depths of my apartment.

5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation moose shot glass

After the excellent Firefly treat, this shot glass has to be my second favourite bit in this month’s block. Though, as soon as I started going on about Walley World, I noticed that my poor British husband hadn’t a clue what I was going on about. Did National Lampoon never make the transatlantic journey? Anyway, it won’t be long before I subject him to watching the first three films with me. Shot glasses are always a really big hit with me because I do love a drink (or two). Our cabinets fell off the kitchen wall in a tragic accident of cutlery and I lost all of my old ones. Rebuilding my collection starts with this Marty Moose head.

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For me, this block was worth it just for the shot glass and ornament. We don’t have a Christmas tree because the flats are so tiny in London, but I hope to have one in the future. But both items are really cool and always bring a smile to my face.

 

 

 

Nerd Block October 2015 unboxed

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I splashed a tiny bit more cash this month to try out the classic Nerd Block, who also runs Horror Block (which is being sent out later this month). As I receive the newsletter every week, the teasers for this month’s Nerd Block caught my eye immediately for containing two items from some of my most favourite brands. After opening this block, I was more than satisfied.

  1. Bob’s Burgers Mad Libs

I have to admit I don’t know the first thing about Bob’s Burgers other than watching an episode or two back in my university days. It seems fine enough, but who the hell doesn’t love a good Mad Lib?

2. Zombie Hunter Dog Tags

Do people still wear fake dog tags as fashion accessories? For a few of my teenage years I wore my father’s dog tags, but I had to stop after several people thought I was actually in the army and started thanking 14-year-old me for my service (who ever said Americans were smart?). Anyway, this is hands-down the worst item in the block and that’s including more of those god-awful Titan Vinyl figures.

3. Peltzer’s Pets ShirtPunch t-shirt

I cannot and will not talk about this t-shirt rationally. LOOK AT THIS FUCKING T-SHIRT!

This shirt and the Jem annual are the two reasons I tried out Geek Block this month. And I really, really was not disappointed by this t-shirt. I’m normally a pretty normal adult by bland white-people standards: skirts or dresses every single day. But the one time I usually go out on a limb is with shirts with mogwai on them. Especially if said mogwai is everyone’s favourite hero, Gizmo. I’m going to MCM Comic Con London again this weekend, and this shirt is bound to make an appearance.

As an added bonus (just when I didn’t think this shirt could get any better) – the information card tells me that IT GLOWS IN THE DARK. Not only glows in the dark, but the sweet image of Gizmo disappears and a gremlin appears instead with “feed after midnight!” as the caption to egg you on to make bad choices. God. I fucking love Gremlins.

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4. Jem and the Holograms Outrageous Annual #1 with exclusive cover

I’ve already read this Jem annual twice already since I picked it up when it came out a couple weeks ago. As we all know, I’ve really been loving the shit out of this IDW series. The annual is a selection of short stories all illustrated by various artists. The Holograms attempt to watch a movie after a long day, but all fall asleep to have some rather interesting dreams.

There are about five different covers for this first annual, and there are some really nice variants (as always because IDW always publish about 8 covers for each issue and I need them all). This Geek Block exclusive cover is by artist Amy Mebberson. Mebberson also drew a variant cover for the first Jem issue and did the art for the “Wired” part of the annual.

5. Moe’s Tavern coasters

These are really great. While I was never a massive Simpsons fan, it’s pretty difficult to deny how fun these coasters are. And for once these are really nice quality. They even have proper cork on the back and a plastic (?) topping, which means they’ll last infinitely longer than the usual cardboard fare.

6. Geek Block Ripley and Xenomorph Titan Figure 2-pack

Fucking great. Is this how you repay me for months of support, Nerd Block? MORE of these disgusting things? Who on earth likes these? Seriously. Who are you so I can hunt you down and make sure you never buy one of these horrifying things again. Last month’s rant on my Horror Block unboxing is enough. I’ve said all I can about these monstrosities and I shall never give them anymore of my time. Even if it is Ripley. Sorry.

Next month the people at Nerd Block are launching the new Sci-Fi Block, which promises plenty of science fiction-related goodness from brands like X-Files, Firefly and Star Trek. The first block (which is shipped in November) promises a Star Wars: The Force Awakens Funko Pop and a celebrity autograph.

Horror Block June 2015 unboxed

Another month. Another Horror Block. And I could swear that June as a month didn’t even happen. This month is a little baby box, but there are plenty of really great goodies (and goodies is such a good word).

1. Cthulhu plush

I do not know where this sudden revival and obsession with H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu came from. Or maybe it was there all along. As someone who was never massively into Lovecraftian horror, it always feels like being left out of the cool group. But I don’t think it takes much to appreciate how adorable this little guy is. 

 

2. “Survive the Night” The Purge t-shirt

Why would anyone want this? Did anyone like The Purge or am I just a cynic? I’m starting to wonder if receiving a t-shirt in every box is a good thing. 

5. Rue Morgue July 2015

This month’s issue of the horror mag commemorates the 15th anniversary of American Psycho with a rather fitting patriotic cover. As always, this is always a highlight for me, and always makes this sub box worth getting. Plus there is a great piece about Joe Dante’s upcoming film Burying the Ex that is definitely worth a read.

3. Aliens ice cube tray

It is “bloody warm” in London this week. Every bit of effort conjures more sweat than I ever care to admit. I’m a woman built for the terrible winters of Wisconsin, not any weather above “a bit sunny.” So needless to say, nothing was more welcoming than the sight of this new Aliens-inspired ice cube tray. 

There was one of two versions included in the box. I was lucky enough to get the one with the mould of the Xenomorph head instead of the egg-shape. Plus the trays are made out of silicone which is always really nice. Just imagine all the heat melting away with alien heads bobbing away in your gin and tonic…

 
4. Ghost Face reaction figure

Funko is great at producing things for the pop culture-obsessed. Their Pop figures are definitely their biggest selling point, but the ReAction figures are some of the most unique. These retro toy inspired action figures are really neat. This little Ghost Face even comes with his own knife.

If you are out there, oh Nerd Block Gods, please have more of these. Just send me a box full of the entire Gremlins line. 

 
From what I’ve seen of people’s reactions online, many think this box doesn’t reach its supposed value. It was, admittedly, a rather light box, but I would rather there be fewer things that are interesting and exciting rather than a box full of junk just to be “worth it.” This was definitely an improvement over last month’s box.

It’s nice to see some classic horror movie inspired bits. Those items will always be crowd pleasers. Next month will have a Buffy-themed item. I am already counting down the days.