BotTalk Reviews

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Two Joe teams, on in a desert another in frozen arctic lands, are sent to investigate the construction of two Cobra Terror Dromes. Due to circumstances, both end up engaging with the Cobra forces there.  Writing : There is a few interesting things going on with this issue.  First is the contrast going on with the extreme environments the Joe teams find themselves in.  On top of that, each gets two pages so reading the book we keep going back and forth between these environments.  This isn't too jarring because the stories play out very similar.  Hama also takes this opportunity to use some less-used characters - Iceberg, Frostbite, Snow Job, Sub-Zero, Dusty, Mongoose, and Lightfoot.  I've always enjoyed when some of the lesser-known Joes get some time.  This issue is also pretty much...

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 ...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again showcasing another brand new issue of SSOC!  64 startling pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint! Inside this stunning magazine you will find the following: Terrific art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Thomas Nachlik Conan the Barbarian by Fernando Dagnino Guerra CONAN: TATTERED WINGS chapter 1: Mirrors of the Soul by Liam Sharp Conan and his Hyrkanian mercenaries have been hired to rescue the "kidnaped" son of wizened warlord Marrik Ban Torr. Shemu, Batu and the rest of Conan's comrades get taken out by unseen Wolven (wolf-men) slingers. Conan gets tapped twice in the head and passes out. Conan wakes up the next day and builds a funeral pyre for his fallen friends.  The ancient Bel-Karun, Uruk-Tah and another guard escort Conan to "the aerie" to meet the Master of the forgotten Fortress of Ekur-Gal: King Anzu-Kur, the bird mage of the Black Pinions... who is a twin ...

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...

Story : Cobra Commander is running low on energon and tasks his subordinates to search out various locations for more of it.  Meanwhile, he takes Ripper to investigate a strange energon signal.  While on leave, Duke gets a call about the same strange energon signal and discovers Cobra Commander is there but can't get a signal out to tell the Joes.  Cobra discovers it's a trap as their vehicles blow up and Dreadnok Ripper reveals he's been watching and learning and staged this betrayal.  As it seems he has the upper hand, Duke saves Cobra Commander and when he tries to get away, they discover that the rest of the Dreadnoks are fast approaching and quickly drive away while at Cobra Command, Destro makes his moves. Writing : After a few low-key, character-building issues, Williamson's next arc is a 5-parter "Dreadnok War," bringing back the rest of the Dreadnoks last seen in the Cobra Commander mini-series.  Williamson was able to use Ripper pretty effectively he...

The Klingons torture the captured Starfleet personnel while, in space, they face off against the Romulans.  Neither willing to make the first move.  On the surface the trapped personnel manage to raise the buried ship from the swamp and blast off.  The captured Starfleet crew turn the tide on their captors and escape.  The buried ship is eventually destroyed by the Romulans and later the Klingons and Romulans agree to meet, and the Romulans ask them to bring the recaptured Starfleet personnel with them.   This issue was better than the previous ones.  The stakes feel higher with Klingons and Romulans getting involved.  Red shirt crew continue to get killed off though, and two are tortured by the Klingons with painstiks.  Honestly, I was expecting more gore once the Klingons showed up, but that was not the case. six out of ten.

Scourge of the Serpent part 2 (of 4): Words of Power. The epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics continues. The Thurian Age of Kull of Atlantis (from Robert E. Howard's The Shadow Kingdom). Gonar the Seeker (from Kings of the Night) proclaims that time and space do not exist, that EVERYTHING is happening NOW. Brule the Spear-Slayer reminds Kull (the king of Valusia) that Serpent-Men, similar to an actor donning a mask, can resemble anyone they decide to impersonate. Uncounted centuries ago, we see the race of men who battled with the grisly beings of the ELDER UNIVERSE. Men in combat with hideous monsters, vanquishing a planet of frightful terrors: the bird-women, the harpies, the bat-men, the flying fiends, the wolf-people, the demons, the goblins, the wolf-men and the serpent-men. To conceal it from view, Brule picks up the carcass of the doppelgänger of chief councillor Tu and vanishes with it through another secret door. Kull wonders... Are the people of V...

