BotTalk Reviews

The Worst Bot Ever Returns?? Yep! Writer Brian Smith and artist Marz Jr. continue the story of Ballpoint, a tiny Decepticon that turns into a pen! Except now he’s joined the Autobots and thanks to an accident involving Wheeljack’s new invention, he’s swapped bodies with the REAL Worst Bot EVER… MEGATRON! Oh right. Yeah, “Bot Swap” is another extra-sized, lighthearted tale in the vein of the first Worst Bot Ever release. The art and story are a little more cartoon-y and not to be taken that seriously, but there’s some entertaining stuff and fun to be had. This instalment kind of reminded me of the episode of Justice League Unlimited where Flash swapped brains with Lex Luthor. Both Ballpoint and Megatron have to deal with being in each other’s bodies and bases… with amusing results on both ends! Writer Brian Smith gets to continue his jokes about Rumble and Frenzy and their own identity crisis, as well as some other funny references that longtime Transformers fans will notice. Otherwise,...

Nearly 300 pages of classic horror stories with twist endings! What you'll actually find inside this Eisner-nominated collection: Super rare BERNIE WRIGHTSON stuff: Self-portrait from Squa Tront (1968) #2 Frankenstein cover for Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) #86 Back cover for Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) #72 w/ a cameo by Professor Simon Wright (The Living Brain from Captain Future) by Steve Hickman! An unpublished splash page for "Mother Toad" The revised letter page logo for Web of Horror #4 Preliminary sketch and final "Out on a Limb" cover for Web of Horror #4 Cover for I'll Be Damned (1970) #3 Frankenstein cover for Scream Door (1971) #1 Conan the Barbarian from Madstar Science Fiction Quarterly (1971) #1 Stake-Out, a 4-page homage to EC Comics from I'll Be Damned (1970) #2  Frankenstein inside front cover for I'll Be Damned (1970) #3  Inside front cover for Scream Door (1971) #1 "Curse of the Yeti" cover for Web ...

64 restored and fully colored pages of barbaric savagery! Inside this magnificent full-color magazine you will find the following: Classic revitalized art pin-ups in stunning color: Conan the Barbarian by Mike Zeck from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #16 Conan ad by Pat Broderick from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #10 THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE Chapters 1 & 2 only (Chapters 3 & 4 are next issue) by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) Khemsa (a wizard who works for the Master of Yimsha) puts a curse on Bhunda Chand (Yasmina's brother... the King of Vendhya) for Yezdigerd (the King of Turan). Yasmina is forced to euthanize her bother. Queen Yasmina of Vendhya wants the see the Black Seers of Yimsha dead. Conan (now a chief of the Afghulis of Ghulistan) kidnaps Yasmina to regain his seven Afghuli headmen who were captured by the Vendhyans. Gitara (Yasmina's treacherous maid) tells her boyfriend wizard Khemsa abou...

With parts from The Icarus/Liberty 1 spacecraft, Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) has concocted an intricate Power Glove that can transfer cosmic energy. Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman), Ben Grimm (The Thing) regain their powers from Cornelius, Dr. Zira and Dr. Zaius respectively. Puppet President Ursus has quelled the farmer uprising/rebellion, he invites the farmers to join him on his new crusade... the eradication of the human threat. The Red Ghost (Russian scientist Ivan Kragoff) orders his Super-Apes Peotor (orangutan) and Igor (baboon) to kill Cornelius, Dr. Zira and Dr. Zaius; the Super-Apes (Miklho, Peotor and Igor) who have become pro-ape (thanks to Dr. Zaius) refuse to obey Kragoff. Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) regains his powers by using the Power Glove on Ursus. Doctor Doom explains to Dr. Zaius that Kragoff used a Neural disruptor on President Gaius (supreme leader of Ape City). Doom wants Zaius to kill President Gaius, Zaius smashes a b...

Changes! The bold new era for the Autobots and this book continues! Robert Kirkman, chief architect of the Energon Universe, writes the flagship Transformers title and Jason Howard takes over as regular penciler for this new story arc with Mike Spicer on colors. Howard had previously drawn issues # 13 and # 14 of this book, along with many covers. In this thirty-third issue, Elita Prime and the Autobots on Cybertron regroup, while the Autobots on Earth adjust to their new status quo. Optimus in particular must get used to not being as powerful as he used to be when he had the Matrix. And aboard the Nemesis, something stirs… Stirs? Sure! The Nemesis is underwater, after all! This is mostly a setup issue establishing the current workings of the Autobots on both planets and the Decepticons on Earth. The Earthbound Autobots are furthering their relationship with the humans, the Earthbound Decepticons are still wondering what the hell is going on with Megatron inside his “cocoon”, and the A...

