BotTalk Reviews

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...

This volume collects the Nancy daily newspaper comic strips from 1951-1952.  We actually get 616 timeless, charming and very clever black-and-white Nancy strips by American cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller (1905-1982) in one collection! Don't worry Sluggo aficionados, Nancy's pal is once again very much present in this tome. What is on the agenda for Sluggo this time around? Let's see: Fixing a fence, dealing with snowballs, protecting Nancy's piggybank, refusing to shovel snow, begging for treats, sweeping, refusing a homemade valentine, flirting with girls, appeasing a bully, using a palindrome, tap dancing, enjoying gum, ice cream, watermelon, pop corn & spaghetti, getting hypnotized, riding bicycles and pogo sticks, branching out, getting a cold, pining for winter, walking on air, settling a grudge, encountering "one-punch" Duffy, getting dimples and stung by a bee, dealing with spring fever, not receiving first aid, having a picnic with Nancy, keeping a co...

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. Beliar kills an enormous fire-breath...

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...

With parts from The Icarus/Liberty 1 spacecraft, Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) has concocted an intricate Power Glove that can transfer cosmic energy. Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman), Ben Grimm (The Thing) regain their powers from Cornelius, Dr. Zira and Dr. Zaius respectively. Puppet President Ursus has quelled the farmer uprising/rebellion, he invites the farmers to join him on his new crusade... the eradication of the human threat. The Red Ghost (Russian scientist Ivan Kragoff) orders his Super-Apes Peotor (orangutan) and Igor (baboon) to kill Cornelius, Dr. Zira and Dr. Zaius; the Super-Apes (Miklho, Peotor and Igor) who have become pro-ape (thanks to Dr. Zaius) refuse to obey Kragoff. Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) regains his powers by using the Power Glove on Ursus. Doctor Doom explains to Dr. Zaius that Kragoff used a Neural disruptor on President Gaius (supreme leader of Ape City). Doom wants Zaius to kill President Gaius, Zaius smashes a b...

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...

Who's tight-lipped like the T-1000 Terminator, more menacing than The Mummy (1959), slicker than Swamp Thing, more indestructible than The Blob (1958), immortal like Caltiki (1959) and obscure like X the Unknown (1956)? It's The Sludge from the pages of Lion (a British weekly boys' comic)!  1965. Radiological pollution contaminates a Sargassum... The Sludge is born! The Sludge (a luminous, sentient jelly-like substance) covers and takes over a large commercial liner, everyone aboard abandons ship. Reporter Bill Hanley (more macho than Clark Kent) and photojournalist Rick Slade (more experienced than Jimmy Olsen) of the Montreal (in the Canadian province of Quebec) Argus (an homage to the Argus camera company? To the Canadair CP-107 Argus built in Montreal?) newspaper are our investigating heroes. The slimy, glowing vessel rams into the Port of Montreal, The Sludge oozes onto a pier, the liner disintegrates. The Sludge gives itself a spooky humanoid form. Photojournalist Ric...

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...

eBook by Adam Rose Cover by Alex Horley (aka Alessandro Orlandelli) Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  In Althunia, young Kull of Atlantis is a slave of Eldor (clearly NOT the heroic guardian of the book of living spells) the Game Warden. The Althunian Skull Forest. A hunting party of FOUR men goes missing, sheep are being mutilated. Kull must find and terminate the culprit: the Beast of Skull Mountain, if he is successful in his mission, he'll be released from slavery. An elk points Kull to a hidden trail, Althunian runes on a tree indicate that the Skull Beast's den is above the clouds, so up the mountain Kull goes. Crows attack from above, Kull finds three decapitated wolves, Kull knows one of them: Tiber the Grey, Kull buries the three canines. Kull meets Orgon the Bounty Hunter who is also looking for the Skull Beast. FOUR decaying disciples/slaves of the immortal Beast: Gar (a diminutive of Garou?) and his...

eBook by Shaun Hamill  Dedicated to Shaun's father, Rick Hamill Cover by Guillem H. Pongiluppi  Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Spoilers! Spoilers!  Solomon Kane is tracking "something" dark and evil from England. The "something" wounds Solomon in the leg and leaves him to die in the woods outside of the village known as Tywyllwch/Darkness in Wales. It's Yuletide, Christmas eve.  Four children are missing: Tacy (Rees' platonic girlfriend), Matilde, Howell and Philipe. Rees (an homage to Martin Rees, the fifteenth Astronomer Royal?) finds Solomon in the snow and drags him to his home. Rees' father, Hughe (a physician who also has a wife (Elys) and a daughter (Judithe)) thinks that Kane is the culprit behind the kidnappings, he threatens to poison the Puritan. Kane mentions that Puritans do not celebrate Christmas. Someone masquerading as the Mari Lwyd (the Grey Mare from the South Wales wassailing folk c...

