Words & Photos by DJ Chapman and Matthew “Nando” Kelly
Last week, Pop-Breakers DJ (Chapman) and Nando (Matthew Kelly) got a chance to travel to HBO’s headquarters in New York City and check out some of the merchandise from the wildly popular series Game of Thrones. After much consideration, they have created their list of the:
Ten Most Interesting Pieces of Game of Thrones Merchandise
Books
Now I’m not talking about the A Song of Ice and Fire books. I’m not even talking about the legitimately cool looking Living Language Dothraki book. I’m talking about a pop up book. That’s right. And it’s not just any pop up book. This is THE pop-up book.
The book itself only has a couple of pages. Each one is a different location. You open it up and Kings Lsprings to life in front of you. It is intricate and complicated. The page captures all of the details. Then on the next page there is the Veil and then Winterfel. On the next, you open it up to the Wall itself building in front of you. It’s truly something.
Each page also has extras. For example, one of the pages dealt with mysticism and you opened a small section of the page to reveal the smoke assassin from Season 2. The best part is that you can open the entire book out into one big pop-up map! It even has its own sun. This was the thing that everyone was spending a lot of time with. Maybe it’s because they hadn’t seen a pop-up book in twenty years. Maybe it’s because it was so well done. Either way, it was really cool.
Cost: $65 – Clickhere to purchase
Beer
HBO has a great track record with their Game of Thrones-inspired beer. Following up from last year’s Valar Morghulis is Ommegang’s Three-Eyed Raven, a dark saison ale. At first glance, the Three-Eyed Raven looks black, like a dark stout; however, the brew is actually a deep dark brown, a characteristic of the dark saison-style ale. In traditional saison style, Three-Eyed is light with a touch of sweetness and has notes of spicy hops.
The beer is very complex and distinguishes itself from its predecessors Iron Throne, Take the Black, Fire and Blood, and Valar Morghulis. It is definitely the most accessible beer since the first Iron Throne blonde ale. Three-Eyed’s tastes are complex yet mild, and don’t come on very strong like Valar Morghulis. The Three-Eyed Raven is certainly worth a try if you can get your hands on it. Don’t let its dark color fool you! This is a great summer beer that would go great with any roasted or barbeque dish.
Alcoholic Paraphernalia
Now that you have all of this great beer, where are you going to put it? How are you going to keep it from staining the table? Luckily, HBO has released a great set of alcoholic paraphernalia to accompany their alcohol.
There are branded glasses and steins. There are also egg shaped wine stoppers. What we found most interesting were two great sets of coasters. The first is a set of tiled coasters with each houses sigils and mottos. They are colorful and classy. The second is in the style of house specific wax seals. The set of six features all of the main houses (Stark, Targaryen, Lannister, Baratheon) and includes even Tyrell and Greyjoy.
Cost: $19.99, Click here to purchase.
Replicas
I can’t get over how great the replicas are for Game of Thrones. These are pure quality. They’re certainly not cheap but, much like many of the replicas, that is a double edged sword. You’re looking to spend a pretty penny but if you’re interested, it’s worth it. They have practically everything you need. And by need, I mean desperately want.
Cost: $99.99 – Click here to purchase.
They have practically everything you need. There is a set of dragon eggs. There is a Hounds helmet. You even have my personal favorite, the Hand of the King’s Seal. It isn’t as unbelievable as some of the other props but it is completely functional. With it you can melt wax and seal letters as the Hand of the King. I would only recommend caution since the Hands are dropping like flies these days.
Cost: $12.99 – Click here to purchase.
It is hard not to be most impressed with the swords. Game of Thrones is known very well for giving the characters very cool looking weaponry but more than that, each sword has a personality. You follow Ice, Needle, Oathbringer, and Longclaw through the entire course of the series and no other fantasy series has characterized the weaponry so well. If you ever get the opportunity, pick one of these bad boys up. The replicas are incredible. The true size of a sword like Ice really doesn’t come through until you hold it.
Cost: $230 – $270 – Click here to purchase.
Funko
No one company is as aligned with Game of Thrones merchandise quite like Funko. Their Pop Vinyl collection can be found at every comic book store, Barnes & Noble, and even Target. It’s all very exciting. But until now, they have been missing a few key players in the Game of Thrones. This new wave contains both King Geoffrey (long may he reign) and Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger. And if that isn’t great enough, the next wave promises one of the most beloved characters in the series history, Oberyn Martell.
Cost: $8.99 – Click here to purchase.
Plush
Do I have to explain this one to you? The Direwolf pups are adorable.
Cost: $14.99 – Click here to purchase.
Jewelry
Now I am no jewelry expert but with that being said I am really impressed with what HBO is producing for Game of Thrones. There are plenty of replicas as well as lots of great original pieces.
The article that stood out most was the stunning Lannister necklace. With the lion simply branded onto the front of the pendant, it is a perfect replica of the necklace work by Cersei throughout the series. The gold is gorgeous.
Cost: $69.99 – Click here to purchase.
In the same token, the Hand of the King broach is excellent but be careful about wearing it because insert previous joke about the Hand of the King being a dangerous job.
Cost: $38.99 – Click here to purchase.
And now our watch begins.
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Matthew Nando Kelly is are incredibly cool and handsome staff writers for Pop-Break who were allowed to write their own bios. Aside from weekly Flash reviews, Matt writes about film, television, music, and video games. DJ writes mostly video game and television reviews. Matthew and DJ also have a podcast called Mad Bracket Status where he discusses pop culture related brackets. Currently they are in the middle of their Fiercest Game of Thrones Character bracket which can be found here. Their twitter handles are @NationofNando and @zippybyday
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