Bottalk Reviews

Creators : Tranformers: Daniel Warren Johnson (Writer), Ryan Ottley (Artist), Annalisa Leoni (Colorist).  Void Rivals: Robert Kirkman (Writer), Lorenzo De Felici (Artist), Matheus Lopes (Colorist).  G.I. Joe: Joshua Williamson (Writer), Jason Howard (Artist), Mike Spicer (Colorist). Skybound's Free Comic Book Day entry this year is a nice treat, featuring three stories from their Energon Universe line - Transformers, Void Rivals, and G.I. Joe.  All three stories fit nicely into the on-going narrative, adding a bit more to the overall stories without being "critical" stories to read to get what's going on.  At the same time, you can easily read the stories in this issue without being lost.  The Transformer story deals with how Megatron ended up in Cobra-La and his awakening there.  Void Rivals deals with Hot Rod trying to track down the Quintessons while over in G.I. Joe, Duke is trying to recruit the Baroness to the Joe team.   The art in this issue, while done by dif

eBook by Shaun Hamill Cover once again by E. M. Gist  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  A prequel to Robert E. Howard's The Tower of the Elephant. Kordava, the capital city of Zingara. Barkeep, Mugido is watching a young Conan who is wearing trousers and a shirt. A bored, cash-strapped Conan is observing the ships floating in the harbour. Zingaran sailor, first mate, Flavio de Palma the Bold from the Fortune’s Dawn enters the watering hole, he offers the barbarian youth a fresh ale, employment and adventure. Sailing ships and the sea are still a mystery to Conan. Flavio is seeking mercenaries to safeguard a valuable cargo that needs to go to Aquilonia (one day Conan will sits upon the throne of Aquilonia). Apparently, the Shirkri River is squirming with pirates Flavio and Conan find the Fortune’s Dawn, a carrack with three masts.  It is Conan's very first time on a ship. Conan meets the crew: Lookout: Marco of the wooden leg Helmsman: Anen of the gold

The war continues! That’s right! 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! Well, he maintains the reins on the writing of this series at least, as does Mike Spicer on colors. Jorge Corona takes over regular penciling duties with a style that barely misses a step from DWJ’s previous efforts. In this eighth issue, the Autobots and Decepticons reunite with old comrades on both Earth and Cybertron as Carly and Spike still struggle with their place in the conflict. How’s this “new” creative team doing? Plugging along, although Jorge Corona’s humans are a lot more exaggerated than DWJ’s were. His robots too for that matter, but it kinda works better for them than it does for the humans. As far as writing goes, DWJ does well with character moments, although if you actually like the direction these char

This is free, right? Oh totes! The FCBD Energon Universe Special contains three FREE stories- one for Transformers, one for Void Rivals, and one for G.I.Joe! The Transformers tale, written by Daniel Warren Johnson with pencils by Ryan Ottley, focuses on Megatron and how he ended up in Cobra-La custody. The Void Rivals tale, written by Robert Kirkman with pencils by Lorenzo De Felici, catches us up with our pal the Skuxxoid after his run-in with the Quintessons and introduces another classic Transformers character into the mix. Finally, the G.I. Joe tale, written by Joshua Williamson with pencils by Jason Howard, has Duke on a recruitment mission for his new team. All three tales seem rather important to their respective titles and hint towards where the story of the larger Energon Universe is headed and the closer intersection of these three properties. So should I pick it up? Did you not hear me? This is a completely free comic, so of course you should pick it up if you see it! If you

It is time to go back to the spinner rack to get the 2nd issue of the brand new Conan black-and-white mag!  60 spectacular pages of barbaric savagery printed on newsprint!  Inside this anthology you'll find the following treasures: A fresh new Pin-Up of Conan by Rafael Kayanan A fresh new Pin-Up of Conan by Gerardo Zaffino A fresh new Pin-Up of Solomon Kane by Nick Marinkovich Conan the Barbarian: Leaving the Garden by Jim Zub and Richard Pace Pesach the Plenty's wagons are brimming with goods, including his family, Conan is tagging along. We are in Shem en route to Argos. Pesach's young son mentions giants from The Frost-Giant's Daughter. Conan promises him more tales of his adventures in the future. Conan wants to leave the convoy behind, for the simple reason that he has debts to pay in Argos. Pesach offers Conan Corinthian spirits as an incentive to stay by his side. Pesach wants to sell his rare combustible (pitch derived from plants) in the port city of Messantia.

eBook by Brian D. Anderson  Cover once again by E. M. Gist  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  Mekahumet, a vermin less city south of the Shemite border, ruled by Boa constrictors and cats.  To pay off his debts, Arnold Schwarzenegger... oops, I mean Conan is now working for the Magistrate Lanitar. Conan is in Jabari Ishman's tavern and is offered poisoned beer. Pregnant pause. This gives birth to a bar brawl. Conan, as per his contract, dispatches every single guild assassin and thief inside the dive... in just minutes. He finds another mug of ale, this time untainted and downs it. The pleased Magistrate gives our Cimmerian another assignment. A super sexy noblewoman guides a concupiscent Conan to a small but superb armoury where he finds wealthy merchant Barathis Akken. The sword of Asgardian warrior Sven Orthan Half-Blood with its nice Northmen runes catches Conan's eye. Yulivaria, a dark sorceress, has kidnaped Barathis Akken's noble wife Gadran

