April's 1-Up Subscription Box Unboxing

A friend directed me to the site of a new subscription box called 1-Up, "A Monthly Box of Epic Gear for Geeks & Gamers". Being a fan of subscription boxes, I just had to try one out and signed up immediately. Looking at past boxes it seemed like a great value for what subscribers received. The box runs a very reasonable $12.92/month plus shipping ($6.00) for "$40+ Value of awesome stuff in each box". April's theme was "Hero" and came with a great selection of items which included an exclusive Mario/Batman mash-up T-shirt, April Hero button, Spider-Man car air freshener, "Hero" necklace and pouch, Hero patch, Hero Super Key Cover, and a Captain America Funko POP! figure. Take a look at the pictures below to get a peek inside!

Marvel/Funko Collector Corps Box Debuts

Marvel and Funko have teamed up to bring Marvel fans a brand new subscription box, Marvel Collector Corps. For the low low price of $25.00 plus shipping Marvel/Funko guarantee "Every Box! Every Item! 100% No Fluff" six times a year. Being a Marvel fan, I couldn't pass up signing up for this service. Especially since they announced their debut boxes theme: Age of Ultron and that there would be an exclusive 6" Hulkbuster POP! inside.

So, did the box live up to the hype? For the price (which came out to roughly $31.00), I would have to say that YES, it was worth every penny! Most of the time with monthly subscription boxes like these (I order a couple), I tend to only want to keep a handful of the items. This is okay, since the extras I can easily throw in a bag and give away as birthday gifts. With the Marvel Collector Corps box, however, I will be keeping all of the items for myself. The next boxes theme is Ant-Man, set to tie in with the upcoming movie. I will definitely be keeping my subscription active for that one. So, what was in the box? Take look at the pictures below to get a peek!

Very cool design on a very big box!

The inside boasts some cool comic art

A peek inside

Guardians Team-Up Variant, Ultron Dorbz, pin, and patch

Exclusive Hulkbuster POP! and Exclusive Ultron Dorbz

Exclusive Thor vs. Ultron T-shirt

Avengers: Age of Ultron Exclusives in Stores Now

Avengers: Age of Ultron is expected to make a massive debut in theaters this weekend. With a huge summer tent pole film like this also comes merchandising tie-ins. The Avengers can be seen adorning soda cans, chip bags, Eggo boxes, and more. The super hero team even has their own breakfast cereal. Here, we take a look at a handful of our favorite items currently lining store shelves.

Marvel Legends 3-pack- Toys R Us Exclusive

Avengers Titan Hero 3-pack- Toys R Us Exclusive

AoU Mini Mates- Toys R US Exclusive

Avengers Monopoly

Marvel Super Hero Mashers- Target Exclusive

Avengers Titan Hero 6-pack- Target Exclusive

“Lost in Space” Arrives on Blu-ray In Celebration of 50th Anniversary

Danger, Will Robinson!  Danger!  Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment pays tribute to one of the most iconic television series of all-time as “Lost in Space” – The Complete Series arrives on Blu-ray for the first time ever on September 15.  Running from 1965-1968, this collection allows fans to bring home Irwin Allen’s intergalactic family saga that earned an enormous following of devoted fans over the years. Set in the space age future of 1997, follow the heart-racing, cliff-hanging adventures of John Robinson and his family aboard the Jupiter 2, along with Robot B-9 and the delightfully devious Dr. Zachary Smith.

Produced with Space Productions, Inc. and Synthesis Entertainment, this massive 18-disc set contains all 83 episodes remastered in high definition, and over seven hours of exciting extras with recently discovered content you won’t find anywhere else in the galaxy. It’s out-of-this-world fun for everyone!  Highlights include new commentaries on classic episodes with the original cast, 50^th anniversary interviews with the original series cast and hours of archive footage offering incredible and unprecedented access into Irwin Allen’s personal archives.  In addition, the Blu-ray includes an exclusive cast performance of Bill Mumy’s unproduced 1980 epilogue script, featuring Mumy, Angela Cartwright, Marta Kristen, Mark Goddard and more!

Hot Toys Hawkeye Sixth Scale Figure Available for Pre-order at Sideshow Collectibles

via Sideshow Collectibles:

The release of Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has fans pumped to see the Earth's mightiest heroes assembling again to save the world from the menacing artificial intelligence, Ultron! Following the reveal of Black Widow, Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys are thrilled to present the widely-anticipated Hawkeye Sixth Scale Collectible Figure!

