Unboxing: Marvel's Collector Corps - July Box

Well, I know it's been a few months since the last post, but I'm not gone forever! Just had an extremely busy summer! Time to play catch up!

[Collector Corps August 2016 box - Spider-Man]

Today I'm doing an unboxing of the Collector Corps August 2016 box. The theme was Spider-Man. Can you tell? LoL! I know I'm a bit behind, as I am missing the previous 3 months boxes, but I'm on time with this one! I received this a few days ago and I'm sharing the contents.

[The pin and patch from the August 2016 Collector Corps box.]

As always, when the box is opened the pin and patch are revealed on top. Since the theme was Spider-Man they obviously made both the pin and patch this month in honor of Spider-Man. The pin has the Spider-Man symbol and the patch has Spider-Man's face. They're both very simple, but straight to the point.

[Contents of the August 2016 Collector Corps Box]

As always, when the top of the box is lifted, the rest of the contents are revealed. The first thing I noticed- no shirt. This would be the second time that Collector Corps has not given us a shirt. The first time being in the December 2015 box (Guardians of the Galaxy) where they provided a scarf instead of a shirt.

[Marvel Amazing Spider-Man #16 - Collector Corps Variant]

The comic provided this time was issue #16 of "The Amazing Spider-Man", which I am not a collector of, but the cover is cute and features a Funko Pop! version of Spider-Man. Also to be noted- we normally receive the #1 issue of a comic in the box, however this time they sent an comic several issues into the series. I'm not bothered either way, as I don't read any of the comics they send.

[Inside the Collector Corps 2016 August Box]

Underneath the comic, are the 3 other pieces of the August box. They sent a Fabrikations of Spider-Man, a Spider-Man Funko Pop!, and a hat.

[Funko Fabrikations #32 - Spider-Man]

I have never been a fan of the Fabrikations series by Funko. I've never found one I had to have or was worth the money and the price tag is usually around $25. I will admit this is a super cute Spider-Man though! He's definitely a keeper to me and well made! This item alone is about the cost of the whole box!

[Funko Pop! #160 - Spider-Man]

The Pop! Figure they sent of Spider-Man is an exclusive to Collector Corps this month. He's cute and sits in his spider pose.

[Collector Corps Exclusive Spider-Man Hat]

The Amazing Spider-Man hat is the other exclusive of the month. I'm not a hat person and my partner who I share the boxes with is not a hat person either, so we're left with a hat that no one will use. I will say that we are both very impressed by the hat and it is well constructed! My partner actually really likes it, but I know he'll never wear it!

Overall, this box is definitely worth it! It is no longer available to buy, but if you ever go to a convention where Funko and Collector Corps are, you can purchase the box there! People always have them on eBay as well. The August box definitely was well over the $25 subscription fee and if you're a Spider-Man fan you need this!

Up Next: Dr.Strange - October 2016

WonderCon 2016 Swag!

Well, what good would going to a con be if I couldn't brag about all the awesome merchandise I bought? Hmmm......? Yeah, thought so!

[#1-#5 of Damsels in Excess from Aspen Comics]

My Uncle Mushroom always says, "Lead big or stay home!" So, that's what I'm doing! The picture above is of the first 5 comics in the "Damsels In Excess" series from Aspen Comics. I have some already, but I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to have the creator, Vince Hernandez, sign them! I had no idea he was going to be at the booth at that time, but sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time!

[original pieces by Heather Curfman]

From left to right:

• Lapis from Steven Universe
• Steven Universe buttons
• Original art of birds

The above goodies are by Heather Curfman aka Alagaesha Art. I love her Lapis print! It's beautiful! It makes me want the original! The birds are adorable and I picked them up to send to a pen pal! (Yes, I'm always thinking of sharing my experiences with pen pals and I like to get mementos for them too!) The buttons are cute and check out the packaging! The packaging is brand new and Miss Heather has done a fabulous job over the last few months with stepping up her game!

[original art by Melody Wang]

I bought 2 prints from Melody Wang aka Chukairi! I had to get the bunnies! The small print of Hepburn is for a pen pal! I wanted to get more smaller prints to send to pen pals, but this was the only 1 she had that I thought looked artsy enough to send out.

