BotTalk Reviews

48 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 Mike Zeck from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #15 Conan the Barbarian by John Buscema from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #15 Conan ad by Gil Kane from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #5 THE DEVIL IN IRON by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) Terror on a time-lost isle! On the uninhabited island known as Xapur the Fortified, Conan the Barbarian protects Princess Octavia from a gigantic snake, the iron-skinned giant Khosatral Khel (the ancient from the Abyss, the god of Dagonia) and Jehungir Agha (lord of Khawarizm).  A 1976 INTERVIEW WITH CONAN ARTIST JOHN BUSCEMA conducted by John Collier & John Wren What I did like: The giant sleeping snake that tried to eat Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Conan the Barbarian 1982 film was taken from THE DEVIL...

Jim Zub's The Conquering Crown part 2 (of 3): The Ill-suited Guest Conan is now an Aquilonian General (Count Trocero/Poitain's new military leader), he has received word that King Numedides wants to see him at his castle in Tarantia (capital of Aquilonia aka The Flower of The West). Conan and some of his Westermarck Wolves mercenaries arrive to meet the King. King Numedides flatters Conan and thanks him for HIS victory. Conan mentions his fallen comrades, not wanting to take full credit for winning the great BATTLE OF POITAIN. Conan is forced to mingle with the nobles of Aquilonia. The Cimmerian is introduced to the the obese Baron Dion of Attalus, Baron Maloric of Cantrium, the diminutive Count Volmana of Karaban, Lord Brocas of Conawaga, Count Ulric of Raman, Baron Thasperas of Schohira and Baron Phineas of Tauran. King Numedides reveals to Conan that he received visions of a DARK FUTURE from The Woeful Eye. The mad King is aware that Shuma-Gorath aka The Woeful Eye (mentione...

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 ...

In space the Enterprise is pummelled by the drones but Uhura manages to send out a signal.  The drones begin to target each other.  On the planet Spock, Scotty and D-6 sink further underwater and discover a plant enveloped spaceship while Chapel battles The Seed.  Spock mind melds with a giant octopus that gives the backstory of The Seed.  Chapel is beaten and imprisoned as The Seed prison ship rises from the depths to confront the Enterprise, with a possessed Una in command. This is the most interesting issue of Seeds of Salvation thus far.  D-6 continues to feel like an annoying Star Wars character, making wisecracks constantly.  We get a callback to better Trek with Spock mind melding with a non-humanoid lifeform here.  The Seed backstory is unremarkable really.  The stakes were raised this issue on multiple fronts though.     six out of ten.

Here she comes, an underwater tree again! Sentient vines that control minds this gonna conclude this time or is gonna continue to another issue again? ahhhhh ahhhh ahhhhh ahhhhh  Underwater Sentient vines woman! And it will! It will continue to issue 5, but we have a moving plot now. So we continue underwater with Christine Chapel fighting the vine people while Spock, Scotty, and D6 fight then make contact with the giant squid in only the way Spock would. In space Enterprise works out a solution to stop the Arken drones, then come face to face with another larger ship, which is where we will have to wait for the next issue. This actually a pretty good story that would have been a good addition to season 3 instead of some of the episodes we got. Vine woman is hell bent on some good old fashioned vengeance! 8.932/10

Star Trek’s first-ever interactive original graphic novel!  “Meet the new GOD of Cats!” Finally a Lower decks story where we can make T'Ana a godlike being while Brad Boimler is turned into a borg and Andy Billups is eaten by a chest bursting alien or “nutrek gorn hatchling”.  What the causality loop crazed scientist experiment was that?! Well what it is, is a choose your own adventure style story that leaves you turning to the pages you’re given until it finally leads down the path toward a very good conclusion. Along the way it gets a little confusing and would probably work better as a physical book and it could just be that way because I’m reading off a pdf file and for all I know the digital copy lets you click on the page option. It doesn’t take away from the issue itself though, which is very good. Good issue and somehow a 10/10

As this is a TPB (Collects Star Trek: Lower Decks #1-3 (2022)) this is going to be a list of initial thoughts. Starfleet has other captains but you wouldn’t know it by how it acts. Photons be free, Mariner! Photons be free! Love that these specific writers for this story organically referenced Voyager’s EMH and his fight for photonic rights. Good reference that actively fits in with the universe. Dracula holoprogram being the A story meanwhile the B story is second contact goes bad, are they on the right planet or did they end up somehow on the wrong planet, a planet where they’re closeted furries? Love that even here they give Shaxs Drazon a best day. And the plot twists wherein they landed on the wrong side of the planet/Dracula has slowly taken over the ship. Love that it all ties together in the end and Dracula goes off to join the Emergency Hologram Academy run by Voyager’s Emergency Medical Hologram (love that for him). It’s a good story that fits better as a TPB, which is why I ...