The movie-accurate Hawkeye Collectible Figure is specially crafted based on the image of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and features a newly developed head sculpt, new outfit, improved articulation for action poses, a freshly designed bow and arrows, as well as a specially designed figure stand.

Expand your Avengers: Age of Ultron collection with this extraordinary marksman!

The Hawkeye Sixth Scale Collectible Figure features:

Authentic and detailed likeness of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Approximately 30 cm tall

Body with over 30 points of articulation

Movie-accurate facial features with detailed wrinkles and skin texture

Six (6) pieces of interchangeable palms with finger tabs on left palms including:

- One (1) pair of relaxed palms

- One (1) right palm for holding bow

- Three (3) left palms of different styles for holding arrow

Each head sculpt is specially hand-painted

Costume:

One (1) dark burgundy long sleeve top

One (1) black and dark burgundy long jacket with straps and guards

One (1) pair of navy blue pants with belts on waist and straps on thighs

One (1) pair of black boots

Weapons:

One (1) fully-opened purple and black colored bow

One (1) folded purple and black colored bow

One (1) speed loader with nine (9) arrows

Thirteen (13) individual arrows and nine (9) interchangeable arrowheads of different styles

Accessories:

One (1) quiver

One (1) pair of arrow speed loaders

One (1) pair of sunglasses

Specially-designed figure stand with Hawkeye nameplate and the movie logo

Max Bemis Writes a Love Letter to '90s Comics in His New BOOM! Studios Series 'Oh, Killstrike'

Award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios is pleased to announce the May debut of Oh, Killstrike, the new tongue-in-cheek miniseries created and written by Say Anything frontman Max Bemis (Polarity, Evil Empire). Bemis teams up with artist Logan Faerber for a personal story that combines his deep love of ’90s superhero comics and the anxieties that come with being a new dad in a coming-of-age, twisted buddy comedy.

 

“When you combine Max’s love letter to ’90s comics with the same deeply personal storytelling that we saw with Polarity, Oh, Killstrike is what you get,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “This is a story that’s hilarious, heartwarming, and will likely put a smile on the face of anybody who loves comics. Logan’s artwork is spectacular—there’s nobody better to bring Killstrike to life. We’re so proud of this series; I genuinely can’t wait for readers to get this into their hands!”

 

Jared, a new father, fears parenthood. An old comics fan, he turns to them for comfort. But when he unwittingly lets loose his favorite character, Killstrike—a single-minded, vengeance-loving antihero—onto the world, Jared must find a way to send him back before he harms all the people he loves the most. But before that happens, Killstrike leads Jared on a quest of self-discovery to make him realize the kid who loved this character is not the man he has become.

Oh, Killstrike #1 arrives in comic shops on May 20th with a main cover by series artist Logan Faerber for the price of $3.99. Also available in a limited quantity are a 10 Years incentive cover by Frazer Irving (Annihilator, Uncanny X-Men) and a retailer incentive cover by Kris Anka (Uncanny X-Men).

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves Reunite for Deep Web

Keanu Reeves has joined the anticipated new EPIX Original Documentary, Deep Web, as narrator.  From director Alex Winter, the film chronicles one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century — the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur recently convicted of being 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' creator and operator of online black market Silk Road. This is the first time Reeves and Winter have worked together since 1993’s Freaked, which followed their co-starring roles in the successful Bill and Ted films. Deep Web will make its World Television Premiere on EPIX Spring 2015. 

“I'm honored to be working with Alex Winter on his timely and vital documentary, Deep Web” said Reeves. “The Silk Road and trial of Ross Ulbricht involve many important and complex issues that impact the life of Mr. Ulbricht and us all.”

Deep Web seeks to unravel a tangled web of secrecy, accusations, and criminal activity, and explores how the outcome of Ulbricht's trial will set a critical precedent for the future of technological freedom around the world. The film features exclusive interviews with the Ulbricht family, including Ross’ parents Lyn and Kirk Ulbricht.

Deep Web is an EPIX Original Documentary written, directed and produced by Alex Winter with Marc Schiller and Glen Zipper also serving as producers. Winter and Schiller previously worked together on the documentary Downloaded, about the rise and fall of Napster.  

