BotTalk Reviews

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : A Joe team of Duke, Roadblock, Down Range and R.C. (Salazar, Hector M.) are observing a Borovian unit fighting against the Darklonian invasion and how drones, especially smaller ones, are being utilized on the modern battlefield.  At their destination they split into a sniper and drone team and work on taking out their targets (other snipers and armored vehicles).   Writing : I really appreciate Hama's not-so-subtle take on on-going world events in this issue.  The Darklonian forces are using older Russian vehicles and it takes pages right out of the current conflict in the Ukraine with the use of smaller, cheaper drones dropping explosives onto and into armored vehicles.  Hama also gives us a couple good moments with the snipers and telling us how'd they operate in a situation like the one set up in the issue.  On ...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Ace does a high altitude recon in the Sky Raven and discovers a satellite that might be a space station.  Duke and Stalker send up Payload, Sci-Fi, Lady Jaye and Countdown in the Joe's Defiant shuttle to investigate it.  Once in space, the station, controlled by Revanche, begins shooting at the Joes.  Lady Jaye and Sci-Fi are able to get inside the station and, by fighting the blue ninja, are able to take the station out.  However, Revanche does have other plans. Writing : This is a tight issue, focusing just on the space station.  I do enjoy it when Hama incorporates lesser-used Joes, like in this issue we get Law & Order, Countdown, Sci-Fi, Hardtop and Payload.  Three of those Joes are a very specific subset, dealing with outer space.  We don't get any other Joes on other mission...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciler), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Four different organizations - Cobra, the Dreadnoks, Destro's Iron Grenadiers and Revanche, all evaluate their current position and what they plan to do in the future.  Cobra has some key players back - Tomax and Xamot, Scrap-Iron, Overkill, Crystal Ball, Firefly, Copperhead and Major Bludd, who agree to help again.  Zartan asserts his authority over the Dreadnoks, while the Iron Grenadiers parade through Destro's town and Alpha-001 prepares itself for the next phase of its plans.  Writing :  This is an interesting story because it's mainly getting us up to date on what is going on in each organization currently and what they are planning on doing in the near future.  Cobra Commander's plans are the most established.   Art : Art is really something, a lot of opportunities to show off diffe...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Two Joe teams, on in a desert another in frozen arctic lands, are sent to investigate the construction of two Cobra Terror Dromes. Due to circumstances, both end up engaging with the Cobra forces there.  Writing : There is a few interesting things going on with this issue.  First is the contrast going on with the extreme environments the Joe teams find themselves in.  On top of that, each gets two pages so reading the book we keep going back and forth between these environments.  This isn't too jarring because the stories play out very similar.  Hama also takes this opportunity to use some less-used characters - Iceberg, Frostbite, Snow Job, Sub-Zero, Dusty, Mongoose, and Lightfoot.  I've always enjoyed when some of the lesser-known Joes get some time.  This issue is also pretty much...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (art) Story : A high-tech blimp approaches the Pit as Snake-Eyes and Dawn return and put on their ear protection for small-arms training.  Before the Joe team can shoot it down, the blimp begins a sonic attack on the Joes, disabling most.  Dawn and Snake-Eyes then don jet packs and take the fight to the airship, eventually overcoming their foes. Writing :  This is a special "anniversary" issue of the original Silent Interlude (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21) which appeared 300 issues ago.  Like that original issue, this one has no word "balloons", however, Hama is able to craft an interesting story without using any text. Art :  Mooneyham is on top of his game in this issue.  With the story relying solely on his art, he really brings his A game.  Details are crisp and the colors are spot-on.  We can easily tell who each classic Joe character is and see some classic vehicles throughout the story. ...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer). Plot :  This is a parallel plot, with both teams of Joes (in Springfield and on Cobra Island) attempting to escape and get back to headquarters while being pursued.  The Springfield team is attempting to get to the airfield while the Cobra Island team is trying to get to the docks to flee.  Thankfully, Duke and the command crew at the Pit are aware of the situations and send in air support.   Writing : Hama is bringing the action in this issue. The on-going chases while being attacked and trying to get away and both teams having to improvise against more heavily armed and armoured foes.  I did enjoy that he acknowledges sometimes toys and reality don't mix (as it's pointed out they can't fire the Stinger missiles with people riding on the back).  The only downside of such an action-filled issue ...

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...