[original greeting cards by Jackie Huang]

I was passing by a table and couldn't help but pick up these 2 greeting cards by Jackie Huang! How adorable! They are blank inside. I bought them to send to pen pals, but I am so tempted to keep them! 

[original fan art by Jessie Greenberg]

This particular print of Gwen and Cindy was actually spotted by Agent Afronaut! It's by Jessie Greenberg and when I saw it I had to have it! It's perfectly me! (This could be a hint to an up and coming cosplay........hehe!)

[Narwhal & Bunny Whale stickers by Rizzo Michelle]

There was a vendor there that I had never encountered at a con before. Her name is Rizzo Michelle and she had handmade plushies. Yes, I said handmade, as in she makes them herself! I was very interested in her own creation of "Whale Bunnies" that you can see on the stickers I purchased. My partner surprised me by buying a Narwhal plushy! His name is Herbie and he's my favorite mint color! So cute!

[posters and stickers by Bellzi]

I am a huge Bellzi fan! I have mentioned them in past blog posts and the Rainbow Narwhal featured in the poster above, I happen to OWN! So, I had to buy their posters and I picked up some sticker packs too! I was also hoping to win a giant version of the Rainbow Narwhal, but sadly, I did not.

[art by Kieu Le]

Not sure how we didn't spot this on Day 1, but we did see it Sunday! This is an inside thing between Agent Afronaut and myself, the whole "Bunny and Turtle" thing we say all the time, so we had to buy this print! Too cute! We almost didn't get the print signed, but just as we were about to leave the artist, Kieu Le, came back to the booth! She was super nice!

[Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury charms by Complexwish]

My streak of "no charm buying at cons" came to an end at WonderCon. Last year, I started a new tradition of buying fan-made charms at cons, starting at SacAnime Summer 2015. However, the past few cons I have attended I have not found any charms that really caught my interest and so I hadn't bought any. I was about to give up at WonderCon this year too, but I found these adorable charms of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury by Complexwish on Sunday and snatched them! I love how detailed the charms are and even their lanyard is well made. 

[back of the charms by Complexwish]

The charms are reversible too! Again, such great detail, even on the back of the charms! I love it!

Well, that's all for now. Sorry for such a delay on the post! I have been having internet problems since around January and Comcast just came out and fixed it this week!

WonderCon 2016 - Day 3

Well, I did not attend WonderCon on Day 2, and that was quite alright with me! I caught up on some much needed rest and relaxed in LA! My partner, Agent Afronaut, spent the day going to panels and doing interviews, as he had a press badge. I did not have a press badge, so I would have been alone most of the day, had I went.

[myself as Spider Gwen with a Silk cosplayer]

Day 3 was the return of my Spider Gwen cosplay and also the retirement day. I am not sure how it happened, but by the end of the day just about every piece of my cosplay was ruined. I guess I socialized and webbed-out more than I thought I did, because when I went to change at my hotel I was shocked to see how my cosplay was so badly damaged! Oh, well. I had fun with it and I look forward to doing new things! 

[myself as Spider Gwen with Miles Morales & Silk cosplayers]

Some of the first amazing cosplayers I ran into happened to be near each other, so why not a group photo! Representing the Spider Verse: Gwen, Miles, and Cindy.

[myself as Spider Gwen with a Silk cosplayer]

So, Day 3 was mostly about socializing with other cosplayers and attendees. I took a lot of pictures and had a lot of fun! - I ran into the girl above who was holding down a table for an artist. Of course, we had to team-up for obvious reasons!

[with a Rapunzel cosplayer]

The girl above was so lovely to talk to, not to mention she had an amazing cosplay of the Rapunzel going on! I loved her hair, it's what made me stop her! She told me she didn't make the wig herself, but it still looks amazing on her!

[myself with Melody Wang aka Chukairi]

I always make time for friends! I had to say goodbye to Melody, but I will see her at Fanime in May. (I'll see you there too if you attend!) She had a very busy WonderCon, but of course she did since she has many admirers!