Make A Mark Story & Art By Buster Moody Color Flats By Ludwig Olimbo Tornado Watch  Story & Layouts By Freddie E. Williams II Finishing Inks By Buster Moody Colors By Andrew Dalhouse Local Flavor  Story By Kyle Strahm & Jake Smith Script By Kyle Strahm Art By Jake Smith Colors By Valentina Pinto Lost In The Sauce Story By Kyle Strahm & Baldemar Rivas  Script By Kyle Strahm Art By Baldemar Rivas Colors By Heather Breckel

64 restored and fully colored pages of barbaric savagery! Inside this magnificent full-color magazine you will find the following: Classic remastered art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Alfredo Alcala from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #1 Conan the Barbarian by John Buscema from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #17 Conan ad by Jeff Aclin from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #24 THE FROST GIANT’S DAUGHTER by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) The uncensored version. Atali, Ymir's daughter lures Conan into an ambush, the barbarian cuts down Atali's brothers and the frost-giant retrieves his offspring.  OGRES, NYMPHS, AND ROCK STARS. SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN by Patrick Zircher (Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring) The Z-Man waxes lyrical about The Tower of the Elephant and The Frost-Giant's Daughter. CIMMERIA (a poem) by Robert E. Howard, Barry Windsor-Smith and Tim Conrad. (New Colors by Jão Canola) Conan wrestles a wol...

The Voyager crew meet in sickbay and discuss the situation.  Part of the command crew attempt to retake Main Engineering.  B'Elanna Torres hits a plasma conduit that should disintegrate Species 8472 on contact, but fails.  8472 destroy the main deflector, rendering Voyager unable to open a rift back home.  The team surrenders and, leaving Seven of Nine behind, are taken to meet the Hierarch of Species 8472.  Kathryn Janeway's meeting does not go well and after B'Elanna finds the data they need to open a rift home Janeway tells her to delete it. Species 8472 kinda has a point here.  Janeway aided the Borg in their conflict.  They didn't follow First Contact procedures.  They also never bothered to learn their real name, they just continue to use the Borg designation.  This issue feels somewhat rushed but it does make Species 8472 seem as threatening as they were during their first appearance.  Though, you would think they would have more...

The experiments continue.  Dr. Jack Griffin takes a room in an unsavoury part of town and tests the invisibility serum on a boy living on the streets.  Instead of complete invisibility it simply makes his outer layer of skin disappear.  After months he is reduced to a living skeleton and finally, a pair of eyes that seemingly float in the air.  Finally achieving total invisibility the street urchin knocks Jack unconscious and escapes.   Again the theme of feeling like an outcast in society, invisible to the upper class, is present.  Jack spends much time simply sitting and trying to be invisible in public places by simply not moving, not drawing attention to himself.  The pressure continues to mount though, as his fiancé seems to find his increasing absence, attention lacking and his boss demanding to see results.  Going from animals to humans for experimentation is a logical step.  We shall see how the newly invisible Tommy uses his ability...

The submarine crew manage to escape from 'squid thingies' and enter some sort of underwater structure.  Making their way inside they encounter people covered in strange vines until they discover Christine Chapel's friend, Jinare, covered in the same vines and seemingly possessed by some entity.  In orbit, Nyota Uhura manages to decipher an ancient symbol.  It states the planet is a prison for the entity.  It then detects the Enterprise and sends multiple ships to intercept.  The robot, D-6... is annoying.  It feels like a character from a completely different show... like a Marvel character... full of quips that are supposed to be funny or endearing but fall flat.  Our actual Star Trek characters also feel off... like they were written by someone who has only seen a handful of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episodes.  Scotty especially feels very ADHD. five out of ten.