Comic Block April 2016 – Review
As a kid we all loved mystery bags because the vendors usually claimed they were filled with the most awesome items. It is something each generation has loved and will continue to love if the value of the mystery bag is about right. The modern spin of these mystery bags is the mystery subscription box. These boxes are filled with items from a specific theme and are sent straight to your home.
The Comic Block from March was filled with goodies from the DC universe and to top it off, it was also the first block that had mutated and grown in size. The Comic Block is now comparable with Nerd Block’s other subscription boxes such as the Classic, Arcade, Horror and Sci-Fi blocks. This month’s theme is the complete opposite as it’s packed with Marvel goodies and a few other franchises.
Before we begin the dissection of this month’s Comic Block, let me explain what a subscription block actually is. You scourge the internet for a subscription box that would fit your geeky needs and you start paying a monthly fee. In return, the company will ship a box packed with mystery goodies of the theme that you’ve chosen. Nerd Block offers a plethora of themes from video games to horror to comic to a few others but other companies can offer other themes so this is not a general guideline for mystery subscription boxes. Nerd Block has taken it upon them to reveal its theme in each of their boxes so that you have a rough idea of its contents and each of their boxes usually comes with the obligatory T-shirt. Without further ado, let’s dig into this box shall we.
Here’s what you can find in the April 2016 Comic Block:
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Exclusive Captain America T-shirt from Shirt Punch
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Captain America: Civil War Funko Pop!
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Reaction Reverse Flash action figure
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Black Panther #1 comic book
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Exclusive Aliens: Defiance #1 comic book
Once more the Comic Block comes with an exclusive Shirt Punch T-shirt, kicking off the overall theme of the box, namely Marvel. We’ll keep saying it but the fit and fabric Shirt Punch’s T-shirts have is always superb and its Captain America print is absolutely perfect for a Marvel fan. These shirts are usually priced around $10.
To accommodate the T-shirt of your favorite superhero, there’s also a Captain America Funko Pop! This is the second time in two subscription boxes time that we received a Funko Pop! and while the vinyl figures sure look cheap in detail, these go for 10 to 15 dollars, depending on which store you buy these from. The fact that the figure is from the new Civil War movie is only a big plus.
A slightly odd choice for a Marvel-packed mystery box is the Reaction Reverse Flash figure from Funko. However, this 3 3/4” retro action figure is still pretty sweet to receive. This is our first figure from the ReAction line-up and we were quite amazed with its minor details. Unfortunately mine got loose during shipment but as the figure is fully posable, we may as well use this feature. We do hope that in time we will also receive The Flash and Captain Cold because who doesn’t love a complete collection. This collectible sells in stores for $9.99
Last but certainly not least are the comics that came with the Comic Block this month. Surprisingly there were only two this month but the value of the contents so far is already more than what we paid for. Black Panther #1 is a new comic, published early April by Marvel, featuring a new era for the Black Panther. This comic has a $4.99 value and comes in a clear plastic bag and a carton to keep the comic from bending.
The second comic on the other hand came wrapped too tight, causing it to warp slightly. This exclusive issue of Aliens Defiance #1 seems like an odd choice once again and quite honestly, I personally had no idea there were comics of the Aliens franchise but it is nice to explore and experience new comic books firsthand. The original issue has a value of $3.99 so we’ll stick with this value for this exclusive variant.
Conclusion
Costing $19.99 excluding shipping, the Comic Block offers a decent value but compared to the previous block, the value has decreased significantly in terms of store-value and amount of goodies. And although there are two odd items in there such as the Reaction figure of the Reverse Flash and the exclusive variant of Aliens Defiance #1, this month’s comic block is perfect for fans of the Marvel Universe. Next month is another one for the Marvel-crazed fans as the comic block from May will feature items from The Avengers, X-men, The Punisher and even Tank Girl (from which we have never heard until now).
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