Categories
News

News Roundup: April 2026

Personal / Website News

I did not get much published at my website in April, but that does not mean a lot of news didn’t happen!

GosT/Perturbator Concert Archival Write Up

James Lollar, the mastermind behind the dark/synthwave band GosT passed away earlier this month. He was a pioneer of the retrowave genre.

GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments.
GosT performing.

I was lucky to have seen GosT perform with Perturbator back in 2017. I did a concert write up that was published at Heathen Harvest, but that website is long since dead. Since it has been on my radar to bring some of my old articles back online and host them here, and I want to do what I can to help keep Lollar’s memory eternal, I’ve gone ahead and dug up my concert report and put it online. I’ve also included more photos than the original publication.

My republished write up can be read here. Enjoy!

Exotica Moderne #31

It has been a few years since my last piece being published in Exotica Moderne, but I am back!

Cover shows a blonde pinup girl, earring a tiki top and skit. She is holding a cocktail glass in her right hand. She is leaning against a palm tree. She is on the beach, with a wave crashing behind her and a mountain in the distance. The sky is blue-green with a few clouds. There is a parrot flying toward her. At her feet are some shells.
Exotica Moderne #31

Back in November 2025 I had the honour to interview Alex Lamb and Max Well, the filmmakers behind the documentary The Donn of Tiki. That interview will be published in the next issue of Exotica Moderne, which is issue #31. In fact, orders for that issue are already being taken at the House of Tabu website (product link).

I have other article ideas that have been on the back burner for Exotica Moderne, such as an essay on Secret of the Incas. It is probably a good time to realize them. Exotica Moderne has always been a great periodical and one of the best venues I have ever written for.

Vanya #10 Compendium

The neo-jungle girl comic series Vanya: The Lost Warrior (which I’ve covered extensively at my website here) had a successful Kickstarter this month to fund issue ten.

Banner says "Vanya: the lost warrior - cover D by Ignacio Noe. Launching April 14th on Kickstarter". The banner shows Vanya, holding a vine in her left hand, looking kind of angry, as a T-rex rampages in the jungle behind her. In the distance a volcano erupts.
Vanya 10 Kickstarter Banner

One of the items every backer will receive with their pledge is a digital compendium that includes supplemental material, such as character bios, universe lore, a short story, and even a recap of what transpired from issues one to nine to allow folks a quick way round catch up in the story.

I was humbled and honored to be asked by the Bad Bug Editor in Chief, and writer of Vanya, Mike Tener, to write this summary to be included in the compendium! So, keep an eye out here, or the various Bad Bug outlets (Facebook link here) for news on how the development of issue ten goes.

Panthans Journal #347

The April issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a reprint of my review of issue eight of Vanya: The Lost Warrior. The original can be read right here.

A black and white cover. It shows a four armed alien holding swords and a bow. Next to it is an alien gorilla.
National Capital Panthans Journal #347.

Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journal is a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos, and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.

Sincere appreciation to Laurence for the opportunity to have my work published in the journal.

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearance

I had the honour to appear on two episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast that were published this month.

First, Michele and I are both guests on the episode where the topic is the 90s monster film, The Relic.

Thumbnail with a big monster on it that has teeth and looks rubbery. It says "F2F - New Fan2Fan Podcast! Monster Mania! The Relic"
Fan2Fan Podcast Thumbnail for The Relic episode.

It is a good movie, and a unique monster in that decade between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11. The episode can be streamed at the Fan2Fan website here or in the player below:

Monster Mania – The Relic – Fan2Fan Podcast

Next up there is an episode where I talk generally about the different Lovecraft monsters out there, from Cthulhu to Azathoth.

Banner says: F2F New Fan2Fan Podcast! Monster Mania! Lovecraft Monsters.
Fan2Fan – Lovecraft Monsters

That episode can be streamed here or in the player below.

Monster Mania: Lovecraft's Creatures – Fan2Fan Podcast

Sincere appreciation to Bernie and Pete of Fan2Fan for having Michele and I on as guests!

Scholars from the Edge of Time

For Scholars from the Edge of Time for April Michele and I went old school via new school and watched the new Deathstalker film. To sum it up: it ruled.

Graphic novel is hardback and has a wraparound of the original movie poster. The Blu-ray shows all the characters collage together with mountains behind them.
Deathstalker the graphic novel and the Deathstalker remake on Blu-ray.

Listen to our musings about this reinterpretation of a classic 80s S&S series on YouTube.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2026.

Cover shows a blonde pinup girl, earring a tiki top and skit. She is holding a cocktail glass in her right hand. She is leaning against a palm tree. She is on the beach, with a wave crashing behind her and a mountain in the distance. The sky is blue-green with a few clouds. There is a parrot flying toward her. At her feet are some shells.
Exotica Moderne #31

“Tellers of Tales: Interview with Alex Lamb and Max Well on The Donn of Tiki” in Exotica Moderne #31, May 2026.

