BotTalk Reviews

SOLOMON KANE: THE LION ERRANT part 1: War Mongers  Flashback! Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh. 30 years in the past. A 9-year-old Durgavati ((1524-1564), a Chandela princess of Mahoba of the Chandel clan of the Rajputs, a future maharani and regent) proves to her skeptical father that she was in a fight with a lion. 1564. Agra (capital of the Mughal Sultanate) in Uttar Pradesh, Jahangiri Mahal palace within the Agra Fort. Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar ((1542-1605), the third Mughal emperor) informs Diwan Beohar Kayastha ((????-????), the minister of the Gond queen/Rani Durgavati of the Garha Kingdom of Gondwana) that since the Warrior queen of Gondwana refuses to marry Asaf Khan I ((1549-1612), Mughal general, regent of Kara in Uttar Pradesh) or Ramih Khan (Mughal general, regent of Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh, the butcher of Obra in Uttar Pradesh)... she must surrender her lands to the Mughal Empire. The Portuguese Chapel in Malindi, Kenya. Solomon Kane (a mzungu/wanderer) slays some slavers an...

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 ...

Kulgith the Devourer (a Thri-kreen homage?) has kidnaped some kids from an Obrall settlement. ROM the Space Knight decides to rescue the children. ROM leaves his handgun (The Neutralizer) with Grakum and Jorvud (the distressed parents of the tykes). Thinking that ROM is a robot, Kulgith throws the SpaceKnight in his cell for inorganic prisoners, ROM meets his cellmate... "Transformers Studio Series Deluxe Class" Kranix (the scientist from planet Lithone, the Lithonian who was captured by the Quintessons in The Transformers: The Movie (1986)). Carpet (a sentient alien jellyfish and ROM's "Man with No Name" poncho/companion) opens the pen for them. Kranix points ROM in the direction of the cell for organic prisoners. Kulgith fights with ROM, ROM points out that he is a cyborg, ROM beheads Kulgith. ROM borrows one of Kulgith's arms and attaches it to his body. ROM takes the kids back to their kin.  ROM, the wandering guardian of the spaceways, continues his une...

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...

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 as a Knight-Errant. Beliar kills an e...

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...