Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is already out and a lot of people (I assume the ones that bought the first game) are not happy. Other than different-colored life bars and new lighting for one stage, it is literally the same game as before. Those that still didn't get the memo were angry that they had to pay for Mai and Kula, the SNK guest characters, a second time. Like I said before, you can just download your previously purchased copy of DOA6 onto your PS5 and you pretty much already own Last Round. Even worse news comes to PC gamers, as the original DOA6 is now de-listed and it sounds like none of the previous DLC outfits will transfer over. So while the console gamers can transfer over the swimsuit, maid, pirate and schoolgirl outfits over to Last Round just fine.... PC gamers are stuck having to re-buy every last costume all... over... again. Considering they probably spent quite a bit the first time around, it's costly to double-dip. So we finally got some ...

 By Mark Rodriguez This time around Wendy hit up Alpha Comics to catch up on some of the comics piling up since my last visit. I'll have to check to make sure I'm not missing an issue from the MegaMan X series. Special thanks to Wendy for scooping these up while running errands. Darkstalkers X Street Fighter- Queen's Shadow # 1- The Lords of the Makai saga continues. I do wonder exactly how long this crossover is going to last. Saturday Morning Adventures TMNT # 38- Casey Jones needs some help from the Turtles and Hun has arrived in the series. To top of it, he's also mutated and stronger than ever. Spider-Man Long Way Home # 1- This one might tie in with the recent Avengers Armageddon story.  Megaman X # 4- The story continues. My only problem is, I'm not sure if I have number 2 or not. I'll have to go through my recent purchases. Spider-Man Brand New Day # 2- Now the Punisher is getting involved. He's been messing with the Spider-people a lot lately. ...

 By Mark Rodriguez For those that don't know, EVO is an annual fighting game tournament hosting several games, held in Las Vegas during the summer. Lately being featured at Evo has become a make-or-break for a game's popularity. Some examples were Capcom rushing Street Fighter 5 out in a bare-bones state just so it would be available in time for that year's EVO, or Marvel VS Capcom Infinite getting the snub by the fans as EVO excluded it from the line-up (and also cause the game was downgrade from MVC3).  Aside from the gaming, the show also has trailers of upcoming games or new DLC characters for existing games. This time around we got DLC reveals for new characters being added to Guilty Gear Strive (Robo-Ky) and Tekken 8 (Bob), and Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star finally became available for Fatal Fury City of the Wolves right after the Finals for that game ended. The most surprising thing this time around were trailers for new DLC characters.... being added to old g...

 By Mark Rodriguez So Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is finally out! And they did what they should have led with from the start. The first all-new character has been announced!  For those that missed out, Dead or Alive 6 has returned with a Last Round upgrade. However the new version barely has anything new if you compare how DOA5 Last Round was an upgrade to DOA5 Ultimate. Everything is mostly the same except for the new OBORO system that improves the lighting and details for the Lost Paradise stage with it being included in later stages down the line, and a new camera system. Kasumi, Ayane, Honoka, Marie Rose and NiCo will be getting a new costume each and there is a pre-order bonus costume for Marie Rose.     The main downside is the cost of Koei Tecmo having to pay for the SNK license to use Mai and Kula a second time. As a result, those two are not available in the base Last Round game and have to be paid for a second time. Luckily the other DLC characters, Nyotengu...

 By Mark Rodriguez This time around things we didn't have that huge of a haul or any other books that came in the mail. We hit up Third Eye after giving the shop a break for a while and here are the picks that we got. There is at least one comic I'm going to have to grab from Hipcomic though. Avengers Armageddon # 1- Red Hulk wants to rule the world in an event that Marvel hints is so huge, there will be a before and after to this. Let's see if any changes actually stick... Black Cat # 11- Now The Punisher is getting involved.  DC X Sonic the Hedgehog- Metal Legion # 2- Dr. Eggman joins the Legion of Doom!! Captain Marvel Dark Past # 3- Captain Marvel and Spider-Woman face off against Desecrator!!  Batman # 10- Batman's adventures continue as he watched over Gotham.  Batgirl # 20- Batgirl is out to solve a murder she never forgot. Barbara Gordon Breakout # 2- Barbara starts to her breakout from prison, but things get complicated! While I heard that there was a ...

 By Mark Rodriguez We finally hit up Third Eye after going all the separate Saturdays to get our free graphic novels. The choice we got was very unexpected but nostalgic. A bunch of comics I ordered also came in the mail at just the right time. So let's check out what we got!   The Amazing Spider-Man # 334- I'm collecting the issues of the Return of the Sinister Six story line. This part one and it looks like Spidey has a run in with Electro to kick things off. The Amazing Spider-Man # 338- Part five of the Return of the Sinister Six story as an all about battle royale breaks out.  Psylocke Ninja # 5- The story continues as we go into Betsy's first adventures in Kwannon's body.  Batman Hush 2 # 163- After many delays, we finally get the conclusion to Batman Hush 2... part one!! When will part two comes out? Who knows!! Superman # 129-   I continue to collect the adventures of Superman during his Electric Blue era! Superman # 130- Superman Blue's adventur...

 By Mark Rodriguez So this is another new series I discovered thanks to Free Comic Book Day. That's one of the benefits of FCBD, you not only get previews of series you already know and heard of, you also discover things you never seen before. Something about the cover made me pick this up, though I'm not sure what. The comic promises thrills and suspense akin to Mission Impossible, John Wick and James Bond. Let's check it out.   The story opens with Joanna Tan visiting her friend Olga, who answers the door while aiming a gun at her face. She lowers her weapon once she sees it's her friend. Joanna asks if her father is home. Olga says he hasn't 'been home' since her brother died. He might live, eat and sleep there but he hasn't been home. Joanna says this is important, and Olga comments that it always is. Joanna fills her in on the whole story. There was an assassination plot in Paris, where her partner was manipulated into killing his own boss, the dire...

