BotTalk Reviews

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is finally showcasing another stupendous new issue of SSOC!  64 pulsating pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint! Inside this breathtaking magazine you will find the following scintillating gems: Eye-popping art pin-ups: Conan the Barbarian by Doug Braithwaite Conan the Barbarian by Adam Gorham Conan the Barbarian by Gabriel Rodriguez Conan the Barbarian by Jonathan Wayshak Conan the Barbarian by Juan Alberto Hernández (The Twelfth Labor of Breckinridge Elkins) CONAN: TREASURE OF THE VERMIN QUEEN! by Dennis Culver and Chris Burnham Conan & young Fleek are after the valuables of the VER-MEN cult. Fleek has an ulterior motive... he actually wants to liberate his beloved, Delah, from the cult.  Fleek intervenes before the VER-MEN can sacrifice Delah. The cult leader calls upon his Bug Queen. Conan breaks his sword on the Queen's hide. The Queen tosses all three of our heroes into her den... whi...

SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING part 2: Deliver Us into Evil.  São Manços mission, Jesuit ministry up the Kwanza River, Kingdom of Ndongo, Africa.  Jesuit priest Father Goncallo is writing to his provincial superior, Leonel Florencio, about Mbondu's ghastly discovery: the skull of a Serpent Man (straight from the King Kull tales). Sha-Kabet, priestess of Set appears on his doorstep. She demands that the cranium be returned to her. Sha-Kabet introduces Father Goncallo to his evil double/twin. Father Goncallo tries an Exorcism Prayer on the diabolical duo, this flatters the sorceress so much that she incinerates Goncallo with his own oil lamp.  Ghetto Vecchio, Republic of Venice.  Diamanta and her father, Abramo Bensaid learn from a maimed Kane that Paolo Laurenti (Abramo's brother by marriage) has "passed on". Solomon keeps mum about the specifics.  Abramo tells the Puritan about the ancient and accursed Serpent Ring of sorcerer Thoth-Amon. Flashback begins: Birgu...

Jim Zub's Twisting Loyalties part 4: Purged Zula, guardian of the grasslands, is sure that Conan, who speaks with a forked tongue, is a servant of Set in disguise. Conan tries to convince Zula otherwise. Zula transforms back into a panther, then into a woman (from Conan the Destroyer (1984)). Conan swears to Zula that he has never worshiped the snake god and that he has never set foot in Stygia. Zula informs the Cimmerian that his aura is tainted/cursed by dark magic and that his soul is in jeopardy. If Conan wants his spirit to be saved he'll have to reach Zula's ancestors' ancient monument, an immense "Olmec" stone head. Zula transforms into a harmless raven and takes flight, Conan follows on foot. We get two flashbacks, one from The God in the Bowl and another from Conan the Barbarian #18. Conan rapidly climbs to the top of the stone head, an amazed Zula starts his True Form ritual. Zula will try to exorcise the Set poison from the Cimmerian. If Conan canno...

SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING part 1: Dead Man's Promise.  Abramo Bensaid is writing to his wayfaring brother Paolo Laurenti, whom he has not heard from in 1.5 years. Abramo mentions Paolo's employer, Rolando Zarza (thorny shrub in Spanish), a Knight of Malta. Kingdom of Ndongo, Africa. Paolo is attacked by the owners of the artifact that he has stolen. Eight of Paolo's helpers and one marinheiro (Portuguese sailor) are murdered. Paolo shoots at his aggressors with his flintlock and flees to the safety of a Portuguese caravel sailing ship. The Barbary Coast. Solomon Kane (aka The Sword of Vengeance), the wandering Puritan from Devonshire is now a "Sea Dog", a privateer on an English galleon (Captain Wheeler's ship: The Reprisal) in the service of Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth I). Wheeler, who has a license to attack and capture vessels belonging to "enemies" of England, decides to attack the Gaviota (seagull in Portuguese)... a Portuguese caravel. Alwa...