[myself with Heather Curfman]

Heather is the sweetest! Unfortunately, I'm not sure when the next time is that I'll see her, but I enjoyed spending time with her at WonderCon! She had a very successful con! She was comissioned to make some Spider Gwen covers and she did a perfect job! You should check them out! 

[myself with a Harley Quinn cosplayer from Prism Comics]

So, when passing the Prism Comics booth, this amazing Harley Quinn cosplayer stopped us and she was the PERFECT Harley! Not only does she actually look like Harley Quinn is suppose to, but her role play never quit! From her acting to her voice, she was spot on! She was also so sweet! - In the pic, I tried to look annoyed, but I failed! She was just too cute!

[myself with BB8]

On Day 1, I had taken a pic of myself with BB8 at the Funko/Bounty Hunters booth, but it didn't turn out so well. So, if at first you don't succeed, try again!

Well, I had loads of fun at WonderCon this year, but as I said before I liked it in Anaheim better. I'm looking forward to next year even though it will be a long journey for me as I am moving to New York this year. Oops! I guess I just let the secret out! Haha! Yes, I'm moving from California to New York! Talk about a change! I'll be attending Kraken Con next and a few other cons in California before I head out. Hope to see you there!

WonderCon 2016 - Day 1

Well, WonderCon snuck up on me this year! Though I booked and arranged the trip in early December, I sort of just shoved it off to the side and then all of a sudden it was like- BAM! HERE I AM! However, I was still ready for it!

[myself before WonderCon Day 1]

My cosplay lineup for WonderCon this year was pretty small. Nothing extravagant. I have been wanting to wear my Rainbow Dash dress for a long time! I have had it for almost a year, but never found a con that I felt I could wear it to. WonderCon is a convention based on fan appreciate for all arts and it has really opened up to Anime and other pop culture outside of traditional comics, so I felt this was appropriate! - My cosplay was simple. The dress was from Target and I added rainbow stockings from Yandy to go with it. The shoes are simple black Mary Janes from Agaci.

[my Rainbow Dash cosplay make-up]

Here's an upclose view of the make-up I did for my Rainbow Dash cosplay. If it seems "out there" to you -well, it is! I was going for that over-the-top, Amy Shrinkle look! I've always wanted to try it to match her style and that's what I came up with!

[Agent Afronaut outside of WonderCon]

Does the background look familiar to anything else on this blog? Well, it should! Simply replace the "WonderCon" banner with a Comikaze banner! This year, WonderCon was held in Los Angeles, California for the first time and it was inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, which was the same place we attended Comikaze 2015. - As, always, I attended WonderCon with partner, with whom most know as: Agent Afronaut.

[myself with artist Melody Wang aka Chukairi]

Day 1 was a pretty easy going for me. It was mostly just seeing friends and familiar faces while walking around and checking out the vendors. In the picture above you'll see myself with a very familiar face! In almost all of my convention posts you see Miss Melody Wang! She's become a great friend that I met at cons! If you look closely at the print on the right in the book on the table, you'll see what I bought from her at this con!

[myself with artist Heather Curfman]

I also made it a point to stop by and see Heather Curfman! Another lovely artist who I have made friends with thanks to conventions! She actually lives in Seattle, WA, so any time she comes back down to California is exciting!

[myself in front of the Collectors Corps booth]

Well, of course, Collector Corps was there! As always, I took a pic in front of their poster-wall. I'm a huge fan of this subscription series! It's totally worth the money and they send exclusives every month! I've not found another nerd subscription I like better. Oh, and I know I'm behind on posting my boxes! Ah! You know me! It's just a given!

***I'm not paid to promote Collector Corps. Nor do I receive anything from Funko. I am just a fan since the beginning!

[myself with the Hulk]

As, always, Funko and the Collector Corps bring their over sized replicas! Most were the same ones I have posed with at previous cons last year, but I had yet to see the Hulk! He was pretty impressive!

[myself with cosplayer MediocreWallOfChina]

I saw some amazing cosplay at WonderCon this year. This is one of my favorites! I love Pocahontas! She is my favorite Disney Princess and I don't feel I see enough of her at conventions, especially cosplay that does her justice, but this was great!

