Review of October 2015 Comic Nerd Block Subscription Box

This box Comic Block subscription box from Nerd Block was purchased by me to review for you.

The Cost starts at 13.99 per month (plus Shipping) and gets cheaper based on the length of subscription. You currently get a welcome box with a new subscription.

This month box included a shirt, 3 comic books and an art print.

The Spawn Shirt has an Ebay value of around $10 dollars. It is a fairly heavy cotton, unlike some of the exclusive t-shirts I have received from various subscription boxes. The eyes glow in the dark and looks a little eerie in the mirror. Not necessarily a Spawn fan, but did keep this shirt for myself and have gotten multiple compliments.

Heroes Vengeance #1 - Comic Block Variant – Cover value $3.99

"NBC Reborn Prelude" Heroes Vengeance from Titan Comics, which will serve as an origin story for one of the new characters. The series will consist of five issues, and will be written by Heroes Reborn supervising producer Seamus Fahey. Selling on Ebay for around  $5-13. I have not watched the show, and have little interest in the comic and know no one to gift it to for Christmas, so it is in my sell pile. Although I have no doubt this comic was well accepted by some fans.

Lara Croft Frozen Omen #1 – Cover value $3.99

Dark Horse Comics features an exclusive variant cover! It’s up to Lara to stop a cult from causing worldwide devastation! Selling on Ebay for around  $12-20. I enjoyed the Lara Croft Tomb Raider games and movies. I have kept this comic for my collection.

Back To The Future #1 –  Cover value $4.99

IDW Back To The Future features an exclusive variant cover. In "Back to the Future Part II," Marty McFly travels to October 21, 2015 which was just last month and there was a lot of hype for 'Back to the Future Day'. Not sure of the story line, but enjoyed the movies so am keeping this for my collection. Selling on Ebay for around  $9-25.

Venom Print – Ebay Value $5-12

The last item this month is a Venom art print! A 100 lucky people (not I) got one that was signed by the artist. This was also something I kept for my personal collection.

Over all this month's Comic Nerd Block subscription box gave me a Spawn shirt to wear, 2 comics to add to my comic book collection, a comic to sale and a Venom print worth framing. Thumbs up on quality verse cost.

Boost your Halloween knowledge - All Hallows Eve facts & legends

All Hallows Evening facts and legends of Halloween

Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.

Halloween goes by multiple names: All Hallows’ Eve, Samhain, Lamswool Snap-Apple Night, Guy Fawkes Night and more.  Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween. Halloween has been estimated to have started approx 2,000 years ago, Halloween was partially influenced by the ancient Roman festival Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess. Many Halloween customs and games such as bobbing for apples come from this influence. 

It was believed that the boundary between the living and dead was thinly veiled on Halloween. So, humans would wear ghoulish masks and dress up so the spirits would not recognize them.  Trick-or-treating itself might have started from a superstition that ghosts would also disguise themselves as humans and knock on doors of houses that did not leave out wine or other spirits. If they were denied, the spirit would haunt the person who refused it. The earliest known reference to “trick or treat” was printed in the November 4, 1927 edition Alberta Canada Herald.

In 1950, trick-or-treaters in Philadelphia went door to door and collected change for children overseas and sent it to UNICEF in lieu of candy. Subsequently, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program was born.

In many countries, such as France and Australia, Halloween is an unwanted and overly commercial American cultural influence. Per the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend an estimated $6.9 billion on Halloween with its vampire costumes, treats and spooky household decorations, it's the second-largest commercial holiday in America. Only Christmas surpasses it in sales. 

Children are more than twice as likely to be killed in a pedestrian/car accident on Halloween than on any other night. Due to this safety concern, trunk-or-treating was introduced in 2000 as an alternative to hitting the streets for candy on Halloween night. Cars are parked in a circle at a school or church parking lot, decorating their open trunks and dressing in costume to hand out treats.

Other dangers are touted each year about poison or razor blades because of stories like a five-year-old boy who allegedly ate Halloween candy laced with heroin in 1970. Investigators later discovered that the heroin belonged to the boy’s uncle and was not in his Halloween candy. Another story in 1974, where an eight-year-old died of cyanide poisoning after eating Halloween candy. Investigators later learned that his father had taken out a $20,000 life insurance policy on the child and that he had poisoned his own son and failed to poison his daughter. And this year, where a recent drug bust went viral with Some pictures of Ecstasy that are brightly colored and look like certain candies. These forms of Ecstasy are not "new" nor intended to appeal to children (teens at raves, more so), and are not likely to end up in kids' Halloween trick-or-treat bags. 

Now the above is not to say there are not creeps that do cruel things with little common reasoning, but that your kid is far more likely to be hit by a car before they get home to have you check their candy, YES you should check their candy.

