Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

 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...

 By Mark Rodriguez We saw this one at Alpha Comics during Free Comic Book Day and decided to check it out. As Wendy picked up a copy, a fellow comic book fan told us how amazing the series is and how we should definitely check it out. Based on a popular horror-themed webtoon, School Bus Graveyard finally sees print!   The story opens with several kids running through the woods, each of them armed. A girl with long braided blonde hair asked for the time. A kid with glasses says eight minutes. The girl hears footsteps behind them and says it's close. The kids continue to run as the dark figure runs behind them. They run into an area filled with abandoned school buses. One of them yells for them to close the gate and they do so. The monster arrives just as the gate's metal doors close in its face.  The monster bangs upon the metal gate but it can't get through. The kids breathe a sigh of relief and head towards one of the buses. As they get inside, one of them finally says ...

 By Mark Rodriguez After the Turtles dealt with the Pantheon in a 3-issue epic, we now get a bit of a breather issue. Krang is sick and Bebop reads him a bedtime story? Hilarity ensues? Let's take a look. "And now for something completely Different" opens with Krang sick in bed and sneezing loudly. He gets a knock on the door and he tells the person he is indisposed. After more knocking, Krang gives up and tells the person to come in. Bebop steps in, calling Krang 'boss'. Krang says he is a general and not some common hood to be called 'boss'. He sneezes again and asks Bebop what he wants. Bebop says Shredder is elsewhere with Rocksteady and he's bored. He wonder if Krang has an evil plan for him or someone to beat up. Krang says he's sick and has Utrom Flu, which even he admits should be impossible since he's only one on Earth. Bebop says it might just be allergies. Krang says he doesn't get allergies and just wants to sleep. Bebop says w...