Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 By Mark Rodriguez One of the comics I always look forward to every year for Free Comic Book Day is whatever Street Fighter comic Udon will throw at us. This time around we look at Ryu as he faces several opponents in his past, present and future! Let's check it out!  "Lost in Thought" opens with Ryu meditating by a waterfall. He focuses his mind and controls his breathing until it feels like the world stops around him. Ryu has an out of body experience as he ponders on how he fights to better himself and surpass his limits. He asks himself about the meaning of strength. Is it to throw the strongest punch or land the swiftest kick? He wonders if his fighting style, Ansatsuken, is the the source of his strength or if it comes from somewhere else. Just then, Ken leaps in to attack him with his hurricane kick, only this is the younger long-ponytail version of his friend. Ryu looks around and finds himself back at Gouken's dojo. He remembers this day and this fight. Ken ...

 By Mark Rodriguez The Mad Gear gang has kidnapped the Mayor's daughter Jessica to try to buy his services. The mayor Mike Haggar and his friends Cody and Guy decided to take matters into their own hands and started a rampage against the Mad Gears. After a run in with Edi E and Lucia, they were informed where to find Bred, who drove off with Jessica. Meanwhile Bred had already dumps Jessica off at the main hideout of the leader of the Mad Gear gang!    "Breakdown" opens with Bred showing off his new car to Abigail and naming all its features. Abigail says it's a tiny car and asks why he didn't get a truck. Bred says trucks are for work, while cars are a symbol. As Bred goes on and on about his car, Abigail is grabbed and pulled aside. Bred turns to see Abigail knocked out. Cody asks Bred to tell him where he took Jessica or they'll beat up his best friend. Bred says he barely likes Abigail. Cody says he meant his other best friend. Cody, Guy and Haggar smash ...

 By Mark Rodriguez So we got some extra books here and there and while it's not a crazy amount, it would have made the previous entries too long. Here are some cool classic issues we got that weren't part of Free Comic Book Day or the regular pullbox.    Gen 13 Bootleg # 4- We found this one at Bargain Books. It's a thrift store with a small comic book section with longboxes full of random indie stuff. Wendy visited once when the store was just opening so this is a return several years later to see how it is now that it's fully established. I figured I might as well grab this one for a reasonable price before I start tracking down the other issues. Mirage Leonardo # 1- This is it, and I'm lucky I only got it for 10 bucks. It's the original Leonardo issue 1 in which he was attacked by the Foot and then thrown through the window of April's Second Time Around shop. This epic scene has been re-created by the 90's live action movie (though they switched Leo...

 By Mark Rodriguez The last time we went over the comics we got as part of the Free Comic Book Day promotion. Now we take a look at the regular pullbox comics we got from Third Eye and Alpha Comics. Let's check it out.   Spider-Man and Superman # 1- The Marvel and DC crossover continues. Similar to the Deadpool/Batman one, we first had Superman and Spider-Man and now we're having it the other way around. Web of Venom # 1- Another symbiote has appeared, but this is not the current MJ Venom. Who is this guy?  Venom # 256-   The Death Spiral story continues! This is Part 6. The Amazing Spider-Man # 27- Part 8 of the Death Spiral story as Carnage takes center stage! Venom # 257- Part 9 of the Death Spiral story.  Logan Black, White & Blood # 4- More stories of Logan throughout different points of his long bloody life.  Tomb Raider Sacred Treasures # 4- The fourth part of this mini-series. Hopefully she'll get more to come! Or an ongoing? Batgirl #...

 By Mark Rodriguez This time the haul was so huge, we're gonna split this up between what we got as part of the Free Comic Book Day, the regular pullbox stuff and the extra comics we got through our travels for free comics. This year we went for some new stores, so we discovered Richmond Comix and Black Dog Comics. When it comes to the Free Comic Book Day related comics, this is probably the most we've gotten.   Street Fighter Forever # 0- Ryu faces opponents from past, present and future. Street Fighter Forever # 0 Review   Megaman Showdown Special # 1- It's Protoman VS Bass! This was the only one that wasn't at Third Eye Comics, but we were able to snag a copy at Richmond Comix. But wow, the place was super busy and there a long line to get into this extra room in the back where they were keeping the Free Comic Book Day issues. Masters of the Universe/Dungeons & Dragons-   This seems to be closer to the original action figure line than the current comic ...

 By Mark Rodriguez So when Dead Or Alive 6 Last Round was first announced, Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond were noticeably absent. This raised a lot of questions regarding how this will work for those that already purchased these SNK cameo characters in the original game. Well, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round just announced that Mai and Kula are back in! As DLC! That you must buy again!   So when I saw their trailer, I noticed the lack of the word 'free' anywhere during this DLC announcement. Despite being in the original game, Mai and Kula won't be in the standard game and will be separate as DLC. Checking the official DOA6LR ' website I found the following phrases- 'Character licenses for Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond are not included in DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round Standard version. Character Unlock Keys must be purchased to use them.' 'Character licenses, costumes for Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond cannot be carried over from DEAD OR ALIVE 6.' So yes, you'...

 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 ...