Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

By Ninja Jupi Back on Free Comic Book Day (May 4), Mark and I came across an artist who had a table set up. It was an up-and-coming author and artist known as 24x4! She is a local artist in the area who is trying to break into the manga industry. I was interested in the work so Mark got it for me.  This particular work was entered into Japan's semi-annual Tezuka Competition, which is open to manga artists from across the globe. The grand prize is 2 million yen, your work published in Weekly Shounen Jump, and a trip to Tokyo to accept your award. I am not certain if this is still ongoing, though given the pandemic situation. I believe that her work was submitted for 2020 or 2021. The judges of the competition consist of famous manga-ka of Japan such as Akira Toriyama Akira (RIP, Dragon Ball fame), Inoue Takehiko (Slam Dunk fame), Hokikoshi Kohei (My Hero Academia fame), etc. Now, let's get into this work, which centers around a young, bishie Leonardo da Vinci! This story takes p...

 By Mark Rodriguez Here's another awesome comic from independent artists that opened up an Indiegogo to get it started. I usually don't chip in unless it looks real good, like you just know they're gonna hit their goal. Arachna, a sexy superheroine with a split personality and an amazing art syle, sure looked like a good pick for me.  With lots of clever marketing in advance, even getting a person to dress as Arachna herself to bring the character to life, they hit their goal the same day they actually opened the Indiegogo for donations. I chipped in for the comic and the shirt, and here is my review on the latest superheroine that's bringing sexy back to comics, Arachna! Also note, while I'll try to keep my language as tame as I can, this book deals with way more adult stuff than I usually discuss on this blog. The Adventure Begins The issue opens with Jennie lying in bed naked in her apartment, a noticeable pile of sketches lying on the floor. She awakens to a voi...