BotTalk Reviews

Jim Zub's Cursed Shores Beyond part 1: Perilous Waters (with a snippet from the poem: The Sea (1923) by Robert Ervin Howard) The Western Sea. We are aboard Captain Quinn (an homage to Harley Quinn) Corvaxis' ship: The Briney Wren (a very salty songbird). Conan the Buccaneer, Valeria, Morley and the rest of The Red Brotherhood raid a Zingaran military ship (a ship that sinks other ships), the Zingaran captain yields and Conan and co. steal their cargo. Morley mentions that Valeria met Conan in Robert E. Howard's Red Nails novella. Morley wants to duel Valeria for a kiss, she wants his share of the Zingaran booty if she wins. A violent storm assails the ship. Conan's barbarian-sense starts tingling, he knows that a threat is approaching.  Conan sees an invisible man with glowing eyes (a Predator (1987) homage) murdering the first mate. The phantom kicks Conan's derriere. The ghost spares the Cimmerian... for the UPCOMING RITUAL. The glistening spectre knocks Conan out...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again displaying another brand new issue of SSOC!  Sixty-four startling pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint paper! Inside this magazine you will find the following: Art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Liam Sharp (Conan: Tattered Wings) The Nemedian Chronicles by Simon Jacob (Armoured Gideon) Conan the Barbarian by Chris Campana (The Vultures of Whapeton II) Breckinridge Elkins by Roberto de la Torre CONAN: THE EXCHANGE by Jimmy Palmiotti (Conan and the Daughters of Midora), Amanda Conner (Conan the Barbarian (2023) #13 Cover B), Andy Belanger (Dark Agnes: Matrimony) and Juliette Uliana Sea Captain Brock orders Rodak to check up on the prisoners (Conan, Tadia Brazoria, Anker and others), then Graigg to check on Rodak. Conan frees himself, kills Rodak, beheads Graigg, and with the help of the other prisoners, he takes over Brock's vessel.  Captain Brock explains that King Cyrus (of the ...

CONAN & DRAGONERO part 3 (of 7): The Gems of Aquilonia (chapter two) The Margondàr mountains. Conan's dragon sends a flock of wild wyverns to attack the dirigible of Dragonero's sister! Conan of Cimmeria, Ian Aranill Génhu Varliedarto Romevarlo (Dragonero the Erondarian imperial officer) and Myrva Aranille engage the wyverns.  A wyvern tears the balloon of the Technocrat airship, the skyship goes down and crashes into a village. Conan's dragon has found an Undine (a water elemental) to heal its lacerated wing. Conan's dragon mentions Ian Aranill, Herion Eukenill (Ian and Myrva's grandfather, of the Order of the Varliedarto/Dragon Conquerors, who slew the renegade dragons who wanted to rule over everything and everyone) and the bastard sword called Saevasectha/Cruel-Cutter. Since it was elsewhere in another dimension (stealing gems in Tarantia (capital of Aquilonia)), Conan's dragon lived on. The Undine (who is linked to the dragon spiritual network known as ...

Jim Zub's A Sacred Task We are still in Khoraja (southeast of Koth). Emida (the Laurie Strode/final girl homage) is taking care of a wounded CONAN OF CIMMERIA, Conan is staying at an inn for free as compensation for liquidating SON OF THE TOOTH (an assassin serving The Woeful Eye). A veiled woman (Roya) carrying a funerary urn is seeking a Cimmerian bodyguard to help her reach her village (close to the edge of the easter desert). Hyenas kill Roya's horse, Conan's mount flees, the barbarian kills some of the Hyenas, the remaining beasts retreat. Conan wonders how Roya can handle the harshness of the desert so well. A strange fog (another John Carpenter homage?) appears close to the ground, Conan & Roya have made it to the cursed Plains of Mardeh (a former battlefield, now a haunted graveyard). The sun disappears, the dead rise and attack our heroes, Conan destroys all the skeletons (a Ray Harryhausen homage?). Roya brings Conan to the shrine of her ancestors. Roya thanks...

eBook by Gavin G. Smith Cover by E. M. Gist  From Titan Books, Heroic Signatures & Conan Properties International LLC Spoilers! Spoilers!  Ileetha (not Ilyth'la) and Conan flee Shadizar (city in Zamora), Ileetha leaves Conan. The Haft (in Zamora, an homage to Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft Davis and "The Colour Out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft). Conan who is wanted in Zamora wakes up kidnapped, shackled and caged in a wagon. We meet the abductors: Xaxix (an alchemist/sorcerer who wears a yellow silken mask aka the High-Priest Not To Be Described from "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" and "Celephaïs" by H. P. Lovecraft) Nassas (a moneyed Zamoran with a quarterstaff, vizier to King Hadranor of Zamora) Vulf (a Vanir with a war hammer, Nassas' bodyguard, a Thorgrim/Sven-Ole Thorsen homage) Danai of Shem (an archer from Kush, Nassas' girlfriend) Conan steals the key to his prison from a sleeping Vulf, escapes and grabs Nassas, Nassas explains tha...