Cover is by Mark Wheatley and called "The Beasts". It is red hued. It shows Tarzan riding atop of an elephant. Below the elephant are two gorillas and a lion. Behind them is a tree and a setting sun.
National Capital Panthans Journal #344.

“All E.T.’s Aren’t Nice: Vanya 06” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #344, January 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover by David Michael Beck. It's a drawing of Tarzan atop an elephant, with 2 axes in front.
National Capital Panthans Journal #345.

“The Prehistoric Purge: Vanya 07″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #345, February 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover is called "The Land that Time Forgot" by Mark Whetley. It shows a man, crouched on one knee, holding a rifle, with safari attire, but shirt open. Next to him he has a barking dog that kinda look like Benji. Behind there is a roaring T-rex, a triceratops, and pterodactyls flying.
National Capital Panthans Journal #346.

“Journey to Agharti” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #346, March 2026.

A black and white cover. It shows a four armed alien holding swords and a bow. Next to it is an alien gorilla.
National Capital Panthans Journal #347.

“Warpath and Rampage: Vanya 08” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #347, April 2026.

Original can be read here.

Calls for Papers/Proposals

Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my path or I am sharing on behalf of my colleagues. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.

Dragon Age: Worlds of Power and Play

Edited by Adam Crowley (Husson University) and Daniel Reardon (Missouri University of Science and Technology) 

The Dragon Age franchise (BioWare, 2009–present) stands as one of the most narratively and philosophically ambitious bodies of work in contemporary role-playing games. Across its major titles, the series constructs a world shaped by conflict, belief, and consequence—where institutions govern bodies, identities are contested, and player choice operates within systems that both enable and constrain action. 

This edited collection invites scholars to examine Dragon Age as a site of meaning-making across narrative, mechanical, cultural, and philosophical dimensions. We seek contributions that engage the series not simply as a set of texts, but as a structured system in which power, identity, agency, and belief are produced, negotiated, and experienced. 

This collection takes a comprehensive view of the franchise, including Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. At the same time, Dragon Age operates as a transmedia world rather than a closed set of game texts. We therefore welcome contributions that engage the broader narrative and paratextual ecosystem of the series, including novels, comics, strategy guides, codices, and reference works such as The World of Thedas volumes, as well as screen-based media such as Dragon Age: Redemption and animated adaptations. Essays may focus on a single game, trace developments across multiple titles, or examine how meaning emerges through the interaction of game systems and transmedia storytelling. We are particularly interested in work that attends to the relationship between narrative, system design, and player experience across these materials. 

Areas of Interest 

1. Power, Authority, and Institutions 

Essays in this category may examine the structures that organize and regulate life in Thedas, including the Chantry, the Circles of Magi, the Templar Order, and the Inquisition. Approaches may include political theory, rhetorical analysis of governance, institutional critique, and studies of legitimacy, surveillance, and control.

2. Identity, Embodiment, and Otherness

This section invites work on race, gender, sexuality, and the body within Dragon Age. Topics may include the construction of elven, Qunari, dwarven, and human identities; representations of difference and marginalization; romance and intimacy systems; and the relationship between player identity and character embodiment. 

3. Systems, Choice, and Player Agency 

Contributions may explore how Dragon Age structures player action through dialogue systems, branching narratives, and moral decision-making frameworks. We welcome analyses of agency, constraint, consequence, and the role of the player as a co-creator within designed systems. 

4. Lore, Worldbuilding, and Transmedia Storytelling 

This category focuses on the narrative architecture of Dragon Age across games, codices, novels, comics, and other media. Topics may include paratexts, environmental storytelling, worldbuilding practices, and the role of distributed narrative in shaping player understanding. 

5. Ethics, Belief, and Moral Philosophy 

Essays may address the ethical and philosophical questions at the heart of Dragon Age, including justice, faith, sacrifice, and moral responsibility. We invite work that engages the series’ treatment of belief systems, divine authority, and the player’s role in navigating complex moral landscapes. 

Please submit proposals by June 1, 2026. Drafted chapters will be due September 15, 2026. 

Submission Guidelines

  • Abstracts: Maximum 750 words 
  • Include: Title, abstract, and brief bio (100–150 words) 
  • Format: Word document (.docx) 
  • Email submissions to: reardond@mst.edu 

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

The ever growing peplum research library grows with these recent sword and sandal acquisitions.

Goliath and the Barbarians and Goliath and the Vampires

Michele and I went down to Tucson in mid-April to catch the Ray Harryhausen exhibit (that write up is forthcoming!) but also explore a little bit of the city. We wound up going to Booksmans on Speedway and one of the treasure I found in the cult movie section was this Goliath double feature.

