Mark's Epic Blog of Randomness

By Mark Rodriguez This past weekend I got to check out the Steelcity Con in Monroeville PA, which I haven't been to in a few years. The Steelcity Con is often referred to as PA's premiere comic con and it is awesome. This con also happens more than once a year! The SteelcityCon usually hits PA in April, August and December, making it for 3 awesome times to get cool merch and also meet an ever-changing list of classic celebrities from your childhood. The con is full of possibly the largest collection of goodies of things both new and old. You can find old He-Man and TMNT figures, as well as modern day Funko Pops and WWE figures. Sadly this weekend was not my paycheck weekend so I had to fight against myself to not get blind boxes and M.U.S.C.L.E figures based on He-Man. I had to buckle down and go for what I was really after, a Steelcity Con shirt, and an autograph and pic with Kelly Hu . The autograph prices vary so I was making sure to save most of my spare cash on that au...

By Mark Rodriguez So we came to the final day of the con. To make things easier on ourselves, once we checked out of the hotel we took all the extra junk back home and returned to the con with the basics. Now feeling a lot lighter, we were ready to go for some shopping! I discovered DBZ blind boxes, as well as other based on My Hero Academia and such. I decided to go for the DBZ one, and was told they each contained one Funko Pop and if I were to get the Trunks Funko Pop autographed by Eric Vale, to head back to the booth for a photo on their social media. I also bought a Dragonball and Dragonball Z mystery boxes, so I'll be looking forward to opening those. Johnny also scored himself two LVL Up Expo shirts and a cap, and I was able to grab one final shirt before they ran out. Naturally we went back for more Wild Bill's refills and I mixed their Rocky Mountain Root Beer with their Vintage Vanilla for an awesome combination. It wasn't too long before the vanilla was...

By Mark Rodriguez I've been busy with a quick trip to visit my bro in Vegas and while attending a local anime convention we also hung out with our friends, and did a lot of drinking. The blog will return with more daily or almost daily articles next weekend, but for the meantime here are my thoughts on Shine Con. This was the first ever Shine Con and it was at the Tuscany Suites in Las Vegas Nevada. It took place August 17, 18 and 19. According to Sean, the guy who runs the con, it was a complete surprise that the con sold out and was as big of a success as it turned out. My bro and I made it all three days. I was cosplaying as Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury, but this time with the long blonde ponytail to complete it more. Johnny cosplayed as Kyo Kusanagi on Day 1 and 3 and Android 17 with the new outfit he has in Dragonball Super on Day 2. It was great to see PikaChika again and she was King to complete the trio. It's also perfect cause we got Terry from Fatal Fury, King from Ar...