Bottalk Reviews

You know the story: From director Albert Pyun. A pseudo sequel to Masters of the Universe (1987), Heavily inspired by Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and re-edited by director Sheldon Lettich and friends:  In a plague infested future, a Slinger strangely named Gibson Rickenbacker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) hunts down the animalistic Flesh Pirates that slaughtered his surrogate family. The original motion picture soundtrack for the recut version of CYBORG by composer/synthesizer king Kevin Bassinson is fantastic, iconic and forever ingrained in our minds, but this newly recovered unused score from 1988 by Tony Riparetti and Jim Saad is something quite different. Just like Pyun's original cut of his film, this unreleased soundscape is louder, scarier and full of frenetic primal energy. Normally rejected scores don't cut the mustard, but this Director's Cut will delight your eardrums and give you the chance to experience the apocalyptic world of CYBORG, a very credible future

aka La Planète des Singes: La fin des Hommes Collecting Planet of The Apes (2023) #1-5. Planet Of The Apes #5 finishes with the following epitaph: "This is the end for now..." And I say: Good! A repetitive, repetitive, nasty, boring comic book that went nowhere finally comes to its merciful end. The disappointing Planet Of The Apes comic from The House of Ideas featured 2 tales: a much too coordinated Militia murdering apes AND the story of a Gorilla soldier leading his guerrilla comrades. What I did NOT like: NO James Franco! NO Dr. Zaius! Disrespecting the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France. A pandemic thriller with no thrills that fixates on fanaticism and hate. Mainstream heavy metal bands referenced too many times. The frequent time hopping. Trained soldiers unaware that apes can communicate via sign language. Incompetent people in power. Executions without due process of law. A multitude of simians with toilet seats around their necks. No letters page!

Yes, I slogged through Jeff Lemire's boggy story. A tale that ignored its target audience. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, not Alec Holland as advertised, is brought back to our realm in a post-apocalyptic future to fight an evil, goofy looking Swamp avatar and masses of gruesome monsters. That's pretty much it. Why was such a simple story told in 3 expensive Black Label books? I have no clue. Actually, I do, it's called: Green aka Money. What I did NOT like: NO Anton Arcane!!! A forgettable, unimaginative villain. A vulnerable avatar of the green. That weird perverted paradise dimension where Swamp Thing "lives" with his forever young wife and child. His wife still with him and his daughter not a full grown woman insults long time Swamp Thing readers. I much prefer the more credible retired “My Blue Heaven” version of Swamp Thing living alone in a pocket universe. How does Maxine Baker/Animal Woman keep her large animals fed? The absence of a higher power, yet the

Counselor Troi suggests the ship celebrate Halloween while a mysterious entity begins to spread through the ship, feasting on fear. crewmen begin to go missing all over the ship. soon the entity reveals itself to be Redjac. the crew begins to feel the weight of fear and anxiety, some of them come to Troi for help. Data enters the Holodeck and encounters the missing Lt Bloch, possessed by Redjac and in the garb of Professor Moriarty. Bloc injects Borg Nanites into his body and easily decapitates Data. Data is modified by Bloc into a Frankenstein's Monster type of being. Lt Bloch is a nod to writer Robert Bloch. who not only wrote Psycho but three episodes of TOS. Redjac comes from TOS episode 'Wolf in the Fold', also written by Bloch. this is not the first time the TNG crew have encountered Redjac. the Wildstorm one-shot 'Embrace The Wolf' has similar Holodeck scenes. in fact i do wonder if that story is cannon with this new one, as the TNG crew seem fam

Crusher attempts to save Martok but argues with Sela. the argument grows till Crusher compares Sela to her mother Tasha and slaps her out of frustration, prompting the Romulan to get the planetary communication override codes from the injured Klingon. Ro and Ensign Sato also argue, mostly about Starfleet and the Kobayashi Maru. meanwhile Lore and Data continue their verbal confrontation which ends with Lore beaming out with Korath. In space Spock takes command of the Theseus while B'Elanna and Tom manage to get the Defiant moving again. finally, reaching their goal, Sisko and Worf come face to face with Kahless and Alexander. The confrontation between Dr Crusher and Sela was nice, and much needed in my opinion. as i think of all the ragtag members of the Defiant she is the one least likely to work with them. there is still tension between B'Elanna and Tom, but thankfully little argument. i'm afraid this crossover has worn out its welcome. as most issues have devolve