[myself with Agent Afronaut]

It was a pretty chill day. Not much to report. I had fun, but I missed the amenities and environment of Anaheim. I'm really glad that they have decided to bring it back to Anaheim in 2017!

SacAnime Winter 2016

A couple weekends ago I went to Sacramento to ring in the New Year, celebrate my birthday, and attend SacAnime Winter 2016! So, Happy New Year to all! I hope you all had a safe and happy NYE, however you celebrated. I also wish everyone a great 2016 and hopefully it's been great so far for everyone!

[sushi from Osaka in Sacramento, CA]

My NYE was pretty chill and relax. I went out with friends to have sushi at Osaka in downtown Sacramento. - I highly recommend this place if you're in the area and you enjoy sushi. 

[celebrating my birthday with Melody and Heather]

Day 1 of SacAnime Winter was good. I spent the entire day at the con and walking around. I saw a lot of great art, artists, and vendors. I also was able to get in touch with people I have met at previous cons. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from Day 1 though. 

In the picture above is myself with my friends, who also happened to be artists at SacAnime. They came out to celebrate my birthday after Day 1.

[myself with Irene eBdard]

Day 2 was a little better, in terms of picture taking. I made sure to take pictures! The first thing I did when I walked into the convention was stand in line to meet Irene Bedard! It was also the actual day of my birthday.

FYI: For those who may not know, Irene Bedard is the voice of Pocahontas in the Disney animated version. 

Pocahontas is my favorite Disney Princess! Up until the movie came out, Jasmine was my favorite, but when Pocahontas came out it was all over! She was it for me! I found her version in the movie so inspiring! I love the music from the film too! It was awesome to be able to meet the woman who brought her to life! It was a nice birthday gift from Agent Afronaut!

[myself with artist Melody Wang]

It's always great to see Melody Wang, aka Chukairi, at conventions! She's become a really great friend of mine and I happen to admire her work oh-so-much!

[Anna Greenwood as One Punch Man]

Had the opportunity to see this amazing cosplay by Anna Greenwood as One Punch Man! Seriously, AMAZING!

[myself with Kyndall Jordann as Marceline]

I was just walking by and happened to see a girl sitting there that looked exactly like Marceline! It was great to meet Kyndall Jordann! She was a sweetheart and she looks like a living version of Marceline! Also, we were totally boot twins!

 [myself with Chris Cartwright]

And when I saw this adorable Pikachu cospaly I ran right up to him! Chris Cartwright did an amazing job and was so sweet! Hope to bump into him again at future cons! 

Well, overall I had a great time at SacAnime and celebrating my birthday. It was a little slow and definitely slower than the SacAnime Summer I attended in 2015, but it was a very early con and right after the holidays. Not to mention it was during NYE, so that probably slowed down the con. However, I met a lot of great people and reconnected with familiar faces, and had fun! It was a nice start to the convention-going for 2016! See you all at WonderCon next!

End of the Year California Convention Rankings

So, it's the new year! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone out there has a great 2016! Since it's the beginning of the year, I decided it would be a good idea to rank all of the conventions I attended last year, because that's what we do at the beginning of the year- we rank things in order from the previous year......yup. Since I'm located in California, every convention I attended in 2015 was in my state of residence and I'm ranking all 8 conventions I attended, starting with the worst and finishing with the best!

8. Kraken Con Fall 2015
Though this con boasted an impressive guest list- Christy Carlson Romano, Zach Callison, Sarah Williams, as well as some great food vendors- HiroTako & Koja Kitchen, that was all it had. Everything else about this con was bad. The location was out in the middle of nowhere and not very easy to find or get to. It was aboard the USS Hornet, which is an old Navy ship that was turned into a museum, and thus it was small and cramped. To make matters worse, the layout of the con as awkward and hard to get to. Going up and down the stairs was a pain, because it was only made for one-way traffic, so people could only go either up or down at any given time, the other people going in the opposite direction just had to wait. The autograph sessions were held outside of the ship, because there was no room on the ship. The screen viewings were muted, because they were in the same room as the the Artist Alley/vendor room. To top it all off, the smell of the ship was awful, and my ship sources tell me that it is nothing compared to what the smell is like on an active ship. Overall, I feel like this con tried, but if they want to have a successful turn out they need to have better location, better amenities, and more space. If the con returns to the USS Hornet next year, I will not be attending.