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,...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tonk Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Plot : The infiltration team made up of Wet Suit, Muskrat, Helix, and Multo set up their surveillance of Cobra Island.  In Springfield, the Ninja Team go undercover to figure out what Destro is up to.  At Revanche, Dr. Mindbender is given an "upgrade" and has developed hand-to-hand skills.  The Cobra Island team witness the cruise ship guests are now sleeper agents for Revanche and both they and the Ninja team check in with Duke at the pit.  Meanwhile, in Scotland, Destro reveals that he added pain inducers while removing bullets from Cobra Commander and will use that to negotiate a good deal. Writing : Like we see a lot, Hama is putting all of his pieces into place for a few issues before getting to the action.  One thing I've enjoyed is that Hama does like to put the occasional military lingo in the...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer). Story : At the Pit, a car drives up with Cobra agents willing to defect.  Dr. Mindbender makes his case to join Revanche as Alpha-001 brainwashes the tourists so they don't remember their time on Cobra Island.  Cobra Commander continues to be a captive of Destro, who stops the Baroness from killing the Commander.  The Joe Ninja team gets new orders to impersonate the defectors.  Meanwhile, the Cobra Island infiltration team returns only to be told they'll be heading right back to Cobra Island.   Writing : This is a build-up issue.  As the storylines from the past year wrap up, new plots are put forth.  I was a bit disappointed that the Infiltration Team is heading right back to Cobra Island.  While the justification is sound (they just got back and know it well), it's always nice when ...

Creators : Wes Craig, Jason Wordie Story : Duke infiltrates a Cobra island facility, quickly taking out Cobra troops.  One gets by him and causes him a lot of problems with his mission, almost killing Duke.  We discover there is some sort of facility and Duke plans to blow it up.  The Cobra trooper returns and Duke is finally able to overpower him but it causes him to delay his escape and he barely makes it out of the explosion but takes some radiation (?) as well but has something for it.  He finds a cabin and it seems to have pictures of a man he used to know, who shows up and attacks Duke.  He kills the man and gets data from a Cobra laptop before leaving.   Writing : While this is part of the Silent Issue month, I do feel this is one of the weaker stories from the line.  Duke just doesn't seem like the "sneak in and take out a facility" guy when the Joe team has characters like Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow that are stealthy and do those things. ...

Creators : Andrew Krahnke (writer), Francesco Segala (art) Story : Roadblock is on a mission to rescue a captured G.I. Joe team member from Cobra as they are traveling through an arctic environment.  The two of them then need to escape from additional Cobra assets trying to kill them and eventually try to contact the Joe team to get them out of there.  Writing :  Wow, without any words, this story really nails down the character of Roadblock.  Here's a big, tough guy willing to stick his neck out to help his fellow Joes.  On top of them, he gets to use his .50 caliber "Ma Deuce" machine gun and even pulls up a recipe to make!  Krahnke is able to incorporate all of these things, along with some nice action, into this issue.  Art :  Segala really nails the art in this.  To be able to hold Roadblock's signature gun, he needs to be a big, beefy guy and that's how he's drawn.  All the colors pop, nothing is too over shaded or saturated on the...

Creators : Leonardo Romero  (writer), Cris Peter (art) Story :  Spirit is investigating some strange happenings in a forest - lots of injured animals with claw marks. He discovers an old research facility deep in the woods and discovers the metal monstrosity that is terrorizing the forest.  Spirit works with Freedom (his eagle) to stop it.   Writing : Continuing the Silent Issue month, Leonardo takes a fan-favorite classic character and dedicates a whole issue to him.  While Spirit has been featured pretty heavily in the on-going series through the year, many times he's regulated to being in charge of the defence of the Pitt.  Here we get to see Spirit being a tracker and warrior.  Spread throughout the issue are hints as to what's going on as well.  And, as a nice feature as well, it's a rare G.I. Joe comic where the Joes aren't fighting Cobra.  Art : Art is top notch.  From the beginning and laying hints as to what is happening to the ...

Creators : Dani, Dan Watters, Brad Simpson Story : Jinx has infiltrated a Cobra airbase and set a charge to blow up a Cobra Night Raven S3P, before it can carry out a mission.  In trying to escape, she runs afoul of Crimson Guardsmen and a Night Creeper.  Fighting her way out with a time bomb ticking, Jinx must make use of all her skills to get away before it blows up. Writing : Being the second in a month-long run of "Silent Issues", paying homage to the original silent issue (GI Joe #21), the Jinx issue can take place at any time after Jinx was introduced to the team (or maybe before?).  There are no named characters besides her in this and we then only see some Crimson Guards and a Night Creeper.  It's a pretty self-explanatory story; one we've seen in action movies countless times - the hero needs to escape before the time bomb they planted blows up.  As that, it's not anything too original.   Art : Overall, not a huge fan of the art in this issue. ...

