BotTalk Reviews

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letter) Story : At Castle Destro, Cobra Commander is being held prisoner by Destro who warns him of the consequences if the Baroness doesn't survive the surgery, with Destro flying the best out to his castle to save her.  In Springfield, the Iron Grenadiers are in control, rounding up Cobra Troops and the mutant cyborgs, though they are worried what the cyborgs might do.  On Cobra Island, Revanche and Alpha-001 land and are able to restore the mutated people to normal but the cyborg mutants they kill by detonating an explosive in their head, including the ones in Springfield.  In Pensacola, Muskrat and his team, along with the Serpentor coffin and Dr. Mindbender, arrive on shore and are arrested while Dr. Mindbender is taken away in an ambulance.  The Joes are eventually set free and Dr. Mindbender escapes and steals the ambulance.  ...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Andrew Krahnke (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrin Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : In the Arabian Sea, a Tomahawk lifts off with Tunnel Rat, Tripwire and Sherlock going on a mission to rescue a 15-year-old activist/daughter of an opposition leader.   The leader of the kidnappers is also a "Fred Series" former Crimson Guardsman and operative for Cobra.  The team lands and meets up with Mongoose who was inserted the night before.  They find the tunnel system where the kidnappers are and go in guns blazing.  When they finally rescue the girl, she's upset that they ruined her plan and she goes off after the kidnappers as well; ends up the real daughter is elsewhere and the one they rescued is a special forces operative made to look like her who has a grudge against the Crimson Guardsman.  The Joes are able to talk her down from killing him and instead bringing him to trial for his crimes (beyond the kid...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer). Story : As the G.I. Joe Ninja Force and Dreadnoks wait outside a building, Destro makes his way in, intent on facing Cobra Commander, who sits behind an armoured door, protected by H.E.A.T. (High Explosive Anti-Tank) and Alley Vipers.  Destro tosses smoke grenades, reduces his body heat and takes out the Vipers, all the while Cobra Commander looks on and dons his new battle armour.  Destro then blows the door off and he and Cobra Commander duke it out, with Destro eventually getting the upper hand and dragging the Commander out to the Joe team.   Writing : This story serves one purpose and that's to remind us how awesome Destro is.  Not only does he have the cool gadgets (smoke grenades, refrigerated suit, etc.), he can get his hands dirty as well and duke it out one on one when needed.  The overarching plot doesn't move f...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Story : Serpentor-Khan and Destro fight it out in the streets, with Destro getting the upper hand.  Serpentor-Khan's troops head to the hospital and fight both the G.I. Joe Ninja Force and the Dreadnoks, working together.  Destro shows up and sends the Baroness away.  At the community center, Cobra Commander's stand-in fights off Destro, who easily sees through the ploy and heads inside, with the Ninja Force and Dreadnoks backing him up. Writing :  Not a lot of plot advancement here as 2/3's of the issue are pretty much fights between Destro and his enemies.  However, they are some pretty neat fights, with Destro getting to get some quips into his opponents and prove how tough and resourceful he truly is.  It does feel as if Hama is winding down this arc with another issue or two left before going into his next arcs....

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Story : The battle for Springfield rages on with Cobra forces leading  Serpentor-Khan's forces into a trap.  The Dreadnoks and the Joe Ninja Force bring the Baroness to the hospital so he can be healed, with Zartan pretending to be Cobra Commander.  Meanwhile, Serpentor-Khan arrives, changing the tide of the battle and the Cobra forces retreat.  Just as Serpentor-Khan believes he has the upper hand, Destro's forces arrive. Writing : This is a fast-paced battle issue. All the action takes place in Springfield and it's a back and forth between a ground battle, air battle, and the commanding forces figuring out what to do. I felt that it flowed really well and even though the perspective changed to different areas, the pace never let up.  I also enjoyed that the story didn't switch to the Joe's command team at the Pit, as I fe...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inks), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : The Battle for Springfield continues, and we realize Cobra is leading Serpentor Khan's forces into a trap.  Cobra Commander realizes that the Dreadnoks and the Baroness are there and sends his stand-in in the battle armor to get them.  Dawn decides to save the police officer that helped kill her family.  On Cobra Island, Serpentor Khan decides to lead the next wave against Cobra as the Joe recon team escapes but is gunned down in the ocean (though they survive and float on the unit containing a clone of the original Serpentor).  In Springfield, the Crimson Guard in Cobra Commander's battle armor engages the Dreadnoks and is able to seriously wound the Baroness.  The Joe Ninja Team is taking heavy fire as well (with the police officer almost killing Dawn but dying by enemy fire) when they meet up...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inks), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer). Story : Serpentor's mutated, cyborg forces are attacking Cobra forces in Springfield, with Cobra Commander in his battle armor taking the lead and doing very well, inspiring his troops.  The G.I. Joe Ninja team (Snake Eyes, Dawn, Storm Shadow, Jinx, and Scarlett) encounter a police officer who is injured but was involved with the death of Dawn's parents.  The Baroness, along with Zartan and his Dreadnoks, fight off Cobra troops as well with the Thunder Machine.  Back at Cobra Island, the Infiltration team escapes with Dr. Mindbender as their captive and his frozen specimen to their zodiac craft.  Serpentor is not happy with how things are going in Springfield and when the stealth bombers return, he joins the fray.  In Springfield, it ends up Cobra Commander is not in his battle armor, it's just a Crimso...