7. YaoiCon 2015
This is another small con, but it is just steps away from going from a not-so-good con to a good one. This con is located just outside of San Francisco, which if you're from the area, it's not so bad, but if you're coming from another state or other parts of California it would be considered a "hole in the wall" as it's not directly in the city. I honestly feel like if it were located inside of San Francisco the turn out would have been better. There was also no food vendors, just what the hotel they held the con in offered. Though there was enough space for the vendors, there was barely any room to move in the Artist Alley and even though my group and I walked through the whole alley, the fact that it was so oddly laid out and so crowded, made us want to leave fast. Aside from the auction at night, the con also doesn't offer many activities. Due to the nature of the con, it requires ID and for attendees to be 18+, but aside from two pictures I saw there was no reason to exclude anyone. Just asking the two artists to take down those photos would have made it appropriate for any age, at least during the day. I feel like this con has potential it just needs to step up its game. I will say that I received the best name badge out of any con I attended in 2015! Seriously, no con has bested it!

6. FanimeCon 2015
This is a con that has much appreciation from the Bay Area/Northern California. If you're a con-goer on the West Coast then it's a convention you've probably attended at one time or another. It's pretty popular among fans, as it should be, since the whole theme is that it is "for fans, by fans". Since this con was so hyped up to me before I even went that I had pretty high expectations. However, the con has some issues and some that are growing larger and need fixing fast! First off, the good things- It is held in a nice location at the San Jose Convention Center, although San Jose itself cannot hold the parking needed for the con. They did offer free shuttle services to and from the hotels in the area, and that helped out immensely! There was plenty of space for vendors, artists, and just to mingle! It's mostly Anime based, but it welcomes all fan appreciation of comics, pop culture, and nerd related topics. However, the con is growing and it doesn't seem like the people in charge are handling it well. There were many vocal complaints from vendors about current situations and future situations, and even some artists were vocal about it. Many made claims that they would not return the next year even though they had been there several years in a row. Though there were many activities for people to do, the music played and the DJs were horrible. I also was not a huge fan of the atmosphere, honestly. It wasn't as friendly as other cons I attended. Hopefully there will be improvements and there will be more action taken for the growth of this con by the current people in charge. I would hate to see this con fold because of a simple matter of investing a little more into something they already have that is good.

5. SacAnime Summer 2015
SacAnime is a nice quiet con in Sacramento. It's a nice bridge between the summer to winter gap. Most spring and summer cons are done by July and the later ones are mostly in October and November, so the fact that SacAnime Summer is held in September gives it good timing. I like that SacAnime is so simple. There's nothing really fancy to it. It's you're typical fan con that is mostly Anime based. It offers fans a chance to mingle and has the usual fan art and vendors. The guest list is ever growing. They do offer other activities such as a ball and dance nights, but I honestly don't find that appealing. The best part of this con is just that it's simple and the atmosphere is really friendly! It's held at the Sacramento Convention Center which is nice in size and easily accessible. I enjoy this con and will return to it as long as I can. My only issues with the con are:
1) The wristbands. There are no other cons that I have attended where having your badge isn't enough. At this con you have to have both the wristband on and the badge. If you only plan to attend one day it's not so bad, but if you're like me who buys the weekend package, then you have to leave that wristband on the whole weekend. If an attendee does not have the band they cannot enter and they have to purchase a whole new band!
2) I would like to see the con step up a little and offer some other activities. After having been to quite a few cons this year, I have noticed a pattern in the activities that they all offer. It'd be nice to see SacAnime do something that sets them apart.