Funko POP Harry Potter Vinyl Figures Coming in July

It looks like Funko is going to be getting more of my money when they release their new line of Harry Potter figures in July. The line includes Harry, Hermione, Ron, Albus Dumbledore, Snape, Voldemort, and Hagrid. You can pre-order yours now at Amazon.

via Amazon:

Bring a part of Hogwarts home! From the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Funko presents this Harry Potter POP vinyl figure! The chosen one himself! Stands 3 3/4 inches tall. Check out the other Harry Potter figures from Funko! Expecto Patronum!

Hitman: Agent 47 Trailer

Via YouTube:

HITMAN: AGENT 47 centers on an elite assassin who was genetically engineered from conception to be the perfect killing machine, and is known only by the last two digits on the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. He is the culmination of decades of research—and forty-six earlier Agent clones—endowing him with unprecedented strength, speed, stamina and intelligence. His latest target is a mega-corporation that plans to unlock the secret of Agent 47’s past to create an army of killers whose powers surpass even his own. Teaming up with a young woman who may hold the secret to overcoming their powerful and clandestine enemies, 47 confronts stunning revelations about his own origins and squares off in an epic battle with his deadliest foe.

BOOM! Studios Uploads Readers to 'Arcadia'

Part One of Five Connecting Main Covers by Matt Taylor

10 Years Incentive Cover by Frazer Irving

Retailer Incentive Cover by Eric Scott Pfeiffer

Retailer Incentive Cover by W. Scott Forbes

If your mind were uploaded to a computer, would you still be considered a person? Debut creators Alex Paknadel and Eric Scott Pfeiffer pose this question and more in the upcoming sci-fi thriller series Arcadia from award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios this May.

“Alex and Eric have taken the detailed world-building of series like Astro City and Game of Thrones and given us a sci-fi story that’s massive in scope,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Arcadia hits you with the hard questions about humanity in a technologically advanced world. It’s a story that explores the value of human life, how we define it, and the connection between family across the very planes of existence. This is a series you can get lost in.”

When 99% of humankind is wiped out by a pandemic, four billion people are “saved” by being digitized at the brink of death and uploaded into Arcadia, a utopian simulation in the cloud. But when Arcadia begins to rapidly deplete the energy resources upon which the handful of survivors in the real world (aka “The Meat”) depends, how long will The Meat be able—and willing—to help?

 

"Smart, challenging sci-fi world building. Stick around. It gets weirder." - Andy Diggle (Thief of Thieves, Uncanny)

"Arcadia is sci-fi with intellect and social conscience mixed with spectacle and danger and a fugue dream state. Turns out it's not just our data that's getting uploaded to the cloud, it's our souls. Alex Paknadel and Eric Scott Pfeiffer are creators you're going to be hearing a lot more from in years to come. Get in early." - Rob Williams (2000 AD)

 

Arcadia #1 arrives in comic shops on May 6th with the first of a five-part connecting main cover by Matt Taylor (Deep State) for the price of $3.99. Also available in a limited quantity are a 10 Years incentive cover by Frazer Irving (Annihilator, Uncanny X-Men), and a retailer incentive cover by series artist Eric Scott Pfeiffer.

Topps Star Wars Card Trader App in App Stores Now

When I was younger, I loved to collect cards. Baseball, football, comic cards; I had binders and boxes full of them. I had, literally, thousands of cards in my collection. I would buy them everywhere I went, from 7-11 to comic/card shops, flea markets, and garage sales. So many that it scares me to think about how much money was spent on them only to lose them all to a house fire.

I loved putting them in order in binders and trading my duplicates with friends and people I met in card shops to complete my collection. When I came across the Topps Star Wars card trader, I initially didn't download it. Why? Because I thought to myself, "What's the point. You can't even hold them or put them into binders."

A lot of people were tweeting about it recently, so I ended up downloading it just to see what the fuss was all about. I found myself enjoying it despite the fact that you don't really own anything physical. There are several different types of cards (white, red, yellow, blue, and Legends to name a few) you can acquire in your digital packs. There are also rare chase cards and awards you can unlock while collecting cards.

The Force Awakens Card

Each day I've opened the app, I have been given free credits with which to purchase packs. Once you've spent all of your free credits, you can purchase them with cash if you want to obtain more packs. Prices range from $0.99 for 3,000 credits (which will get you a 9-card pack) to $99.99 for 900,000 credits. You can also earn credits by watching videos of games you can purchase in the App Store.