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Pencils), Tony Kordos (Inks), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Story : On Cobra Island, the G.I. Joe infiltration team is captured and put in a cell while the mutated, cyborg troops are loaded into the stealth bombers for an attack on Springfield. At the Pit, Duke informs the Ninja Team that they will be doing a recon of Springfield. Back on Cobra Island, the infiltration team escapes and heads to Dr. Mindbender's lab while out on a highway, the Baroness and the (real) Zartan head towards Springfield in a tractor trailer, with the other Dreadnoks and the Thunder Machine in the back. In a bit of serendipity, the Ninja Team is driving a van next to them (unknowingly) and we get the hint Storm Shadow isn't wild about Scralett's plan.  In Dr. Mindbender's lab, the infiltration team gather lots of information and capture Dr. Mindbender and discover a frozen body in a secret comp...

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Pencils), Tony Kordos (Inks), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Story : On Cobra Island, Revanche delivers a stealth bomber to Serpentor-Khan and he is quite impressed with it and wants more delivered. The G.I. Joe Infiltration team (Helix, Multo, Muskrat, and Wet-Suit) sees it and reports back to the Pit.  Duke, Stalker and Mainframe realize the bomber is probably intended for Springfield.  Mainframe then also shows them satellite footage of Dawn's parents being killed (from last issue).  Back on Cobra Island, Serpentor-Khan gets a report of a transmission leaving and has his forces track down the G.I. Joe team, which results in a running battle through the jungle.  At the Pit, Duke and Psyche-Out inform Dawn of her parent's death and console her, as Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Storm Shadow remind her she has family in the Arashikage clan.  In Springfield, Cobra Comma...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Tony Kordos (inks), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : In the Bayou, Zartan is being hounded by a heat seeking missile, able to personally avoid it while sacrificing his Chameleon [Swamp Skier] and realizing, from the debris, it was from M.A.R.S. Industries but suspects Destro was not behind it.  On Cobra Island, Serpentor-Khan and Dr. Mindbender watch the footage from the missile but are unsure if Zartan survived or not.  Elsewhere on the island, they inspect how the new Cobra cyborg troops are coming and then check-in with their Zartan imposter meeting with Destro.  At the meeting, Destro and the Baroness get word that the Zartan they are talking to is an imposter but Destro decides to play along.  We then cut and see Snake Eyes go through an urban training simulation and, afterwards, Scarlett commends him on it and talks about his different weapons. ...

Creators : Larry Hama (writer), Chris Mooneyham (artist), Francesco Segala (colourist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer) Story : Cobra is investigating the remains of the three modified Vipers that Dawn took out last issue while Dawn is back at her parent's house, reporting to Duke.  She notices her neighbour, a Crimson Guard approaching but her parents take him out and she flees.  Duke now feels that they are in a position where they can act.  Elsewhere in the Pit, Mainframe, Airtight and Black Hat are examining the remains of one of the modified Vipers that attacked Snake Eyes and Scarlett.  One of the hands is still active and attacks but Stalker arrives and destroys it.   Elsewhere in the Pit, Spirit, Lady Jaye and Multo are preparing to take out the three modified Vipers stalking above before they actually discover the entrance and drop a nerve gas grenade down it.  After a struggle, the three Joes are able to stop the Vipers. ...

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...

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letter) Plot : On Cobra Island, Revanche meets with the mutated Serpentor and wants to team up and offers their services to upgrade the mutants into cyborgs. At the Pit, Duke realizes that the Revanche/Serpentor team will end up attacking the Pit so he has Spirit up the defence. In Springfield, a girl named Dawn returns to her family, though all may not be as it seems. Back at the Pit, the Joes are counter-spying on some of Serpentor's new, enhanced, troops as they are spying on the Pit and they debate on what to do. Meanwhile, at Snake-Eye's cabin in the Rockies, some more of Serpentor's forces attack Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, though find them to be difficult opponents. Back at Cobra Island, Alpha-001, Dr. Mindbender, and Serpentor watch a final broadcast from the troops, showing Scarlett and Snake-Eyes down, before it cuts out. Story : Events a...

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Plot : Serpentor begins his plans with his new, mutated, forces, to invade Springfield. In Arlington, the Joe team buries one of their own (killed in the last issue) with full military decorations. In Springfield, Cobra Commander addresses the citizens and prepares them for Serpentor's eventual invasion. In New Jersey, Revanche is monitoring the Serpentor/Cobra situation. Back at the G.I. Joe headquarters, they too are monitoring the Cobra situation and explain why their fallen ally was given such a burial (due to his history with Stalker, Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes in Southeast Asia). At Snake-Eye's cabin, Timber's wolf pack drops off a puppy for them as they talk about the future. Story : This is another set-up issue. We get to see what the major story-arc is going to be going forward (Cobra vs. Serpentor's mutated forces) and h...

Creators : Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colourist), Pat Brosseau (Letterer) Plot : The G.I. Joe team is engaging in a two-pronged attack against Cobra Island – one group in the C-130 Hercules and another in the WHALE. Wild Bill and Duke are attempting to keep the C-130 from crashing as a missile had hit and damage some of the hydraulics. Within Cobra Island, Serpentor unleashes a Mutant Virus Bomb to turn everyone within the blast radius into cannibalistic monsters, against the suggestion of Dr. Mindbender. But Serpentor would rather do that than be captured by G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe is able to discover what’s going on and turn around to escape. The C-130 encounters the Cobra Cruise Ship with Revanche’s BAT’s on it, which attack the C-130 but they are able to escape. The WHALE also turns around and Laura and Wade Collins are guarding Cobra Commander but he’s able to overpower them and escape on the Jet Sled. The C-130 (after ditching the vehicle...