BotTalk Reviews

Picard finally says, 'Make it so!' as he orders the other cadets to execute his plan.  But, it turns out the whole thing was a test.  Picard and the other cadets were on a Holodeck and the test was actually to see how well they worked together as a team.  They fail.  Later, at a party we learn that Cadet Doq is actually Q in disguise.   Little of surprise here.  The cadets fail but learn a valuable, Saturday morning cartoon, lesson about team work and such.  Picard's close friend is actually Q, which feels like the laziest thing I've read in a very long time.   five out of ten.

Defiant arrives at Starbase 99.  The process of turning over the prisoners is tense and Worf continues to grow bitter over his current situation.  Later, while discussing Borg assimilation the Starfleet security officer dies suddenly. They confront Benny who has a large parasite in his chest.  Worf attempts to inform the Starbase crew only to discover they have been taken over by the parasites also. Spock and Hugh's conversation about the Romulan star is a nice little nod.  This is not the first reference to its impending explosion.  Makes me wonder if it will be a future 'event' for IDW.  The parasites from 'Conspiracy' make an appearance here.  They have been featured in several TNG/DS9 expanded universe novels and I've always felt there was more to mine storywise.  With the Defiant crew fractured I have to expect the parasites will further create dissent and distrust in future issues.   seven out of ten.

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 Command...

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 bar...

Captain Sisko and Admiral Sato argue over the current situation. Sisko refuses to give up but learns Harry Kim is a failsafe if the situation gets out of hand, which it has. On the planet's surface Harry activates explosives, destroying the Tzenkethi shipyard and fleet. Sisko beams down and confronts the Tzenkethi and Romulans but is soon faced with Harry and Ensign Sato held hostage. They beam back to the ship where Sisko learns Data is out of commission while the Cardassian fleet confronts the Romulans. Harry being a back up in case peace talks fail is an interesting twist here. Even more so having Ensign Sato act as accomplice. I can imagine how Tom will react. The Crusher/Scotty portion of this story continues to be the least developed aspect of the story. It feels disconnected from everything, though I assume will be brought to the forefront next issue. Sisko arguing with the Admiral at the beginning of the issue feels like something he would do on the series. You ca...

The all-new PREQUEL to the original simian sci-fi classic from 1968 continues. We start with more than 3 pages of badly reprinted and horribly coloured vintage pages by Doug Moench, Alfredo Alcala and George Roussos. Clairvoyant mutant Ivana wakes up from this Alcala dream, which is the future of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). Ivana and Lyla telepathically feel that sniper Kennard is about to kill our heroes. Ivana stops him and recognizes Nova from her dream. Cornelius approaches the ruins of the Yankee Stadium, last seen in 1975 in the UK exclusive ApeSlayer comic (a redrawn Killraven comic: Amazing Adventures #21 in Marvel UK's Planet of the Apes #30) and gets shot in the shoulder. Ivana puts Zira to sleep. The mutants bring our three heroes to their colony, Hope's Point. Ivana and Nova converse telepathically. We get even more vintage art by the late, great, Filipino artist Alfredo Alcala. Ivana asks about Mendez, the mutant leader living beneath the radioactive rui...

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 ...

Thrice Marked for Death! part three: HAUNTED!... Jim Zub's vulgar sequel to Queen of the Black Coast continues. Conan is remembering "the good old times" with his bipolar girlfriend Bêlit. Back to the present, a bewitched Chaundra "The Chat" (It's somehow very important to constantly remind the reader that she's nicknamed "The Chat" but apparently Zub means a chatterbox not a songbird or a cat.) tries to assassinate our Cimmerian. "The Chat", now with deadite-like looks and enhanced strength, stabs Conan in the trapezius and slits a poor random dude's tongue. Conan kills her. Bleeding, haunted by the past, lost in his fevered mind, Conan garrottes Bêlit. Conan stumbles upon Kamal's secret gathering point. The barbarian finds his allies from the guild of thieves butchered by Kamal and locksmith Greff, both also possessed, just like "The Chat". Conan kills his two bandit buddies, dead Chaundra shows up, all 3 spectres...

Thanks to Titan Books for giving us this opportunity to interview Simon! 1) How did the current trade paperback re-publications of your TF work come about? 1A) I'd always harboured the idea of getting my US TF run back in print in collected editions, but it wasn't really until 1997/1998 (when I attended two Botcons) that I realized that there may still be a market out there. Even so, it was another couple of years until the time seemed to be right. There was a lot of retro interest in all things 80s, TF included, and a new Gen 1 style toy line in the offing, so armed with enough potential sales information I felt confident enough to pitch the idea to Titan (without getting laughed out of the room). 2) I help run a chain of four comic book stores in America, and I just wanted to tell you that there is a great market here for collections of your U.K. stories. If these are on the horizon for the Titan collections, I think they would sell as many, if not more, than the recent Ameri...

Are you breathing heavily? Are you hearing strange electronic sounds? Your gobsmacked eyes are not deceiving you! It's the first of three fabulous Rom-nibuses. Collecting Rom: Spaceknight #1-29 and Power Man and Iron Fist #73. Offered in 4 different slipcovers: two from Frank Miller, one from Sal Buscema and one from George Pérez. All four slipcover spines are different too. Extras include: Intro by Chris Ryall. You get all the Space Notes letter columns/pages. 2 unpublished Rom #1 covers by Ed Hannigan and Mike Netzer. Parker Brothers advert. 3 Marvel house ads. Comic Reader #169 back-cover. Sales pitch to Parker Brothers (now part of Hasbro) by John Romita Jr. and Marie Severin. Original Comic Art pages from Sal Buscema (5) and Greg LaRocque/Steve Mitchell (only 1). Rom #8 cover art by Micronauts artist Michael Golden. George Pérez commission from 2013. Isn't "Read-Only Memory" just a ripoff of Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still? No! Rom is much more than that....

Nymira loses two thousands strips of Latinum in a gambit designed to draw Benny out from hiding. She must also face a Gorn and for this, Worf attempts to train her in combat. Worf faces the Gorn and wins. They assault his compound and capture him. Back on the bridge, the crew revolt. They refuse to follow Worf any longer. Worf announces the crew of the Defiant is disbanded. While there is a lot going on in this issue it feels... unfocused. The mob aspect should be fun, but it comes off as stuff we've seen before and done better in other episodes. Worf fighting a Gorn should be the centrepiece, IMO, of the issue but it feels like a throwaway idea. I do enjoy the crew refusing to follow Worf. This feels like a natural result of their missions and everything they have experienced since issue one. six out of ten.

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...