BotTalk Reviews

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 Michael Netzer/Nasser and Dick Giordano from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #20 Conan ad from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #35 The Phoenix on the Sword by Richard Corben from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #4 The Frost-Giant's Daughter by Richard Corben from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #4 Queen of the Black Coast by Richard Corben from Savage Sword of Conan (1974) #4 XUTHAL OF THE DUSK/THE SLITHERING SHADOW by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala. (New Colors by GFB Group/GFB.it) Conan and Natala (a daughter of Brythunia) wander into the accursed city of Xuthal. Thalis the Stygian (the daughter of a king) wants Conan to be her king, she tortures Natala and offers Natala to Thog (a very ancient and very terrible monster), Thog eats Thalis, Conan tangles with T...

Spoilers! Spoilers!  CHAPTER 53 (book 7 of 18): Descendants of Ogres Ofu senses that an ogre is coming for her. Keiji Maeda pays a visit to Naoe Onatsu (sister of Naoe Kanetsugu) and Naoe Kanetsugu ((1559-1620). Military commander of the Yamashiro Province, an homage to Arnold Schwarzenegger). Keiji picks up The Shiji by the historian Sima Qian. Keiji and Sutemaru are attacked by Iwabe (a giant mind reading Ogre from the hidden Nagiri village). CHAPTER 54: The Laughing Ogre! Iwabe follows Keiji into a bathhouse. Keiji pranks six Kabukimono samurai with a bamboo wakizashi, the Kabukimono ruin (by oxidization) their own iron swords by bringing their real swords into the sauna. Iwabe the Ogre and Keiji become friends. CHAPTER 55: The Ill-Fated Damsel Iwabe reveals that he raised Ofu in Nagiri after her mother's death. Ofu doesn't want to leave with Iwabe, so she brings Keiji some persimmons (fruit). Ofu is actually Princess Ofu, her mother (Oyuki) is from Nagiri and her father is ...

Spoilers! Spoilers!  CHAPTER 35 (book 5 of 18): Mighty Spear Formation Kyoto. Tokugawa Ieyasu ((1543-1616). An homage to actor Shintaro Katsu (1931-1997)) looks on as Okumura Suke'emon (Keiji's closest friend) and Maeda Keiji are decimating the 400 Rōnin of Maeda Gen'i ((1539-1602). Magistrate of Kyoto, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's five commissioners). Hattori Hanzō ((1542-1597). Leader of the Iga ninjas. The Tokugawa general known for Edo Castle's Hanzōmon gate) stops Tokugawa Ieyasu from participating in the Kabukimono brawl. The Rōnins that are still breathing run for it.  Flashback! Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and his men win The Battle of Okehazama. Okumura Sukeemon (son of Okumura Eishin) now runs the castle of Arako, as the tea-server in the tea ceremony, Okumura Sukeemon spills tea on Oda Nobunaga (a former Kabukimono), Keiji defuses the situation. CHAPTER 36: White Camellias Sutemaru tries to kill Maeda Gen'i with a grenade.  Maeda Gen'i challenges an u...

The new Predator (an alien Yautja warrior) ally of Cornelius and Zira kills the Mutant controlled Gorilla soldiers of General Ursus. Ursus, Doctor Zaius, Arch (the ANSA astronaut), Cornelius and Zira follow the Predator into the ruins of New York City. They are assailed by an illusion created by The Mutants (mutated human telepaths), unimpressed, the Predator walks right through the mirage.  St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Predator finds the Telepathic Mutants (Cronus, Crius, Helia and others) of the Forbidden Zone AND the missile he was looking for... the "Divine Bomb" of The Mutants. The Predator wants the vintage (two thousand years old) Alpha-Omega atomic Doomsday Bomb... to punish his peers who wronged him on Yautja Prime. Crius utilizes his telepathic powers to force the Predator to hunt: Ursus, Dr. Zaius, Arch, Cornelius and Zira. Will Arch and Ursus be able to obliterate the Predator with their fuel cells? What I did like: Magnificent covers by Stonehouse, Josemaria ...