Clear DVD Case. Top says "A Goliath Spectacular Double-Feature Program!" The bottom says "Another great double bill from Wild East". Center of the DVD sleeve shows two posters, one for each film. Goliath and the Barbarians shows Steve Reeves in shackles, with a fleet of horse back riders under him, and a woman in a red skirt holding a torch. Goliath and the vampires shows two strong men wrestling in a case. Two women look on, a man in a crown in the back holds a thunderbolt. A silhouette is at the cave entrance.
Personal copy of the Wild East 2 movie set of Goliath and the Barbarians and Goliath and the Vampires.

Looks like the company who put this out, Wild East, closed their doors earlier this decade. They seemed to have specialized in spaghetti westerns, with this Goliath and the Barbarians / Goliath and the Vampires DVD being their sole sword and sandal output. This looks like a lot of fun!

Rest in Peplum: Gerry Conway

At the end of April comic book legend Gerry Conway passed away. Conway appeared at many of the comic book conventions in the LA area and I had the honour to meet him a few times. Here is a picture of the first time I met him back in 2014:

Nick Diak and Gerry Conway at Gerry's Booth. We both have on glasses. He has short, red hair. We both have black shirts on, and an open over shirt over those.
Meeting Gerry Conway at a 2014 Long Beach Comic Expo.

Conway is probably best known for co-creating the Punisher, but I revered him for his contributions to the sword and sorcery genre. He wrote Conan the Destroyer (1984) and the Ralph Bakshi animated Fire and Ice (1983).

Standard blu-ray case. The sleeve is the poster art for the film. At the top is says Fire (in red) and Ice (in blue). There is an axe wielding barbarian standing on a cliff edge. In front of him is an amazing lady with a purple bikini top and black hair. There is a blonde warrior holding a dagger. Lunding at them looks to be a goblin or orc.
Personal copy of Fire and Ice Blu-ray autographed by Conway, Gordon, and Tataranowicz.

One of my prized sword and sorcery possessions is my Blu-ray of Fire and Ice signed by Conway, and artists/animators Steven E. Gordon and Tom Tataranowicz.

A true, sincere rest in peplum to Conway.

News from Friends

Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.

New Ride the Stream Episodes

New episodes of Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata’s vidcast, Ride the Stream, are online. The duo continue their deep dive into the sci-fi series Falling Skies.

Here is their discussion on season one episode seven:

Episode eight:

Episode nine:

And episode ten:

After this Ride the Stream pivots to talk about Dark Winds. Here is their analysis of season one episode one:

Make sure to subscribe the Ride the Stream YouTube channel to see when new episodes drop. There is also a BlueSky social media as well.

New Fan2Fan Episodes

Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online. Pete and Bernie continue their discussions on different monster movies. Aside from the two monster movies episodes mentioned above, here are the others that dropped in April.

First they have an episode on Pumpkinhead:

Monster Mania: Pumpkinhead – Fan2Fan Podcast

And then one on Godzilla:

Monster Mania: Godzilla – Fan2Fan Podcast

Followed by another Godzilla episode:

Monster Mania: Godzilla Versus – Fan2Fan Podcast

And finally, an episode titled “When Monsters Lose Their Mojo“:

Monster Mania: When Monsters Lose Their Mojo – Fan2Fan Podcast

Older episodes of Fan2Fan can be found at its Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference. There is also the Fan2FanFacebook page.

The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove by Ian Welke

Author Ian Welke has a new book that just came out! It is called The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove and it is a loose sequel to The Azure Cove Assignment which came out last year. The cover art is done by Kelly Lyon-King.

Cover is a square within a circle. The circle has obelisks jutting out of it and from those there are tree branches. Inside the square are leaves and 4 eyes. It looks like a burst of water is happening behind the odd sigil type thing.
The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove by Ian Welke (photo provided by Welke)

The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove can be found on Amazon.

Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn by Jeffrey J. Mariotte

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. announced that pre-orders are now open for the brand new ERB Universe novella, Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn. This book is penned by the prolific Jeffrey J. Mariotte, the guest of honour at last year’s Edgar Rice Burroughs Circle of Friendship.

Cover shows a woman in Native American attire, holding a rifle, standing on a cliff made of debris, next to a lion.
Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn cover by Daren Bader.

The product page for all the different editions of this novella can be found here at the ERB website.

Categories
Essays

To Live and Dance in L.A.: Concert Report of GosT & Perturbator (2017-01-07)

Preface
 
James Lollar, the mastermind behind the seminal synthwave outfit GosT, passed away on April 4th. A devastating loss to the genre, GosT’s album Non Paradisi and accompanying music video for “Maleficarum” helped solidify the occult elements of the burgeoning synthwave scene in the mid 2010s while going against the trend of leveraging 80s nostalgia that the genre is known for.

Back on January 7th, 2017, GosT and other influential synthwave outfit, Perturbator, played a concert at the Union in Los Angeles. Michele and I attended the amazing show, and on a whim, decided to do a write up about the event and have it published at the now defunct Heathen Harvest website.

