Today is the last day in the office for Kyle Mansfield, one of two summer interns we've had in Marvel's games department this year. I wouldn't let him leave, though, without having him do his own blog entry about how awesome it is to work here. So, here it is...

Hello, all -- Kyle Mansfield here, Marvel’s favorite video game office intern! Though I have prowled the Internet for most of my 19 years of existence, I have yet to write a blog entry... So here it is, ladies and gentlemen! You're reading it first... Kyle Mansfield’s first blog entry! Wow, I hardly know what to say now that I have this great power at my fingertips...

Well, let’s start at the beginning of this Marvel journey of mine. When I first entered Nuclear Comics and Skate Shop in Laguna Niguel, CA, as a fat-headed 8-year-old buying Pokemon cards, I never would have imagined that I would return later in life to actually buy comics. When high school came around, I saw the art for CIVIL WAR on a banner on my friend’s MySpace page and was instantly hooked.

My weekly Wednesday load of comics grew and grew with Marvel comics, but I never thought of Marvel as a company. It was only a more interesting, alternate universe to our own. I quickly came to know way too much about the Marvel Universe, luckily without losing my social life. (It turns out girls dig a guy that they can rag on for loving comics.)

Ultimately, after I entered the creativity-fostering zone known as college (studying video game engineering nonetheless), I started to write a comic of my own. I figured there was no better place to hone my craft than Marvel HQ, so I went to Marvel.com to see if they had any writing internships. All of these were in New York.... But I did find a video game internship at Marvel Studios, Los Angeles...which is more than 3,000 miles closer to home. It also hit me that my major is videogames, so this made more sense anyway. The rest is history.

I’m extremely glad that I stumbled upon this internship. Over my three months at Marvel, I was either play-testing upcoming games (bragging rights), researching comics (what I do at home anyway), or helping to approve assets depicting Marvel characters (as close to playing God as I will ever be). Sounds like I have already found my dream job.

Working closely with C-Bake, Eric Adams and TQ really redefined the word “internship.” The only times I heard anything about picking up drinks were in my job interview (jokingly asked “Do you know herbal tea?”) and when BevMo opened across the street. In fact, the only real "grunt work" I had to deal with was organizing thousands of comics...which could definitely be worse. (Contrary to my expectations going in, there was no magical table full of free comics every Wednesday--but at least I got to read the ones I was organizing.)

I cannot say enough about how well I was treated. Most importantly, it was great to hang around people who not only understood what I was talking about when I talked comics, but knew more than me most often.

Chris Baker is a trivia master that knows everything that’s ever been posted on a web forum. His knowledge of games history is intimidating, but he always makes sure the little interns are comfortable and having a great time.

Eric Adams will try to create rivalries between interns and rag on you for not liking his games. When he’s not tossing you a football, he’ll be giving you snacks from home that his wife doesn’t like. Eric is all about keeping his “young and spritely” interns healthy.

TQ will dwarf you with his knowledge of the Marvel Universe. He’s always interested in what you are doing and is always ready to let you sit in on a meeting. I’d love to barbeque with him and talk "Dark Reign."

The most glamorous aspect of any games internship is play testing new games, and Marvel did not disappoint. Playing "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2" months before its Sept. 15 release date was a strange and awesome feeling. Most importantly, I feel like my pages upon pages of notes regarding bugs and licensing issues really contributed to the project. I also got my name in the credits...not too shabby.

I did the same with "Marvel Super Hero Squad," many online games for MarvelKids.com, and super-secret future projects (my only response to questions about this part: NDA). I liked some games more than others, but it was truly rewarding to play such a wide spectrum of game types.

Working at Marvel has been a dream come true for me, and I would love to come back. Though visiting E3 and walking past the set of "Iron Man 2" every day were major perks, having influence over the Marvel Universe in games is a feeling that cannot be matched.