BotTalk Reviews

Back to Cybertron again! The war changes once again! Robert Kirkman, chief architect of the Energon Universe, writes the flagship Transformers title and Karl Kerschl pencils this issue with Mike Spicer on colors. In this thirty-seventh issue, we return to Cybertron to check in on Elita Prime’s contingent of Autobots as they battle Shockwave’s forces on their contested home planet. Will sabotage from within force Elita Prime to change her mind about Optimus and those still on Earth? That’s what happens, isn’t it? Yeah. Basically this issue is just working towards Elita Prime admitting she was wrong about Optimus and becoming amenable to sending him help on Earth. There’s a bunch of skirmishes with Shockwave’s forces that culminate in a “reveal” that the Autobots have been compromised by a saboteur that nearly swipes the Matrix from Elita! I think Elita has looked kind of shortsighted under Kirkman so far, with her butt-headed decision to oppose Optimus and take the Matrix. Maybe Kirkman...

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 Michael Netzer/Nasser and Dick Giordano from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #20 Conan ad from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #35 The Phoenix on the Sword by Richard Corben from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #4 The Frost-Giant's Daughter by Richard Corben from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #4 Queen of the Black Coast by Richard Corben from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #4 XUTHAL OF THE DUSK/THE SLITHERING SHADOW by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) Conan and Natala (a daughter of Brythunia) wander into the accursed city of Xuthal. Thalis the Stygian (the daughter of a king) wants Conan to be her king, she tortures Natala and offers Natala to Thog (a very ancient and very terrible monster), Thog eats Thalis, Conan tangles with T...

In the holo suite Chief Miles O’Brien faces a mysterious and shrouded figure! The commander of the U.S.S. Valera accuses Commander Jadzia Dax of murder and Worf puts everyone on lockdown in their quarters while they investigate. But as Jadzia slowly puts things together two of the Varela escape and run for the O’Brien Must Suffer holosuite, pursued by Jadzia and Worf. Nobody on DS9 gets a break! Is another rule in the Star Trek bible. As now our story has become a murder mystery AND a holodeck tries to kill everyone in a game story. It’s a good story for this month, only issue is this is a graphic novel story and the separate issue break up hurts the momentum. But as a whole it’ll be an excellent story.  7/10

We start our story six years after Frontier Day with Commander Raffaela “Raffi” Musiker and Admiral Kathryn Janewa on the moon in front of a ship that crashed on moon.  From there we get Raffi’s pov during the events that lead up to Seven’s mission (seen in Star Trek #1) and following that is Raffi welcoming her new XO, the Mistress of the Winter Constellations,  and we meet their newest AI, Sybil, a planetoid based on Dr Soong’s positronic network. Sybil is there to forecast future threats to galaxy and the Federation (because that always works out and has no consequence what so ever) and on this mission they are to fly into the watery centre of a frozen planet or “eyeball planet” but  Commander D'Vana Tendi discovers something that could be detrimental to the safety of ship and crew. They have to fly into the ocean, but is the ship sound enough to withstand that pressure? What happens if the hole freezes back over? This first issue introduces us to a new ship and a mos...

In order to continue covering his tracks Captain Miller levels false accusations on Deubert and the Andorian agent, he’s ordered to bring them in alive, he doesn’t want that. Meanwhile our fugitives are on the run and do a quick exposition dump before going to a drone operated mining system controlled by Section Null. After a bloody firefight with goons the fugitives hide in one of the crates until the crates are beamed to captain miller’s ship! Three issues in and at least they end the Will They or Won't They? thing. And already captured by Miller. Or are they? Miller seems to think so.   At least they don’t seem to be dragging this plot out with multiple issues of running and hiding. And the story is a nice quick flow and gives us a little background on our two main protagonists. 7/10

Spoilers! Spoilers!  CHAPTER 53 (book 7 of 18): Descendants of Ogres Ofu senses that an ogre is coming for her. Keiji Maeda pays a visit to Naoe Onatsu (sister of Naoe Kanetsugu) and Naoe Kanetsugu ((1559-1620). Military commander of the Yamashiro Province, an homage to Arnold Schwarzenegger). Keiji picks up The Shiji by the historian Sima Qian. Keiji and Sutemaru are attacked by Iwabe (a giant mind reading Ogre from the hidden Nagiri village). CHAPTER 54: The Laughing Ogre! Iwabe follows Keiji into a bathhouse. Keiji pranks six Kabukimono samurai with a bamboo wakizashi, the Kabukimono ruin (by oxidization) their own iron swords by bringing their real swords into the sauna. Iwabe the Ogre and Keiji become friends. CHAPTER 55: The Ill-Fated Damsel Iwabe reveals that he raised Ofu in Nagiri after her mother's death. Ofu doesn't want to leave with Iwabe, so she brings Keiji some persimmons (fruit). Ofu is actually Princess Ofu, her mother (Oyuki) is from Nagiri and her father is ...