In an effort to keep Lollar’s/GosT’s memory eternal, I have dug up my old concert review and republished it here at my website. Included in this write up are more photos of the concert that were not part of the original article. Note, these were all taken with a mid 2010s camera phone, so they are not the best quality, but they still do an admirable job at documenting the night.

𐕣Rest in peace James.𐕣

Concert Report

The first week into a brand-new year was already off to an excellent start for American synthwave fans. Legendary French synthwave act, Perturbator begin their first North American tour in the first week of January, playing a series of shows on the west coast in Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco before making their way east to Chicago, New York City, Montreal and concluding in Boston. Joining Perturbator for the west coast stops is another prominent synthwave outfit, GosT. What follows is a concert report of both projects’ performance in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 7th.

The concert was held at the Union Nightclub, west of downtown Los Angeles on Pico Blvd. A fitting location for a Perturbator show, in that the movie The Terminator has an iconic scene in the fictitious Technoir night club, right on Pico Blvd and of course, Perturbator has a song called, “Technoir” complete with samples from said film. The venue was huge: multi-story, multi-roomed, multiple bars everywhere. The magenta neon-signage directing folks to the different rooms only added to the (incidental) outrun aesthetics for the show. For all purposes, for this night, the Union was the Technoir.

The concert itself ran immaculately. When the doors scheduled to open at 9:00 pm, they were actually opened on the dot without delay. Security was in the queue to ID attendees and marking the underage kids with Xs on their hands to keep them nice and x-straight-edge-x, but also to keep the line moving swiftly. The show properly took place in the Union’s upstairs disco room, a huge dance hall with a full bar, elevated wall seating around the circumference, and even bottle service. A swag table was set up outside in the loft room, with only a few GosT releases for sale, but a treasure-trove of Perturbator CDs, vinyl and a new Metropolis-inspired T-shirt.

The show started at 10:30pm and thankfully without any filler acts, as this was a night to focus on two of the seminal pillar acts of the synthwave genre. GosT entered the stage after an intro of synthesized, evil chanting and proceeded into his hard-hitting masterpiece, “Maleficarum.” The GosT stage setup was fairly minimal: a cloth covered table with his equipment and accompanying lights from the venue’s stage. However. GosT himself was extremely animated: jumping up and down, rapidly bobbing his head, launching himself from the speakers, blowing kisses, and strutting up to the front row to high five and interact with his audience. At one point an attendee assumed he could do the same, got up on stage, jumped from the speaker and promptly injured his leg and had to be pulled offstage by security.

  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments.
    GosT performing.
  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments.
    GosT performing.
  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments.
    GosT performing
  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments.
    GosT performing.
  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments.
    GosT performing.
  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments. He stepping on a speaker on the ground.
    GosT dancing.
  • GosT in a skeletal mask, behind a cloth covered table, playing electronic instruments. He stepping on a speaker on the ground.
    GosT dancing.

There is a significance about the whole performance: GosT himself dressed in all black with his sinister skull mask, dancing with wanton abandon, as if he were conjuring his music from his equipment. This echoes a great lineage of the ‘skeleton dance.’ From the Camille Saint-Saëns poem “Danse Macabre” (based on text from Henri Cazalis), to Georges Méliès’s silents L’Antre des Esprits (1901) and Le Monstre (1903) to the Walt Disney cartoon The Skeleton Dance (1929), there is an actual history rooted in this occult performance by GosT and not just simple dancing, retrowave theatrics. The comparison, intentional or not, is extremely apropos. GosT played a gamut of songs from his catalog, with some favourites of Non Paradisi including “Arise” and “Lake of Fire” before ending his set at 11:20 to a satisfied crowd.

At 11:45pm, Perturbator took the stage and launched into “Neo-Tokyo” followed by “Disco Inferno.” His set focused mainly on content from Dangerous Days and The Uncanny Valley, including songs (roughly in the following order) “Raw Power,” “She’s Young She’s Beautiful She’s Next,” “Diabolus Ex Machina,” “Future Club,” “Satanic Rites,” “Complete Domination,” “She Moves like a Knife,” “Humans are such easy Prey,” “Venger” and “Weapons for Children.” However, the club friendly song “Technoir” from I am the Night made an appearance early in the set, making it a fulfilling and dense playlist.

  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.
  • Perturbator behind a table covered in keyboards and a laptop and lots of lights going off.
    Peturbator performing.

