The first edition of the Marvel Collector Corps was a big hit for me. I enjoyed every piece of merchandise I received in my box, down to the variant comic book and 1-out-of 4 t-shirt designs I got. And while I am not the biggest Funko Pop! Fan, I did enjoy the Hulkbuster that came in the box. So Funko really had their work cut out for them with the second box, themed around Ant-Man. Let’s see how they did…
First, just a quick recap, the Marvel Collector Corps is a bimonthly subscription service in the same style as Loot Crate. Except all of the merchandise that comes in the box is themed around Marvel, and is completely exclusive to the box, meaning that it’s the only place you’ll find this stuff. The second box in the series is Ant-Man, and right out of the gates I noticed the box was a little bit smaller than the Avengers series box. This is probably because the Hulkbuster was such a massive Pop! That they needed the XL sized box for it. I absolutely LOVE the Hank Pym style Ant-Man artwork on the outside of the box, and the inside has a similar comic strip pattern, this time themed all around Ant-Man and his glorious history. I love the way Funko is taking the time to really make the boxes that the product comes in really stand out.
The first items I noticed right away are a new patch and pin. Again, this is similar to what we got in the first box, but this time we have Ant-Man on the patch and pin instead of Ultron and Captain America, respectively. While some people might get angry at such similar items, I’m all for this. I love a nice series of patches and pins that I can easily show off either at a Disney park or a convention. Oh, and they also happen to look amazing!!
The next item that caught my eye is the exclusive Pop! That came with this installment. It features an unmasked Scott Lang bobblehead, with a miniature Ant-Man bobble head that’s about the size of his leg. What a cool idea by Funko to include something like this. First, I’m a huge fan of unmasked super heroes like this, so right away the bobble head is a hit for me. But the miniature, which Funko claims is their “smallest bobblehead ever” is such a neat little edition. Bravo!
Next up we have the other vinyl collectible that Funko promised in their box, in the form of blind boxed Ant-Man mystery minis. There are 4 such designs, with even odds of getting any of them.
This is a cool idea to make sure everyone gets a little something different in their boxes (last month it was a ¼ t-shirt design). While I am not the biggest mystery mini fan, I did get the one figure I really wanted (unmasked Scott Lang), and I also got Yellowjacket. I’ll definitely be trying to hunt down the other two. It is curious, however, that Funko did not put a Collector Corps exclusivity sticker on these, like they did for the Pop! That came in the box. Hopefully these don’t show up on the shelves of Hot Topic at some point. We’ll have to wait and see…
Also included in every box is an exclusive t-shirt. This is an all black shirt, which features the red Ant-Man logo and a little drawing of Ant-Man that says “actual size”. While the shirt design is a little plain, I definitely like the humor on it and will for sure be wearing this when I see Ant-Man in theaters in a few weeks.
Finally, we come to the last item, which is an exclusive variant cover. The issue they chose to use this month is issue #5 of the brand new ongoing Ant-Man series. This is a huge bonus for me because I’ve been collecting variant covers from this series, and this new cover will fit in very nicely with my collection.
So, overall I’d score this box a 9/10. I really enjoyed all of the Ant-Man themed merchandise. My only complaint is that Collector Corps still isn’t protecting the comics they’re sending in the boxes, despite subscriber outcry. While my comic wasn’t damaged this month, the comic I got in the last box was bent and slightly torn. They really need to do something about this. Also, I am reserving judgment about the minis until it is confirmed they are exclusive. Otherwise, this was another fantastic edition of the Collector Corps, and I can’t wait to see what comes in August! To subscribe, check out www.collectorcorps.com.
