BotTalk Reviews

Thrice Marked for Death! part three: HAUNTED!... Jim Zub's vulgar sequel to Queen of the Black Coast continues. Conan is remembering "the good old times" with his bipolar girlfriend Bêlit. Back to the present, a bewitched Chaundra "The Chat" (It's somehow very important to constantly remind the reader that she's nicknamed "The Chat" but apparently Zub means a chatterbox not a songbird or a cat.) tries to assassinate our Cimmerian. "The Chat", now with deadite-like looks and enhanced strength, stabs Conan in the trapezius and slits a poor random dude's tongue. Conan kills her. Bleeding, haunted by the past, lost in his fevered mind, Conan garrottes Bêlit. Conan stumbles upon Kamal's secret gathering point. The barbarian finds his allies from the guild of thieves butchered by Kamal and locksmith Greff, both also possessed, just like "The Chat". Conan kills his two bandit buddies, dead Chaundra shows up, all 3 spectres...

Thanks to Titan Books for giving us this opportunity to interview Simon! 1) How did the current trade paperback re-publications of your TF work come about? 1A) I'd always harboured the idea of getting my US TF run back in print in collected editions, but it wasn't really until 1997/1998 (when I attended two Botcons) that I realized that there may still be a market out there. Even so, it was another couple of years until the time seemed to be right. There was a lot of retro interest in all things 80s, TF included, and a new Gen 1 style toy line in the offing, so armed with enough potential sales information I felt confident enough to pitch the idea to Titan (without getting laughed out of the room). 2) I help run a chain of four comic book stores in America, and I just wanted to tell you that there is a great market here for collections of your U.K. stories. If these are on the horizon for the Titan collections, I think they would sell as many, if not more, than the recent Ameri...

Don't cover my six, Iceman! So much nudity in issue 6, so much nakedness. Maybe the most "au naturel" Conan comic ever printed? Bêlit in the buff. Chaundra in the buff. Conan in the buff. Even the winged monster is in the buff. Everybody get naked! Should I follow suit and review this "Not suggested for immature readers" issue in my birthday suit? My Mezco Toyz Solomon Kane action figure (with its inaccurate red sash. It should be green!) next to me is shaking its Puritan head "NO". Thrice Marked for Death! part deux: The CURSED!... the adaptation of the Steven Seagal movie that never was continues or maybe it is still just the continuation of a gory Queen of the Black Coast sequel by Jim Zub. Seeing his she-devil of the sea as a Force ghost made Conan a believer in the afterlife. Preferring to partake in violent heists instead of trying to seek psychiatric assistance in Shadizar the Wicked our tormented Cimmerian from the Hyborian age is still hanging...

eBook by Jonathan Maberry Cover by Guillem H. Pongiluppi Illustrations by Patrick Zircher From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers! Very loosely based on the real life of Thiess of Kaltenbrun aka the Livonian werewolf. Swedish Livonia, near the Baltic Sea, 1598 AD, about a couple of years after the events of "The Return of Sir Richard Grenville". Solomon stumbles upon a strange massacre: a farming community decimated by Kurt Grieg, a Nachzehrer from Austria and his gang of brigands. Will Kane file a grievance with the state of New York or will he unleash a world of hurt on the demonic Kurt? Will the villagers be avenged? Will our heroes get to the chopper on time? You'll have to download the ebook to find out. It's a well-researched narrative that lifts the veil on the secrets of the benandanti werewolves of Italy. We discover that these "Good Walkers" are actually benevolent Catholic lycanthropes that serve God. Each born with a caul, a mas...

Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane the dour English Puritan Swashbuckler gets a complete collection of his classic Marvel adventures. Sadly no Dark Horse Comics Guy Davis monster creations inside at all. You get All the pin-ups, adverts, text pieces + All the Kane stories from The Sword of Solomon Kane limited series, Savage Sword of Conan, Conan Saga, Kull and the Barbarians, Marvel Premiere, Marvel Preview, Monsters Unleashed and Dracula Lives. My favourite stories are: A Marvel Team-Up featuring the ectomorph: Kane in his twilight years and the mesomorph: Conan the Barbarian in his prime (The Moon of Skulls II: Death's Dark Riders by Roy Thomas and Colin MacNeil). Kane versus a ghost that kills (Skulls in the Stars by Ralph Reese). Kane versus a Lovecraftian cloud of blood (The Footfalls Within by Don Glut, Will Meugniot and Steve Gan). Kane versus the bat-people (Wings in the Night by Don Glut and David Wenzel). Kane versus vampires/zombies/the walking dead men (The Hills of t...

