BotTalk Reviews

Creators : Joshua Williams (writer), Tom Reilly (artist), Jordie Bellaire (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story : Duke is given a chance to fight for Cobra Commander's freedom against Dreadnok Buzzer.  Meanwhile, Hawk and Destro continue their meeting.  As things begin to look bleak for Duke and the Commander, the rest of the Joes and Autobot Hound arrive.  Duke is able to get away with the Joes while Cobra Commander commences his combat with the Dreadnoks.   Writing :  Williamson keeps the story and action going in this issue.  Between some one-on-one brawls, chases and all out battles, this is a fast-paced issue. We get a couple of surprises from Colonel Hawk, which was nice to see. One thing that's a bit much was just how much the Dreadnoks are praising grape soda.  While it's only in the beginning of the issue, it does seem a bit much.  Art :  Reilly's art is able to do a good job keeping up with Williamson's story here, especially the ...

Transformers Lives Again! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, he now takes the writing reins of the flagship Transformers comic series as well, with Dan Mora now on pencils and Mike Spicer still on colors. In this twenty-seventh issue, the Autobots get back into fighting shape as many are revived or repaired. Ultra Magnus makes a choice, Spike and Carly make plans, and Thundercracker settles in! Meanwhile, General Flagg and Miles Mayhem (leader of V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem)) come to blows, and on Cybertron... something sinister hunts Cliffjumper. Wow, that’s a lot. I didn’t even finish! Kirkman drops a boatload of new plot threads, new and returning characters, and intrigue for the future here. It’s actually kind of refreshing, as I felt Daniel Warren Johnson’s plotting was a bit on the anemic side, but Kirkman seems bursting with stuff he wants to address and play with as soon as possible. It makes for a fairly dense read, wh...

Transformers Lives Again! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, he now takes the writing reins of the flagship Transformers comic series as well, with Dan Mora now on pencils and Mike Spicer still on colors. In this twenty-sixth issue, the new alliance the Autobots have struck with the humans is put to the test and the Ark is a stage for conflict as Decepticon Thundercracker seeks to free Skywarp from Teletraan-1. Oh yeah, Thundercracker and Skywarp went on a little trip last issue. Yup, they were teleported into the midst of Cobra-La and when they return, Thundercracker is in no mood to listen after being confronted with the organic horrors he witnessed there. Thankfully, Optimus Prime manages to talk him down and agrees to help free Skywarp from being entangled with Teletraan-1. Thundercracker’s uneasy loyalties take center stage here and Kirkman sets him up for a new role in this universe that may seem a bit familiar to fans of Beast Wars or ...

Void Rivals Recover! UNITY was averted and we recover in issue # 24 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. Ongoing artist Conor Hughes and colorist Patricio Delpeche join Robert Kirkman for this 24th issue and wrap up the second year of Void Rivals. Unity has been averted for now, but the threat of Goliant is still looming over both Agorrian and Zertonian civilization and the universe itself! We catch up with our various factions of characters here as a new era b...

New World Era! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, he now takes the writing reins of the flagship Transformers comic series as well, with Dan Mora now on pencils and Mike Spicer still on colors. Previous artist Jorge Corona also contributes to this inaugural issue as Kirkman begins to reshape the Energon Universe! In this extra-sized twenty-fifth issue, it’s a new day as the Autobots and Decepticons recover from their last epic clash. Megatron stews in the failures of his troops, while Optimus prepares to make new human allies. And on Cybertron, Elita One comes to a momentous decision! So what’s up with this “Kirk Man” fellow? He any good? If you’ve been reading these reviews, you know I haven’t been a fan of Daniel Warren Johnson’s writing on this series, so I was looking forward to someone, ANY-one taking over. Robert Kirkman has never been my favorite comic book writer, but he HAS a track record of producing stuff I’ve enjoyed. I’m happy to...

Creators : Tim Seeley, Juann Cabal, and Rex Lokus Story :  Decades after their fame, journalist Hector Ramirez of "Twenty Questions" tracks down the members of the Heavy Metal band Cold Slither to see what they are up to now.  We follow Hector as he visits each member in their new lives and how they remember those old days.  Writer :  What a "banger" of an issue.  This just plays up the classic "Behind the Music" trope while incorporating aspects from classic G.I. Joe (mainly, Mr. Ramirez) with a bit of modern-technology added into the storytelling.   You can tell the team had a few directions they could have taken this story and had fun doing it.  There are references galore to old G.I. Joe stories sprinkled here and there in this issue.  Art : Art is great; for their modern look, some of the Dreadnoks got some sensible updates but you can still easily tell it's them. Colors are good as well.  Some nice references to other Hasbro animated te...

Void Rivals Fusion! UNITY is here in issue # 23 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 Unity is finally at hand in this latest issue. Why were the Agorrians and Zertonians kept separate, and why do their leaders fear the unification of the two races so much? Find out here! So this is a big pay-off issue? Uh, sort of. We do get to see what Unity entails, how it is linked to the di...

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 ...

It’s OVER, finished! 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! At least for now, because this is this creative team’s final issue! Yes, Optimus Prime and Megatron face off for a climactic battle the likes of which has... been seen before countless times. However, this time something new will be thrown into the mix, won’t it? Yes, surely so as Daniel Warren Johnson wraps his Eisner award-winning run up once and for all! So how climactic IS it? Uh. Well, remember how I said last review that it felt a little like some punches were being pulled? That continues here, as DWJ needs to put the toys back in the box for Robert Kirkman to take over. There’s actually a shocking lack of consequence to the events that play out in this issue. The one thing that ...