While GosT was overt and animated in his performance, Perturbator was concise and reserved. He didn’t interact with the audience, save an occasional head bow while looking sinister from behind his hoodie, however he had additional theatrics in the form of LED lights set up behind him. The lightshow that went with the rumbling synthwave was a huge compliment to the performance: if one wasn’t deafened by the electro beats, they were blinded by the strobes. The BPM on many songs was increased and the floor quaked from the music as well as the dancing bodies. If there was a word to describe Perturbator’s set, it would be relentless – there were no pauses between songs and they all flowed together without a moment to catch one’s breath. This was an endurance. Perturbator ended their set a little before midnight. After the crowd chanting “One more song!” he reappeared to perform “Welcome Back” and “Perturbator’s Theme” from Dangerous Days as the encore before departing the stage as ominously as he had arrived.

An excellent performance from both acts, there is no doubt why both Perturbator and GosT are lauded the way they are: their studio output is immaculate and their live shows are engaging and raw. This evening at The Union was a testament to both project’s artistry.
 

Categories
News

News Roundup: March 2026

Personal / Website News

Vanya #9 Review

A new Vanya review is now up and online at my website! Check out my write up of issue nine right here.

Cover is a scene at night. Vanya stands over a campfire, spear in hand. On a tree root next to her is a saber tooth tiger with a scar across its right eye. Beams of moonlight filter through the jungle foliage.
Vanya #09 cover by Zoran Jovicic.

This effectively puts me back to being current with all the published Vanya issues so far (digital and physical), so that means my next review won’t happen for quite a few months as issue ten gets made. In the meantime, to fill that gap, I’ll be busting out reviews for three other comics: Death Nell, Becca Boo, and Budd Root’s Cavewoman. Death Nell is a completed series, so I will get that reviewed soon (think I have three issues left?). Becca Boo is ongoing, but I am a few issues behind. For Cavewoman, I have a stack of issues I collected back in the 2010s that I want to revisit, do reviews/retrospectives of, and have those parallel published both here at my website and at the National Capital Panthans Journal.

Cavewoman: “Extinction”

And with the above in, here is a Cavewoman review!

Cover shows Meriem being grabbed/surrounded by tentacles. She has her knife out ready to slash one.
Personal copy of Cavewoman: “Extinction”.

I’ve got a whole stack of Cavewoman in my collection from when I was collecting it from 2011 to 2014, though I have many gaps. I am going to try to cover them chronologically as they were published. With that in mind, my write up of the single shot issue “Extinction” is online and can be read here.

The next Cavewoman issues I’ll be jumping on is the four issue “Snow” series. I am going to be ambitious and shoot to publish one a month along with my other articles and projects. Cross fingers!

Hercules and the Captive Women Blu-ray Compares

A final article for my website this month (three articles in a month! wow!) is comparing the new Blu-rays of Hercules and the Captive Women.

Two blu-rays side by side. Both show the same poster art of a Hercules with legs apart and a woman framed between them, on her knees, with flames behind her.
The two Blu-rays of Hercules and the Captive Women.

It has been a hot minute since I’ve actually did something sword and sandal related, time to rectify that! Check out my write up here.

Panthans Journal #346

The March issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a re-print of my micro fiction/short story “Journey to Agharti”. This story was originally published in Trickster’s Treats 3: The Seven Deadly Sins back in 2019, however that anthology has been out of print for quite a while now. It is nice that the story has a second life in the Panthans journal.

Cover is called "The Land that Time Forgot" by Mark Whetley. It shows a man, crouched on one knee, holding a rifle, with safari attire, but shirt open. Next to him he has a barking dog that kinda look like Benji. Behind there is a roaring T-rex, a triceratops, and pterodactyls flying.
National Capital Panthans Journal #346.

Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journalis a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos, and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.

Sincere appreciation to Laurence for the opportunity to have my work published in the journal.

Scholars from the Edge of Time

For the March Scholars from the Edge of Time Michele and I discuss the mid 90s fighting mecha film Robo Warriors (1996).

Cover has the synthwave colors of lots of purple on darkness. It shows 2 giant robots fighting amount power lines, with bolts of electricity flying everywhere.
Personal copy of Robo Warriors on Blu-ray.

Giant robots fighting each other gladiator style? How can one go wrong? Well……

The episode can be watched on YouTube. As a side, one of the villains in the film, Quon, was played by James Tolkan (probably best known from Back to the Future). Tolkan passed away on the day we recorded this episode. RIP sir. 🙁

For April we are going to be discussing the new Deathstalker (2025) movie, so we are excited about that.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2026.

Cover is by Mark Wheatley and called "The Beasts". It is red hued. It shows Tarzan riding atop of an elephant. Below the elephant are two gorillas and a lion. Behind them is a tree and a setting sun.
National Capital Panthans Journal #344.

“All E.T.’s Aren’t Nice: Vanya 06” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #344, January 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover by David Michael Beck. It's a drawing of Tarzan atop an elephant, with 2 axes in front.
National Capital Panthans Journal #345.

“The Prehistoric Purge: Vanya 07″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #345, February 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover is called "The Land that Time Forgot" by Mark Whetley. It shows a man, crouched on one knee, holding a rifle, with safari attire, but shirt open. Next to him he has a barking dog that kinda look like Benji. Behind there is a roaring T-rex, a triceratops, and pterodactyls flying.
National Capital Panthans Journal #346.

