Battle of the Nerd Boxes Geek Fuel & Lootcrate: April 2017

Hello Cats and Kittens!  It’s your favorite Anomaly Booth Babe coming back at you after a bit of a hiatus with another Nerd Box Review where I am going to look at two of the leading Nerd box offerings for the month of April, 2017 and see who will come out on top: Geek Fuel or Lootcrate.  I know that some of you are asking, “But what about the months we missed?”  Patience my ravenous fans, I’ll start filling in the blanks soon, but right now we HAVE to get into what came this month.

We start with Geek Fuel, because that is the box I get first.  And wow…some strong offerings to get into.

T-shirt of the Month:  Civil War Rock-em Sock-em robots!

Civil War Geek Fuel

I’m more excited for Dr. Strange movie coming out later this year, don’t let that fool you into thinking that I am anything but pumped for Civil War.  I mean, it’s basically an Avengers Lite movie, bringing together all the main characters of the MCU save for Thor and Hulk, while also claiming a major coup by bringing Spider-man back into the fold at Marvel.  Prior to that we had the Sony based movies that…let’s admit it folks…the first two Tobey Maguire films were passable…and after that it was a FAST downward spiral.  But Spidey is one of the most beloved characters of all time, so to see him done by the people who know him best should make for a great film.  But this is a T-shirt I’m supposed to be talking about…and come on.  Look at that thing.  What MCU fan wouldn’t wear that with pride?  

Doctor Who Item #1:  10th Doctor Comic!

Dr Who Loot Crate

10 is my Doctor.  This comic came with a COA (Certificate of Authenticity).  The art is beautiful.  Well played.  

Doctor Who item #2:  TARDIS Coasters!

Loot Crate

What’s this?  A SECOND Doctor Who item?  YAAAAS!  And not only are these coasters things I will certainly use around the house, they are just plain cool to pick up and look at.  I think the American Gothic one is my favorite…no…the Starry Night one…NO!  Crap.  I can’t make up my mind.  Casey and Sue with Anomaly Supplemental are my go-to source for all Whovian knowledge, and you can hear their most recent ‘Moment of Who’ episode here.

Star Wars Item:  First Order Stormtrooper Bobblehead

Geek Fuel Star Wars The Force Awakens Bobblehead

Avid readers of my posts will know that I’m not the biggest fan of toys.  They tend to just gather dust on a shelf someplace.  But that said, this is not bad.  I may glue him to the dashboard of my car.  The Anomaly review of The Force Awakens is one I play back every so often because I just love geeking out about Star Wars.  Listen for yourself here.

Gaming item:  Steam download for Fallen

Steam download for Fallen

There has been something like this in every Geek Fuel box in recent memory, and I have yet to actually go and download any of the games they have been promoting, but apparently it is a $20 value.  While this may not be my shot of whiskey, I’m sure it appeals to some folks out there.  Angela and Jen love to talk about video games, and you can hear their discussion about the games of the 90’s they loved here.

Little bonus item: Captain America Sticker!

Geek Fuel Captain America

Actual size about two inches in circumference.  It’s also foil and shiny.  This will undoubtedly end up on my wife’s big metal box she uses to carry around her Magic cards.  And I’m fine with that.  Fun little bonus item, and to hear the Anomaly ladies give their review of Avengers Age of Ultron, you can just click here.

So that is all the items in the Geek Fuel box for this month, and wow.  That is quite an impressive array of items.  So what would Lootcrate have in store??

Lootcrate for the month of April 2017 theme:  Quest.

T-shirt of the Month:  Labyrinth.

loot crate labyrinth

Wow.  What a tribute to the late, great David Bowie with this GORGEOUS art.  And I get to WEAR it!  Now I’ll say that lavender is my least favorite color, but right now, I could not care less, this shirt is fracking beautiful.  I’m going to have to go back and listen to the Anomaly Supplemental review of Labyrinth….here.

Mini-poster:  Uncharted 4

Uncharted 4 Lootcrate

Sigh.  I am just not as deep into video games as many other geeks are.  I have not played any of the Uncharted games, let alone knew they were already on the 4th installment of that franchise.  So yeah, this isn’t as mind blowing an item for me…but wait…there’s more.

Harry Potter Item:  Horcrux Socks!

Harry Potter Horcrux Socks

Alright…this is just SWEET.  For those wondering, yes…the part you can’t see includes Harry Potter himself as one of the horcruxes.  It’s a shame they don’t make socks in various sizes, because as soon as my wife got home, she saw the contents of this box and squee’d “Oooh!  I get Horcrux socks!”  Yes honey.  Of course you do.  But only because my gigantic clodhoppers would bust these things faster than smacking them with the Sword of Griffindor.  Way back in 2012 Jen and Angela reviewed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone, which you can listen to here.  And Kasey and Sue reviewed A Very Potter Musical…here.

Fun Ice cube of the month:  D20!

Ice cube D20

Y’all…It’s a mold that makes an ice cube twenty-sided dice, D20 for those familiar with the parlance of the tabletop gamer.  I have gotten quite a few novelty ice forms in these boxes over the last year, but this one is right up there among the favorites.  I immediately went and filled this puppy with water and can’t wait to see the iced results.  And once you have your D20, all you need is your raid group.  Check out the Dynamics of a Raid Group podcast here.  It was one of my favorite shows the Anomaly ladies have ever done.  

Manly plastic drinking vessel:  Horn of Plenty!

plastic drinking vessel Horn of Plenty

First of all, note to self: shave before taking pics of the unboxing.  Secondly…ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  I am going to wear this EVERYWHERE!  It’s a necklace that doubles as a drinking vessel that is also EPIC!  At the very LEAST this will be a part of every Renfest costume I wear forever.  I just can’t describe how much fun I find this item to be.  So what if you can’t put it down half full?  If that is a huge worry, go get your broadsword, armor up, and go conquer a village so you can just hand it to one of your conquered foes to hold while you eat meat roasted on a spit!  That’s what I would do….

Oh, and I would also check out any of the Anomaly Vidcasts on Renfest, the most recent of which is a click away here.

OK!  So that is the sum total of what I got from Geek Fuel and Lootcrate this month, and I must say again it is a hard choice to pick a winner from them, but this time I have to go with…

Lootcrate!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Civil War shirt, and the Doctor Who items from Geek Fuel, and even may find a use for the Stormtrooper, but the Lootcrate just clicked on all cylinders this month.  The little poster is the only thing I can’t really see myself using on a very regular basis.  My wife is already wearing the Horcrux socks, I used the horn to drink my juice this morning with breakfast chilled by a D20 ice cube, and I am currently wearing the Labyrinth shirt.  Tune in next month for my continuing series where I review these two nerd boxes, and I’ll also start posting the reviews of the months we missed while I was busy with life.  

May the Force Be With You my friends.  Always.

 

About the Author

Noah
NoahContributor / Ninja/ Booth Babe
Noah Westerfield is a male friend of Anomaly, known as ‘The Singularity.’ He is the Booth Babe at their Comicon booth, and is lucky to be involved with a podcast that combines the talents of so many great women. He is also a shameless suck-up.