Rant Review: Thriller Movie Classics 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Seesaw, Art by Lewis Johnson)

I always enjoy a good collage, and this one is right up my alley! I've seen all but a few of these movies, many of them courtesy of MST3K. There are some bonafide classics here, and even the schlocky flicks represented here are generally a fun watch. In case anyone is looking over these movies and feeling inspired to watch some, my picks for the five best are The Mummy, The Body Snatcher, The Haunting, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. (King Kong and The Birds get honorable mentions because everyone knows damn well that those are all-timers!) 

I quite like most of the poster art, but I'm not thrilled by the Kong art used here. The actual art is not the issue, but it's odd that this is the only movie represented for which new art was created. Why not use any of the numerous movie posters? Licensing issue, perhaps? The poster used for The Black Cat is for the 1966 version from Hemisphere, not the 1935 all-timer that first teamed Lugosi and Karloff, or even the tepid 1940 version, both of which had far more interesting posters. Just FYI in case anyone is looking at this and wondering why they chose to feature that poster! 

I've had a pair of Seesaws in my pile for a while, and selected this one as my first foray into the brand. The pieces are on the thin side, but sturdy, and have a pretty nice feel. The fit is a bit loose, and while the art generally made it easy to avoid false fits, they were certainly possible. There wasn't a whole lot of dust to deal with. Overall, this is a decent quality puzzle, about in line with what I expect for $12. My other Seesaw is Xmas themed, so I'll (presumably) be tackling it once we've made it to the end of the year.

Rant Review: Votes for Women 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Eeboo, art by Monica Garwood)

I got this on sale last year and saved it to do on International Women's Day, but, in an astonishing plot twist, that was on the 8th, not the 21st. So, here it is in honor of Women's History Month! The pieces have a nice coated feel to them, and are very sturdy. The quality is thankfully much better than the last puzzle I did from this brand. A big fold-out poster is included with bios of each person featured on the puzzle, a very nice bonus! I enjoyed going over this with my little niece, who recognized many people from the set of books about women throughout history that I gave her last year. 

Rant Review: Snake Mountain Family Portrait 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (PuzzleYou, Art by Esteban Maroto)

I had this puzzle custom-made by PuzzleYou a few months ago after doing a bit of research and seeing a good deal of praise for them. I can say that they've lived up to that, as this puzzle's quality is quite good. The feel of the pieces and overall quality are comparable to Ravensburger, though with a bit less dust, and a slightly tighter fit. Some of my earliest memories involve Masters of the Universe, as regular TMR readers know; I have hazy memories of sitting in the buggy in a store and looking at He-Man in that iconic exploding red rocks packaging, then opening it in the car on the way home and marveling at the Alfredo Alcala art in the included minicomic. I don't remember exactly when I first saw this piece of art by Esteban Maroto, but the image has lived in my mind for decades as one of the most iconic pieces of MOTU art. I wanted to get it as a 1,000 piece puzzle, but the image simply wasn't high-resolution enough for that. It was a fun completion, though some of the background elements were enough of a challenge that I'm now a bit relieved that it's only 500 pieces! I doubt I'll be ordering another custom puzzle anytime soon because it costs a good deal more than I like to spend on a single puzzle, but that aside, I wouldn't hesitate to use PuzzleYou's services again. I'm very satisfied with the experience!