4. San Diego Comic Con 2015
I have always wanted to attend the great San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). It's the biggest convention in the USA and it's the one we hear the most about! (Although, New York Comic Con is creepin' on them!) I will say that is is an amazing experience and if you're a fan of comics, pop culture, and/or love conventions then you need to attend at least once! I heard a lot of complaints about this con though before I went. People complained about everything from getting tickets to the events and staff. My group and I had no problems getting tickets, so I'm not sure what the fuss about that was? As long as one didn't sleep on it, it was pretty easy to obtain tickets. SDCC offers many things that other cons just cannot- the A List guest list and panels, the premiers and sneak previews of upcoming movies & shows, exclusive toys and collectibles! It does offer all that and it is a one of a kind experience. However, the reason that I cannot rank it higher is 3 things- 
1) There is so much to do outside of the con! Just walk down the sidewalk outside of the con; go down through the Gas Lamp District; go over to Petco Park and you will see tons of vendors, companies, and activities! None of which costs any ticket. So without even going into the con, one can do a lot! 
2) It's very crowded inside as there are nearly 100,000 attendees, but it's not very well monitored or controlled. Literally, people just stopping in the middle of aisles blocking traffic and taking up space when others are trying to get through. The layout also does not have much rhyme or reason; just artists and vendors randomly placed wherever. 
3) I had quite a few bad experiences with major companies, most namely Funko and the fact that the con allows this behavior to happen is appalling to me.

Like I said before, this con gives fans access to things that other cons cannot, because it has such a good reputation. However, it needs better organization and better control from the staff. Due to the fact that it is so renowned and it is so well known, I expect more from it.

3. Comikaze Expo 2015
Comikaze was the last convention of 2015 for me. It was way more fun than expected! What I loved about this convention was the fact that I saw vendors, artists, and creators that I had not come accross at any of the other cons. I was also able to actually meet a lot of people I had not been able to at previous conventions. The overall atmosphere by the cosplayers and attendees was friendly. The artists and the creators were just as friendly. I met and conversed with so many people there! It was great! The con was a little pricey for what it was though and I'm not just talking about getting Stan Lee's autograph. Just to buy the Funko Pop! exclusives alone were expensive. There also wasn't a ton of exclusives or limited edition things there, but that's okay. The second part of the convention was a little weak too. It held the autograph sessions and other vendors, but there was never very much going on there, so it felt a little bleak. Overall, I enjoyed it though and I would go again. As the convention grows it will be interesting to see what they develop.

2. Big Wow Comic Fest 2015
I kind of felt like Big Wow was going to be disappointing for me, because it was so heavily comic based with very little attention to pop culture or Anime, but I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it so much. It was a small con, but sometimes the best things come in small packages. One downside of large conventions is that it takes away from the personal experience. Artists, vendors, companies, and creators are not able to give much individual attention or really converse about their works, because there's so many people and only 1 or a few of them. Big Wow provided the opportunity to get to know a lot of the creators and artists. I was even able to have a great conversation with people from Aspen Comics. They did have some impressive display of the Avengers there and quite a few big name comic artists, writers, and companies there. There were quite a few fan artists there and lots of toy vendors. The biggest thing for me was the friendly atmosphere and the positive environment that the organization promoted. I just generally enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and it was family-friendly. The sad thing is that the Big Wow is no more. It has merged with Silicon Valley Comic Con and with all the shady things happening with that, I have opted not to go to that con in 2016. RIP Big Wow.

1. WonderCon 2015
WonderCon was the first convention for me! Not just of 2015, but ever. Needless to say, I had no idea what to expect, but I sure had fun! I enjoyed the fan-based atmosphere. WonderCon is put on by the same organization as SDCC, but the whole point of this con is to be less commercial than SDCC and to be more about the fans and smaller vendors and artists. I felt very comfortable at WonderCon. It was a lot of fun and very easy to mingle. Being that it was held in Anaheim at the Anaheim Convention Center, it was very close to Disneyland and so very accessible to the many restaurants and hotels in the area; literally everything is walking distance. I literally could walk from my hotel to the convention with no problems and it wasn't a taxing walk either. The whole setup was very nice. I also enjoyed the over all layout of the con. Panels and guests were very accessible to the fans too. I'm definitely looking forward to going next year. The only improvement that WonderCon could make, in my opinion, is to have more activities outside of just panels and celebrities; it is, after all, suppose to be all about the fans and the love of pop culture. The con is moving to Los Angeles in 2016, so it will be interesting to see if it is better, worse, or the same.