Bottalk Reviews

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Tom Reilly (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colourist) Story : At M.A.R.S. (Military Armament Research Syndicate) headquarters, employees are moving locations because Destro assumed Duke would have been killed and not just imprisoned (and implying he had Dr. Adele Burkhart killed as well) and is worried about the device that can track her technology back to him so Destro hires Major Bludd to take Duke out.  At the Pit, Rock 'N Roll and Stalker give their impressions of Duke and can tell something else it up with him.  Down in the prison, the Baroness tries to make a deal with Duke but isn't getting a response from him and Clutch tells her to stop.  Duke surprises her when he reveals he knows who she is with a bit of her background (wealthy European socialite who joined Eastern European secret services and eventually became a terrorist). Duke also tells her he hasn't given up and speaking to Colonel Hawk will help clear his name.  Outside, St

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Andrea Milana (Artist), Annalisa Leoni (Colorist), Rus Wooton (Letterer) Story : Ripper and Buzzer are torturing a couple of men for information about their gun-running meet-up and after they get the information they want; they take off in the Thunder Machine.  Elsewhere in the Florida Everglades, Cobra Commander and his protector sneak away from a gator boat ride further into the Everglades, looking for the energon source.  We also see Cobra Commander is resentful of having a guard as he feels Cobra-La still doesn't trust him (with a bit of backstory on his guard and hints as to Cobra Commander's origins).  A police officer tries to stop them but is killed and, in the scuffle, Cobra Commander sneaks off and finds the cabin of Ripper and Buzzer and discovers evidence of energon being experimented on.  The two Dreadnoks return and have a shoot-out with Cobra Commander in which the Thunder Machine is blown up.  Cobra Commander gets away and

Is there more than meets my eye? Of course! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s new Energon Universe, noted writer/artist rolled-into-one Daniel Warren Johnson takes the reins on the linchpin of this new initiative, a brand-new Transformers comic series! In this fifth issue, the Autobots and their human allies go on the offensive, trying to recover the Ark from the Decepticons. However, Starscream’s got an ace-in-the-hole, one that will undoubtedly swing things back in his favor. So Prime ganked Megatron’s bit last issue. Yup, Prime’s got Megatron’s arm and the attached fusion cannon grafted to him now, and he makes good use of it this issue! DWJ and Mike Spicer’s art completely sells the power of Prime’s new weapon and doesn’t hold back on its destructive potential. I enjoyed the emphasis on the “punch” of the fusion cannon, which can sometimes be overlooked. More Autobots and Decepticons become active this issue, which is very action-heavy and has some great

Story : At a junkyard, Duke meets up with an old childhood friend of his, Lance "Clutch" Steinberg and Duke explains the events from last issue to him. Clutch helps Duke by cleaning up and bandaging his wounds and then looks at the device Dr. Adele Burkhart had left him and is able to activate, which shows a map with a glowing dot. After that happens, Destro, sitting in his office, is notified of something. Before Duke and Clutch can leave, they are fired upon by Craig "Rock 'N Roll" McConnel, who uses drones to lead them to Lonzo "Stalker" Wilkinson (which Duke is aware of both men). Duke and Clutch are captured and held in "The Pit", an old decommissioned base, where another prisoner (with a female with glasses and long, black hair) mentions that maybe the three of them can work together. Writing : I like how this story is going. Duke knows, by reputation, who some of these (assumed to be future) G.I. Joe members are. After all, the G

Co-BRAAAAA? Yup! This is Cobra Commander # 1, a brand-new comic series published by Skybound Entertainment and (shockingly) starring the guy who Destro once referred to as a world-class buffoon, Cobra Commander! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s new Energon Universe, G.I. Joe is the second Hasbro property to take its place in this new world after Transformers. Rather than a typical G.I. Joe team book, they’ve opted to do solo Cobra Commander and Duke books to lead it off. This first issue is a ground-up origin tale for Cobra Commander, written by Joshua Williamson (who is also writing Duke), penciled by Andrea Milana, and with colors by Annalisa Leoni. The Energon Universe version of Cobra Commander is a take on the character that draws more heavily from the Sunbow cartoon than the Marvel comic, but contains elements of both portrayals. Oh and also, there might be some minor tie-in to Transformers in here too… Co-bra-LALALALALALALALALALA??? That’s right, the

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Andrea Milana (Artist), Annalisa Leoni (Colorist), Rus Wooton (Letterer) Plot : At a snow-cover truck stop, Cobra Commander walks in, demands a vehicle and follows a man out, kills him and takes his ride. In a flashback, we are presented with Cobra-La and its citizens are storming a science hall because the scientists are dealing with non-organic research. One scientist tells the others to retreat, but is killed by (the yet unnamed) Cobra Commander who tells the others to fight back. However, one of his fellow scientists fails to throw a grenade and it explodes, injuring the Commander. He is healed but is scarred and is retrieved by Pythona, who tells him to wear a mask. They meet with Golobulus, the leader of Cobra-La, who hints at Cobra Commander's origins while explaining Cobra-La's views and how Cobra Commander brought "blasphemous" technology into the city and accusing Cobra Commander of leaking what they were doing to th

Time to roll out? Of course! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s new Energon Universe, noted writer/artist rolled-into-one Daniel Warren Johnson takes the reins on the linchpin of this new initiative, a brand-new Transformers comic series! In this fourth issue, while Spike Witwicky’s life hangs in the balance, an injured Optimus Prime must take on the Decepticons, but will he do the unthinkable when Ratchet presents him with a possible edge to tip the balance of power? Also, someone does a wrestling move again. The unthinkable, huh. Well, maybe not “unthinkable”, but it was certainly a surprising moment in what has been a fairly predictable story for me so far! This fourth issue sees DWJ take some more risks and produce some surprises as the struggle between the Autobots and Decepticons becomes ever more desperate. It’s pretty welcome for a longtime fan to see something that I wasn’t expecting (although admittedly HAVE seen before) in this Transformers story. A

Yo Joe? Uh… not yet. This is Duke # 1, a brand-new comic series published by Skybound Entertainment and starring the non-ninja frontman of G.I. Joe, Conrad Hauser AKA Duke! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s new Energon Universe, G.I. Joe is the second Hasbro property to take its place in this new world after Transformers. Rather than a typical G.I. Joe team book, they’ve opted to do solo Duke and Cobra Commander books to lead it off. After making his debut in Transformers # 2, Duke’s all set to go on his own adventure. He witnessed Starscream transform and kill his comrade Tyler Frost in that issue, but now finds himself the victim of a cover-up as the US government flat-out denies the existence of transforming alien jets! What’s a Duke to do but go rogue and try and uncover a conspiracy that has coiled its way deep under the surface of America? Yo… Larry Hama? Nope, Larry Hama’s doing his own thing, so if you’re looking for more traditional Joe fare, go chec

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Tom Reilly (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colourist), Rus Wooton (Letterer) Plot : We get a brief history of Duke's exploits in the US Army while he's talking to Colonel Hawk, who is concerned about Duke's recent change due to an event where he saw a friend of his killed by a transforming jet but the government is covering it up and Duke just wants answers. He eventually meets up with Dr. Adele Burkhart and together, try to find some answers about possible aliens or high technology. With her help, he infiltrates M.A.R.S. Industries and sees the high-tech war machines that they are producing. He fights Mercer who, along with the other guards, kicks Duke out after ruffing him up a bit. Duke returns to Dr. Burkhart's house to find it ransacked and she is near death but passes what "whoever did that to her" was after to him. After a run in with the police, Duke runs off. Colonel Hawk decides to find Duke and wants the best to do