Marvel Preview Presents: Merlin the Magician, a saga of epic beauty by John Buscema (Conan the Barbarian, Mephisto vs., Weirdworld: Warriors of the Shadow Realm...), Doug Moench (Batman, Weirdworld: The Dragonmaster of Klarn, Master of Kung Fu, Planet of the Apes...), Tom Palmer (The Avengers, Tomb Of Dracula, Star Wars...) and John Tartaglione (The Life of Pope John Paul II). Arturus Rex (King Arthur) Pendragon of Camelot finds a seriously wounded Knight. Arthur tells his traitorous nephew Mordred to notify the castle. King Arthur asks for Merlin's help to heal the youthful Knight (Beliar (not Belial))... who is too handsome to die. Merlin the Sorcerer is suspicious, Beliar is just too good-looking to be good.  Beliar (son of Asmodiar (not Asmodeus), a baron of the "Nether"lands) tells his tall tale: Beliar kills his brother (Asmodiar's eldest son) by mistake. To atone for his blunder, Beliar tries to right wrongs across the land as a Knight-Errant. Beliar kills an e...

Nearly 300 pages of classic horror stories with twist endings! What you'll actually find inside this Eisner-nominated collection: Super rare BERNIE WRIGHTSON stuff: Self-portrait from Squa Tront (1968) #2 Frankenstein cover for Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) #86 Back cover for Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) #72 w/ a cameo by Professor Simon Wright (The Living Brain from Captain Future) by Steve Hickman! An unpublished splash page for "Mother Toad" The revised letter page logo for Web of Horror #4 Preliminary sketch and final "Out on a Limb" cover for Web of Horror #4 Cover for I'll Be Damned (1970) #3 Frankenstein cover for Scream Door (1971) #1 Conan the Barbarian from Madstar Science Fiction Quarterly (1971) #1 Stake-Out, a 4-page homage to EC Comics from I'll Be Damned (1970) #2  Frankenstein inside front cover for I'll Be Damned (1970) #3  Inside front cover for Scream Door (1971) #1 "Curse of the Yeti" cover for Web ...

64 restored and fully colored pages of barbaric savagery! Inside this magnificent full-color magazine you will find the following: Classic revitalized art pin-ups in stunning color: Conan the Barbarian by Mike Zeck from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #16 Conan ad by Pat Broderick from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #10 THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE Chapters 1 & 2 only (Chapters 3 & 4 are next issue) by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) Khemsa (a wizard who works for the Master of Yimsha) puts a curse on Bhunda Chand (Yasmina's brother... the King of Vendhya) for Yezdigerd (the King of Turan). Yasmina is forced to euthanize her bother. Queen Yasmina of Vendhya wants the see the Black Seers of Yimsha dead. Conan (now a chief of the Afghulis of Ghulistan) kidnaps Yasmina to regain his seven Afghuli headmen who were captured by the Vendhyans. Gitara (Yasmina's treacherous maid) tells her boyfriend wizard Khemsa abou...

CONAN & DRAGONERO part 2 (of 7): The Gems of Aquilonia (chapter one) Conan (now a mercenary Scout) explains that he's been hunting a dragon all the way from Tarantia (capital of Aquilonia). Ian Aranill (also a Scout) of Erondár aka Dragonero, has never heard of Tarantia.  Dragonero and his sister (Myrva Aranille the Technocrat) depart on their dirigible, Conan escapes from his cell and jumps aboard their balloon ship. Myrva disarms Conan with her pistol, Myrva reminds Conan of Bêlit (the she-devil of the sea). Conan saves the skyship from losing its hull.  Conan mentions that his dragon appeared out of nowhere in the skies of Tarantia and stole some magical gemstones that were imprisoning an ancient demon. Conan must return the jewels to prevent the demon from escaping into his world. The Cimmerian lacerated one of the dragon's wings, but it teleported with the gems, him and his men to Varliendár aka the "Land of the Dragons". Because his blood is contaminated wit...