“Journey to Agharti” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #346, March 2026.

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

The ever growing peplum research library grows with these recent sword and sandal acquisitions.

Samson and His Mighty Challenge (Crappy DVD)

From the 2000s to the mid-2010 was probably the halcyon days of the DVD. They could be made cheap, and releases ranged from ornate editions to bottom of the barrel bargain releases. Companies like Alpha Video, Sinister Cinema, Something Weird Video, Mill Creek Entertainment, Brentwood Home Video, and many, many others released low cost, quasi-bootleg-ish genre videos on home video. Sometimes these were single DVDrs with a generic graphic design, sometimes they were mega multiple movie pack boxsets with names like “50 sci-fi greats”.

Right, wrong, indifferent, this was a thing and it filled a void. Sometimes the only way to see an old genre film was via these means. This, unfortunately, perpetuated shoddy releases of films that deserve better. Heavily cropped and edited films, ripped from five generations of VHS tapes was the norm.

Those days are gone. With streaming services as the dominate medium to watch films, physical releases are the exception. In order to compete with streaming services, physical editions have turned to being released by boutique labels, like Vinegar Syndrome and Severin Films, to stand out form the crowd. This means there is really no market for the inferior, made on the cheap, DVD/DVDr releases from 15 years prior.

Some companies still (kinda) hold on to this old model, and CFV Ent. (no website that I could find) is one of them. I say kinda because instead of making cheap releases to sell at a budget price, they are making cheap releases to sell for much higher markups.

The other month Michele and I did a Scholars from the Edge of Time episode on Hercules Returns (link here). The Vinegar Syndrome release of the film already had an original version of Samson and High Mighty Challenge on it, but I wanted a solo release. I turned to eBay and saw a copy from CFV Ent. (slide show below).

  • DVD that looks like it is in a slipcase. It says "Peplum Classics" at the top. The cover is the poster for the film, which shows Hercules tossing a soldier. The title is "Ercole, Sansone, Maciste e Ursus gli invincibili"
  • DVD looks kinda like the product picture, but no slip case. Instead it's a flimsy red DVD case and looks like it is printed from a home printer.
    Samson and His Mighty Challenge, CFV version, how it really looks.
  • Back of the very bootleg DVD.
    Samson and His Mighty Challenge, CFV version, how it really looks (back side)

Looking at the eBay picture, it obviously is a mockup, but it presents itself as a DVD in a slipcover. Though if you look at the bottom right of the image, the artwork and the sleeve appear to veer away from each other. I knew this was a cheap affair, but I was actually curious how cheap would it be. Was there a company out there actually putting care into releasing peplum films and giving them a modicum of dignity?

Heck no. Click through the slide show above to see what I got. Definitely not a slipcover. The DVD is in a red, rather flimsy case. The exterior insert is made from a home printer. The copyright notice on the back is hilarious:

This film (or version of film) has never been released on digital media in the United States. It is therefore considered public domain.

I am not expert on copyright law, but I am 99% sure that is not how that works.

Anywho, I wanted to share this release. This is sort of a caveat emptor post, I do want to highland the difference between how product is depicted vs. how product really is as there are a lot of these releases on eBay. But mostly to illustrate how the market has changed, especially on these old peplum films. Still no love on physical release, but at a higher price tag for even dodgier editions.

Wizards of the Demon Sword

During my research for Robo Warriors I fell down a Wikipedia rabbit hole and somehow ended up discovering cult film director Fred Olen Ray made a sword and sorcery film. It’s called Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991) and stars Michael Berryman – hells yea!

DVD in standard black case. It has Michael Berryman on the cover, holding a dagger to the cheek of a woman. Behind him is a reptile. It has the Troma logo on it, so.... it's probably gonna be bad.
Personal copy of Wizards of the Demon Sword on DVD.

He was in The Barbarians (1987) which was a great 80s S&S film, so I could not pass plucking this one up! Though it does have Troma literally written all over it, so this could be rough.

News from Friends

Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.

New Ride the Stream Episodes

New episodes of Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata’s vidcast, Ride the Stream, are online. The duo continue their deep dive into the sci-fi series Falling Skies.

Here is their discussion on season one, episode four:

Episode five:

Episode six:

And episode seven:

Make sure to subscribe the Ride the Stream YouTube channel to see when new episodes drop. There is also a BlueSky social media as well.

New Fan2Fan Episodes

Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online. Pete and Bernie continue their discussions on different monster movies.

