BotTalk Reviews

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Risk, Clutch and Autobot Hound take on Mercer and his Viper troops.  In Paris. Baroness continues her fight with Major Bludd while Cover Girl takes on Raptor.  While these arcs finish up, Destro and Cobra Commander come to an understanding about what the future holds, not just for Cobra but maybe the world.  As the two groups return to the Pit (to a confused Duke as to what they actually went through), General Hawk looks on and gives Flint and his crew their next mission. Writing : A good, character driven story, this has Risk, Clutch and Hound coming to an understanding while Baroness and Cover Girl become closer due to their experience.  We get a few hints of what's to come later on but the next issue is a nice mystery.  Great callback at the end when Hawk is talking to Flint too.  Art : Some good action scenes fill this issue, with the ...

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 ...

War of the Void Rivals! War continues, here in issue # 22 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 has joined Kirkman and colorist Patricio Delpeche as Agorria and Zertonia go to war in this issue! Hot Rod and Springer are caught in the middle as the Agorrians and Zertonians clash in earnest. Is Unity forever lost, or is it closer than ever? So, big fight. YUP! This is a big fight scene issue as the Zertonians attack Agorria and all...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Cover Girl and The Baroness continue to fight for Major Bludd so that Raptor doesn't kill the Baroness' parents.  Clutch is trying to figure out Cobra's weapons with Autobot Hound but realizes they have to return to the M.A.R.S. headquarters to see if they can find more.  Destro is unsettled that he doesn't know more about Cobra Commander's past and confronts him in a secret lab of the Commander's. The tide finally turns for the lady Joes and Risk confronts Clutch, wondering what's up with him, at the M.A.R.S. base as Mercer shows up.   Writing : A good fast-paced issue that mixes a bit of action with a lot of intrigue, both from the Joes and from Cobra.  Williamson also has a nice touch of adding in bits and pieces of classic character lore into the mix, such as Major Bludd deciding to share some of his poetry.   Art : Milana continues to ...

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 : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Raptor (Cobra Falconer) continues his attack on Cover Girl and Baroness in Paris, relating briefly his origin.  Finally, he and Major Bludd are able to capture the duo.  At the Pit (The G.I. Joe command center), Risk expresses concern that Clutch is acting off to Duke, who brushes it off.  Meanwhile, Clutch talks more with Autobot Hound and promises to help him find the Autobots and more Energon.  At a prison facility, Mercer has broken in and found a rogue M.A.R.S. agent who helped fixed up Decepticon Starscream.  Destro tells Mercer to make sure the agent doesn't share the info.  In an undisclosed location, Major Bludd tells the Baroness and Cover Girl they must fight for their freedom, ending the issue on a cliffhanger.  Writing :  Williamson has done a good job making Raptor a bit more interesting.  He keeps the bulk of ...

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,...

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...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Andrea Milana (artist), Lee Loughridge (colorist), Rus Wooton (letter) Story : After a training exercise at the Pitt, the Baroness wishes to have 48 hours of leave (even though she's technically a prisoner).  Clutch brings Autobot Hound into the base.  Cobra Commander and Destro look at the Transformers battle in Seattle and decide to try to retrieve whatever they can from the devastation, though Cobra Commander wants a fully functioning Cybertronian.  Baroness is allowed a leave but Cover Girl needs to go with her.  They get to know each other a bit and enjoy some time in Paris until Major Bludd sends his agents after the Baroness.   Writing : This is a good character-driven issue, especially for the Baroness and Cover Girl.  We get some background on them and they seem to really start to bond over a few shared similarities.  Cobra Commander is still cryptic with Destro but a larger picture is starting to form, c...

It’s a Combiner Wa… skirmish…scuffle? Yup! 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-first issue, Megatron leads a massive assault on the Ark, and he wants his arm back! That’s fine, because Optimus doesn’t want that smelly thing anymore anyhow! He doesn’t care HOW cool and edgy it makes him look! What’s this about combiners then? Well, Megatron’s got TWO to Optimus Prime’s ONE, as Superion makes his debut and immediately needs to take on both Bruticus and Devastator. That is, unless Bruticus and Devastator don’t wreck each other first! As for the rest of the excitement, Optimus finally realizes that the weird visions and violent spells he’s been having are due to Megatron’s arm! Apparently he never played Metal Gear Solid 2 and fig...