CONAN & DRAGONERO part 6 (of 7): The Demon from Tarantia (chapter one) The ruins of Kuthchemes (from Black Colossus). Conan of Cimmeria and Ian Aranill reach the towering ivory dome of Thugra Khotan (the dark sorcerer who had reigned in Kuthchemes three thousand years ago). Outside the dome, the clan leader of the Cannibals (who is now a colossal demon, thanks to the wicked magic stored within the mystical jewels) grabs a snack and goes back into Thugra Khotan's mausoleum to devour it! To save their imprisoned children from being consumed, the Cannibal women help Conan and Ian infiltrate the dome via an underground passage. Dragonero skewers the clan leader, Conan decapitates the cannibal headman and our heroes repossess the stolen gems. Conan and Ian travel to Khemi (Stygian port on the southern shore of the River Styx), into the Western Sea, up the Khorotas River to Aquilonia, and reach Tarantia... where a vortex has appeared in the firmament. Conan and Ian discover that demo...

eBook by Matthew John Cover by Juan Alberto Hernández Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  The ship of Wulfhere the Skull-Splitter (a Danish Viking, chieftain of the Danes) is attacked by Kenric the Fair (Wulfhere's old Saxon nemesis) ship's. Wulfhere and Kenric are both seeking the ROMAN GOLD of the Picts, which lies concealed on the Isle of Swords (the Pictish island from "The Dark Man" by Robert E. Howard). An unnatural wave wrecks Wulfhere's ship on the shore of the Isle of Swords. The Skull-Splitter and Cormac Mac Art of Erin (Cormac the Wolf, a Celt, a Gael) are the only two of the crew to survive the beaching. Wulfhere and Cormac disguise themselves as Saxons, they discover that Kenric and his Saxons are already on the isle. Cormac and Wulfhere kill three Saxons. Picts appear, Cormac and Wulfhere surrender. At the Pictish settlement, Cormac and Wulfhere are shown the statue of The Dark Man (The...

eBook by George Mann Cover by Alex Horley (aka Alessandro Orlandelli) Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  We start with some poetry by Yrkonis. King Kull of Valusia is in his court, sitting on the Topaz Throne, next to his brother from another mother, Brule the Spear-Slayer. Jolanta of Elegaria manhandles the guards of Kull, she wants the King to help her find her missing sister (Nola) who is under the spell of a cult dedicated to a god of the sea (the cult of Piri'nach (an elder god of annihilation), the cult's emblem is an eye inside a flame). Jolanta saw a priest with a white skull visage... the sorcerer Thulsa Doom take her sister away. Kull, Brule and Jolanta go to the cult's temple (recently magically teleported from beneath the ocean back to land) in the port city of Alimantos, they kill the sentinels and enter the slimy structure. Wearing cyclopean breathing masks, three cultists drug the air of the te...

eBook by Steven L. Shrewsbury Cover by Guillem H. Pongiluppi  Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  The Kingdom of Hungary. A seasoned Solomon Kane arrives to assist Tamás (a follower of Martin Luther, an old comrade who like Kane was a galley slave of the Turks (The Footfalls Within by Robert E. Howard)). Kane meets Tamas' wife (Leena) and his ten-year-old daughter (Arina). Two guards of the Countess Elizabeth Báthory of Ecsed (1560-1614) try to kidnap Arina. Kane kills both guards.   Solomon learns that the Countess Báthory drained the blood of Tamas' older daughter (Stanca). Báthory bathes in blood to preserve her youth. Reverend Hermann gives Solomon a guard's cloak so that Kane can disguise himself. Kane arrives at the Castle of Csejte (Čachtice). Solomon saves a fifteen-year-old girl (Elisa, an orphan) from Marta (the Countess' cannibal maid). Solomon drowns Marta in Báthory's warm bath. Elisa ment...

Jim Zub's Cursed Shores Beyond part 3: Thralls of the Rift Deep beneath The Isle of Dread, the crew of the Briney Wren (Captain Quinn Corvaxis' shipwrecked ship) are the prisoners of Morley and a cult. Morley wants to offer Conan to his eldritch god/master...  Jaggta-noga (sorcerer Zukala's favourite demon from Kull: The Curse of the Golden Skull and Conan the Barbarian (1970) #5). Still on the loose on the island, playing the role of The Predator (1987), the infatigable CONAN OF CIMMERIA slays dozens of cultists (who need Conan alive for their ritual). Conan even takes the time to burn a big pile of his victims to draw even more cultists to him. The cultists somehow know that Conan dispatched Thulsa Doom in the past (way back in Conan the Barbarian (2023) #12). Valeria kills her torturer, and slips out of her shackles.  Giant humming crystals and an invocation from a servant of Jaggta-noga open a violet fissure in the firmament, tentacles grab Captain Quinn, like the previ...