First there is “Monster Mania: Atomic Age Mutants & Mayhem“:

Monster Mania: Atomic Age Mutants & Mayhem – Fan2Fan Podcast

Next is “Monster Mania: Kaiju and Cryptids“:

Monster Mania: Kaiju and Cryptids – Fan2Fan Podcast

Then a quick break with “Rewind: Friday the 13th Franchise Part 2“:

Rewind: Friday the 13th Franchise Part 2 – Fan2Fan Podcast

And back to monsters with a series of episodes on King Kong, starting with “Monster Mania: King Kong 1933“:

Monster Mania: King Kong 1933 – Fan2Fan Podcast

Followed by “Monster Mania: King Kong vs. Godzilla“:

Monster Mania: King Kong vs. Godzilla – Fan2Fan Podcast

And then “Monster Mania: King Kong 1976“:

Monster Mania: King Kong 1976 – Fan2Fan Podcast

Older episodes of Fan2Fan can be found at its Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference. There is also the Fan2Fan Facebook page.

The End is #Trending Kickstarter

The End is Trending, starring Dannie DeLisle, has a Kickstarter going.

Check out the campaign here.

Amityville Awakens

Robert P. Ottone has a brand new novel coming out called Amityville Awakens. The cover for the book just got revealed this past week:

Cover shows a screaming white face with kinda crooked teeth. The top of the person is actually the Amityville house - so the eyes are the circular/triangle windows. There is rubber underneath the house head.
Amityville Awakens by Robert P. Ottone.

A signed edition of Amityville Awakens can be pre-ordered from publisher Clash Books right here.

Michele’s Craft Books

Michele has been sharing her flip books and journals on her YouTube Channel:

A Tintin Postcard Book Junk Journal:

A Lady and the Tramp Golden Book:

And a Hug Book Golden Book:

Categories
Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: Comparisons of Hercules and the Captive Women Blu-rays

Hercules and the Captive Women (1961, Vittorio Cottafavi) is a classic peplum from the golden age of Italian sword and sandal films of the late 50s to early 60s. Focusing on the more fantastique elements of the genre (that fight with Proteus!), the film received a second life and renewed longevity when it was riffed on a season four episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, joining the ranks of other pepla such as Hercules Unchained (1959, Pietro Francisci), Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964, Giacomo Gentilomo) who were also honoured on the series.

Aside from its appearance on MST3K, Hercules and the Captive Women has another unique facet to it: its availability in physical releases that sports a print/cut of the film in a decent condition. The peplum cycle contains a few hundred entries, but a vast majority of them have not seen re-released in an accessible fashion, and those that have are often released on subpar editions derived from generations of VHS recordings, cropped, stretched, degraded, blurry, and so on, but released by budget labels such as Brentwood and Alpha Video. These are epic movies, but the viewing experience for many of them is anything but. So, when a classic peplum title gets a release that has a quality image to it, that is a big deal!

Back in 2021 The Film Detective released a Blu-ray of Hercules and the Captive Women. This release was jam packed, not just with an HD version of the film, but also the MST3K version, a commentary, documentary, essay, and other supplemental features. The sleeve states the movie is a “4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative”. This sounds like a great thing!

The website PeplumTV did a review of The Film Detective Blu-ray of the film (which can be read here) and found the release to be disappointing regarding its image quality (especially with colours). The website did a vast number of comparisons between the Retromedia DVD, an Italian TV broadcast version, and the Blu-ray edition of the film, and visually, well, there are some huge differences.

Technical specification of a film is not my forte since I am more into the textual aspect of a movie, so I cannot really comment if The Film Detective version is inferior or superior, only that it is different (at least colour-wise). Since this edition purports to come from the original negative, I have to assume it captures Cottafavi’s original vision of the film as close as possible, which could mean the colours are actually correct (note: I have not dived into all the supplemental material on this release, so this matter may be overtly addressed). Or it could mean it is a botched restoration.

DVDBeaver, whose specialty is comparisons of physical releases of a film, doing not just frame comparisons but dive into hard technical subjects like bitrates, codecs, etc., also has a write up about The Film Detective release of Hercules and the Captive Women (which can be read here). Surprisingly, their write up does not do a frame comparison to other physical releases (but that is like their thing!) like the PeplumTV review does. They do provide lots of screenshots, praise the supplemental material, but do state that the film looks

“..abnormally faded. The source density appears compromised in the beginning but eventually holds up reasonably well. The overall 1080P is modest, mostly flat without an abundance of grain but some colors have depth (more in the second half – plenty of burnt orange) and it has instances of showing a pleasing image.”

This statement, coupled with PeplumTV’s write up, paints the picture that, though HD, this is a lackluster edition of the film.

Two blu-rays side by side. Both show the same poster art of a Hercules with legs apart and a woman framed between them, on her knees, with flames behind her.
The two Blu-rays of Hercules and the Captive Women.

Cut to five years later. Film Masters, who specializes in restored editions of classic films, though go the route of bare bones on supplements, release their edition of Hercules and the Captive Women. The cover simply states “restored in HD.” In my February news roundup at my website (link here), I briefly talk about picking up this new copy of Hercules and the Captive Women and thought about doing a comparison between it and The Film Detective version for fun. So, let’s do it! Let’s see what I can add to the dialogue about this film and its HD editions.