Jim Zub's Ghosts & Echoes part 3: RELENTLESS In a dark alley in Khoraja (southeast of Koth), SON OF THE TOOTH (an assassin serving The Woeful Eye) has confronted his quarry: CONAN OF CIMMERIA... who has FOUR full bottles of wine in his system. The fighting commences. SON OF THE TOOTH does an impression of Palpatine from Return of the Jedi (1983). Like Michael Myers (from Halloween (1978 film)), the more SON OF THE TOOTH kills, the stronger he becomes. SON OF THE TOOTH kills a city sentry... he absorbs the dead sentinel's soul strength. SON OF THE TOOTH visits the Restful Raven inn to slay and steal another unfortunate's soul power. Conan notices that SON OF THE TOOTH is somehow getting stronger. The Cimmerian burns the face of SON OF THE TOOTH... another Michael Myers homage. SON OF THE TOOTH slices up one last bystander to gain even more strength. Weaponless, Conan goes to hide in the chamber of Emida (a Laurie Strode/final girl homage), she gives Conan her needle look...

The Free Comic Book Day prelude to this Fall's epic event: Conan: Tides of the Tyrant-King! Jim Zub's Grim Tidings The Hyborian Age of Conan. The borderlands between Zingara and Argos, CONAN OF CIMMERIA and some sell-swords are fighting raiders. Next to the "CRAZED BIRD" tavern, Conan cripples one of the sell-swords for disrespecting a woman. Disgusted by the way the mercenaries are behaving, the chivalrous barbarian leaves Captain Keegan (an homage to The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob)'s unit. A servant of Thulsa Doom is seeking Conan, his mission: to slay the Cimmerian who slayed his master (way back in Conan the Barbarian (2023) #12). Looking at the ocean (Kathulos is know as "The Son of the Ocean"), Conan senses a forthcoming conflict. Montfaucon-d'Argonne, France in 1918 (from Robert E. Howard's Skull Face). American, World War I soldier Stephen Costigan (the cousin of Sailor Steve Costigan from Savage Sword of Conan (2024) #10) survives the Meu...

CONAN & DRAGONERO part 1 (of 7): The Shadow of the Dragon While battling a gem stealing dragon (with a broken wing) in the Hyborian Age, Captain Conan and his soldiers are teleported by mysterious dark forces to Varliendár aka the "Land of the Dragons". Two moons are shining in the firmament. Algents (savage, mute, albino humanoids who inhabit the desolate ash plains of Varliendár) attack, two of Conan's comrades get killed. Even more Algents attack, Conan and his men run towards "The Great Wall aka Arcelonte", the immense barrier that extends from east to west along the northern border of Erondàr and separates it from Varliendár. The rest of Conan's comrades get slaughtered.  Conan is rescued by the Red Guards of the Wall, they think that Conan could be from the Kingdom of Raghnar. Conan is chained and incarcerated, a young sorcerer gives Conan a real-time translator pendant, so that they can communicate. Commander Deynar is in charge of the border outp...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again displaying another brand new issue of SSOC!  Sixty-four startling pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint paper! Inside this magazine you will find the following: Art pin-ups: Bêlit the Queen of the Black Coast by Nick Marinkovich Conan the Barbarian by Jordan Raskin CONAN: DWELLERS OF THE OASIS part 1: Deserted Goods and Shifting Sands by Jim Zub and Ivan Gil (Conan: Scourge of the Serpent) It's only eight months after the events of "A Witch Shall be Born". Turan on the shores of the Vilayet sea. Conan is still the leader of a band of Zuagir bandits. Conan and his raiders decimate the Turanian soldiers of King Yildiz. Conan is still suffering from his wounds, he remembers Queen Taramis of Khauran, Salome (an homage to the one who asked for the head of John the Baptist), Constantius aka The Falcon, his crucifixion (as seen in the Conan the Barbarian (1982) movie), Olgerd Vladis...

