Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez This time we hit Alpha Comics as we catch up some classic reprints, run into a cool crossover I didn't know was already out, and more Spider-Man stuff. I also got that one comic I was waiting for in the mail courtesy of Hipcomic and Mark's Comics.      Saturday Morning TMNT Adventures # 39 - Scumbug returns with Wyrm on his side. The Turtles bring in Muckman to help. Wyrm was another action figure character that never made it to the classic cartoon, so here is his shot as this series is winding down. Street Fighter VS The Valiant Universe # 1- A crossover I heard about but didn't know it would be out now. A very random crossover. I wonder how the SF crew will be characterized since it seems Udon isn't involved. Cammy starts things off by going up against Bloodshot.  Spider-Man Brand New Day # 2- Spider-Man's new adventures continue. Spider-Man Long Way Home # 2- Hmmm so The Punisher and The Hulk are in this one. Sounds very familiar.  ...

By Mark Rodriguez I went to Third Eye for our weekly picks and this time some comics even grabbed Wendy's interest. It seems the comic shop is taking longer than expected to renovate. It looks no different than it did since the last time we visited. I also got two cool comics in the mail courtesy of Hipcomics and Mark's Comics.    TMNT 300th Issue Special- We got two copies, the regular one and a special variant in a polybag that we will probably never open. We have doubts on the '300 issues' thing because even with all the specials and the reboot... the IDW series hasn't hit 300. Street Fighter Swimsuit Special 2026- Um, sure why not? Captain Marvel Dark Past # 4- Captain Marvel continues to dig up her past as a previous mission from her Miss Marvel days returns to haunt her.  Gambit Wanted # 1- Gambit got a solo story. Wendy is a big Gambit fan. Instant buy.   Aladdin # 1- I guess Dynamite Comics decided to make a series based on the popular movies. Wendy ...

 By Mark Rodriguez Hun was introduced as Shredder's right-hand man as well as the leader of the Purple Dragons in the 2003 TMNT cartoon. He became a bit of a breakout character, making appearances in other cartoons and comics. There was a version of Hun in the 2012 cartoon (though he looked more like Bruce Lee) and he has appeared in the Mirage comics and IDW comics. Now he's been brought into this 80's cartoon comic series. If anyone was ever curious how Hun would have worked in the 80's cartoon show... I guess this is it.    "Here they be (Purple) Dragons" opens as the Turtles head to the Channel Six building as April called them for an S.O.S. They follow April to her office and find Casey Jones looking all banged up. Raphael asks him if he was trying to stop a bus from jaywalking. Casey tells him that the Purple Dragons got him. Raph says Casey mentioned them before, being his arch-enemies but also being small-timers. Casey explains that was out on patrol ...

 By Mark Rodriguez While the 80's cartoon led to Turtlemania in the 80's, it also served as a vehicle to promote the Playmates toyline. Characters like Chrome Dome, Slash, Mondo Gecko, Metalhead and many others had action figures and they would appear on the show. Likewise vehicles like the Cheapskates, Footskis the Sewer Tubes, and Retrocatapult would make cartoon appearances just in time for them to hit the toy aisles. However with Playmates bringing in more and more characters, not everybody made it to the cartoon, the Archie comics or videogames. Panda Khan was one such character that never made past his action figure and re-releases. Until now. Let's check it out.   "Black and White and Rad all over" opens with Irma being mugged and wondering why there isn't a ninja around to rescue her whenever  she's  in trouble. The thief is low enough to even want to steal her pastrami sandwich. Just then someone leaps out from the shadows to rescue her. Later on...

 By Mark Rodriguez We swung by to Third Eye to grab whatever was piling up in the ol' pullbox and had a bit of a scare. I also got some comics in the mail to help complete some missing issues.   X-Men 97 Second Season # 1- Similar to the earlier X-Men 97 issues, this is a story somewhere between the 2 seasons. This time we'll get a better understanding of what's going on since we've seen all of season 1 and what is available of season 2 so far. X-Men 97 Second Season # 2- Based on the cover, it seems to be based on Cable's X-Force line-up from the second episode of season 2. Jubilee kicked so much ass in that one. Venom # 259- MJ's Venom has taken a brand new and more personal form. Barbara Gordon Breakout # 3- Barbara continues her plan to take on criminals from the inside.  Batman # 11 - Batman encounters Ojo while Minotaur encounters the Penguin!  Sonic the Hedgehog One-Shot- The IDW Sonic series has reached numbers rivaling those of the original Archie r...

 By Mark Rodriguez   This is just a quick update and I don't intend to make similar articles for NiCO and Tamaki since that would be redundant. Kasumi's new costumes, the 'Combat Ready Ninja' bundle just hit... and it confirmed it's going to continue the trend that started with Marie Rose the previous week. Despite the different costume names (Kikyo, Sakura, Nadeshiko and Yuri), they are all just color variations of the same costume.   So you're basically paying $20.99 for a costume with 4 color variations... or $7.99 for a costume color. They just have different names so that Koei Tecmo can say "the Kikyo and Yuri costumes are completely different!". I'm going to assume the same thing will happen with NiCO and Tamaki's costumes, and then Ayane and Honoka's costumes when their turn comes. I also imagine with so many fans already upset that this game is pretty much the original DOA6 except now you have to purchase Mai and Kula again, this wi...

 By Mark Rodriguez Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is already out and a lot of people (I assume the ones that bought the first game) are not happy. Other than different-colored life bars and new lighting for one stage, it is literally the same game as before. Those that still didn't get the memo were angry that they had to pay for Mai and Kula, the SNK guest characters, a second time. Like I said before, you can just download your previously purchased copy of DOA6 onto your PS5 and you pretty much already own Last Round. Even worse news comes to PC gamers, as the original DOA6 is now de-listed and it sounds like none of the previous DLC outfits will transfer over. So while the console gamers can transfer over the swimsuit, maid, pirate and schoolgirl outfits over to Last Round just fine.... PC gamers are stuck having to re-buy every last costume all... over... again. Considering they probably spent quite a bit the first time around, it's costly to double-dip. So we finally got some ...