Marvel Comics Vinyl Album, Series 1 Blind Bag Keychains

I first found out about these keychains when they turned up in a list of search results on Ebay. (I can't remember now what specifically I was searching for.) I don't remember ever seeing these blind bags in stores, and there's no date that I could find on the packaging, so I have no idea what year they originally came out. However, due to the themeing, I'm willing to bet that these keychains were first available for purchase around the same time that vinyl record albums were making their big comeback and Marvel superhero films were all the rage.

According to the packaging, these keychains were "manufactured and distributed by MB Wolverine LLC". Seems to me like a very appropriate name for a company distributing Marvel products, though I doubt that the name is a deliberate X-Men reference. Then again, you never know. I wasn't actually able to find out anything about the company online, except that they were involved in a copyright infringement suit with Hog Wild, LLC. However, I couldn't find any information on that subject that wasn't written in legalese.

Anyway, when these Marvel Comics themed vinyl album keychains first turned up in my search results I was intrigued. I mentioned my fascination with 'retro tech' like record players in a previous post. Also my best friend, as well as more than one of my siblings, are fans of the Marvel film franchise. As you can see from the photo at the beginning of this post, I purchased a set of two blind bags online. According to the packaging, there are 8 different keychains in this series to collect. So, let's open them up and see what I got.

Here's what was inside the blind bags. Each record keychain came with a sleeve made from what feels like poster board. As you can see, I ended up with Captain America and Black Widow. I gave the former to my best friend, who is a huge Captain America fan, and kept Black Widow for my personal collection.

(Note: This post has been in draft for a while. I haven't actually seen my best friend in person since before the Corona virus reached the U.S., and I wouldn't put us both at risk by visiting when local government officials are issuing stay-at-home orders.)

My overall opinion is that these keychains are really fun. The combination of themes is unusual, and I think I've mentioned here before that I'm often drawn to quirky things. I do have some minor concerns over the durability of these keychains. The sticker labels on the records might not wear well. Also, the plastic itself, though it seems to be a decent thickness, does have a rigidness to it that feels as though it would crack if too much weight was applied to it.

However, these types of blind bag keychains seem to be manufactured more as collector's items, rather than as something intended for heavy use. The companies who make these products want consumers to collect a complete set. And let's face it, most people these days don't need eight different keychains to hold their keys. So by evaluating these blind bags the way they were intended, as collectables, it's harder to find fault with them. And I certainly don't regret buying them either.

Signed, Treesa