Spoilers! Spoilers!  CHAPTER 35 (book 5 of 18): Mighty Spear Formation Kyoto. Tokugawa Ieyasu ((1543-1616). An homage to actor Shintaro Katsu (1931-1997)) looks on as Okumura Suke'emon (Keiji's closest friend) and Maeda Keiji are decimating the 400 Rōnin of Maeda Gen'i ((1539-1602). Magistrate of Kyoto, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's five commissioners). Hattori Hanzō ((1542-1597). Leader of the Iga ninjas. The Tokugawa general known for Edo Castle's Hanzōmon gate) stops Tokugawa Ieyasu from participating in the Kabukimono brawl. The Rōnins that are still breathing run for it.  Flashback! Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and his men win The Battle of Okehazama. Okumura Sukeemon (son of Okumura Eishin) now runs the castle of Arako, as the tea-server in the tea ceremony, Okumura Sukeemon spills tea on Oda Nobunaga (a former Kabukimono), Keiji defuses the situation. CHAPTER 36: White Camellias Sutemaru tries to kill Maeda Gen'i with a grenade.  Maeda Gen'i challenges an u...

The new Predator (an alien Yautja warrior) ally of Cornelius and Zira kills the Mutant controlled Gorilla soldiers of General Ursus. Ursus, Doctor Zaius, Arch (the ANSA astronaut), Cornelius and Zira follow the Predator into the ruins of New York City. They are assailed by an illusion created by The Mutants (mutated human telepaths), unimpressed, the Predator walks right through the mirage.  St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Predator finds the Telepathic Mutants (Cronus, Crius, Helia and others) of the Forbidden Zone AND the missile he was looking for... the "Divine Bomb" of The Mutants. The Predator wants the vintage (two thousand years old) Alpha-Omega atomic Doomsday Bomb... to punish his peers who wronged him on Yautja Prime. Crius utilizes his telepathic powers to force the Predator to hunt: Ursus, Dr. Zaius, Arch, Cornelius and Zira. Will Arch and Ursus be able to obliterate the Predator with their fuel cells? What I did like: Magnificent covers by Stonehouse, Josemaria ...

On DS9 sometime in season 4, Miles O'Brien is called to an emergency to fix a holosuite but, because O’BRIEN MUST SUFFER! He is sucked into the room and disappears.  Elsewhere the station prepares for peace talks while Benjamin Sisko takes defiant off to investigate some mystery, leaving Worf and Jadzia Dax in charge. Another crewman is zapped into the room that took O’Brien. The station starts having power issues, and delegate issues, and ends on a cliffhanger medium close up of Jadzia. It is written in the Star Trek Franchise Bible that Miles O’Brien must suffer, and in this one he does and is now stuck and needs help. Honestly this could probably fit as a season 4 episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it has the usual things you could want, natural character interactions and the plot flows steady and well.  There’s obviously going to be a part two, and the art is fine. This first issue sets the story up pretty well. I’ll give it an 8/10

CONAN & DRAGONERO part 6 (of 7): The Demon from Tarantia (chapter one) The ruins of Kuthchemes (from Black Colossus). Conan of Cimmeria and Ian Aranill reach the towering ivory dome of Thugra Khotan (the dark sorcerer who had reigned in Kuthchemes three thousand years ago). Outside the dome, the clan leader of the Cannibals (who is now a colossal demon, thanks to the wicked magic stored within the mystical jewels) grabs a snack and goes back into Thugra Khotan's mausoleum to devour it! To save their imprisoned children from being consumed, the Cannibal women help Conan and Ian infiltrate the dome via an underground passage. Dragonero skewers the clan leader, Conan decapitates the cannibal headman and our heroes repossess the stolen gems. Conan and Ian travel to Khemi (Stygian port on the southern shore of the River Styx), into the Western Sea, up the Khorotas River to Aquilonia, and reach Tarantia... where a vortex has appeared in the firmament. Conan and Ian discover that demo...

Story : Shipwreck meets up with Lara Croft, “the Tomb Raider” as she needs help getting to the Arbco Star shipping freighter on Cobra Island to hunt for a missing artifact. Destro’s forces are already there so the Joes send a team in to try to find the artifact, which has the potential to be really powerful.   The team encounters the Iron Grenadiers on the island and neither team uses weapons for fear of alerting the Blue Ninjas that are still in the casino.  Writing : The themes of this issue feel more like a classic Sunbow cartoon than the ongoing ARAH issues but not too bad. Lara Croft has been set up as an established character in the series with Shipwreck knowing her and both Destro and the Baroness having met her before. I did like that as it feels a bit more believable than her suddenly appearing in the series. Her franchise (Tomb Raider) is mentioned a few times ("oh, it’s the Tomb Raider") more as a nickname than what she goes by. I also enjoy the call back to the fr...

Story : Miles Mayhem (leader of V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem)) is talking with Scott Trakker as they stroll through the woods and tells a bit about himself (worked with his father and the military). When they get to the Bladejet/Switchblade, Scott reveals he knows everything already and T-Bob (Thingamabob, Scott Trakker's robot) shows up and fights off VENOM. Matt Trakker and company finish off with Buddie Hawks when he gets notified that T-Bob is protecting Scott so Matt has Gloria Baker go first (still at Boulder Hill, which is near the school). Scott an T-Bob end up following VENOM as they look for him and he ambushes Sly Rax as the MASK team heads out.  Writing : At first I was wondering why a kid would go off with someone into the woods but once the story gets going we realize Scott knows exactly what he’s doing and has planned it out. T-Bob as been incorporated nicely into the series without being the annoying robot friend. And Scott is smart. He seems to be ab...