If you want to trade cards, you can do that with other users. You set up a trade by choosing which cards you want and which cards you'd like to trade. Once you send them the offer they can accept or refuse. If they refuse, you can make a counter offer. When your trade goes through you can then rate that person.

Overall, it's nowhere near as enjoyable as owning physical cards and being able to sort them into binders. While trading to acquire needed cards can be a little addictive, I miss the days of actually interacting with people to trade your dupes in order to finish sets. With everything going digital we are, unfortunately, interacting with people less and less. It's a fun app, but it makes one nostalgic for the days when you could buy an actual pack of cards and not picture on a screen. Though as long as I can get my credits and keep it free, I'll keep collecting.

Red Cards

Blue Cards

Yellow Cards

Legends Cards

White Cards

The Star Wars Saga Available for the First Time on Digital HD on April 10, 2015

Now the Force will be with you - everywhere!

The most iconic movie collection of all time becomes available for the first time on Digital HD on April 10, 2015.

As anticipation builds for the December release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first new film in the Star Wars Saga in a decade, The Walt Disney Studios, Lucasfilm Ltd., and 20th Century Fox today announced the upcoming release of The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection. For the first time ever, all six epic films in the Saga, from The Phantom Menace to Return of the Jedi, will be available on Digital HD throughout the galaxy - or at least here on Earth - globally beginning Friday, April 10.

via YouTube:

'Steven Universe: Greg Universe Special #1' Celebrates Bond Between Father and Son

Main Cover by Ru Xu

Variant Cover by Fellipe Martins

KaBOOM!, the all-ages imprint of award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios, is excited to announce the April debut of Steven Universe: Greg Universe Special #1 from a collection of talented creators, including Steven Universe creative team Jeremy Sorese and Coleman Engle, Liz Prince (Tomboy), Grace Kraft (Steven Universe), Kelly Turnbull (Adventure Time), Rachel Dukes (Garfield), and Chrystin Garland (Bee & PuppyCat). Based on Cartoon Network’s hit original series, this oversized, self-contained issue features shorts centered around Greg Universe and his relationship with Steven.

“The Steven Universe animated series never stops outdoing itself, consistently delivering powerful characters and deeply moving stories,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “That’s exactly the type of storytelling we strive to stay true to in the comics. For this special issue we wanted to focus a little more on the relationship between Greg and Steven; even though Greg doesn’t have Gem powers, he’s still one of the most important people in Steven’s life, and the bond between father and son presents its own kind of magic.”

Steven Universe and the rest of the Crystal Gems are bonafide heroes, saving Beach City day after day. But you know who else is a hero? Greg Universe! Steven Universe: Greg Universe Special #1 is a collection of shorts that features father-and-son fun, as Greg teaches Steven some valuable life lessons.

Steven Universe: Greg Universe Special #1 arrives in comic shops on April 29th with a main cover by Ru Xu (Steven Universe) for the price of $4.99. Also available in a limited quantity is a retailer incentive cover by Fellipe Martins (Regular Show).

James Bond "Spectre" Teaser Trailer

In SPECTRE, a cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.  Sam Mendes returns to direct SPECTRE, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as 007 for the fourth time. SPECTRE is produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, from a script by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.

KaBOOM! Announces 'Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wars'

In July, KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios, will launch Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wars, a new miniseries featuring everyone's favorite gender-swapped characters from the hit Cartoon Network show.

Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wars 

Publisher: KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios

Author: Jen Wang

Artist: Britt Wilson

On sale: July 2015

Synopsis:

What’s To Love: We had such a blast with the Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake miniseries created by Natasha Allegri (Bee & PuppyCat) that we couldn’t wait to rejoin our favorite heroes in an all-new story from Jen Wang (In Real Life) and Britt Wilson (Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake) that features the actual Cryptozoic card game, Card Wars, which itself was created from the game in the show. It's so meta!

What It Is: Cake is a Card Wars champ who can’t be beat, and Fionna...is really tired of getting beaten! They set off in search of a challenger who can really test Cake’s mettle. When they stumble across some gamer slugs, they think they’ve hit the jackpot, but these guys have never heard of Cake and refuse to even play with her!