Jim Zub's The Age Unconquered part 2: Far Shores and Fearless Men continues. We are still stuck in the Thurian Age aka the Pre-Cataclysmic Age.  The King of Valusia, Kull is having a vivid nightmare. Friendly large wild cats are asking his young savage self (last seen in Exile of Atlantis) to join the hunt. The lion wants a naked Kull (no leopard-skin loincloth for this dude) to return to his old village of the Sea-Mountain tribe... now debased by a spire made of BLACK STONE. Kull bypasses the spectres of the dead villagers and enters the tapering BLACK STONE structure. Kull sees his future selves and chieftain Brule, the Spear-Slayer in a hall of mirrors (last seen in The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune). Kull ages into a living corpse, but before dying he reaches the BLACK STONE, but it will not yield its secrets. The BLACK STONE self destructs, this kills the Atlantean King, peeling the flesh from his frame. The BLACK STONE tower explodes.  The capital of Valusia, the city of Valusia nic

After being destroyed multiple times Jake, Nog and Alexander begin the next redo of their alternate universe adventure... only this time everyone is frozen in place.  QJ appears and explains to the trio that he is a new kind of Q and wants to do things differently.  He can see that they are at a personal crossroad and wants to help.  The universe resumes and after trying to explain their situation to Captain Dukat, Tuvix mind melds with Alexander.  Tuvix confirms their story and with Jadzia, they come up with a plan to defeat the Breen.  After a short space battle the Breen ship is destroyed. As Jake and Alexander converse, Tuvix comes bursting into the scene under attack by Breen soldiers.  Alexander manages to charge the Breen and eliminate them... only for the next wave of soldiers to beam in. We get a bit more of exactly why QJ is doing this.  But only a small bit.  The crew still feels a weird jumble of characters from the different shows.  Shaw from season three of Picard shows

Creators : Joshua Williamson (Writer), Tom Reilly (Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colourist) Story :  Colonel Hawk and Stalker are questioning Clutch about the whereabouts of Duke but Clutch refuses to answer.  As the Battle Android Troopers (B.A.T.) holds onto Duke, Destro comes out and offers Duke a job, talking about how weapons are the winners of war and claiming he knows nothing of the transforming jet (Starscream) that killed his friend but Duke doesn't believe him and head butts Destro and engages with the B.A.T. again.  Destro, along with Mercer and Scrap-Iron, decide to blow up the base as Duke continues fighting and, finally, defeating the B.A.T., realizing he just needs to outlast its battery (and something Destro realizes needs work).  As the trio drive away, they blow up the base and Duke is presumed dead, put forth by some news reports.  Duke wakes up handcuffed in a hospital bed when Colonel Hawk and Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger arrive.  Hawk mentions he knows

eBook by John C. Hocking Dedicated to Roy Thomas (Conan comic book writer and editor) Cover once again by E. M. Gist  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  A sequel to CONAN AND THE EMERALD LOTUS! Yes, the fan favourite Conan pastiche from 1995. With their Little Shop of Horrors adventure with the wizard, Ethram-Fal now in the rear view mirror, the emerald lotus addicted long legged sorceress Lady Zelandra of Akkharia desires to return home, to do so Conan and friends have to cross the River Styx from Stygia to Shem. Seeking a boat, our heroes arrive at the village of Quenah, but it's a ghost town. They sleep in an abandoned tavern, thinking of searching the docks the next day. Two living corpses appear! One steals the sorceress's last stash of eldritch drug (the crushed seeds of a deadly, addictive lotus plant that enhances her magical powers and that she is tapering off over time to be free of it) while the other zombie is just a distraction brandishing

Ro and B'Elanna fight as Hugh and Spock look on.  Ro's words seem to reach her for a moment.  Long enough for Worf to knock her out.  As the Defiant crew weigh their options Spock takes things into his own hands, literally, and mind melds with the possessed B'Elanna.  He finds himself in a hellish landscape for a brief moment until Worf breaks the meld.  Spock runs off and with no other options Hugh suggests he assimilate B'Elanna.  Deep in the Starbase Spock finds a door... a door which opens to reveal a gigantic monster emerging. We grow closer to a Sela face turn in this issue.  I think it is wise to keep her out of the main action this issue.  There is some minor continuity here with Hugh mentioning the Starfleet project to reclaim assimilated Borg.  Or as they will be known in season one of Picard, xBs.  Worf has little to do this issue.  The first half is dominated by the fight between Ro and B'Elanna and later the actions of Spock and Hugh.  So not much room

The all-new PREQUEL to the original simian sci-fi classic from 1968 is finally over. Cornelius frees the Gibbon slaves from their gigantic prison. Our favourite hippie chimpanzee Lucius saves his aunt Zira from being trampled by horses. The Hominidae empire is actually planning an invasion of Ape City. Nova kills Sergeant Audhild. Mutant leader Ivana makes Colonel Jarl see insects, he runs away.  The Gibbons do not want to fight the Gorillas, Cornelius tries to motivate them with a stirring "Caesar" speech. Surrounded by Gorillas, Sniper Kennard wants to retreat, Ivana says no. Nova wants to fight some more. Cornelius attacks with his Gibbon allies. Ivana avenges Lyla. Cornelius runs away with Lucius and Zira. The Gibbons win the day, Ivana wants Colonel Jarl to order his troops to surrender, he refuses. Ivana takes control of Jarl and the Colonel orders his soldiers to stand down. Ivana sends the gorillas to the gigantic Gibbon prison.   Back at Hope's Point (the ruins