Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez This was a three-part story where parts One and Three were in Batman comics while part Two was in Detective comics. Featuring a classic a villain like the Penguin was perfect to me as I was still new to collecting Batman comics and not knowing much of the characters beyond the Adam West show and Micheal Keaton movie. At the time I was collecting both comics, and while I'm sure Batman was featured in others, I'm sure back in the 90's he wasn't in 10 or so books a month the way he is nowadays. Let's check out 'The Penguin Affair'.   "The Penguin Affair Part 1- Pawns" opens with a hunchback man walking along the road. A car drives by and they call him names. Not content with just insults, they decide to stop the car. Another car is nearby and the passenger tells the driver, Lark, so pull over. The passenger says he sees a kindred spirit will soon be in pain. The men start to beat up the hunchback man. Lark asks if they should stop ...

 By Mark Rodriguez The Mad Gear gang has kidnapped the mayor's daughter to try to control the new mayor, Mike Haggar. Just like the original arcade game, Haggar, Cody and Guy fight their way through the gang until they make it to their boss Belger. Also like the arcade, the battle ended with Belger being knocked through his high-rise window. However in this case, not only do we have a whole other issue to go through, Belger also took Haggar along for the ride as now they're both falling out the window! What will happen next?    "Takedown" opens with Belgar and Haggar falling out the sky rise window. Belgar tells Haggar that he managed to save his daughter, but now they're both going to die. Haggar grabs onto Belger and says they're not going to die. Haggar says he spent years professional wrestling, and to survive in the ring, you need to learn how to take a fall. Meanwhile, Bred is still upset about how his car was destroyed earlier. Abigail shows him his mo...

 By Mark Rodriguez This time around all the comics I ordered from Hipcomic arrived in two batches. I love those 99 cent live auctions. I can find some real goodies. There was only I kinda had to fight for but I got the rest of them for a dollar each.    Kitty Pryde and Wolverine # 2, 3 and 6- I believe I already got issues 1, 4 and 5 from previous auctions thanks to Infinity Comics. Thanks to Mark's Comics, I now have all 6 issues!   A second round of comics hit the mail thanks to Hipcomic and their live auctions!  Wolverine # 60- Shiva VS Sabertooth!! With Wolverine caught in the middle! Wolverine # 61- The story continues with Shiva, Wolverine and Jubilee!  Wolverine # 93- All I needed to see was Wolverine VS Juggernaut on the cover to snag this one! X-Men '92 # 1- I knew I wasn't going crazy. Way before the X-Men 97 series and comic, someone at Marvel had their own 'what if the old 90's series continued' idea. Here's the first X-Men 90's revival ...

 By Mark Rodriguez Over the years the Street Fighter characters have had several crossovers with the like of G.I Joe and the Ninja Turtles. Usually the World Warriors are more in character when Udon is behind the wheel, such as their several Street Fighter and Darkstalkers crossovers. Let's see how things go with this new crossover story. I may not know the Valiant Universe characters but I do know the Street Fighters. "Weapons" opens with Bloodshot, traveling along Northeastern Uganda, armed with a big knife and a bigger gun. He monologues that he usually travels the globe while being in the service of an army or organization, or both. In this case he is here because he wants to be, following a lead. Bloodshot swats a mosquito off her shoulder. He crushes it and eats it, saying its better off this way. His nanite-infused blood would taken the insect over. He checks his gun and has Cammy in his sights.  Elsewhere, Delta Red agent Cammy is scaling a mountain. She is in sea...

 By Mark Rodriguez The original Playmates toy line 80's cartoon had so many action figures that not all of them made it to the show. So far we got to see Ace Duck (who only got a short cameo in the cartoon, not a full episode), Scratch (as a member of the Pantheon), and Panda Khan. This issue brings in Wyrm, as well as bringing back Scumbug and Muckman and Joe Eyeball. Let's check it out.   "A Wyrm and The Muck"  opens with the Turtles arriving at a warehouse and starting to climb alongside it, courtesy of Michaelagelo's grappling hook. Raphael says it's the third time that April used the panic button Donatello installed on her Turtle Comm. He's not saying they should stop rescuing her but they should give her a book on risk management. The Turtles find April tied to a chair. Leonardo says it's a trap and Raphael says he knows but they should go down there and see what's going on. A voice calls out and Raphael takes a moment to remember that it...

 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 ...