BotTalk Reviews

One second I have to review a one shot issue of section 31 that starts with a present day-ish meeting with former emperor and time traveler as well as dimension hopper Philippa Georgiou as she decides to regale someone and thus the reader of her time in the winnowing. And so young Philippa is sent off to essentially learn what it takes to be the Terran emperor, which means essentially everyone fights and strategizes against each other until the 15 kids there are… winnowed to one. Which she will obviously walk away from and into her future as a genocidal and tyrannical emperor that we will all meet (have met) in Star Trek: Discovery. This story adds to her backstory that we already saw in the Section 31 movie, and it’s kind of unnecessary, I mean it doesn’t tell anything new about her or even the Terran Empire. This is like a footnote if that because the movie already explained that she was part of the hunger games... I mean the winnowing and we already know she won, and we already kno...

Kahless struggles with his current lot in life after his defeat.  He eats rats and can not even get a simple job.  Begging for food, willing to barter his sword away, he comes face to face with Worf and Alexander.  After some words he begins to battle Alexander, who eventually gets the upper hand.  But he can not kill Kahless and he forces him to admit the truth, that he does not know who he truly is and that he is afraid.  With this Worf and Alexander leave.  He has completed the Errand of Vengeance and with his honor restored Worf embraces him.  Meanwhile, Kahless is left to contemplate his future while eating his charred rat. I have to say I really enjoyed this arc and its conclusion here.  Neither Alexander nor Kahless die during the Errand of Vengeance, and as Alexander himself points out there was no actual vengeance to be had.  This was a good blend of established Klingon lore from across the multiple series and also doing something ne...

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...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is finally sporting another fantastic new issue of SSOC!  64 pulsating pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint!  Inside this magical magazine you will find the following treasures: A behind-the-scenes look at Conan’s upcoming appearance in NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion Incredible art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Stuart Sayger Breckinridge Elkins the Hillbilly from Bear Creek by Patch Zircher CONAN: MARK OF THE BEAST by Roy Thomas (inspired by The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling) and Roberto de la Torre Yota-Pong, the capital city of Kosala next to the much larger Vendhya. A twenty-year-old Conan has been with the lovely blonde Helgi (from Conan the Barbarian (1970) #28, a slave of Thutmekri, a Stygian from south of the Vilayet sea) for fourteen days. He is attacked by four thieves. Conan kills three, but the fourth is killed by the arrow of Raja of Vezek, a ...

Creators : Joshua Williamson (writer), Tom Reilly (artist), Jordie Bellaire (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer) Story :  The Joe team sent to retrieve Doctor Monev/Doctor Venom try to outrun the Crimson Twins in the Stinger but Duke eventually surrenders in order to keep civilians from getting hurt or killed.  Meanwhile, Stalker and Cover Girl try to retrieve the brainwave scanner but they too are unsuccessful and captured.  In Springfield, Destro and Mercer are examining the body of the Cobra-La assassin Cobra Commander killed and are curious about it and its weapons, though they wish to keep it a secret that they have the body.  Clutch, meanwhile, looks on.  The city is evacuated to Destro's compound (with Clutch leaving also) and Destro is upset about it.  Cobra Commander reassures him that his plans are progressing, with Dr. Monev and his Brainwave Scanner, they can make a "brainwave bomb" to make people obey Cobra and the test subjects will be the G.I. J...

Jim Zub's Twisting Loyalties part 2: Fangs & Foolish Thieves concludes. The Shemite coastal city of Kyros. The sneak thieves lead by Tarnasha have been brutally dispatched by Conan of Cimmeria and girlfriend Bêlit. To save her life, Tarnasha, proposes a heist to steal a relic.  We get a nice The God in the Bowl flashback. Conan encounters "The Serpent God" in Kallian Publico's Temple, a museum in Numalia (city in Nemedia). Conan is still shell-shocked from his clash with the enormous snake with the human visage. Bêlit, Conan and Tarnasha decide to team up. They make a pact. They will remain partners for the duration of the robbery. The trio of thieves start planning. The famous antiquarian, Libradicio, has in his possession a Stygian artifact, "The Fangs of The Serpent".  Bêlit will create a disturbance (as Libradicio's troubadour paramour) in front of the antiquarian's manor house and Conan & Tarnasha will filch "The Fangs" and wha...

