Bottalk Reviews

Renfield relates his experiences at Castle Dracula. Mina refuses any of the safety measures Van Helsing has developed. She is under Dracula's thrall. Renfield enters Carfax Abbey to find Dracula and Mina there... but as Van Helsing and the others approach Dracula thinks Renfield has betrayed him and kills Renfield. Van Helsing finds the vampire in his coffin and drives a steak into his chest. Renfield's story at the beginning of this issue is, from the novel, the experiences of Jonathan Harker. In the end this, the final issue of this mini, ends up being more about Renfield than Dracula or Mina. I find this interesting. Especially how they have given him Jonathan's backstory. As usual, the art here is beautiful. Especially the pages splashed and slashed with red. eight out of ten.

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 : Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letter) Plot : On Cobra Island, Revanche meets with the mutated Serpentor and wants to team up and offers their services to upgrade the mutants into cyborgs. At the Pit, Duke realizes that the Revanche/Serpentor team will end up attacking the Pit so he has Spirit up the defence. In Springfield, a girl named Dawn returns to her family, though all may not be as it seems. Back at the Pit, the Joes are counter-spying on some of Serpentor's new, enhanced, troops as they are spying on the Pit and they debate on what to do. Meanwhile, at Snake-Eye's cabin in the Rockies, some more of Serpentor's forces attack Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, though find them to be difficult opponents. Back at Cobra Island, Alpha-001, Dr. Mindbender, and Serpentor watch a final broadcast from the troops, showing Scarlett and Snake-Eyes down, before it cuts out. Story : Events a

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

At Lucy's funeral Mina and Johnathon stand in the rain. Dracula is spotted, but he will not enter the grounds. In the asylum Lucy and Renfield have a conversation, much to her father's consternation. As Dr. Seward and Van Helsing discuss the situation Dracula sinks his teeth into Mina. Again, I feel I have little to say about the actual events of the issue. There are differences with the source material... but I feel like that is a given. So many versions of Dracula exist, each with its own changes and nuances. The art is the absolute highlight of this series. Some pages feel completely soaked with blood. The feeling of dread and foreboding radiates off the pages. Even something simple as Mina in the rain feels otherworldly. eight out of ten.

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

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Plot : Serpentor begins his plans with his new, mutated, forces, to invade Springfield. In Arlington, the Joe team buries one of their own (killed in the last issue) with full military decorations. In Springfield, Cobra Commander addresses the citizens and prepares them for Serpentor's eventual invasion. In New Jersey, Revanche is monitoring the Serpentor/Cobra situation. Back at the G.I. Joe headquarters, they too are monitoring the Cobra situation and explain why their fallen ally was given such a burial (due to his history with Stalker, Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes in Southeast Asia). At Snake-Eye's cabin, Timber's wolf pack drops off a puppy for them as they talk about the future. Story : This is another set-up issue. We get to see what the major story-arc is going to be going forward (Cobra vs. Serpentor's mutated forces) and h

Is it time for fighty-robo-time?? You betcha! This is a brand-new Transformers comic series after nearly ten months of no new Transformers comics! 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 what will likely be the linchpin of this new initiative. In this third issue, the humans continue to be caught up in the metal-on-metal crunch as the Autobots and Decepticons continue their battle. Who will pay the price for getting in between these duelling giants?? Do more deer die?? YES! Optimus Prime has developed a lust for the feeling of innocent land mammals splattering under his boot, and declares open season on them!!! … No, of course not. Our story continues at pace as Cliffjumper follows Carly home to ensure her safety, but gets more than he bargained for when Laserbeak and angry, confused humans attack him! Remember the early-to-mid-to-late Marvel comics, when humans could

Are we still doing this? YES, now shut up. Void Rivals continues here with issue # 6. It’s Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, and Matheus Lopes’ new 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 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, Darak was broken out of Zertonian jail and found himself in the company of a resistance group opposed to the government. Solila was also imprisoned for showing knowledge of the apparent conspiracy behind the war between her and Darak’s planets. This issue, Darak has Solila broken out and the two go on the lam