Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez This time we got a decent haul over at Third Eye Comics, and also won a few cool comics on live auctions over at Hipcomic. I grabbed an issue I somehow missed the first time around, a classic comic for Wendy and one of my books from my childhood. Let's check out what we got.  Spider-Man/Venom Death Spiral #1- Spider-Man has to team up with both Venom (who is currently MJ) and Carnage (who is currently Eddie Brock) to stop a new villain named Death Spiral. Black Cat # 7- Black Cat teams up with her old friend MJ, who is also currently Venom.  All-New Spider-Gwen Ghost Spider # 6- I somehow missed this one the first time around, but now I got it to complete the on-going run. All-New Spider-Gwen Ghost Spider # 8- Gwen's adventures in the 616 continue as she now faces Mysterio.  Thundercats # 24- Someday we'll get to this.  Batman # 7- Batman pays the Joker a visit. The Joker is back... even though if you ask me, has he ever really left? The...

 By Mark Rodriguez Cassandra Cain went to live with the Waynes to help curb her killer tendencies. However, she is secretly using Batman's resources to track down and kill Cain and Deathstroke. During her search she ran into another deadly woman turned ally named Marque. As they stake out an abandoned school they get caught in an electric minefield, a trap left by Deathstroke! What will happen next?   "Batgirl// Redemption Road Chapter Three- Three Daughters" opens with an odd dream sequence as Alfred, Lady Shiva, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake welcome Cassandra home after a day at school. The principal called saying Cassandra killed again. Her 'father' which is a mix between her own father and Bruce calling himself 'Bruce Cain' berates her and asks what she has to say for herself. Her father tells her to start talking, which turns into Batman demanding her to start talking. We snap back to reality as Rose Wilson, Deathstroke's daughter, holds her dual sw...

By Mark Rodriguez  Rintaro has a unique problem. Due to a weak heart, if he gets too worked out, he risks dying. Thinking he signed up for an all-boys school, instead he got stuck in an all-girl school! Other than having temptation everywhere, he also got stuck between a three-way rivalry between the Dragons, Ayane, Kyoka and Rino. Things get more complicated when Ayane is impressed by his fighting skills and wants to become his pupil. What will happen next?   Chapter 3- Twin Winds Dance Rintaro is in bed, still wanting to transfer out of the school and regretting taking Ayane in as a student. Ayane wakes him up in his own dorm room and brought along Keiko and Makoto for training. Rintaro makes a break for it and Ayane considers finding him as part of the training. Back in class, Kosuke and Tamao meet up with him and say since there are few guys in the school they should be friends. They invite Rintaro to their club, the Asylum Knowledge Brigade, which is them mostl...

 By Mark Rodriguez Venom has been around for several decades with all sorts of adventures and different hosts. This series goes into different parts of his life as told by different artists and writers. The main gimmick is everything is in black and white, and an extra color. Blood red.    "Convergence" opens several years ago as Eddie Brock runs into his old friend, Mindy. Elsewhere, Peter Parker is surprised to see MJ all dolled up as she has a meet-and-greet with the cast of Secret Hospital. She says that Sybil Shane, the character she plays, has a reputation to live up to.  Mindy offers to buy Eddie lunch and says she can't believe he left without saying goodbye back then. Later on they have lunch and Mindy asks if Eddie's been working out since it looks he went from Topher Grace to Tom Hardy (ha ha). She tells him she quit the Daily Globe shortly after Eddie was fired. She's also a big fan of Secret Hospital and tells Brock the cast is meeting outside of Mor...

 By Mark Rodriguez The Pantheon have allied themselves with Shredder and Krang and have finally made their move. Despite the combined efforts of the Turtles, the Neutrinos and April, the Pantheon succeeds in opening a portal large enough to bring in their floating fortress which is even larger than the Technodrome!! What will happen now? "The Perils of the Pantheon Part 2- Come Together, Right Now...." opens three days later as April reports on the city being overrun by robots. The people of New York ranging from police to the local gangsters try to fight them off but it's a tough battle. There is a large forcefield entrapping most of the five boroughs of New York and parts of Jersey, so help isn't coming. April promises to update the locals for as long as she can and wishes anyone watching to stay safe.   Vernon says he can't imagine anyone sane would still be watching their broadcast. Irma tells him to shut up, and Burne agrees. The crew notices that Burne is i...

 By Mark Rodriguez Krang has teamed up with Old Hob and has been given control of the Pantheon. Despite this, Krang announced a contest to see which member of the Pantheon can take out the Turtles first in exchange of leadership. After several run-ins with the Pantheon members, the time has come for the Turtles to take on all of them. "Perils of The Pantheon Part 1- What's the Frequency, Mikey?" opens with April O'Neil on location at Washington Square Park, as the Turtles are fighting against a giant robot ape that escaped from TCRI. The robot throws Michaelangelo towards the camera which cuts the TV signal. We see that Mikey crashed into Vernon, which caused him to drop and break his camera. He complains about this ruining his chances to get a Pulitzer. April reminds him that they have a back up camera in the van. Donatello and Leonardo are fighting the robot ape without much luck, their weapons not even making a scratch. Raphael says he missed when robots easily fe...

 By Mark Rodriguez The Turtles have been captured by Savanti Romero as he had taken over the Battle Nexus tournament so he could take his revenge upon them. The Turtles met a mysterious figure that explains that Savanti chooses opponents based on people they have a connection with. Leonardo was defeated by the Mirage version of the Shredder. Raphael and Alopex fought to a draw. Donatello defeated the 2012 Metalhead but Savanti banished him to where he sent Leo and Raph anyway. There they met other versions of themselves. Now the final match begins as Michaelangelo faces off his one-dead friend Slash!   The issue opens with Michaelangelo, who had refused to fight his friend, being bloody and battered. He jokingly asks if Slash has been working out. Slash tells Mikey to fight back or get destroyed. Mikey says he knows someday he'll get to the end of the road, but he doesn't want to get there by fighting a friend. He says he missed Slash and asks if he remembers anything abo...