Through the ages Sisko attempts to find a way back.  He shifts the entire society of Bajor into orbit, into the caste system, into trying to reconstruct the Wormhole.  He sees Jake... or does he.  Finally, in a small ship he enters the Wormhole and confronts his Mother.  He has past their final test and can remain... but, in their roundabout logic, they tell him they can not bring back that which does not exist.  The reality he once knew does not exist.  Will not exist.  Refusing to accept this he breaks the Celestial Temple and leaves it to Kahless to continue his work... I don't know exactly what I was expecting... but it wasn't this.  Sisko's single minded determination to bring back his crew bends the entire planet of Bajor to his will.  We've seen him refuse to give up before but even with reality on the line this seems a bit much.  The confrontation with his mother has been long expected and we get a bit of it here.  But then...

Time to meet a new toy? Yup! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, noted writer/artist rolled-into-one Daniel Warren Johnson takes the reins on the linchpin of this initiative, the flagship Transformers comic series! Well, he maintains the reins on the writing of this series at least, as does Mike Spicer on colors. Jorge Corona has taken over regular penciling duties with a style all his own. In this seventeenth issue, Arcee’s team tracks down Ultra Magnus, the Autobots protect innocents caught in the crossfire on Earth, and on Cybertron a new Autobot is born thanks to Cliffjumper! So yes, a new toy. Probably! Eventually! Elita One’s team on Cybertron aid Cliffjumper in reaching the Well of All Sparks, which turns out to be this big contraption with a really easy user interface! Cliffjumper’s plan is to use the spark remains of his dead clan to create a new Autobot, and by the last page we meet them! Skybound has been promising the introduction ...

And now the conclusion! In order to keep the USS Cerritos in one piece engineering concocts a way to use the engines to use a warp bubble to survive inside the proto universe. Unfortunately that universe is home to an energy being called koj, which inhabits Sam Rutherford and D'Vana Tendi and talks like some kind of influencer and Rutherford and Tendi are placed inside the ships computer which has a slight 4th wall break of them being floating digital heads in the computer interface. Eventually they all solve the crisis and stop the proto universe from expanding. This works, this entire story works, it shouldn’t but because this is Lower Decks it works, the influencer energy being, the talking heads in the computer, even the ending works in a very Star Trek way that shouldn’t. Yet here we are. The energy being decides on a solution that saves the universe even while our Starfleet heroes keep trying to find a Star Trek like answer that makes everyone happy and sometimes that just ca...

Worf takes Alexander to the Archanis Sector.  There he encounters Martok and the two get into a fight.  It is part of his challenge, a part he passes in standing up to the Klingon High Chancellor.  Meanwhile, on the Defiant, O'Brien is taken hostage by a Cardassian but he manages to escape.  Later, Worf, Martok and Alexander engage in a brief battle and free the prisoners who were scheduled for execution.  Alexander challenges and defeats the overlord.  Proud of him for coming thus far, Worf tells Alexander his final test will be to face Kahless.   This is a perfectly fine issue.  Fine.  But predictable.  Alexander overcomes all his obstacles with help from his father and Martok.  I expect nothing less, but I somehow expected more.  Something more spiritual perhaps.  Maybe that will prove to be the basis of the final challenge?  The Defiant interlude, though, does little to advance its story.  With a Cardassian t...

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...

Void Rivals Needs To Support Its Wife And Kids! It does and it continues here with issue # 16! Void Rivals is Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici’s sci-fi comic that tells the tale of two crumbling planets linked by a “Sacred Ring” (it’s not Halo), their peoples at war for generations. When a member of each culture are stranded together, the two find they must put aside their differences if they want to survive. This story takes place in the so-called “Energon Universe”, Skybound Entertainment’s initiative to relaunch properties like Transformers and G.I. Joe within a shared universe that also happens to include the original characters and setting of Void Rivals. In this sixteenth issue, we get Cobra-La VS the Skuxxoid! Darak VS his father! And Solila VS Handroid’s helpful advice! No Transformers though? Welllll… maybe. The last page is a cliffhanger that will certainly raise some questions. The main action here is the Cobra-La VS Skuxxoid fight, which ends in a fatality! I’m not cer...