Bottalk Reviews

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Tom Reilly (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colourist) Story : Picking right up where last issue left off, the Pit is being raided by Major Bludd's forces as Stalker is trying to stop them to no avail and is unable to contact anyone for support and Duke is being held at gunpoint by the Baroness as Rock 'n Roll and Clutch fight off more troops.  Duke and the Baroness exchange some words and Duke calls her bluff and they decide to (again) work together to get out of the situation.  Stalker arrives and updates everyone on the situation and they decide, seeing a hole opened in the floor, to go down deeper into the Pit to escape.  They enter an old garage/warehouse full of tanks and other experimental vehicles and Clutch and Duke come up with a plan.  Outside, Major Bludd returns, much worse for wear after getting shot and orders his troops to continue the fight.  Just then, a bunker opens and out rushes a Skystriker Combat Jet, APC [Amphibious Perso

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colourist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Cobra is investigating the remains of the three modified Vipers that Dawn took out last issue while Dawn is back at her parent's house, reporting to Duke.  She notices her neighbour, a Crimson Guard approaching but her parents take him out and she flees.  Duke now feels that they are in a position where they can act.  Elsewhere in the Pit, Mainframe, Airtight and Black Hat are examining the remains of one of the modified Vipers that attacked Snake Eyes and Scarlett.  One of the hands is still active and attacks but Stalker arrives and destroys it.   Elsewhere in the Pit, Spirit, Lady Jaye and Multo are preparing to take out the three modified Vipers stalking above before they actually discover the entrance and drop a nerve gas grenade down it.  After a struggle, the three Joes are able to stop the Vipers.  On Cobra Island, Serpentor K

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Andrea Milana (Artist), Annalisa Leoni (Colorist), Rus Wooton (Letterer) Story : Picking up where we last left off, Cobra Commander's companion is in the Florida Everglades looking for him as we go to the Commander, being attacked underwater by some alligators that are more than meets the eye.  We then see him get some assistance.  At a bar, Ripper and Zarana arrive and talk to the gathered individuals about "the juice" they have.  They know it's a fuel and they can sell it for a pretty penny.  We then see Zandar show up with Cobra Commander in chains.  They put him in a chain and try to take off his mask but Ripper gets zapped by it as Buzzer laughs and they get into a fight.  Torch arrives and tries to melt it off to little success.  They then each take turns torturing Cobra Commander for information and to try to get him to take off his mask but he remains silent.  When Zandar starts, Cobra Commander tells him his brother Zart

PREPARE FOR DEVASTATION? Well, I hope not! 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 sixth instalment, the Autobots are again on the back foot as Starscream has unleashed Devastator upon them! With Optimus Prime seconds from death, will someone make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the Autobots live to fight another day? SPOILER- Yep. Someone dies? Yes, this is a “SOMEONE DIES!” issue. Not that DWJ’s been shy about killing characters before, but this one was kinda built up to and served more of a story purpose, as opposed to the “shock” deaths of previous issues. I feel like the moment itself isn’t quite as impactful as what will follow from it, but I didn’t see it coming, at least and it makes the final page hit harder. DWJ’s not been shy on action and violence either, and the Autobots’

What’s new in the world of Skybound and Hasbro’s VOID RIVALS?? Void Rivals continues here with issue # 7! It’s Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici 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. In this seventh issue, Darak and Solila are on the run in the wastelands between Zertonia and Agorria while Zalilak frees the deadly hunter Proximus from captivity to track them down. The Zertonian premier fears that the duo could jeopardize civilization as they know it by bringing forth someone or something named “Gol

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

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colourist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Picking up from last issue, Serpentor, Dr. Mindbender and Alpha-001 are viewing the results of the assault on Snake-Eyes' cabin with both him and Scarlett presumed dead.  After a few minutes, back at the cabin now, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett get back up, hoping they gauged the time right so that they are assumed dead.  Lift-Ticket, Black Hat, Mainframe and Airtight arrive in a Tomahawk to take the blue ninja remains away and study them.  In Springfield, Dawn sneaks out of her house to spy on Cobra's operation, coming across some of Serpentor's modified Vipers. She follows them, told not to engage.  Back at the Pit, Spirit is told the same thing by Duke, to keep an eye on the Pit infiltrators (from last issue) but not to engage them.  Those modified Vipers explore the above-ground base, seeing made-up but abandoned barracks.  On C

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