48 restored and fully colored pages of barbaric savagery! Inside this magnificent full-color magazine you will find the following: Classic remastered art pin-ups in stunning color: Conan the Barbarian by Jeffrey Catherine Jones from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #5 Conan the Barbarian by Tim Conrad from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #13 Conan, Bêlit & Red Sonja ad by Pablo Marcos from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #23 BLACK COLOSSUS by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) The mysterious ruins of Kuthchemes. Shevatas (a Zamorian master-thief) finds a treasure. Thugra Khotan, the dark sorcerer who had reigned in Kuthchemes three thousand years ago, wakes up and kills Shevatas.  Khotan, who wants to rule the world, renames himself Natohk, the Veiled One; for his features were always masked.  Natohk amasses an army of nomads and teams-up with a rebellious Stygian prince (Katuman/Kutamun). Natohk lusts for princess Yasmela...

eBook by Robbie MacNiven Cover by E. M. Gist  From Titan Books, Heroic Signatures & Conan Properties International LLC Spoilers! Spoilers!  Conan of Cimmeria is aware that a former cabin boy of Captain Zaporavo (killed by Conan in The Pool of the Black One) of the Wastrel is aboard the Heir of Argus.  Conan is also aware that the cabin boy is actually runaway Princess Elyka (the youngest daughter of King Codrin Saldius of Nemedia who fled Belverus (capital city of the kingdom of Nemedia)).  Conan joins the Zingaran and Argossean crew of the Heir of Argus in Messantia (capital port city of Argos). The captain of the Heir of Argus learns that Conan is wanted by Strom (who will die in The Black Stranger) of the Red Hand/King of the Barachans/Lord of the pirate city of Tortage. Brought in chains to Tortage, Conan makes sure that everyone hears that his cabin boy buddy is Princess Elyka.  Captain Gavrali (of Corinthia) kidnaps Conan (to sell him on Sark's Isle) a...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again exhibiting another brand new issue of SSOC!  Sixty-four startling pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint paper! Inside this attractive magazine you will find the following: Puritanical art pin-ups: Solomon Kane by Luke Eidenschink Solomon Kane by Ace Continuado CONAN: THE BLUE ORCHID by Roy Thomas and Roberto de la Torre An ancient Hyrkanian castle on the Zaporoska river, recently seized by Yezdigerd the Prince of Turan. Atta of Shadizar (a Zamorian thief) and Conan cannot locate the Blue Orchid diamond (a gigantic jewel from Khitai, supposedly acquired months ago in Makkalet (Conan the Barbarian (1970) #26) by Yezdigerd), so Atta helps himself to a vase and some gems and Conan nicks a necklace. Zaria and three Hyrkanians (Sulimar, Arafam and Stafah/Stapha who are also interested in obtaining the Blue Orchid) witness Conan and Atta emerging from the river. Turanian horse archers kill th...

Jim Zub's Ghosts & Echoes part 2: Trail of the Warrior SON OF THE TOOTH (an assassin serving The Woeful Eye) is tracking Conan across Shem. SON OF THE TOOTH knows that Conan destroyed Thulsa Doom aka The Necromancer-King of the BLACK STONE (way back in Conan the Barbarian (2023) #12). SON OF THE TOOTH is disappointed that Conan is just a man working as a mercenary in Khoraja (southeast of Koth). SON OF THE TOOTH spies on Conan as Dunick the Kothian picks a fight with Conan. Conan breaks Dunick's arm. SON OF THE TOOTH spies on Conan as the barbarian beds a bar wench. SON OF THE TOOTH spies on Conan as Conan kills Dunick's accomplices and a defenceless Dunick. Conan pays the city's sentries to look the other way. SON OF THE TOOTH spies on Conan as Conan enjoys a meal and drinks FOUR carafes of vino. The still sober Cimmerian finally confronts SON OF THE TOOTH! We learn that Conan and SON OF THE TOOTH share an interest in voyeurism. Do Conan and SON OF THE TOOTH become...

The year is 26 CE. Tektons (craftsmen/builders), including a young Yeshua/Jesus of Nazareth and three of his siblings (Joses/Joseph, Jude and Simon (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55)), have been hired to rebuild the city of Sepphoris (inspired by Matthew 5:14) by Herod Antipas (the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea under the Roman Empire during the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1)). During the day, Jesus is suffering from headaches caused by divine visions (John 5:20) of the past (we glimpse the destruction of Sepphoris by Publius Quinctilius Varus). Pontius Pilate, the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea mentions Caiaphas (Jesus will be sent before the high priest after his arrest (Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:53; John 11:49; John 18:14)) who was appointed by Valerius Gratus (the prefect who preceded Pilate). Jesus has a nightmare, he sees SIX (Revelation 13:18; The sixth commandment is "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13)) serpents within the clouds of heaven.  Jesus ventures in...