By Mark Rodriguez Lara Croft has rocked the world in 1996 as a thrill-seeking world-traveling adventurer when Tomb Raider hit the SEGA Saturn and Sony Playstation. Garnering a huge fanbase due to the action-packed gameplay as well as Lara's looks and overall bad-assness, it's no surprise she'd eventually branch out into other forms of media or merchandising. In 1999 she got herself a comic book series from Top Cow and Image comics. Thanks to Hipcomics I was able to grab a copy, so let's check it out. 'The Medusa Mask' opens in Iran as the narrator explains how dangerous the place can be, especially towards thieves. Several Iranian soldiers are looking for 'the westerner' and start taking off the hijabs of any woman they see. One of them takes the hijab off a particular woman who turns out to be Lara Croft. One of the men sets her gun to her head and she tells him if he shoots, he'll mess up the 2200-year old necklace he's been told to recover. ...
By Mark Rodriguez Some time ago, the Udon comics introduced a group of original enemies called Vortex. So far Chun Li, Zangief, Guile and Elena have run into different members of this evil organization. Now it's Karin's turn. Let's see what happens. The story opens at the Kanzuki Corporation Mountaintop R&D Tech Facility in the Dufourspitze, Swiss Alps where Birdie is was told to stand outside because 'his face was ruining the vibe'. He's freezing and has half a mind to leave if the only way off the mountain wasn't be helicopter. Karin's butler, Ishizaki shows up with Birdie's lunch, a huge burger accompanied by a jar of horseradish. Just then, something is seen in the distance, flying his way and he wonders what it is. A young woman with green hair lands in front of Birdie, her parachute falling all over him. She says it would have been cooler if she smashed through the skylight. Birdie tells her the party is by invite only and unless she has o...