T'Lyn being the best character? Laapeerians vanished? T'Ana playing a prank on the captain? It must be issue 14! The Cerritos visits neighbouring Laapoonia to find out why the Laapeerians disappeared suddenly, Jack Ransom and an away team including T'Lyn, D'Vana Tendi and Brad Boimler beam down and are suddenly greeted by people who fan worship Vulcans which makes Tendi mad and more jealous. Meanwhile on the ship Carol Freeman handles the laapoonian ambassadorial team. All of which eventually ties together to lead us to our cliffhanger, which swoops down like some dark and mysterious bird of prey and now all we have to do is wait until next month! Is it worth it? Lower Decks seems to be regaining its momentum again after several less than stellar issues. This is part two of a plot that started in last issue and will continue into the next, and maybe one after that. Who knows! Lower Decks comics work better when they actually seem like they could fit into the show. 8.572...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciler), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Four different organizations - Cobra, the Dreadnoks, Destro's Iron Grenadiers and Revanche, all evaluate their current position and what they plan to do in the future.  Cobra has some key players back - Tomax and Xamot, Scrap-Iron, Overkill, Crystal Ball, Firefly, Copperhead and Major Bludd, who agree to help again.  Zartan asserts his authority over the Dreadnoks, while the Iron Grenadiers parade through Destro's town and Alpha-001 prepares itself for the next phase of its plans.  Writing :  This is an interesting story because it's mainly getting us up to date on what is going on in each organization currently and what they are planning on doing in the near future.  Cobra Commander's plans are the most established.   Art : Art is really something, a lot of opportunities to show off diffe...

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...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Tom Reilly (artist), Jordie Bellaire (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterers) Story : Duke and Road Pig fight only for Duke to end up captured like Cobra Commander and strung up in an attic.  They talk a bit and Duke gets a bit more information about the Commander.  Dreadnoks Ripper and Buzzer arrive and after a brief confrontation, befriend Road Pig, who drags out Duke and Cobra Commander.  By this point, the rest of the Dreadnoks have arrived. General Hawk has a meeting on his way to Langley that could change the tide of the Joe/Cobra conflict and Clutch and Cover Girl decide to go rescue Duke.  Writing : I've been enjoying the Duke/Cobra Commander moments in this series, with Duke slowly getting more information about Cobra and what's been going on with The Transformers. Destro making plans to secure more profit versus having more power is a nice move as well.  I felt the Road Pig/Dreadnok friendliness happened a bit quicker ...

eBook by Brendan Deneen Cover by E. M. Gist  From Titan Books, Heroic Signatures & Conan Properties International LLC Spoilers! Spoilers!  The City of Thieves aka Arenjun, Zamora. Fabian, the leader of the Thieves' Guild gives an eighteen-year-old Conan of Cimmeria a down payment of jewels to meet with the Duchess Amelia (third cousin of King Hadranor of Zamora) and her bodyguard Tomas.  The Duchess wants her stolen family heirloom, the crimson amulet of the demon Nakamar, a gift from the King, back in her possession. Conan is told to go to a walled mansion surrounded by abysses near the Skarpash Mountains. Conan surmounts the estate's stone barricade, enters the residence via a servants' door, makes his way to the basement and finds the amulet. Conan notices that the heirloom is giving off hellish heat, Conan hears the voice of the demon Nakamar asking to be released. Two older thieves, also sent by Amelia to retrieve the amulet, enter the basement, the barbarian bu...

Raad manages to sow some discontent between the Klingons and Romulans.  She challenges the Romulan commander to single combat.  When it appears she has the upper hand Miller takes a disruptor and kills her.  He is actually a Romulan agent.  The Klingons get the data they were promised, but are destroyed by the Romulans.  Miller is eventually rescued by the Enterprise and names Raad as the spy. This final issue stinks.  The single combat sequence is built up only for it to be rendered useless by the reveal of Miller being a spy.  This completely falls flat for me.  It doesn't make me want to go back and reread the previous issues for clues.  It just makes me want to forget about this entire mini series.  The promise of a mini devoted to no-name red shirts getting killed off was interesting, but it was a complete letdown.  And I say that as someone who enjoys horror films, there were one or two interesting kills.  But it all just...