Thrice Marked for Death!... it sounds like a must see Steven Seagal movie to me, but it's not, sword-brothers, sword-sisters... it's only a Queen of the Black Coast sequel by Jim Zub. With his buccaneer days over for the moment and with the Amra, the Lion persona still further along in his future, Conan the Cimmerian corsair is trying to get a certain she-devil of the sea out of his system. Back on terra firma our woebegone barbarian brigand has joined a guild of thieves called the GloryHounds. Will this brand-new arc finally quench my thirst for a good heroic fantasy story? We shall see. What I did like: The Patch Zircher tetraptych! Combine covers #5-8 to form a cool Conan quadriptych.  Doug Braithwaite is hitting it out of the London stadium. Bravo! Colours by Diego Rodriguez are fine. The chat? You mean the cat burglar? A little taste of French Canada from Zub is always good to see. Shadizar is full of shady characters. Erlik mentioned. The Living Tarim mentioned. Bel, god ...

Jim Zub's miserable and interminable zombie tale of ennui ends, at last. Conan transcends the abyss soup, chills with Brule, kills a Lovecraftian creature and escapes this poorly written story arc. What I did like: A cover that features A WOMAN of the Hyborian age by Giada Marchisio!! Bound in Black Stone is done, finished. My boy, Brule, the Spear-Slayer finally appears. Collapsing structures is a very Howardian way of finishing a sword and sorcery tale. Conan Father’s Sword from the 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger film appears. The Frost-Giant's Daughter cover by Cary Nord is bitter sweet because Titan Comics are presently not adapting the stories of Robert E. Howard. It's only pastiches for now. Let's hope they change their minds and give us adaptations in the future! Nice cover by Nick Percival. What I did not like: Still no cover by British comics artist Colin MacNeil!!! No Kull of Atlantis. No Thulsa Doom. No Set Berserkers from the John Milius film! Not very clear wha...

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...

Jim Zub's Conan Zombie story progresses at a snail's pace. Conan is still plagued by The Walking Dead... sorry, my mistake: The Possessed Picts. Our favorite Cimmerian and new girlfriend follow the shambling undead back to their den. They also bicker over the ownership of a stolen blade and... have intercourse. Bow chicka witless! What I did not like: Making love outside in the open, in minus zero weather with the stench of death teasing your nostrils while zombies are poking around everywhere. Absurd and hard to swallow. Zub is a Canadian, he should know better when it comes to the cold. Brissa praises Conan way too much. Our hero has a very fragile ego, apparently. Conan is excessively fearless. Shrinking away is not a crime. This comic is turning into a bad video game. The colouring is even more atrocious! Would be so much better in black-and-white. Nice Renato Casaro homage cover! But... Renato is not credited on said cover? Faux pas for sure! Alan Quah's cover reminds ...

Jim Zub's Conan Zombie story bored me to tears. What I did not like: Not enough story. I felt unsatiated at the end of the issue. The aping of Big John Buscema is disrespectful. Please find your own voice, Roberto De La Torre. Too much hemoglobin. Conan is not a gore comic. Mediocre colours. This really should have been printed only in B&W. Badly drawn bare orbs. Make sure you know how to draw the female form before showing us anything. Maimed maiden. You see, I'm weird that way, I prefer my women with 2 eyes. Conan paying for damages. Conan acting like a perfect gentleman. Conan using a freaking napkin! Conan running TOWARDS the supernatural. Reminding us that young Conan killed an innocent bear just to feel like a big man. Lame! The Living Dead? It's been done already, let it rest. Plagues. In 2023, NOBODY wants to read a story about plagues. The amateurish art used for REH and his ages undreamed of. The embarrassing cover by Mignola. What I did like: Conan The Barbar...