BotTalk Reviews

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again showcasing another remarkable new issue of SSOC!  64 pulsating pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint! Inside this wonderful magazine you will find the following sparkling gems: Incredible art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Valerio Giangiordano Kull of Atlantis by Geof Isherwood CONAN THE BARBARIAN & VALERIA OF THE RED BROTHERHOOD: THE SUNLESS ISLE part 1 by Patch/Patrick Zircher A direct follow-up to Robert E. Howard's Red Nails. Tascela, the princess of Tecuhltli lies impaled (by Valeria) on the floor. Old Tolkemec has been slain by Conan. The Xotalancas and the Tecuhltli have exterminated each other. Conan does NOT want to steal any of their possibly haunted jewels. Conan catches Valeria in his arms and they kiss. Conan thinks that they'll be on a ship before the Stygians open their ports for the trading season. The road to the coast is much too long. Conan of Cimmeria &...

Jim Zub's A Nest of Serpents part 2: Diamond in the Dirt It's Conan the Worm vs Krum-Va the Colossal. From his skybox, The Master of The Black Ring, Thoth-Amon and his buddies are barely being entertained.  Conan discovers that Krum-Va's ankle is his Achilles' heel. Conan kills Krum-Va and thus becomes the new slave-champion of The City of Magicians.  The power-hungry Athyr-Bast is pleased, finally one of her savage slaves is triumphant. The Lords of Kheshatta are taking notice too. To pass under the radar of the sorcerers, Conan uses a brilliant pseudonym: Amra from the Shemite city of Akbitana/Akbatana. Thoth-Amon wants to purchase the impressive Cimmerian, but Athyr-Bast prefers to keep the barbarian in her stable. Conan is not returned to his prison cell, he's told to "shower" for his mistress. In Athyr-Bast's chamber, the enchantress calls Conan her Diamond in the Dirt.  Off panel, Conan receives Weapon Training  (just like he did in the 1982 Cona...

SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING part 4 (of 4): Hell on Earth Solomon Kane refuses to be a tasty snack for a clan of spotted Hyenas. The Valley of the Serpent. Rolando Zarza, Nico Cassini, Mbondu, Hoto and Diamanta Bensaid have reach a guachimontón pyramid. Zarza, the disgraced Knight of Malta, makes it clear that he's the one who will possess the Ring since he's the dude who financed the expedition to the Kingdom of Ndongo. Inside the pyramid, Abramo Bensaid is the prisoner of the High Priestess of the Goddess Set, Sha-Kabet. Sha-Kabet scolds Abramo for desiring the Serpent Ring aka the Eye of Set. Sha-Kabet mentions that she's actually quite ancient and that Set placed a curse on the Serpent Ring to ensure her successor's worth. Sha-Kabet shows Abramo the past: We see Kull the Conqueror and Pictish warrior, Brule the Spear-Slayer fighting Serpent Men from "By This Axe I Rule!".  Thoth-Amon finding the ring in a nighted tomb a league beneath the earth, forgotte...

Wherein the issue opens with D'Vana Tendi having a perfect day, but it suddenly turns into a nightmare as a giant Ferengi head chased her and she wakes up to reality. Someone keeps sending her messages, which is annoying. Turns out Tendi got into some financial loans trouble with a Ferengi who loaned her money to get a flight to Earth so she could attend starfleet. And now that Ferengi has come... to collect! Dun, dun, dun! So... they do student loans in the future? Is the first thing I thought when I started this issue, followed by but Earth and Starfleet are post-scarcity and don’t use money.  But apparently the daughter of a major Orion Syndicate family doesn’t know that,  I mean she’s a pirate queen, we’ve seen her be a far smarter person on screen yet now for the sake of plot she, the pirate queen, was swindled by a Ferengi? I’m sorry that’s just weak. Plus they have computers on Orion she could have easily looked all of that up and found Glom lying. So you’re telling me...

Transform and Rest Up! Cuz this is a slow one. 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! In this twenty-second issue, the Autobots recover from last issue’s clash with the Decepticons, while the ‘Cons prepare their final offensive. Also, Cliffjumper comes to a momentous decision, one that will cost him dearly! What’s Cliffjumper done now? He’s simply presented with an opportunity to give Carly the best chance at survival and takes it, even at the cost of his fellow Cybertron-bound comrades. Elita One sure ain’t happy about that and I can’t help but be amused at the irony of the word “traitor” being flung in Cliffjumper’s direction. Speaking of Carly, her and Ultra Magnus get some momentum and are headed towards the big fight by the end of this iss...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colourist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatterer), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Plot : At the Pit, Duke, Black Hat, Stalker and Mainframe monitor and support the various Joe teams.  In Springfield, Storm Shadow and Dawn sneak in through the tunnels and learn some important information about Cobra Commander.  At Cobra Island, Multo and Helix are able to disguise themselves to sneak into the casino to they can figure out who all of Revanche's sleeper agents will be while Muskrat and Wet-Suit spy on Dr. Mindbender meeting with Alpha-001.  In Scotland, Cobra Commander makes his escape, not realizing he's being spied upon.  Writing :  Hama is doing a decent job of setting up all his players for the big set pieces but sometimes the issues lack a lot of action.  We get a little bit with Dawn and Storm Shadow finishing off a cyborg from the invasion of Springfield.  However,...

Ankh Es En Amun is in full control of Helen's body and reunites with Imhotep.  He tells her that the body must die so her soul can return to its original body.  Only then can they be truly reunited.  Ankh Es En Amun does not want Helen to die and struggles with Imhotep.  Helen aids Ankh Es En Amun in escaping from Imhotep and the mummy he controls.  As Imhotep prepares to stab Ankh Es En Amu, she and Helen let loose a torrent of energy which disintegrates him.  Ankh Es En Amun departs from Helen's body. This is the best issue of this mini series.  Mostly due to the focus on more familiar aspects of The Mummy.  Ankh Es En Amun and Helen struggled for control over the body and in the end work together to defeat the crazed Imhotep.  No damsels in distress here.  Having Ankh Es En Amun fully aware of her past lives, in addition to Helen, is an interesting choice.  It serves the finale quite well I though.  I have not talked about t...

Void Rivals Clash! They do, here in issue # 20 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 Darak and Solila come to blows over what is to be done about the uniting of their peoples against the looming threat of Goliant! Dey fight? Yes, Darak and Solila have gotten conflicting information over what to do about Goliant, which leads them into combat this issue. Darak’s father, M...