Creators : Phil Hester (Writer/Penciler), Travis Hymel (Inker), Lee Loughridge (Colorist) Story : In a war-torn city, a mother and her son see figures fall out of a crashing helicopter.  Beach Head is fighting off Cobra troops that tried to capture him.  He gets seriously injured when one trooper tries to use the mother as a shield but is able to defeat him.  The mother and son drag Beach Head to their home and try their best to fix him up.  The son goes out and retrieves some of the Cobra gear and the mom trades it for a GPS system.  The vendor sells her out to some Cobra troops and Alley Vipers come looking for Beach Head, as he's trying to use the GPS to send a signal out.  Beach Head engages in a cat and mouse game, trying to take out the Alley Vipers.  The mother and son provide assistance but when it seems like the Alley Vipers have them, a Joe Tomahawk arrives and Beach Head and the mom and son are saved. Writing :  So this is an interestin...

Creators : Larry Hama writer/breakdowns), George Roussos (colorist), Steven Leialohla (finishes). Story : Storm Shadow arrives at a Cobra castle with a captured Scarlett, much to the surprise of Cobra Commander. High above, Snake Eyes makes a parachute jump out of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules towards the castle.  Storm Shadow imprisons a defiant Scarlett while Destro sees that the computers have picked up an intruder.  Snake Eyes lands and begins to take out some Cobra troopers while Scarlett begins her escape and Destro looks over his "chess board" with custom chess pieces of various Joe and Cobra characters, pondering the Baroness' piece.  Scarlett is able to escape and quickly overpowers a surprised Storm Shadow while Destro leads some troopers to the roof to deal with Snake Eyes, who fools them into going in the wrong direction.  Storm Shadow gathers red ninjas while Scarlett steals a COBRA C.L.A.W. and makes her escape.  Snake Eyes finds Scarlett's oubliette p...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letter) Story : At Castle Destro, Cobra Commander is being held prisoner by Destro who warns him of the consequences if the Baroness doesn't survive the surgery, with Destro flying the best out to his castle to save her.  In Springfield, the Iron Grenadiers are in control, rounding up Cobra Troops and the mutant cyborgs, though they are worried what the cyborgs might do.  On Cobra Island, Revanche and Alpha-001 land and are able to restore the mutated people to normal but the cyborg mutants they kill by detonating an explosive in their head, including the ones in Springfield.  In Pensacola, Muskrat and his team, along with the Serpentor coffin and Dr. Mindbender, arrive on shore and are arrested while Dr. Mindbender is taken away in an ambulance.  The Joes are eventually set free and Dr. Mindbender escapes and steals the ambulance.  ...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Andrew Krahnke (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrin Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : In the Arabian Sea, a Tomahawk lifts off with Tunnel Rat, Tripwire and Sherlock going on a mission to rescue a 15-year-old activist/daughter of an opposition leader.   The leader of the kidnappers is also a "Fred Series" former Crimson Guardsman and operative for Cobra.  The team lands and meets up with Mongoose who was inserted the night before.  They find the tunnel system where the kidnappers are and go in guns blazing.  When they finally rescue the girl, she's upset that they ruined her plan and she goes off after the kidnappers as well; ends up the real daughter is elsewhere and the one they rescued is a special forces operative made to look like her who has a grudge against the Crimson Guardsman.  The Joes are able to talk her down from killing him and instead bringing him to trial for his crimes (beyond the kid...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer). Story : As the G.I. Joe Ninja Force and Dreadnoks wait outside a building, Destro makes his way in, intent on facing Cobra Commander, who sits behind an armoured door, protected by H.E.A.T. (High Explosive Anti-Tank) and Alley Vipers.  Destro tosses smoke grenades, reduces his body heat and takes out the Vipers, all the while Cobra Commander looks on and dons his new battle armour.  Destro then blows the door off and he and Cobra Commander duke it out, with Destro eventually getting the upper hand and dragging the Commander out to the Joe team.   Writing : This story serves one purpose and that's to remind us how awesome Destro is.  Not only does he have the cool gadgets (smoke grenades, refrigerated suit, etc.), he can get his hands dirty as well and duke it out one on one when needed.  The overarching plot doesn't move f...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Story : Serpentor-Khan and Destro fight it out in the streets, with Destro getting the upper hand.  Serpentor-Khan's troops head to the hospital and fight both the G.I. Joe Ninja Force and the Dreadnoks, working together.  Destro shows up and sends the Baroness away.  At the community center, Cobra Commander's stand-in fights off Destro, who easily sees through the ploy and heads inside, with the Ninja Force and Dreadnoks backing him up. Writing :  Not a lot of plot advancement here as 2/3's of the issue are pretty much fights between Destro and his enemies.  However, they are some pretty neat fights, with Destro getting to get some quips into his opponents and prove how tough and resourceful he truly is.  It does feel as if Hama is winding down this arc with another issue or two left before going into his next arcs....