Novel by Shaun Hamill Dedicated to Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) Cover by Nick Marinkovich Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher  From Titan Books and Cabinet Licensing LLC Also available unabridged on audiobook from Blackstone Publishing, read by James Fouhey  Spoilers! Spoilers!  Kane, the Puritan wanderer/adventurer, is now in his fifties, with the help of N'Longa the African shaman/sorcerer, he concentrates his efforts on hunting vampires wherever they may be. Solomon takes a break from relentlessly battling bloodsuckers, he goes to the village of Baumstadt in the Black Forest of Germany (Shaun Hamill adapts Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders) and kills a beast with great skeletal wings (like the Eremite from Hellraiser (1987)) and its supernatural rider. Kane receives a letter from a childhood friend, Catherine Archer, who is now married to Enoch (an homage to the biblical figure), has 4 children and is living in the English Puritan village of Windsend in England....

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...

aka Alien, Predator & Planet of the Apes CGD 2026 #1 (Comics Giveaway Day 2026). Strange visitors have arrived on the Planet of the Apes. Astronaut Arch overhears General Ursus proclaiming that "The only good human is a dead human!". Arch encounters wild humans, three soldier apes attack. Two of the apes start gunning down the men, a combistick/telescoping spear kills the third ape who was longing to lacerate a woman and her child, one of the other two apes starts shooting at the Predator, the Yautja slaughters the soldiers with his wristblades. What I did like: A sweet cover by Davide Paratore featuring Dr. Zaius! We get to see the statue of the Lawgiver. Arch says the famous George Taylor line: "It's A Mad House." from Planet of the Apes (1968). What I did not like: The ANSA (American National Space Administration) uniform of Arch is incorrect, the flag of the United States should be on her left shoulder. The Predator does not use his plasmacaster shoulder...

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...

A thrilling manga prequel to the hit anime Grendizer U! Spoilers! Spoilers!  The cosmic league of nations is ruled by the evil Kingdom of Vega. Planet Fleed/Euphor is protected by a formidable weaponized Mech, Grendizer/Goldorak. Seven invasions by the Vega Star Alliance were repelled by Grendizer. We are introduced to: Gau Su Uls (Duke Fleed's best friend, a lycanthrope from Planet Uls, son of King Uls and a Starker Knight academy student, an homage to Morros/Pollux from episode 71 of UFO Robo Grendizer (1975-1977) and TV Magazine (01/1976)) Duke Fleed (the young prince of Planet Fleed/Prince d'Euphor, the most accomplished Knight of the academy) King Fleed (Father of Duke) Queen Fleed (Mother of Duke) Princess Grace Maria Fleed/Phénicia (Younger sister of Duke) Cassado Zeola Whiter (a sadistic Starker Knight, an homage to Whiter/Sogrady from episode 24 of UFO Robo Grendizer (1975-1977)) Only Starker Knights can pilot "Dizer" mechs. Only the mightiest of the Knights ...

Anyway Gang is Canada's coolest Alternative/Indie Rock supergroup quartet ever assembled:  Chris Murphy (Sloan), Dave Monks (Tokyo Police Club), Menno Versteeg (Hollerado) and Sam Roberts (Sam Roberts Band)! Additional guitars by Nixon Boyd (Hollerado). Trevor James Anderson and Gus van Go played some keys and guitars also.  Additional vocals by Alyson McNamara. Produced by Anyway Gang, Trevor James Anderson and Nixon Boyd. Additional production and mixed by Gus van Go and Werner F. Engineered by Nixon Boyd and Trevor James Anderson; Assistant Engineer: Zach Pepe. Additional Engineering by Mike Gnocato. Mastered by João Carvalho. Recorded at Noble Street Studios (Toronto) and at Banquet Sound recording studio (run by Nixon Boyd in Toronto). Cover art by Ben Marra. Band Picture by Calm Elliott-Armstrong.  Layout by Christina Zalec. A project funded in part by the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), the Government of Canada and Canada's private radi...

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...