BotTalk Reviews

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatterer), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Doctor Mindbender and Alpha-001 start exploring the digital memories Dr. Venom downloaded from Snake-Eyes.  Dawn has returned to the Pit and suspects there is something hidden in the memories of Snake-Eyes (that were implanted in her mind by Dr. Venom) and Duke, Stalker and Mainframe all worry what might happen as Sean and the original Snake-Eyes also have those memories.  In Darklonia, Helix, Sean and Beachhead infiltrate the countryside to take down a Terror Drome.  In Colorado, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes are enjoying time away.  Then, Mindbender activates something and all three start attacking whoever is nearest.   Writing : I enjoyed the 4 separate but interconnected stories.  I also enjoy that a minor character from the original G.I. Joe run from 40 years ago still has an impact on the...

Creators :  Dan Watters, Pye Parr, Pierluigi Casolino Story :  Matt Trakker, trying to escape from the US military, is captured and brought in to see General Flagg.  Meanwhile, Vanessa Warfield and Sly Rax both interrogate individuals in their own way.  Trakker lets loose on Flagg what Miles Mayhem is up to and how unstable he is and how Mayhem framed Trakker and stole his Mobile Armored Strike Kommand technology. In Alaska, Mayhem finds the third person who had interacted with an alien device he wants.  Trakker says he wanted to be captured because he knows Mayhem has an agent nearby, who is the Private in the room.  Both he and Trakker activate their masks and duke it out, with General Flagg and Trakker taking down the Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem (V.E.N.O.M.) agent.  While Flagg offers Trakker a position within G.I. Joe, he declines and escapes with his flying car, the Thunderhawk.  Mayem, Rax, and Warfield do find an alien device. Writing : ...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Cobra Commander admires his latest achievement and sends Destro on a mission (despite his arguing otherwise).  We get a bit more background on Risk as he, Baroness and Stalker land in Badhikistan for a mission.  The reports say it is abandoned and that the people left it because it is haunted.  They start to see strange signs but eventually run into Destro, Astoria, and Mercer, who claim to have seen things also (both sides blame each other).  After a brief tussle, all but Risk are captured by various things.  Meanwhile. Crystal Ball looks on, having captured everyone with his tech.  Writing : An interesting story and right away Williamson has made Crystal Ball a bit more interesting.  Crystal Ball was never a fan-favourite character (or toy) so it will be fun to see what he ends up doing here.  We get some classic Cobra Commande...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Andrew Krahnke (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : In Sierra Gordo, the Joe team of Jinx, Dawn, Cover Girl, and Sherlock finish taking down a Terror Drome.  However, an explosion knocks Dawn around, revealing more memories from Snake-Eyes and Dr. Venom using his Brainwave Scanner on Snake-Eyes way back in issue 10.  On Cobra Island. Dr. Mindbender gets notified about these memories as well.   Writing : Hama easily wraps up the Terror Drome story while introducing a new problem for Snake-Eyes.  Hama introduced the world to Dr. Venom, Cobra's original mad scientist back in the early days of the comic's run in the 1980's and has continued to use the dead character and his brainwave scanner again and again.  He's a favorite villain that, while dead, just keeps coming back!   Art : It's nice to see Dawn without her mask on all the time in this issue.  Sometimes ...

Creators : Jorge Fornés, Dave Stewart Story : Firefly infiltrates a Soviet Union military base in the Sayan Mountains and while searching their computers for POWs, is almost captured by the Oktober Guard but is able to get away.  Later, he comes across an Afghan woman in a prison. Writing : This issue, another "Sssilent" issue, does a great job showcasing how dangerous Firefly has always been in the comics.  He has physical skills on par with the ninjas, is able to take down, silently, many of the soldiers in the base, plant explosives, and access computer systems.  The nice thing about this issue is we're not too sure who Firefly is actually working for in this issue.  Art : Some great art here.  First off, the Cobra Ice Snake (a high-speed, arctic attack vehicle with jaw snapping roll cage) makes an appearance, which is pretty cool when these vehicles from the end of the original ARAH toy run show up.  We also get some "video game" side-scrolling views as...

Creators :  Howard Porter, Romulo Fajardo Jr. Story :  After retrieving something from some G.I. Joe divers in the ocean for Cobra, Copperhead heads to a penthouse and looks depressed eyeballing a picture of simpler times.  He joins in a street dirt bike race and that leads him to the bayou and a poker game with the Dreadnok pirate, Zanzibar.  They fight over the game and this leads to an airboat race.  Copperhead is brutal during the race and eventually wins.  However, his victory is short-lived as he has another job from Cobra. Writing :  Part of the "Sssilent" issues this month, Copperhead focuses on the driver of the Cobra Water Moccasin toy, though we actually never see it in the issue.  Honestly, it is a bit tough to figure out what's going on in the issue.  Is Copperhead doing this for revenge?  To prove he's the best?  Is the penthouse his home or is he just raiding it?  Does he have a conflict with Zanzibar or are they...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Tom Reilly (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Cover Girl, Snow Job and Frostbite are set to retrieve Scarlett from her undercover mission at the Arashikage (from her own limited series).  While there, Cobra attacks and Scarlett, Jinx, and Storm Shadow do their best to fight off the Cobra troops but heavy causalities are taken and Cobra leaves the place destroyed.  Scarlett gets extracted.   Writing :  In homage to the original issue #21 of G.I. Joe, this is mostly a silent issue.  There is just a bit of mission journal at the beginning and end of it, but the rest is free of words.  This is a good follow-up from the Scarlett miniseries though it does give enough background so those who missed it won't be too lost.  We get to see just how ruthless Cobra can be as well.   Art : This issue, being a silent issue, hinges a lot on its art.  The art is really good.  We get a ...