Some cities across the USA have adopted age limits (usually around 12) for those who can Trick or Treat. Such laws may rarely be strictly enforced, but if your kid is 13 or older and chooses to trick, teen violators could face jail or fines.

Some Other Facts worth noting.

• Irish legend says that one day the devil came to take the soul of a not so law abiding man named Jack. But Jack managed to trick the devil, making him promise to never take his soul to hell. After living a long life, eventually Jack tried to enter Heaven, but could not, for he had lived a life of ill repute. He then attempted to enter Hell, but the devil kept his word. When Jack complained, the devil laughed at him and threw him a glowing ember, which Jack used to light a lantern he made using a turnip that was in his pocket. He became Jack of The Lantern and doomed to aimlessly walk the Earth.
• The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with an 836-lb. pumpkin.
• Stephen Clarke holds the record for the world’s fastest pumpkin carving time: 24.03 seconds, smashing his previous record of 54.72 seconds. The rules of the competition state that the pumpkin must weigh less than 24 pounds and be carved in a traditional way, which requires at least eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth.
• Harry Houdini (1874-1926) is one of the most famous and mysterious magicians. He died on Halloween night in 1926 from appendicitis after he suffered stomach punches. Harry spent most his life proving psychics were scammers. But he made a promise to contact his wife from beyond the grave if anyone possibly could.
• Because the movie Halloween (1978) had such a tight budget, they chose to use the cheapest mask they could find for the Michael Meyers character, which turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. 

Monthly Subscription box of geek, nerd and gamer loot

Loot Crate Loot Crate was founded in 2012 by an entrepreneurial team of geeks and gamers and has gained a lot of attention as the subscription service to get a bunch of geek toys sent to you every month for $19.95 or less.

But, it’s not the only game in town, Geek Fuel launched as an alternative to Loot Crate. It’s basically the same deal. For $23.90 or less per month you get a box full of stuff every month that’s pretty close to Loot Crate. Geek Fuel includes a Steam downloadable game code worth around ten dollars.

Both offer a T-shirt which in reality almost covers the cost of the box, especially if you signed up for a year subscription to save a couple dollars per box.

I'll tell you though, Geek Fuel's "3 bonus mystery items" you get for signing up for a year, the first one did not seem very awe inspiring to me. Especially since the sign up bonus for the Wizard World Presents Comic Con Box sells on Ebay for about $150 dollars (the box also cost about 50% more). I'll get the next bonus item in the next box and the third in my 3rd box and have hope for something more intriguing.

By being an active Loot Crate subscriber you're automatically entered to win a monthly Mega Crate VALUED AT OVER $2,000+!

SUPER Geek Box is yet another Monthly Box of nerd and Gamer Gear you can subscribe to, it is a little cheaper than the others if you use the promotional discount coupon code (Use Code: CHAOS). I have not received my first one yet so can't speak to how happy I am with it.

The Comic Con and Nerd Comic Block subscription boxes are probably the best options if you are interested in comic books, especially those with variant covers.

Loot Crate, Geek Fuel or Super Geek monthly subscription boxes are probably the best option for general movie and video game type gear and exclusive T-shirts.

Nerd Block also has boxes targeted at specific things like SCI-FI, HORROR and KIDS and you can save a few dollars with the discount code  MEGTURNEY. Meg Turney is a cosplayer and Nerd Block unboxer .

Outer Places is Launching 'Supply Pod' Inspired by the movie "The Martian"

Outer Places is launching their first mystery box and I don't have one to review, but I am happy to offer a discount code to my readers to save 10%.

Supply Pod discount code: MAVERICK10 

Here is the link to the Supply Pod site.

Outer Places, the digital media company that explores the science in science fiction, is launching its Supply Pod mystery box program on October 2 2015.

Supply Pod is a box of Sci-Fi loot that delivers unique products themed around upcoming Sci-Fi releases and scientific events. The first box is based on the real-life science behind Andy Weir's novel, The Martian, which inspired the movie starring Matt Damon about an astronaut stranded on Mars.

One lucky Supply Pod purchaser will win an exclusive The Martian movie poster, signed by Matt Damon and other cast members as well as author Andy Weir.

The Essential Pod ($29.99 plus 7.99 shipping, handling and tax) contains science and sci-fi items that would be great to have if you were stranded on Mars.

The Deluxe Pod ($39.99 plus 7.99 shipping, handling and tax) contains all the items in the Essential Pod plus a paperback version of The Martian by Andy Weir. 50 random Deluxe Pod customers could receive an autographed copy of The Martian.

The company is expanding its list of partners and will be adding new boxes in the coming months.

Supply Pods are currently only available to ship within the continental United States.

Click to read more about mystery boxes like Supply Pod