Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez A whole new adventure starts as this time the mystery comes to Lara Croft! Lara hires a new assistant named Madeline Hovan and when she came in for the job, she found a dead man by her bed! On top of that, Lara found a green jewel called the Eye of Shaharettin on her bed, and several armed men arrive to try to take it and gun down any witnesses. Lara and Madeline barely escape on a jetski as solving this mystery has now become the next order of business. What will happen next?   "Dead Center Part 2" opens with a man in a suit admiring his fireplace as he recites 'Rule the world, turn by turn, enter the fire, embrace the burn, a Midnight Squire. It seems the man uses the fire to materialize in a large facility full of workers. The man, Mr. Roetek, enters a private room and tells his guards not to disturb him unless war breaks out. As he enters, he asks his men why they failed. The men tell him that they encountered someone whose resourcefulness is almos...

 By Mark Rodriguez After a brief adventure in which Lara Croft faced dinosaurs and an immortal Morgan Le Fay, alongside her companions Chase and Vanessa, our thrill-seeking tomb raider starts a whole new adventure. We kick off a four-part story!    "Dead Center Part 1" opens with Lara at the shooting range as the police officers watch her, totally impressed by her skills. Lara thanks one of the officers, Connie, for allowing her to do so, since it's difficult to find a place to practice shooting in LA.    Lara asks Chase if he's ready to move. Chase comments that they've been getting along pretty well recently. They worked a few jobs together and Lara hasn't dumped him when she is capable of succeeding on her own. He asks her if there's a chance they can get back together again. Lara asks him if he can grab her target for her. Chase tries to stay on topic and says he didn't want to put too much heat on her. As he grabs the target, he sees it riddled w...

 By Mark Rodriguez Lara and Chase were called to help an archeologist named Vanessa investigate a hidden area at her gig that revealed a land where dinosaurs still exist. As they ventured through the area, a strong mist clouded their view and Chase is abducted. Before they can react, Lara and Vanessa find themselves face to face with a Tyrannosaurus Rex!! The issue opens with Lara shooting at the T-Rex with her dual pistols. She remarks that through all the different ways she could die during her line or work, she never thought it would be by getting eaten by a dinosaur. Lara realizes that the dinosaur merely shrugs off the bullets and only gets angrier. She decides she might have to run from this fight. Unfortunately that is no longer an option when the dinosaur noticed Vanessa. Lara aims her gun, thinking she has one chance, two bullets and no time to reload. Lara shoots the dinosaur in the eye, and then in its open mouth. The dinosaur finally falls. Lara checks to see if Vanessa...

 By Mark Rodriguez We hit Third Eye once again, this time taking advantage of Black Friday discounts. They had 20% off the whole store, 50% off of graphic novels and longboxes full of dollar comics. We had quite a haul as is and nothing else really grabbed us, so we settled for our pullbox stock. Batman # 162 (Hush 2)- So apparently the Hush 2 story was not finished in time for the big issue-number reboot. So this issue came out after the first 3 issues of the renumbering were already out. To top it off, it sounds like this completes the 'first part' of Hush 2, the second part out coming out sometime next year as the rebooted series continues on. Batman (2025) # 3- The rebooted issue number series continues, all while the Hush 2 story before it is still on hold. Batman Dark Patterns # 12- The conclusion not just to The Child of Fire mystery, but to the overall mini-series. Batgirl # 13- The story continues. I'll eventually binge-read this. The New Avengers # 6- The adv...

 By Mark Rodriguez So the year is coming to a close so that must mean it's time to do the annual Tomb Raider review. I'm not sure how it keeps happening this way, I was sure I bought that Witchblade crossover this year. The last story ended with the hunt for the Medusa Mask where Lara's own butler, Compton, betrayed her. Now that the quest is over and the dangerous mask is lost once again, what new adventure awaits the thrill-seeking Tomb Raider?    The issue opens with Lara Croft and Chase Carver driving down the rough terrain on a jeep. Chase complains about the violently bumpy ride, and Lara says she doesn't want to be late for her meeting with Vanessa. Just then a pteranodon flies up in front of them and Lara has to shift gears. She loses control of the jeep and both adventurers leap out of the vehicle as it goes off a cliff.    Lara lands near the cliff and is able to stop her momentum but Chase falls over the edge. Lara calls out to him and sees him holdin...

 By Mark Rodriguez Here comes another comic based on the hot still somewhat new-ish hero shooter game Marvel Rivals. This time the crew deals with the King of Black and it looks like we're going to see symbiote versions of several characters. Let's see what happens.   The story opens with Galacta introducing the readers to the world of Klyntar, the planet where symbiotes like Venom and Knull come from. The place seriously creeps her out and she says it is definitely not a good vacation spot.  Sure enough a spaceship arrives as Thing, Squirrel Girl, Jeff the Land Shark and Rocket Racoon continue their party tour. As they step onto the planet, Squirrel Girl steps in some black goop. Thing wonders where the beaches, the ocean and tiki bars are. Rocket asks who told him about this planet and Thing realizes that Johnny was messing with him. Thing asks Rocket why he didn't warn him since he's the space traveler. Rocket says he thought he were going to planet Kree-Lar. He says...

By Mark Rodriguez During the Krakoa era, the X-Men would throw Hellfire Gala events. It looks like the alternate Marvel Rivals multiverse has their own version, but Ultron crashed the party. I doubt he's there to show off a cool new suit. Let's see what happens.     The issue opens with Galacta explaining the Hellfire Gala to the readers. She comments on Storm that subtly uses her powers to make sure the drinks are cold and the floor is warm for those barefoot guests. She walks by Emma Frost as they both comment telepathically on most of the men wearing plain boring suits. Emma points out that the exception are Captain America, Namor and T'Challa. Namor comments that T'Challa is not his equal since he only rules a nation while he rules the ocean. T'Challa does not feel offended and updates him on the fact that intergalactic empire of Wakanda is an ocean of stars.   Wolverine finds Magik and comments on how she's alone in a party full of guests from across the mu...