BotTalk Reviews

Who is the Worst Bot Ever?? You find out in this special trade-sized Transformers story by writer Brian "Smitty" Smith and artist Marz Jr. that follows the story of Ballpoint, a tiny Decepticon that turns into a pen! Ballpoint’s got a small body but a huge ego and his dream is for his Decepticon colleagues to finally recognize his contributions to the cause! Right... what is this then? This is a lighthearted tale for kids, and perhaps charming for some older Transformers fans as well. A parable told in humour about finding the people who value you and your place in the world. There’s nothing ground-shaking or particularly original to be found here, but there are some laughs to be had and fun, energetic art. If you want to introduce some younger children to Transformers or comic books in general, this is a good bet, as it skews towards that “Transformers: Rescue Bots” demographic. For older fans, there’s a couple of gags that landed for me, like the writer’s take on the Rumbl...

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...

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...

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...

Skuxxoid Begins to Return Forever! He does and it starts here with issue # 19 of Void Rivals! Void Rivals is Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici’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. Lorenzo De Felici steps away from this book with this nineteenth issue as we welcome new ongoing artist Conor Hughes to tell a tale of Skuxxoid! A new artist? Yep, according to the letters page, Conor Hughes is our new ongoing artist for Void Rivals and he makes a great debut with a sort of Skuxxoid origin tale! I did apprecia...

Trains, planes, and automobiles! 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! Well, he maintains the reins on the writing of this series at least, as does Mike Spicer on colors. Jorge Corona has returned to regular penciling duties after Ludo Lullabi filled in for a Megatron solo story last issue! So Megatron is back? He is and it’s time for him to put his house in order. And that means dealing with triplechanger Astrotrain, who wants revenge on him for some unspecified thing we… probably won’t get closure on! Also, Starscream’s about due for a whuppin’ too, right? If there’s one thing this issue does, it’s sell Megatron as the primary threat and mightiest Decepticon, able to basically no-sell Astrotrain even as wounded as he is. Megatron’s cruelty is on full display here as he doles out punishment t...

Void Rivals Meet Again! They do and it continues here with issue # 18! Void Rivals is Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici’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. In this eighteenth issue, Darak and Solila’s separate paths are set to converge again as the truth about Unity is revealed to them both! But is it the same truth? Seems like they split up or reunite at the end of every arc. Yep, that seems like the pattern thus far! Solila’s been gifted insight and an upgrade from Zerta Trion and Vector Theta, while...

Who do you belong to? Nobody! 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! Well, he maintains the reins on the writing of this series at least, as does Mike Spicer on colors. Jorge Corona has taken over regular penciling duties with a style all his own but this issue sees Ludo Lullabi fill in for a Megatron solo story! Sooo, we’re NOT following up on last issue’s cliffhanger? Nope! You’ll have to wait another month to see the fallout of the return of Megatron, because DWJ decides to give us some backstory on how Megatron became the mad, bad dude we’ve barely seen so far! He brings in the Quintessons here, who haven’t featured much in this book but play a big role over in Void Rivals, so it’s nice to see some cross-continuity ties to the larger Energon Universe. In an effort to perhaps provide some insight...