Creators : Patrick Olliffe, Tom DeFalco, John Kalisz Story :  Zartan is spying on the Joes,  who are watching a new weapon, while he is being spied upon by Major Bludd.  Zartan infiltrates the Joes and is able to steal the weapon. However, he is then captured by Bludd and some Cobra forces.  Heading to ship, Zartan uses his guile and skills to escape before Cobra Commander shows up, followed by a contingent of Joes. Writing :  The third Cobra "Sssilent" issue this month, this one follows fan-favorite Zartan.  This story can easily fit into most Joe continuities.  We get to see a lot of Zartan's skills - his disguises, his fighting skills and, most importantly, his intelligence as he outmaneuvers everyone.   Art :  The art is pretty good in this one.  There are focuses on things you might not think are important but they come back to later.  And I enjoyed seeing a few late-series toys pop up - like the Shark 9000 (which the Joe team ...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Andrew Krahnke (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatterer), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story :  A Joe team comprised of Snake Eyes (Dawn Moreno), Cover Girl, Jinx, Down Range and Sherlock is on a mission in Sierra Gordo to check out a joint Cobra/Revanche operation.  While almost captured, they escape and infiltrate the pyramid, where control (Duke, Mainframe and Stalker are monitoring them) lose them due to inference.  They discover a Terror Drome built into an ancient pyramid and debate blowing it up as troops close in around them.  Writing :  We've circled back to teams of Joe's tracking down Terror Dromes in various environments.  This one is more of an infiltration issue.  The past couple of issues took a little break from this overarching story.  One thing that was done here was include an all-female cast for the main story.  Art :  Art is pretty good here though not quite up t...

Creators : Gabriel Hardman, Matt Hollingsworth Story : Cobra Commander is inducting two new troops into the Crimson Guard when the Joes attack with a massive force.  The Crimson Guardsmen fight through the Joes and out of the base into the swamp, continuously being chased by the Joes and the hazards of the swamp.  They finally are able to make it another base and attempt to escape.   Writing : Another issue in the Cobra "Sssilent Missions" series this month, paying homage to Larry Hama's famous "Silent Issue" way back in Marvel's original run.  Though without dialog, there is a lot going on in this issue, with the troopers trying to get away and them being relentlessly pursued by the Joe team.  It's also hard to tell if this is supposed to set in the standard Joe-verse or its own thing; some individuals are hinted at either being seriously injured or possibly killed. But the story is fun and it's just non-stop action, along with a few "oh yeah, ...

Creators : Joëlle Jones, Declan Shalvey, Mike Spicer Story : As Cobra Commander watches, the Baroness infiltrates an opera house and heads to the catwalk with a rifle.  She spots her target and Destro in the audience.  She fires a shot that bounces off Destro's armored head and races to a box to find her target gone.  She looks down and sees him running away but her target encounters Destro.  The Baroness catches up and she fights Destro.  The Baroness is able to get away and intercepts her target's date who is hiding a G.I. Joe document on her person.  Destro receives a picture of the target dead and a note with coordinates.  He meets back up with the Baroness in Paris at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée and they share a kiss.   Writing : A new series of "sssilent" issues, this time focusing on Cobra operatives.  Like all other silent issues, this one has no dialogue.  That makes it a bit tricky to place when/where this takes place.  Is it ...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story :  Picking up from last issue, Trakker and Scrap-Iron go at it, with Trakker driving away.  He is soon rescued by the Joes and Autobot Hound and Clutch has him fix Hound's transponder so he can contact the Autobots.  Duke, Clutch and Hound meet Optimus Prime (from Transformers (2023) #30) and he and Duke have a good talk and come to an understanding.  Meanwhile, Snow Job and Cover Girl meet up to talk about Scarlett.   Writing :  While this issue starts with some good action, that's where most of it is.  The rest is a good set up issue with getting more of Duke's motivation and more insight into Cobra.  After 2 years' worth of stories, Duke is starting to see a bigger picture and realizes what his goals are now. The end of the issue also starts to bring in more elements from the various miniseries and sets up some more stories. ...

Creators :  Larry Hama (writer), Andrew Krahnke (artist), Francesco Segala (colorlist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story :  A Joe team - Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Duke, Roadblock and Mongoose - are extracting a terrorist from Benzheen, near Trucial Abysmia.  They are ambushed by his terrorist cell and must fight them off while awaiting their evac.   Writing :  This story seems really basic and has some cliches.  In the beginning they talk about how easy it was before getting attacked.  Grenades are easily kicked back to the throwers; injuries that had a someone down a moment ago are overlooked and the bad guys seem to have not only unlimited numbers but really bad aim. This is a self-contained story, wrapping up in the issue.  Art :  Krahnke provides the art for the issue and does a really good job. He's not afraid to show a bit of blood on the injuries and does a really good job with the action sequences. One downside...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (penciler), Lee Loughridge (colorist) Story : Zartan now believes he has all the information he needs to start finding more energon for his own purposes.  Recovering from the events of the Dreadnok War, the Joes take Autobot Hound captive as Duke is quite upset and wants answers.  Meanwhile, Matt Trakker gets a notice to meet someone.  Back at the Pitt, the Joes, thinking they'd get a little bit of time off, are quickly reassigned more missions by Hawk, including meeting up with Snow Job.  Duke gets filled in by Hound on some of the basics and that it was Decepticon Starscream who killed his friend.  Matt Trakker meets with an agent at a race track but they are interrupted by Scrap Iron. Writing : I really like how Williamson is taking Duke down this emotional path we're seeing.  As Clutch says, that's not normally him.  But Duke is in a changing world, saw his buddy die, lost Cobra Commander, almost...

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 ...