BotTalk Reviews

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...

SOLOMON KANE RETURNS! Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring From creator Patrick Zircher Cover by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola Issue #1 On Sale March 2025 #SolomonKaneReturns

Battle of the Black Stone part 3: Quest into Darkness, the epic new Conan event from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics is almost over. Only six Heroes remain, the Pict gate is behind them, the HEROES OF MAN are now deep into the Pictland jungles west of Conajohara. Brissa tells her tale from Savage Sword of Conan #4.  Our heroes are looking for the BLACK STONE BEAST's "source of corruption". Conan talks about his grandfather and past adventures. Brissa compliments multiple times the Cimmerian with the minuscule ego. Brissa reveals a tiny piece of the cursed BLACK STONE.  Slain scribe James Allison appears once again as an apparition, he's not only drawn to mighty, courageous souls, his spirit also can guide our heroes towards the source of corruption Solomon Kane is sure that he is on a mission from God, Dark Agnès de Chastillon is not so sure. Kane and Agnès converse in French, he mentions that he traveled along the Isère river in southeastern France... in 1574. Agn...

The adaptation of The Frost-Giant's Daughter aka The Gods of the North is finally here. Jim Zub's Frozen Faith part III: Gods of the North. In the plains, on the red-stained snow, Wulfhere lies dead with all of his weapon-men. Only one Vanir still stands, and it's not Bragi. Now only two players remain on the ice. It's Conan vs Heimdul. Conan murders Heimdul. Atali, the Frost Giant's Daughter, appears, the luster of her golden locks blind Conan. Conan thinks that Niord might have been ambushed. Atali compels Conan to follow her into the wastes of the north.  Atali's father, Ymir, calls upon his giant sons, the brothers of Atali, to annihilate an exhausted Conan. Conan rises to the challenge and slays both brothers.  Conan, still consumed by lust madness, finally catches the daughter of Ymir. The golden haired witch cries out to her unseen father to be saved from Conan's nympholepsy. Enveloped in a cold blue flame the Frost King's daughter vanishes. Hors...

Sword-brothers, sword-sisters, it is time to pay the venerable spinner rack another visit!  76 spectacular pages of barbaric savagery in black-and-white printed on newsprint!  Inside this magnificent magazine you'll find the following treasures: Jim Zub's introduction to his inescapable Battle of the Black Stone saga.  New Pin-Ups: Conan by Nick Marinkovich Conan by Fernando Dagnino Guerra Solomon Kane by Patrick Zircher Brissa by Dean Kotz  Conrad & Kirowan by Eryk Donovan Dark Agnes by “The Animal” Bob Anger El Borak by Mike Perkins  The Heroes of Man by Rob De La Torre CONAN THE BARBARIAN: BIRTHRIGHT IN BLACK by Jim Zub and Fernando Dagnino An homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). We are Beyond the Black River. The new Aquilonian province of Conajohara, Fort Tuscelan on the edge of the Pictish wilderness. Conan and friends are done fighting incredibly crazed, almost suicidal Picts. Conan decapitates their giant, he notices that the man mountain is weari...

The disappointing prequel to The Frost-Giant's Daughter aka The Gods of the North continues. Jim Zub's Frozen Faith part II: The Daughter's Gaze. Conan beats up the three Aesirmen. Hiding in the trees above, Atali (the gossamer G-string wearing, golden-locked daughter of Ymir, the frost-giant) remembers her father's words, that the affairs of men are unworthy of her attention. Niord, the leader of the 3 surly Æsir warriors, appears and offers Conan a deal, the bear's carcass and a week of work to get safe passage to Asgard's border. Conan mentions Venarium where he became a warrior in Conan the Barbarian FCBD 2023. Niord is dispirited that Ymir does not listen to prayers, Conan replies that it's the same for Crom, their mighty mountain god. An Æsir war-horn is heard. It is a cry for help! The Aesirmen and Conan rush to the rescue. Conan saves one Æsir from a raided and burning fort. The Aesirmen and Conan douse the flames. Niord, fearing for the young Cimmer...

Novel by Stephen Michael Stirling with very considerable help by Steve Saffel Dedicated to Stephen's late wife Janet Illustrations by Rob De La Torre From Titan Books and Heroic Signatures Also available unabridged on audiobook, but WITHOUT the Red Nails novella, read by Bradford Hastings  Trivia: Stephen also wrote the introduction to Eons of the Night (The Robert E. Howard Library Vol. 5) way back in 1996. The All-New Chronicles of the Worlds Greatest Barbarian Hero start here! Spoilers! Spoilers!  A prequel to Robert E. Howard's Red Nails. A cat infested (cats are sacred to Stygians) Sukhmet tavern south of the River Styx in Stygia. Sword for hire/mercenary Conan, now a scout in Zingaran commander Zarallo’s Free Companions (Zingarans sunk Conan's previous ship), is playing dice with friend Anjallo. Conan notices that two Zamorans are trying to trick Brocas, a young Corinthian, into an unfair duel. Conan destroys the arm of one Zamoran while Brocas kills the other. Conan ...

This is not a black lotus induced dream. What you're seeing on the spinner rack is real! It's a brand new bimonthly Conan black-and-white magazine!  Yup! 80 spectacular pages of barbaric savagery printed on newsprint!  Inside this anthology you'll find plenty of treasures: A Personal Introduction by Roy Thomas Map of the Hyborian Age by Francesca Baerald A fresh new Pin-Up of Conan by Rob De La Torre A fresh new Pin-Up of Bêlit by Rebeca SubversiveGirl Puebla A fresh new Pin-Up of Solomon Kane by Howard Chaykin Pin-Up of the variant cover by Gerardo Zaffino with Robert E. Howard's poem: The Road of Kings  Pin-Up of the cover by Joe Jusko Solomon Kane, an essay by archaeologist Jeffrey Shanks Conan & The Dragon Horde by John Arcudi & Max Von Fafner Max is killing it on the art! Departing the Wahuan desert, now setting foot into the steppes of Hyrkania, General Conan is leading the 200 men - 1 woman army of exiled Prince Zaahid of Ul-Dalkhana, mostly gold lusting ...

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...

aka Conan Le Cimmérien - Le Maraudeur noir Clearly inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and never published during his lifetime, The Black Stranger by Robert E. Howard gets poorly adapted in France. Robert just can't get a break. The amateurish art of Jean-Luc Masbou is not ready for prime time. The human form is not mastered at all. Enthusiasts of anatomy will be severely upset. Faces look all too often like boiled potatoes or rotting pumpkins. Nonetheless lots of work is put in the vegetation of the Pictish wilderness, rock formations, the fort, masted sailing ships, weapons and clothes. The strange black Stygian mage/demon also disappoints by not being consistent or creepy enough. The terrible lettering makes the tale almost illegible. The pin-ups for The Treasure of Tranicos are all embarrassing except for the one by master Philippe Druillet, but it's cropped. Cropped? What the heck? Yes, and this is extremely disrespectful. Shame on you Glénat, Jean-Dav...