The Enterprise picks up a distress call and moves to investigate. Onboard they find one survivor who tells them she has a debt to pay to a local crime boss. Later, the Enterprise arrives at Celius Prime in an effort to help their passenger. Pike and some of the bridge crew are beamed off. They face the crime boss who tells them the only way out of the dangerous Scorpion sector is by way of the most dangerous race in the galaxy. Pike agrees to the race but members of this crew are placed among various other ships in the race. The idea of a race in space is nothing new. It's not even new in the realms of Star Trek. You have 'The Great Starship Race' from the old Pocket Book line. And thus far, I feel the novel is superior. Though the Pike of Strange New Worlds is laid back I hardly think he would so easily agree to all the terms and obviously laid traps he faces here. six out of ten.

Second year cadet Picard interrupts a lecture on the Earth/Romulan War by Professor Galen to correct him... only to be corrected himself. after the lecture his friend Doqtis seemingly vanishes while Batanides asks if he is going to a party. Picard has no time for such things. later, Picard's rival drags him to the holodeck to replay the Battle of Cheron. the battle soon becomes a fistfight between the who but is interrupted by... Mr Spock. I appreciate the nods to Picard's past here. Galen and Batanides. Boothby. this is certainly a different Picard than the one we see in 'Tapestry'. this Picard is extremely focused and serious minded, no time at all for fun. i have a feeling Doqtis is Q, though i rather hope that isn't the case. Q need not be in every part of Picard's life. still, this is a fun little comic. six out of ten.

Okay, what was this again? You uncomprehending dolt, have you already forgotten? This is the third issue of Void Rivals, Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, and Matheus Lopes’ new sci-fi comic. It 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 new 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. Last issue, our two titular rivals of the void were captured by the Skuxxoid and brought aboard his Rockeroid whilst trying to avoid the Noid! (That last bit may not be true.) Right… so should I keep reading? I wouldn’t quit yet, and I’m not just saying that! Kirkman delivers a more action-he

I just cannot refuse another great yarn by the Godfather of British comics, Pat Mills! Simon Bisley's art looks a little lazy at times, but Clint Langley's art is solid and carries the book. Potty mouth sewage droid Ro-Jaws and sniper extraordinaire Joe Pineapples are stuck on a feces asteroid or is it a cacasteroid or maybe an assteroid for millions of years. Since he's marooned for many millennia, Joe takes the time to reflect on his life, and tries to forget a comrade from his checkered past: an influential female that he had fallen for. It's a story about longing to be human, escaping your fleshy envelope, immortality, free will, identity, losing your mind, love, loss, friendship and the memories that linger inside your soul, even the festering ones that you would like to erase. Lots of things to digest. Best LOL moments: Ro-Jaws telling Joe that he understands perfectly what ghost Swarf Feegar is saying, Joe asking Ro if he has other voices available in his system

Jim Zub's Conan Zombie story bored me to tears. What I did not like: Not enough story. I felt unsatiated at the end of the issue. The aping of Big John Buscema is disrespectful. Please find your own voice, Roberto De La Torre. Too much hemoglobin. Conan is not a gore comic. Mediocre colours. This really should have been printed only in B&W. Badly drawn bare orbs. Make sure you know how to draw the female form before showing us anything. Maimed maiden. You see, I'm weird that way, I prefer my women with 2 eyes. Conan paying for damages. Conan acting like a perfect gentleman. Conan using a freaking napkin! Conan running TOWARDS the supernatural. Reminding us that young Conan killed an innocent bear just to feel like a big man. Lame! The Living Dead? It's been done already, let it rest. Plagues. In 2023, NOBODY wants to read a story about plagues. The amateurish art used for REH and his ages undreamed of. The embarrassing cover by Mignola. What I did like: Conan The Barbar