Conan The Barbarian #3 (2023) review

Jim Zub's Conan tale of the undead shows some signs of life, at last. But is it too late?

Conan frees a sliver of surviving Barbarians from the icy grip of the possessed picts, is able to get a minuscule amount of payback... but ends up in the soup, literally.

What I did not like:

Conan not solicitous about the fate of his family members or childhood friends.

All the unsightly covers except for the snake one by Roberto (and only from afar).

The old and infirm are still alive? Please! They survived the trip to the citadel? Stop insulting the reader.

Only men fight alongside Conan. No vengeful Cimmerian women? That's disappointing and also sexist.

I was getting a Conan the Barbarian (1982 John Milius film) vibe from the very first page.

Trying to appeal more to the casual movie fan than the Robert E. Howard scholar.

Still no Big Bad for Conan.

The letters page was too small and only featured sycophants. Competent creators and editors should crave constructive criticism. Please print some reviews that rub you the wrong way.

No Man-Serpents in bowls.

What I did like:

Serpent Men!

Is that Atlantean necromancer Skull-Face?

Thulsa Doom straight from Kull of Atlantis and the Schwarzenegger movie gets finally mentioned!

V (1983 miniseries) homage. Maybe.

I give it a 5/10. We better see both The Death's Head Tavern: A Solomon Kane Story by Nancy Collins and Caravan of the Damned by Chuck Dixon serialized in the upcoming Savage Sword of Conan magazine!

A Touching Tribute To The Late, Great, Bottalk Bulletin Board + Renaud FAQ!

The smartest and the most handsome podcasters on the Internet: The Fanholes and a collection of exceptional guests say au revoir to the legendary Bottalk board. Click to download or listen to this remarkable recording. And don't forget to get out your boxes of tissues! Thanks, guys! Much appreciated! Renaud FAQ

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - The Scorpius Run #1 review

The Enterprise picks up a distress call and moves to investigate. Onboard they find one survivor who tells them she has a debt to pay to a local crime boss. Later, the Enterprise arrives at Celius Prime in an effort to help their passenger. Pike and some of the bridge crew are beamed off. They face the crime boss who tells them the only way out of the dangerous Scorpion sector is by way of the most dangerous race in the galaxy. Pike agrees to the race but members of this crew are placed among various other ships in the race. The idea of a race in space is nothing new. It's not even new in the realms of Star Trek. You have 'The Great Starship Race' from the old Pocket Book line. And thus far, I feel the novel is superior. Though the Pike of Strange New Worlds is laid back I hardly think he would so easily agree to all the terms and obviously laid traps he faces here. six out of ten.

Void Rivals #2 review

What’s this then? Why, it’s Void Rivals # 2, the second issue (shocking, I know) of Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, and Matheus Lopes’ new sci-fi comic. It 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 new 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. Any good? You know what, yeah! I’m enjoying it so far and I guess I’m not surprised. Robert Kirkman does well with cosmic space stuff and I was a big fan of Invincible. In two issues he’s already crafted an intriguing dramatic setup and a compelling dynamic between our two lead characters Darak and Solila. We’ve seen the “enemies

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