 By Mark Rodriguez This time around, Third Eye had an entire pull box full of free DC comics, one for each customer. Naturally since Wendy and I went together, we chose two books. We also got a few things from the pullbox and some stuff came in the mail. Let's check em out.   Venom # 258- Now that the Death Spiral story ended, where do Peter, MJ, Spider-Man and Venom go from here? Sai Dimensional Rivals #5- The final issue of this epic mini-series of the Marvel Rivals version of Psylocke!  Batwoman # 1 - This came out earlier this year, I believe. It's the free issue that Wendy chose.  Detective Comics # 66 reprint- A reprint of the original Detective comics that would introduce that classic villain Two-Face. The original comic was released in 1942. This was the free comic that I chose.   I also swung by Alpha Comics and Games and picked up the following.   JLA/Avengers # 1- This one came out of nowhere. I know there were crossovers in the past so ...

 By Mark Rodriguez One of the books for this year's Free Comic Book Day that got us curious was The Name She Lost- Inanna. She's a new character from Vault Comics but at a quick glance you'd think it's a new Amazon from Themyscira. The cover grabbed our attention so we picked it up, as Wendy grabbed it before I had the chance to do so. Let's check it out.   The story opens 5000 years ago, in the city of Uruk, the first city of Sumer. Soldiers line up at the castle overview to defend the city as a huge army looms over the horizon. One of the soldiers is pretty young and is shaking in his armor. The approaching army say they come in the name of the city-states of Eridu, Sippar and Larak. They call for the death of Uruk. As the army marches towards them, the scared soldier prays to his goddess, the Mistress of Heaven, known for her love of blood, to save them. Suddenly Inanna appears in front of the army, saying she hears the great sound of the young man's fear, wh...

 By Mark Rodriguez So Jubilee finally gets a mini, or at least I thought it was a mini before I found out this was a one-shot. Jubilee faces her Chinese heritage as she has to find her missing family. Let's see what happens.  "Jubilee: Deadly Reunion" opens in San Francisco California as a very acrobatic thief sneaks into the Cranio-One AI building. She gets past the laser bream security system and makes it to the main vault. She pulls out a vial of 'gold goop' and wonders if this is the top-secret tech worth millions. Suddenly someone grabs her by the neck and says she shouldn't be here. Elsewhere in the Haven House in New Orleans Louisiana, Jubilee returns after a space mission fighting Skrulls, alongside Rogue, Gambit and Nightcrawler. As the others discuss microwave dinners, Jubilee goes to chill by her room. She finds a mystery man sitting in her room with his shoes off. Jubilee doesn't know who he is and the man feels hurt that she doesn't recog...

 By Mark Rodriguez I was there back in February 2012, hanging at the now-gone Krispy Kreme on Fremont Street, Las Vegas Nevada, when I saw that they were opening some new place called the Heart Attack Grill right across the street. The restaurant was openly admitting it was one of the unhealthiest places to eat and they were running with the joke that if you eat these overly fat burgers, you might get a heart attack. I was hearing their loud speaker advertise their triple by-bass burgers, flatline fries and saying jokes like 'we only take cash or card because you might die before the check clears'.   A few days before opening day back in 2012 They committed to the whole bit. People that weighed over 350 pounds get a free meal. Some burgers were so big that if you were able to finish them in one sitting, you get a free ride on a wheelchair. There was a fake ambulance parked outside. The owners knew what they were doing and openly embraced this. And sadly, yes, there have b...

 By Mark Rodriguez We returned to Third Eye for the next week of their Free Comic Book Month. This time the theme was sci-fi and fantasy where we got to choose between a sci-fi book and a fantasy book. Since I went with Wendy, we got 'em both. We also got our regular pullbox goodies and some comics in the mail. Spider-Man/Venom Death Spiral Body Count # 1- Now that the Death Spiral story is over, we get a one-shot about Torment's origin story. Barbara Gordon- Breakout # 1- In a recent Batman issue, Babs got caught and she denounced the Bat-Family. Now under lock up, was all of this part of her plan?  Black Cat # 10- Felicia is teaming up with Venom once again. Unlike other Marvel comics these days that seem to end in ten issues... there is an issue 11 (and 12) coming!  King Spawn # 50 - This was the free Fantasy book that we picked up. Planet Death # 0- This was the free Sci-Fi book that we got. This one stands out because it's printed in newsprint paper. Even the cov...

 By Mark Rodriguez Here's another one from the Comics Giveaway Day, and it's the start of another big Avengers event.   "The Long View" opens in the middle of a full-on battle between Red Hulk in a military uniform and several other Hulks, and heroes like Wolverine, the Sam Wilson Captain America and others. Tony Stark, in his busted up Iron Man armor tells Ross (red hulk) that this isn't the way and there are already many dead. Red Hulk tells Tony that he keeps going on about being a futurist but he denies the future at every opportunity. He says the future and its revolution is here. Captain Marvel flies in and says she'll kill Ross. She slams into him, knocking across the battlefield. She hits him with a massive blast. Just then there is a reset and wee Red Hulk holding up a defeated Spider-Man as other defeated heroes lie around him. He says the heroes could have joined him and brought stability and peace to the world but they didn't listen. Mr. Fanta...