BotTalk Reviews

Jim Zub's A Nest of Serpents part 3: Power and Influence Zula from Conan the Barbarian #20 frees the Cimmerian from his chains! Conan suggests that they should kill Thoth-Amon. Zula wants to know all about Thoth-Amon's big plan. Since Conan is in Zula's debt, he will help the shapeshifter of the Black Kingdoms and then free Livia from slavery.  Zula plunges the enchantress Athyr-Bast into a deep mystic sleep and transforms into her doppelgänger. The impersonation spell will dissipate at daybreak. The Cimmerian masquerades as Athyr-Bast/Zula's armoured bodyguard. They depart to meet Thoth-Amon at his inner sanctum, Kheshatta's Dark Temple of Set. A whining wizard, a blood pact connaissance of Athyr-Bast detects that something is wrong with Zula's aura. Conan kills the escorts of the acquaintance, but gets hurt and Zula silences the sorcerer forever. Zula and Conan dump all three bodies in wine barrels.  Thoth-Amon offers Zula some Stygian wine, he refuses, Thoth-...

Transform and Take A Stand! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, noted writer/artist rolled-into-one Daniel Warren Johnson takes the reins on the linchpin of this initiative, the flagship Transformers comic series, with Jorge Corona on pencils and Mike Spicer on colors! At least for now, because this is this creative team’s penultimate issue! In this twenty-third issue, the Autobots make their last stand against a relentless Decepticon assault. Meanwhile, an unconscious Optimus Prime travels through the inside of the Matrix and meets up with an old friend. Penultimate? That’s when all the good stuff happens, right? Uh sure. The heroes are brought to their lowest point and set up for a grand climax when Optimus Prime finally returns! I mean, c’mon, you knew he was gonna eventually! I feel like most of the “penultimate” action happens off-panel, with the Decepticons running roughshod over the remaining Autobots while we’re focusing on Optimus doi...

Continuing from last month, D'Vana Tendi is essentially placed into indentured servitude until she figures out a solution to the Ferengi DaiMon’s energy problem: turns out it’s Gormagander poop. 5 pages in I was hoping this whole story had turned out to be some weird fantasy caused by space drugs, Trelane, or it was a Ferengi holodeck experience the lower deck crew was running with a ferengi ship, all of which would have made more sense than this story. This two issue story was written by an intern who has never watched any Star Trek much less Lower Decks because Tendi is out of character which I covered in my last review, Captain Jack Ransom would never forget to hydrate, Beckett Mariner apparently decided to regress from all the character growth she’s had by the time this story takes place in, Carol Freeman wouldn’t just randomly wave any of her crew off to some Ferengi, and once again the Ferengi are just written as cartoony business villains. So this had to have been written by...

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Penciller), Tony Kordos (Inker), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Story : Things come to a head in Scotland, Springfield and Cobra Island.  The Springfield team needs to make a quick escape as does the Cobra Island team.  Meanwhile, in Scotland, Cobra Commander is trying to escape.   Writing :  Wow...this was not Hama's best work.  Part of it is all three narratives of this tale are the same.  Both G.I. Joe teams are made and need to escape while Cobra Commander is trying to escape Scotland.  On top of that, the Joes at the Pit are tapped into the Cobra feeds at various locations and know all of this is happening, which begs the question, why risk soldiers' lives when you already know what is happening.  Then the "we just happened to tap into a feed at a Scottish airport" at the right time to see a Cobra Hurricane VTOL Vertical Takeoff and Landing Jet...

War of the Void Rivals! War begins, here in issue # 21 of Void Rivals! Void Rivals is Robert Kirkman’s sci-fi comic that tells the tale of two crumbling planets linked by a “Sacred Ring” (it’s not Halo), their peoples at war for generations. When a member of each culture are stranded together, the two find they must put aside their differences if they want to survive. This story takes place in the so-called “Energon Universe”, Skybound Entertainment’s initiative to relaunch properties like Transformers and G.I. Joe within a shared universe that also happens to include the original characters and setting of Void Rivals. New ongoing artist Conor Hughes joins Kirkman and colorist Patricio Delpeche in this issue as Agorria and Zertonia stand at the brink of war! Darak and Solila’s efforts to bring forth Unity hit a big snag as Premier Zalilak returns from his spiritual sojourn and launches a full-on attack against Agorria. Meanwhile, Skuxxoid (our Skuxxoid) learns how to advance in the ran...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Raptor (Cobra Falconer) continues his attack on Cover Girl and Baroness in Paris, relating briefly his origin.  Finally, he and Major Bludd are able to capture the duo.  At the Pit (The G.I. Joe command center), Risk expresses concern that Clutch is acting off to Duke, who brushes it off.  Meanwhile, Clutch talks more with Autobot Hound and promises to help him find the Autobots and more Energon.  At a prison facility, Mercer has broken in and found a rogue M.A.R.S. agent who helped fixed up Decepticon Starscream.  Destro tells Mercer to make sure the agent doesn't share the info.  In an undisclosed location, Major Bludd tells the Baroness and Cover Girl they must fight for their freedom, ending the issue on a cliffhanger.  Writing :  Williamson has done a good job making Raptor a bit more interesting.  He keeps the bulk of ...