Jim Zub's Twisting Loyalties part 3: Hunted The waters of Zarkheba. Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast has been murdered and avenged. Conan of Cimmeria is leaning on his great sword upon the white beach, watching the Tigress swinging out on her last voyage. A grieving Conan decides to immediately plunge into the mysterious jungles of the Southern/Black Kingdoms.  Conan kills a lizard and devours it raw. The barbarian is maltreated by a swamp, rain, pollen and hornets. Conan falls into a body of water (just like in Predator (1987)), he kills a crocodile, but he does not eat it. Exhausted, Conan collapses. A sound interrupts the Cimmerian's slumber, he spots a hunter using the trees, spying on him (just like in Predator (1987)). The next day, Conan finds no trace of the hunter (just like in Predator (1987)). Conan finds a village (just like in Predator (1987)). Not fond of his foul smell, the Kushites ask Conan to leave. Remember now: Conan was infected with vile Set magic by N...

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 ...

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...

A catalogue accompanying the exhibition at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.  Edited by Peter Maresca and Brian Walker. What you'll actually find inside this mysterious "Companion Catalogue": Photos: Cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller at his drawing board in 1955, Ernie with a group of Nancy and Sluggo vinyl dolls, Ernie in 1948, Ernie reading a Nancy Dell comic book by John Stanley and Dan Gormley in 1959 and Ernie at a Red Cross fundraiser. A nice Preface by Caitlin McGurk, Curator of Comics and Cartoon Art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Nancy and Me by Ernie Bushmiller from Collier’s Magazine (September 18, 1948) Ernie Bushmiller’s famous self-portrait for Martin Sheridan’s 1942 book, Comics and Their Creators. A drawing of Ernie Bushmiller dreaming by Bushmiller from 1945. The Life and Times of Ernie Bushmiller by Brian Walker The first appearance of Nancy from the Fritzy Ritz daily comic strip, January 2, 1933. Original art from around 1935 ...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is sporting another brand new issue of SSOC!  62 mind-rendering pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint!  Inside this pulpy magazine you will find the following treasures: A Pin-Up of Conan by Gerardo Zaffino KING CONAN: THE ENSORCELLED, PART III: The Woods of the Witchbreaker by Jason Aaron and Geof Isherwood The Witchfinders aka The Brethren of the Briar find a caroling Conan leaving the Graaskal Mountains (splitting Hyperborea and Brythunia).  The leader of these Witchfinders/monks introduces himself as Father Flail. Flail is looking for Xyleena. Conan lies that he has already iced the witch. Conan notices on the back of one of the monks... the sword of one of his Black Dragons of Aquilonia. The monk confirms that they killed his Dragon. Conan breaks the monk's back against a tree. The Witchfinders grab Conan and remark that he has been marked/burned by Xyleena. Conan is perplexed by the...

Jim Zub's Twisting Loyalties part 1: Fangs & Foolish Thieves begins. The coastal city-state of Kyros in Shem. Bêlit's ship The Tigress secretly pulls into port for repairs and to restock. Bêlit brings corsair/boyfriend Amra the Lion aka Conan of Cimmeria to the Hidden Haven for some "quiet time". BÊLIT pays for pints of ale and a luxurious, private room. In flashback we see the mating-dance of Bêlit, whose fathers were kings of Askalon! Back to the Hidden Haven. Bêlit dances once again for Conan. They make love. Conan compliments Bêlit. Four brigands: Cass, Norl, a Gunderman mercenary and their leaderess attempt to murder and rob the Queen & King of the Black Coast. Only the leaderess survives the wrath of the pirates and to save her skin she mentions a precious artifact that can easily be stolen: The Fangs of The Serpent. Conan is not interested in running off with Stygian antiques... but Bêlit is.  À suivre. What I did like: A new arc begins with a new artis...

Battle of the Black Stone part 4: The Future yet Unwritten, the epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics reaches its conclusion. St. Elmo's fire surrounds Brissa, Solomon Kane, John Kirowan and murdered author James Allison... they are fading away. Conan's soul was the anchor holding our HEROES OF MAN in the Hyborian Age.  James Allison confirms that Brissa died many years ago. Like Odin, Kirowan gives one of his eyes in return for wisdom. With this new knowledge he is able to access hidden paths of energy/power to resurrect Conan. Phantom Picts of the past appear only to Kirowan, the phantasms will guide him towards the source of the BLACK STONE curse. They reach the source of corruption! A cracked onyx BLACK STONE altar (clearly the empty BLACK STONE coffin of Thulsa Doom) is protected by crazed living Picts, spectres and the BLACK STONE BEAST. James Allison's ghost becomes whole again, Kane dies, James imagines a world where the BLACK STONE BEAST can ...