Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie came out of nowhere to become the biggest movie of 2014, and introduced the general non-comics reading public to a variety of new characters. One of the most popular characters introduced in the movie was Rocket Raccoon, the small genetically modified nocturnal mammal with a big attitude and an even bigger gun.
Given how quickly the movie skyrocketed to #1, it’s not that surprising that there isn’t a ton of Guardians-related merchandise available. However, the cool cats over at TV Store Online have you covered with this really well-made “I Am Rocket Raccoon” Hoodie. This hoodie is officially licensed by Marvel and is only one of many different Marvel character hoodies available on the TV Store Online website.
Upon opening the hoodie, I was immediately struck by its weight. While the actual body of the hoodie is a relatively light-weight, but warm, fabric, the painted wrap-around design and the faux-fur trim add extra heft to the hoodie. This hoodie really hovers on the line between being a functional everyday hoodie you can wear to stay warm in cool weather, but also doubling as a costume for any upcoming parties you may have. Sure, Halloween has just passed, but why not host a Guardians of the Galaxy DVD/Blu-Ray viewing party at your house and surprise your guests by opening the door wearing your I Am Rocket Raccoon hoodie? Or how about throwing a New Year’s Eve Costume Party?
The main body of the hoodie is brown, but the torso on both front and back has a painted design that’s representative of the outfit that Rocket wears in the movie and in the comics. It has a variety of belt and strap
designs along with some piece-meal armor designs. The main focus of the hoodie, though, is on the actual hood piece, which is completely covered all the way around with faux-fur, including the ears. My wife mentioned that “It has a real nice raccoon-like sheen” to it. While wearing the hoodie with the hood up in this manner for an extended period of time, your head is bound to start getting a little warm, but that’s very common with many costumes that have head-covers or masks to them, and in everyday wear most people don’t choose to leave the hood up when wearing a hoodie. The piece-de-resistance comes when you turn around and your friends notice that there’s even a faux-fur tail hanging down the back. This was a really nice touch that I wasn’t expecting. Most designers tend to ignore the backs of costume wear like this, assuming that people will only be focusing on the front, but having Rocket’s tail on the back just completes things.
With any kind of detailed piece of clothing like this, we need to address any special care instructions. In this case, due to the faux-fur parts of the hoodie, the manufacturer recommends that it should be dry-cleaned only. This is something to be aware of when purchasing this or any specialty piece of clothing – always read the washing instructions before throwing it in your washing machine and potentially ruining your investment. With proper care, you should be able to wear your I Am Rocket Raccoon hoodie several times before taking it to the dry cleaner, unless you get it dirty while fighting off Ronan’s Sakaaran army. Also, oddly, the zipper handle is on the left. I have another superhero costume hoodie by a completely different manufacturer and featuring a character from a different comic company, and it, also, oddly has the zipper handle on the left. I’m not sure why this is, but it still to this day throws me off every time I try to zip it up, and I’ve had my other hoodie for at least five years.
Other than my very minor (and possibly very OCD – I am aware I can be overly picky about things like this) comment about the zipper, I really like this I Am Rocket Raccoon hoodie. I’m looking forward to wearing it to drop my daughter off at Kindergarten and seeing what the other kids say about it. I’m sure it will be a big hit with them.
The I Am Rocket Raccoon hoodie is available here and comes in sizes ranged from Adult X-Small to Adult XX-Large.
Item provided for review purposes by TVStoreOnline.com.
Martin Thomas
@comicattack.net
There are only 4 Rocket Racoon hoodies that I know of and this is the best. I paid $19.99 for it on eBay. Th other 3 include: Rocket Raccoon Hoodie by ThinkGeek. It costs $50 or so and only has a cotton hood on it with cotton ears. Hot Topic has a regular and sleeveless version for woman. The ears are furry on both hoodies, but the hood isn’t. The tail is curvy instead of straight. They cost $54.50, though they are often 20-30% off on the website.