Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

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. Now Donatello faces the 2012 version of Metalhead. The story opens with a flashback as Savanti Romero arrives in the 2012 dimension, Donatello's lab, and finds Metalhead. He is impressed by the robot, but he finds there is ample room for improvement since he's a god. He touched Metalhead with his staff, using his magic to activate him. Savanti has improved Metalhead making him stronger, meaner and faster. He is sent after several TMNT characters from across the multiverse such as Super Rocksteady (Rocksteady's robot clone from the 80's cartoon), the Evil Turtlebot (from the 2003 show), Half Co...

 By Mark Rodriguez Some time ago, the Udon series introduced a new series of villains working for an evil organization called Vortex. So far Chun Li, Zangief and Guile have run into several members of this group. After months of delays, we finally get the Elena solo comic based on her current Street Fighter 6 iteration. Let's see how she deals with these new Vortex villains.    The story opens with Elena sending an invite for Ibuki and Makoto to visit her in Africa between semesters. Her family has offered a place for them to stay. Currently Ibuki and Makoto are rushing through the airport as the plane is about to leave without them. The girls make it on time and sleep through most of the multi-hour flight to Africa. Once they arrive, Elena greets them and welcomes them to Kenya. Elena has Ojwang drive them home. Ojwang calls Elena 'princess' and she explains to Makoto that her father is the tribal leader. Elena says she was planning on staying at Kenya University during ...

 By Mark Rodriguez Back when Udon had a better comic-release schedule, they released a comic called Street Fighter Prime which introduced new all-villains from the evil organization named Vortex. There would be following Masters issues in which several Street Fighters would run into the different Vortex members, like Guile, Elena, Zangief and Karin. While the Guile issue was supposed to be first, it was delayed and delayed and eventually Zangief beat Guile and Elena to the punch. Now after several months we'll get to see how Guile deals with these Vortex guys. Let's check it out.   The story opens aboard a huge ship on the Pacific Ocean, just off Tetpare Island. Guile is debriefed on the Skylancer X-1 and all its features. Guile tells Gibson that the pilot is the important thing, not the plane. He asks about the new pilot coming from South Africa. Gibson tells him that Air Force General Olufemi Lamech Gbajabiamila Gumede has an impressive flight record, 24 confirmed kills and ...

 By Mark Rodriguez We swung on by Third Eye Comics while being out and about and grabbed the local comics from the pullbox. I also re-purchased a comic that was lost during the move to our new house several months ago.   Batgirl # 16- Batgirl's adventures continue. Logan Black, White & Blood # 2- Similar to the Turtles and Venom, now Wolverine has a 'black and white' series which will be several stories from different writers and artists taking place during different points of his career. I missed the first issue but I'll eventually find a copy. Batman # 6- Batman now faces monsters as his adventures continue with the relaunch series. All-New Spider Gwen Ghost-Spider # 7- Spider-Gwen saves Gwen Stacy from an evil Green Goblin Gwen?  Thundercats # 23 - The series continues and someday I'll get to them.  Final Fight # 1- Not sure how I lost all my Final Fight comics, among other things, during the move, but they're gone. I just re-purchased the first issu...

 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. Now Raphael faces a very angry Alopex.  The story opens a year prior in the world of Shen'Kir. Umeko of the Ninjara Tribe visits a seer as she seeks to possess the Black Blade. The seer says the sword is one she will someday use to cut down a destined prey. Umeko takes the sword and asks how soon her destined prey will appear. The seer says the time is now as Savanti Romero appears. Savanti calls her Ninjara and the fox warrior tells him her name is Umeko of the Gnawed Forest and she is part of the Ninjara clan. Savanti dodges the sword strikes and says Ninjara is enough for a ring name. Umeko tells him that he is destined to die by her Da...

 By Mark Rodriguez Lara Croft has had several adventures in the world of comic books and one of her longest runs was the Top Cow run based on her original mid-90's version. Now she's back in a four part mini series from Dark Horse comics. I pre-ordered this one at Alpha Comics when I heard of a new series coming out 'in 2026' and it came here faster than expected. Let's check it out.    The story opens with Kate Cheney on her show 'Kate at Eight' as she interviews Lara Croft who has been out of the public eye for over a year. Croft Manor was nearly destroyed in a fire and Lara has been busy with renovations for 14 months alongside her butler, Winston Smith. Kate says she can't believe someone like Lara had just busy with renovation and wants details. She notes a cut alongside Lara's chin and asks if she got it after a run-in with a rival or from an encounter with another Egyptian god. Lara tells her not to believe everything in the tabloids.   Lara e...

 By Mark Rodriguez Savanti Romero has captured Renet and Lord Simultaneous and also taken over the Battle Nexus Tournament. He has summoned the Turtles to face several opponents from across different realities. While at first they were surprised by the appearance of Slash, who they thought was dead, Leonardo is suddenly attacked by the Mirage comics version of Shredder!!    The issue opens with the history of Savanti Romero's existence. He started as a son, a promising sorcerer and a husband, until eventually he would become a corrupted Time Lord's apprentice. He maintained his power until the Time Lords banished him. While this wasn't the first time, this time around he was sent to a limbo without time or energy. In this area, Savanti had lost his status, his companion, his freedom, but most of all, his power. His sanity soon followed. Savanti spent eternity without anything to eat or drink, sustaining himself with magic and his own madness. He starts hallucinating as he...