Collects the complete Slaine heroic fantasy saga of prehistoric Britain and Eire (before the flood) scripted by Pat Mills, in order, in multiple large-format volumes!  The 2000 AD Definitive Editions are available in two versions: in paperback (available everywhere) or in gorgeous WEBSHOP EXCLUSIVE limited-edition embossed HARDBACK (only available from shop.2000ad.com). Inside this magnificent tome you will find the following stories: THE BATTLE OF CLONTARF (IN COLOR! art: Massimo Belardinelli. 23 April 1014, near Dublin. Brian Boru (High King of Ireland) and his Celtic soldiers are fighting a Viking (Norsemen) horde which is aided by El World demons summoned by Elfric Serpent-Eye (Viking Wizard King, a Dark El/Dev-El, a macrobe that can take human form, a Cythron agent). Murdach (son of Brian Boru) explains to Liag that he will be reborn, the Ever-Living Ones transfer Slaine's spirit to Murdach's body, Slaine warps-out and enters the fray. Elfric wounds Slaine, Slaine beheads ...

SOLOMON KANE: THE LION ERRANT part 3: Beauty and the Beast  The reanimated Lopesh (now a vetala, an ancient spirit borrowing Lopesh's corpse) hears his murderer (Ramih Khan) tossing and turning in his sleep. Ramih dreams of a giant buffalo (the asura Mahishasura?), the buffalo demon questions Ramih's beliefs, Ramih realizes that he is turning into a large bovine. The Satpura Range. Baghela (Master of the mahouts) will escort Kalyan Shah (Master of the musketmen) and his musketeers to Rani Durgavati and Kamla Devi (daughter of Kalyan Shah). The palace of Jahaz Mahal in Mandu. Diamanta Bensaid gives Solomon a Palmyra fruit to eat. Kane explains that he thinks that he is a Knight Errant, Diamanta thinks that Solomon is infatuated with the idea of being a Knight. The mysterious black-maned Asiatic lion returns, it is time for Kane to follow it once again. The Chauragarh Fort in the Satpura Range. Rani Durgavati's plan is to go to the Narrai valley and drive the army of the two ...

Tides of the Tyrant-King part 1 (of 4): Emerald Waters The Thurian Age of Kull of Atlantis (from Robert E. Howard's The Shadow Kingdom). Gonar the Seeker (the shaman from "Kings of the Night") sees the Woeful Eye coming towards Earth. Pict hunters and spearmen are awaiting orders. The Hyborian Age of Conan.  CONAN OF CIMMERIA is enjoying a brewski in a busy bar. Conan follows Zuleika (the mysterious Circassian girl) into an alley. Zuleika is approached by a zombie, Conan kills the undead creature. Zuleika needs more of a rare life-saving elixir to save her lover, Conan notices that the liquid mixture looks exactly like the Emerald Water of Thulsa Doom (last seen in the soul stealing lake in Conan the Barbarian (2023) #3). Hydal aka Hydallan, now a retconned servant of Thulsa Doom, is seeking Conan... his mission: to slay the Cimmerian who terminated his master (way back in Conan the Barbarian (2023) #12). Chinatown, London (Limehouse in the East End), 1924. (from Robert E...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, your local spinner rack is once again showcasing 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: The Nemedian Chronicles by Gerardo Zaffino Conan the Barbarian by Jesus Merino (Conan: Tides of the Tyrant-King) Conan the Barbarian by Luke Eidenschink Conan the Barbarian by Leonardo Manco (Slaine: Dragontamer) CONAN: MASSACRED MEMORIES by Jim Zub and Nicola Scott Hydal aka Hydallan (Conan's childhood friend from Conan the Barbarian (2023) #3) gets an origin story.  Flaskback! A young Conan kills a wild boar with a small pocket knife. Conan  mentions Padrac (from Conan the Barbarian (2023) #2).   Lyolf (from Conan the Barbarian (2023) #13) trains Hydallan. Conan disrespects Lyolf by mentioning that his teacher's best days are behind him. Battle of Venarium. The Aquilonian fort is now in the hands o...

Collects the complete Slaine heroic fantasy saga of prehistoric Britain and Eire (before the flood) scripted by Pat Mills, in order, in multiple large-format volumes!  The 2000 AD Definitive Editions are available in two versions: in paperback (available everywhere) or in gorgeous WEBSHOP EXCLUSIVE limited-edition embossed HARDBACK (only available from shop.2000ad.com). Inside this magnificent tome you will find the following stories: THE TIME MONSTER (art: Angela Kincaid. In the realm of the Drune Lords (evil Priest-Kings of the Southern tribes), Slaine mac Roth (a Celtic berserker, a warped warrior of the Sessair tribe, named after Slaine mac Dela, an homage to Cu Chulainn and the fire axe wielded actor Jack Nicholson) and Ukko (a Karelian dwarf, named after the thunder god in Finnish mythology) commit a sacrilege by killing a time-displaced Tyrannosaur (a reference to Flesh by Pat Mills & Boix), they take its heart to Fand in Gabala (inspired by Bluegate Fields in 1872 by G...