Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez So we finally made it to 1000 posts! Thanks for reading my random reviews that range from modern day comics to older classics, mainstream and indies.   A lot has changed since the old blog started. A lot of if was moving to a new location which would lead to me getting married and eventually getting a house. I was glad to be able to return to Vegas to meet the old gang. Johnny visits me once a year no matter where I live, but I haven't been over to see the rest of the crew since 2019. Had I known, I would have visited that February, one month before the pandemic would hit and change everything. Another semi-recent change was also discovering Hipcomic and being able to find and purchase several old comics I used to read as a kid in the late 80's/early 90's. I also found more issues of the Top Cow Tomb Raider comics and also completed the Power Girl run. On other news, we finally got a PS5 (before the price would go up even higher) and thanks to the return ...

 By Mark Rodriguez We continue going through the Batman/Detective 90's run. This time around, Batman deals with a street gang called the Street Demonz. Let's see what happens.   "Street Demonz" opens with Batman watching over some hoodlums stealing satellite dishes off of someone's roof. He says the kids are good and were able to dismantle two receiver dishes in the time it would take more crews to set up one. Batman says the kids look twelve and thinks back to when he was twelve. He said he used to attend a school that cost as much as the average family's annual income. As a kid, Bruce would read books in Latin and then in German. He enjoyed gaining knowledge. He'd leave the house once a year to visit Crime Alley. Batman tails the kids to a repair shop. He figures he shouldn't waste time going after the kids and wanted to see who they were working for. The kids knock on the wooden fence surrounding the repair shop and don't get an answer. When th...

 By Mark Rodriguez The Mad Gear gang has kidnapped the daughter of the new Mayor of Metro City in order to buy his services. Mike Haggar happens to be a former pro wrestler, so he sets out to rescue his daughter alongside Street Fighter Cody and Bushinryu Ninja Guy. During the fight, Haggar and Damnd break through the concrete and they fall into the subway below. Cody and Guy steal some motorbikes to catch up to the next stop. Meanwhile, Haggar is surrounded by the train passengers, who all happen to be Mad Gear gang members!   "Shakedown" opens in the Metro City subway system, the roughest part of an already rough town. The train was packed with all sorts of hoodlums and gang members... and they'll all regret ever hearing the name Mike Haggar. The Mayor defeats them all and focuses his ire on Damnd.   The Mad Gear member says he's followed his career and knows Mike has been in six Slam Master Battle Royales. He knows that as more fresh contenders come in, sooner or ...

 By Mark Rodriguez We haven't been to the comic shops for a while since we plan to hit them up during Free Comic Book Day this upcoming weekend. Instead, I got myself quite a haul in Hipcomic's live auctions as I try to fill in gaps for my 90's Batman and Detective comics runs. I also found some issues during the Superman Blue/Superman Red era. Time to go back to the 90's! Do any of you own these issues?     Batman (1990) # 452- This was a three part story, which I never got see how it ended. I was so excited that I got issue 454... that I didn't realize I don't own issues 452 and 453. Thanks to Hipcomic, I got them. Batman (1990) # 453- The mystery continues as Batman tried to solve the Riddler's murderous riddles. Detective Comics # 621- This is the final part that I never got to finish back then. Batman encounters the Obeah Man and tries to rescue Tim Drake's parents.  Detective Comics # 635- Detective Comics # 636- Detective Comics # 637-  The Advent...

 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...