Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez I originally bought the first 1 issues of this 4-part mini series directly from the Udon website. I got the third one from a Third Eye blind box out of sheer luck, and I got issue 4 from Stories. Somehow all four (as well as some other comics) were lost in the move from our apartment to our new house. I eventually bit the bullet and re-purchased all four from Hipcomic. So now that I got the full set again, let's look into Udon's story based on the popular 1989 beat-em-up that still lives in our hearts so many years later.   "Nowhere Fast" opens at an arcade as kids play games like Street Fighter and Bio Hazard. One of them puts a quarter into Final Fight.  We go to Metro City in 1989, or rather the city feels like it's always 1989. Mike Haggar returns from the lunch on his first day as mayor. His secretary Sharon asks if it's easier than pro wrestling. Haggar says it's not and finds a videotape on his desk. Sharon says the person that l...

 By Mark Rodriguez Here's another classic 90's comic I used to own as a kid, but now own it again thanks to Third Eye Comics. This is another one-shot as Batman deals with... trash? Let's see what happens. "Trash" opens with a kid named Mike Dell, writing a paper on trash and where it comes from. As he's engrossed in his ecology project, he accidentally creates trash of his own when he inadvertently knocks over a bottle of milk. Her mom cleans it up and jokes that he'll get an 'A' on practical demonstration. His father comes in and is ready to take him with him on his garbage truck run. He asks his son if he's up for it, and Mike says it'll be the high point of his project. They head off on their route.   Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is waiting for his date outside of Armana's Restaurant. It seems she's eleven minutes late. I guess now he knows how that feels since he's usually late for dates on account of his alter ego. The garbage ...

 By Mark Rodriguez The first ever Detective Comic I ever bought was issue 611 which the second part of a two-part Penguin story. Decades later I found and purchased issue 610 thanks to Hipcomic. This is the next issue that involved Catwoman, so as a new fan I was happy to see another familiar villain. However this issue not only features Catwoman but a Catman as well. Let's see what happens.    "Cats" opens with some hoodlums skating down the park. One of them snatches a purse from an old lady while the other shoves her to the ground. Luckily Batman was patrolling the park and swings into action. He kicks one of the kids in the back, making him crash fast-first into a tree branch. He tosses a Batarang to the back of the other guy's head, which makes him fall over the wall that surrounds the park and into the bushes. Batman asks if the old lady is alright and says it's dangerous to be out at night. She says her Persian cat Ayesha hasn't come home, and she alwa...

 By Mark Rodriguez Batman had been called to Moscow to deal with the KGBeast's protege, the NVKDemon. The Demon plans to kill ten people on his list, people he believes are making the Soviet Union weak. After several attempts to find and stop him, Batman and the Demon fought atop a high platform where an international dinner was taking place. Batman is sent falling off the platform. What will happen next? "Earth Day! Demon Night!" opens as Batman, dazed and wounded, is falling off the platform. Batman grabs the tips of his cape with both hands and uses it to catch onto one of the many flagpoles decorating the building. Batman tells detective Nikita that he's alright and he pulls himself up onto the flagpole.    Security try to get the special guests, Andronikov and Pyotr out of there. The Demon shows up and guns everyone down while monologuing about making the country strong again. He aims his gun at the fallen Pyotr who is head of internal security. He blames him fo...

 By Mark Rodriguez      Batman has been called to Moscow to take down the KGBeast's deadly protege, the NVKDemon. He has a hit list of several men he considers weak and traitorous towards the Soviet Union and has already killed several. Batman confronted the Demon and was outmatched. The Demon managed to elude capture, now more determined to carry out his murderous plans. What will happen now? "When the Earth Dies- Chapter Two- Underworlds" opens with Batman watching over a hockey game in the Lenin Stadium in Moscow, an American team playing against the Russian team. He radios Detective Nikita Krakov and says the Demon hasn't shown up yet. He's certain he will be at the game since he is following a pattern. Nikita tells Batman he's hope he's right, but mostly they can prevent the Demon from killing again. He has warned Aleksey against being out in crowds but since it was his son's birthday and there was a soccer game, he refused. Family tradition is i...

By Mark Rodriguez We continue my look back to the actual Batman comics I purchased back during my childhood. The first Batman issue I bought was issue 444, but that was part 2 of a 2-part story. This was before the days of going to an actual comic shop and back-ordering a missed issue. This was when you just bought comics at a grocery store or pharmacy. This is my first full Batman story, a three part tale that takes the Caped Crusader to Russia. Let's check it out. "When the Earth Dies! Chapter One: Red Square! Bloody Square!" opens with narration explaining how Batman knows every bit of the city. He knows every street, every back alley, every sewer, from the business district, the parks and the ghettos. They are all part of his city to protect. Just then Batman leaps into a dark alley to stop a villain named Slasher from killing another victim. Slasher has sharp weapons attached to his arms, a blade on one hand and a spinning buzzsaw on the other. Slasher says these ...