Your designer buddy is quite good. They all look nice. However, some work for me and others don't. 1. Too many bubbles, like there is a mass of folks talking and hard to concentrate on anything in particular. 2. Looks cool, but I don't see what it's supposed to represent. 3. The G is neat, is it for "guy" though? 4. This one I like, less comment bubbles, but still in a cool pattern. 5. I like the implied bubble, but a little thin for my tastes. 6. A pattern of 5s. Eh. 7. I like this one as well. The heads talking to each other.
I thought pretty much the same thing when ebay sent me that response. Unfortunately, Washington Mutual (I have my mortgage through them) sent me a very similar response when I forwarded a spoof. Ugh.
I wouldn't say it's a big deal and if it kills comment spam, then it's worth it. My only problem is that sometimes, I can't read the random image either.