A taxidermist meets a woman looking for an iguana.  They seemingly connect and share a perfect moment together.  Only for it to quickly unravel.  Slowly at first then bigger, more intense, building to an insane nightmare that doesn't make sense.  At the end we see this man is the lone survivor of an apocalypse, and the woman was just a figment of his imagination.  A perfect moment he conjured up as a distraction.   This starts out simple.  Man meets woman.  Has an unusual job and his mom is pressuring him to find someone.  But then it turns into a nightmare and you think you know where it is going... except it was only in his mind.  But then the final sting mentions Willoughby...  but there is no connection to the Twilight Zone episode 'A Stop at Willoughby'.  So... it is just an easter egg.  A reference.  No connection?  Either way the way things begin to unravel is interesting but then as it becomes surreal yo...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatterer), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Doctor Mindbender and Alpha-001 start exploring the digital memories Dr. Venom downloaded from Snake-Eyes.  Dawn has returned to the Pit and suspects there is something hidden in the memories of Snake-Eyes (that were implanted in her mind by Dr. Venom) and Duke, Stalker and Mainframe all worry what might happen as Sean and the original Snake-Eyes also have those memories.  In Darklonia, Helix, Sean and Beachhead infiltrate the countryside to take down a Terror Drome.  In Colorado, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes are enjoying time away.  Then, Mindbender activates something and all three start attacking whoever is nearest.   Writing : I enjoyed the 4 separate but interconnected stories.  I also enjoy that a minor character from the original G.I. Joe run from 40 years ago still has an impact on the...

A one-shot that celebrates characters and their respective relationships during pride month. So first up, Mariner and Jennifer in Lower Decks! Mariner takes Jennifer to a bar not long after Jennifer dragged Mariner to her friend’s salon, at the bar Jennifer says ‘we need to talk’, Mariner freaks out so she enlists Boimler to help her keep Jennifer, with hilarious result. Okay, this doesn’t work. Especially if you’ve seen the last season and we know Mariner bows out from Jennifer without actually dumping her and then spends a whole episode avoiding her, so what was the point of this story? I mean it’s a quick kind of fun, I guess, but it’s pointless and doesn’t reveal anything about either character that we don’t already know. 4/10 Next! T'Lir and Lily Sato go after a Vulcan extremist! Hey remember the Theseus? Remember Star Trek Omega? Well post omega T'Lir is helping Lily who’s left the fleet and is now helping the Fenris Rangers……the story wraps up with them capturing the Vul...

Creators :  Dan Watters, Pye Parr, Pierluigi Casolino Story :  Matt Trakker, trying to escape from the US military, is captured and brought in to see General Flagg.  Meanwhile, Vanessa Warfield and Sly Rax both interrogate individuals in their own way.  Trakker lets loose on Flagg what Miles Mayhem is up to and how unstable he is and how Mayhem framed Trakker and stole his Mobile Armored Strike Kommand technology. In Alaska, Mayhem finds the third person who had interacted with an alien device he wants.  Trakker says he wanted to be captured because he knows Mayhem has an agent nearby, who is the Private in the room.  Both he and Trakker activate their masks and duke it out, with General Flagg and Trakker taking down the Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem (V.E.N.O.M.) agent.  While Flagg offers Trakker a position within G.I. Joe, he declines and escapes with his flying car, the Thunderhawk.  Mayem, Rax, and Warfield do find an alien device. Writing : ...

CONAN & DRAGONERO part 2 (of 7): The Gems of Aquilonia (chapter one) Conan (now a mercenary Scout) explains that he's been hunting a dragon all the way from Tarantia (capital of Aquilonia). Ian Aranill (also a Scout) of Erondár aka Dragonero, has never heard of Tarantia.  Dragonero and his sister (Myrva Aranille the Technocrat) depart on their dirigible, Conan escapes from his cell and jumps aboard their balloon ship. Myrva disarms Conan with her pistol, Myrva reminds Conan of Bêlit (the she-devil of the sea). Conan saves the skyship from losing its hull.  Conan mentions that his dragon appeared out of nowhere in the skies of Tarantia and stole some magical gemstones that were imprisoning an ancient demon. Conan must return the jewels to prevent the demon from escaping into his world. The Cimmerian lacerated one of the dragon's wings, but it teleported with the gems, him and his men to Varliendár aka the "Land of the Dragons". Because his blood is contaminated wit...

Jim Zub's Ghosts & Echoes part 3: RELENTLESS In a dark alley in Khoraja (southeast of Koth), SON OF THE TOOTH (an assassin serving The Woeful Eye) has confronted his quarry: CONAN OF CIMMERIA... who has FOUR full bottles of wine in his system. The fighting commences. SON OF THE TOOTH does an impression of Palpatine from Return of the Jedi (1983). Like Michael Myers (from Halloween (1978 film)), the more SON OF THE TOOTH kills, the stronger he becomes. SON OF THE TOOTH kills a city sentry... he absorbs the dead sentinel's soul strength. SON OF THE TOOTH visits the Restful Raven inn to slay and steal another unfortunate's soul power. Conan notices that SON OF THE TOOTH is somehow getting stronger. The Cimmerian burns the face of SON OF THE TOOTH... another Michael Myers homage. SON OF THE TOOTH slices up one last bystander to gain even more strength. Weaponless, Conan goes to hide in the chamber of Emida (a Laurie Strode/final girl homage), she gives Conan her needle look...

The Phantom takes Christine deep beneath the Opera House.  He tells her they can never again return to the surface, that he was the one behind everything.  He tries to calm her down by playing the violin when she has a revelation, the Phantom is her father.  She removes his mask and is astonished by his disfigured face.  The inspector arrives to save Christine.  The inspector pulls a gun on the Phantom, the Phantom saves Christine as the underground begins to collapse on the Phantom.  Christine picks up the mask of the Phantom and drops it into the water as they make their escape. At the risk of repeating myself with some of the adaptions I feel there is little new here.  It is the basic story we know, no real twists or turns... save one.  In this version the Phantom is Christine's father.  This is such a late development as to be almost baffling.  The art, which has been a highlight, at times feels muddled and confusing in several pages...