Bottalk Reviews

Explore! Explore! Repair! Repair! Review! Review! Spoilers! Spoilers! Carly and a grieving Spike Witwicky discover the Autobot Ark. The Shuttle is full to the gills with deactivated G1 Transformers. Jetfire (last seen in Void Rivals #1) arrives to reactivate Teletraan One. He chooses his long time friend Starscream to be repaired first... What I did like: A letters page! Is that the G.I. Joe Crusader Space Shuttle? Optimus Prime is using pro wrestling moves. Is Daniel Warren Johnson a sports entertainment aficionado? Yes he is and we are smelling what he's cooking and it's just too sweeeeeet. Ratchet utilizing flying kicks is actually cartoon accurate. Carly is a Frazetta Girl! The transformations are fantastically drawn. The Autobot Ark never looked this amazingly detailed. Soundwave using his shoulder batteries cannon is a rare treat. Thank you! Soundwave caring about Ravage. If you have pets, you know. Optimus Prime running towards us is very Sunbow Productions. Bravo! Opt

Jim Zub's Conan tale of the undead shows some signs of life, at last. But is it too late? Conan frees a sliver of surviving Barbarians from the icy grip of the possessed picts, is able to get a minuscule amount of payback... but ends up in the soup, literally. What I did not like: Conan not solicitous about the fate of his family members or childhood friends. All the unsightly covers except for the snake one by Roberto (and only from afar).  The old and infirm are still alive? Please! They survived the trip to the citadel? Stop insulting the reader. Only men fight alongside Conan. No vengeful Cimmerian women? That's disappointing and also sexist.  I was getting a Conan the Barbarian (1982 John Milius film) vibe from the very first page. Trying to appeal more to the casual movie fan than the Robert E. Howard scholar. Still no Big Bad for Conan. The letters page was too small and only featured sycophants. Competent creators and editors should crave constructive criticism. Please

Hasbro Gaming, Nerf Pro Stryfe X Dart Semi-Auto Blaster, Nerf Elite 2.0 Double Punch Dart Blaster, NERF Elite 2.0 Jolly Dash Blaster, Nerfball, Play-Doh, Peppa Pig, Monopoly The Super Mario Bros. Movie Edition, Monopoly Chance, Monopoly: Barbie Edition, Spider-Man, Marvel Spidey And His Amazing Friends Web-Spinners Playset, Twister Air Game, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Magic: The Gathering The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Jurassic World booster insert set, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, Secret Lair, Dungeons & Dragons The Deck of Many Things, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast collaborate with Burgschneider to present Dungeons & Dragons: Call to Arms, the official costuming line for Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Academy, Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Club: Roll Call, Dungeons & Dragons: Behold! A Search and Find Adventure, Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, Clue Conspiracy, Clue Escap

Who was that smartly-dressed reporter gracefully swimming around NYC? It was our very own always effervescent Bottalkian, Bounce, and she bravely fought cataclysmic flash floods and heavy rainstorms to bring us pictures from the Hasbro Showroom Tour at New York Toy Fair 2023. We would like to thank: Whitney Spencer, Jennifer Cruz Santos and Witney Williams for their invaluable assistance. Thanks a million, Bounce! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Rise of the Beasts Movie Beast Alliance, Rise of the Beasts Command & Convert Animatronic Optimus Primal, Bumblebee, Transformers: EarthSpark, Marvel Avengers Epic Hero Series, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man Web Splashers, Mixin' Moods Grogu, Star Wars: The Black Series, Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, Star Wars Mission Fleet, Droidables and more.