The Bazaar #88: Grab Bag 2025 Unboxing

INTRODUCTION

So, this year the Palladium Books Grab Bag season caught me by surprise. Typically I catch this event well before it happens, set up a post and schedule it sometime in the mid-October timeframe. The ordering and unboxing happens whenever the package arrives. It just so happened that I was home yesterday, on the very day the box arrived from the ‘friendly’ Canada Post employee. Let me tell you, my charm and enthusiasm must have really rubbed off, because she gave me the most big-ass (condescending) smile I’ve seen from a public employee in a while. All joking aside, she was fine. She fiddled with her terminal, it fought back, my attempt at levity went without remark, it was a thing.

At the end of the day, I got my box, with only a marginal ‘handling fee’ of $9.95 plus tax. I actually had it sit on a table for about six whole hours while I was fiddling with another series of blog posts before I let myself get around to the unboxing. I actually contemplated letting this one get wrapped and opening it on Christmas morning. Yeah, that suggestion didn’t last the time it took me to type it out. So, let’s examine the Grab Bag and what Palladium Books and their little elves cooked up for me this year?

DISCUSSION

Canada Shipping. So, Canada Post came back from a strike in time for delivery of these packages to really start flying across the border. I really don’t know how many Canadian fans partook in this yearly tradition; I’ve commented with a few who bowed out due to shipping charges, which are fair arguments to make. That said, my package came this year with minimal fuss, and on a day I just happened to be home. And just the minimal handling fee charge to boot. Huzzah! Already starting off on the right foot.

Note: Shipping charges are not something Palladium Books has control over. I’m still flabbergasted a truck driving across an imaginary line in the dirt would suddenly cost as much as flying a parcel to Europe. But I digress (grumble grumble….)

Request List. As normal, you need to give them something to work with. So I did! I’ll admit to owning most of what I would be looking for, and this year’s list was a selection of filling in the blanks and some of the more odd-ball choices. My request list is included below, where I defined what I received compared to the ‘wish list.’

1. Megaverse in Flames (Gold Edition). I’ve been wanting to get this book, and at the point of wanting to collect the foil covers.

2. HU: Aliens Unlimited Galaxy Guide. Honestly, something that escaped my radar.

3. HU: Armageddon Unlimited. Since it ties to the Minion War, why not?

4. WB: Lazlo RAW Preview. Not really part of the completionist mindset, I wanted to get a sneak peek of what PB had in store for Toronto.

5. Path of the Storm: Movie Script. A curio I thought I’d take a gander at for the purposes of reviewing.

6. Mutants in Orbit. Rifts in orbit and the extra-terrestrial setting. With mutants AND Glitter Boys?

7. DB 14: Thundercloud Galaxy. Continuing the reviews into the Phase World setting.

8. DB 13: Fleets of the 3 Galaxies. Continuing the reviews into the Phase World setting.

9. DB 11: Dyval. I have the physical copy of DB10: Hades, seemed a shame not to have the sister book.

10. WB 24: China 1. One of the few physical World Books I do not own.

11. WB 25: China 2. One of the few physical World Books I do not own.

12. Novel 1: Sonic Boom. Read back on release; thought I’d give it a second try.

13. Novel 2: Deception’s Web. Read back on release; thought I’d give it a second try.

14. Novel 3: Treacherous Awakening. Read back on release; thought I’d give it a second try.

First Impression. I had some wild first impressions. Firstly, the box had a giant hand-written five on the cover, and then the fine print on the label said (5 count). I my mind this meant 5 products. Okay, great start. And in retrospect, I entirely missed the 1 hardcover book line item above that. Guess what a failed Perception roll looks like? What also intrigued me was the lack of Customs tags on this year’s Grab Bag, which meant no excessive handling fees and other additional charges. So we’re really getting better and better. And bear in mind, I forced myself to work on finishing something else prior to allowing me to open the package.

What I Got

• Unboxing. Upon opening the box, I noted the perfunctory sheets of advertisement and the Palladium books Check List and Order Form. Of the four remaining sheets: two black-and-white photocopied advertisement sheets on standard paper; two color advertisement sheets on glossy paper. Let me tell you, the color ones stand out. I get the cost savings the photocopies provide, but those glossy color versions are so much more impactful.

  

• The Goods. As indicated below, you can see that Kevin and his elves did indeed took into account the entirety of the request. I’ll be honest, I think this is the first Grab Bag that ever went past number 6 on the list; frankly, I’m perfectly fine with that! It also demonstrates to everyone why the list may need to go longer than necessarily anticipated. If you look at the products received, you’ll note a fairly obvious theme centered around the Rifts and Phase World Minion War stuff, with a dip into the HU2 world, all of it pretty much Minion War-themed.

Standard Caveat: A Grab Bag isn’t a competition to see “who got the best deal.” We are all winning by virtue of Kevin’s generosity and Palladium Books’ staff’s commitment to this holiday special.

1. Megaverse in Flames (Gold Edition) (RECEIVED) Note: Kevin also added one of his Dragon Head sketches; neat!

2. HU: Aliens Unlimited Galaxy Guide (RECEIVED)

3. HU: Armageddon Unlimited (RECEIVED)

4. WB: Lazlo RAW Preview

5. Path of the Storm: Movie Script (RECEIVED)

6. Mutants in Orbit

7. DB 14: Thundercloud Galaxy

8. DB 13: Fleets of the 3 Galaxies (RECEIVED)

9. DB 11: Dyval (RECEIVED)

10. WB 24: China 1

11. WB 25: China 2

12. Novel 1: Sonic Boom

13. Novel 2: Deception’s Web

14. Novel 3: Treacherous Awakenings

Note: I mentioned I have little issue with slightly damaged books. I also included a blurb of the (somewhat massive) list of books I currently own.

Would I Order Again? Something I add in each year as a bit of self-reflection. Living in Canada with shipping rates being what they are, the cost for Grab Bags certainly is not as easy a decision as someone from the Continental United States. I don’t know what your shipping rates are, but USD$82 is likely not what you’re getting hit with. Was it worth the total cost? Some simple math brings that conclusion to a resounding yes. And this is before I do conversions to Canadian MSRP and added taxes.

CONCLUSION

The reason for getting the Grab Bag is relatively self-explanatory, particularly for US residents. The value for what you order is tremendous. For overseas/international customers, it typically comes out closer to a zero-sum. Doing the mental gymnastics as I unboxed it all, I am ecstatically content with the Grab Bag this year. Kevin and his crew have knocked this one out of the park! The majority are books I’ve yet to review, and the addition of the foil cover is a nice tip of the hat for my collection. I’ve already started diving into Path of the Storm for a review article.

There is a part of me that wished this could have gone wrapped and sat under the proverbial tree for the ‘big day,’ but who am I kidding. This was a gift to myself, so I make the rules! The immersion into the process of ordering something you don’t quite know what it’s going to entail is something special, particularly if you can escape any high shipping charges (say hello, my U.S. readers!). It’s a neat little tradition, one I’m really happy to see continue.

Once again, I’d like to extend my thanks to Kevin, Sean, and the remainder of the Palladium Books crew for the time, effort, and continued commitment to this tradition. Now, to the age-old question. Do I get another this year?

Cheers!

Return to All Posts

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!