Firstly, I lack the technical prowess that DVDBeaver has, and like I mentioned before, film specs are not my forte. I want to make sure I make that overt as I put this write up here.
My methodology for this:

  1. I used a Pioneer BDR-XD08S Blu-ray player to read these discs.
  2. I used MakeMKV (I’m at vesion 1.18.1) to import the movies onto my Mac.
  3. Watched the movies using VLC (version 3.0.20).
  4. Skimmed through the movies looking for scenes with different colours or lots of objects in the mise-en-scene. Used the snapshot function to take a picture of the frame.
  5. I noted the time stamp, put the other movie in, fast forward to that time stamp as close as possible and used snapshot (so it is possible I may be a few milliseconds off between the frames).
  6. Because my webhost has limits on image size, I opened up each image, resized each one so the longest side was 1000 px (note: I do this with all images I upload to my website). These snaps were not altered in any other way (such as using a cropping tool).

Of quick note:

The Film Detective Blu-ray had four files on it (three being the supplemental material) with the movie coming in at 19.18 gb.

The Film Masters version had only one file (the movie) which came in at 21.51 gb. The difference in file size could be attributed to compression?

Title Screen of the movie. It says Hercules and the Captive Women and the words sit atop a pillar.
Film Detective – 22 seconds.
Title Screen of the movie. It says Hercules and the Captive Women and the words sit atop a pillar.
Film Masters – 22 Seconds.

On the title card, the Film Masters edition looks slightly redder. 

An older man in a white toga talked to another man in a stone room filled with candles.
Film Detective – 5 minutes, 11 seconds.
An older man in a white toga talked to another man in a stone room filled with candles.
Film Master – 5 minutes, 11 seconds.

Film Masters looks darker, but only by a little bit.

Hercules stands in a sail boat in the middle of the blue sea.
Film Detective – 12 minutes, 10 seconds.
Hercules stands in a sail boat in the middle of the blue sea.
Film Masters – 12 minutes, 10 seconds.

Again, not much of a difference save Film Masters appears darker, most noticeable in the hair.

Hercules strains to pull a large chain.
Film Detective – 20 minutes, 29 seconds.
Hercules strains to pull a large chain.
Film Masters – 29 minutes, 29 seconds.

Both versions have a very thin, vertical “scratch” near the top right of the frame. It looks equally pronounced in both. Though my timing skills are lackluster at capturing the exact frame, (side by side Hercules moves a bit), looking at the rock background and all the nooks and crannies, everything lines up. This tells me that both versions are at least cropped the very same and show the exact same information in each frame. 

A royal woman with a totally not anachronistic black beehive hairdo stands menacingly in a courtroom. There are lots of men in white robes behind her.
Film Detective – 33 minutes, 40 seconds.
A royal woman with a totally not anachronistic black beehive hairdo stands menacingly in a courtroom. There are lots of men in white robes behind her.
Film Masters – 33 minutes, 40 seconds.

Again, only a subtle difference in the Film Masters being a tad bit darker, mostly noticeable in the background stone roof.

A man in a white robe talks to the black beehive lady in a bedroom.
Film Detective – 44 minutes, 9 seconds.
A man in a white robe talks to the black beehive lady in a bedroom.
Film Masters – 44 minutes, 9 seconds.

Unlike the title screen in which the red was “redder”, that is not the case here. Both frames looks equally orange-red, with Film Masters, again, being darker. 

Hercules stands in a dark cavern with a toppled wall behind him.
Film Detective – 69 minutes, 11 seconds.
Hercules stands in a dark cavern with a toppled wall behind him.
Film Masters – 69 minutes, 11 seconds.

Last set of images, again, Film Masters looks darker, more apparent in this already dimly lit scene. 

Overall, both The Film Detective and Film Masters version of Hercules and the Captive Women look comparable to each other. There is not a huge, glaring difference in colour between these two Blu-ray releases, unlike the PeplumTV article which shows radical differences between the editions it examines. The biggest difference of these two release is the Film Masters iteration looks darker. I am not sure why, perhaps The Film Detective version has contrast boosting? However, the title screen of the Film Masters edition has more pronounced reds, which overall, is a colour that has been orange-ified in both Blu-rays. With that in mind, that means the Film Masters version is probably closer to being the version with the most ideal presentation of the film between these two specific releases. In my opinion, both are fairly interchangeable with each other, and both convey the movie in a nice resolution. Aside from The Film Detective having more supplemental materials, either version of the film will do for a pleasing viewing experience.
 
 

Categories
Comics

Release the Subterranean Kraken: Cavewoman: Extinction

Cover shows Meriem being grabbed/surrounded by tentacles. She has her knife out ready to slash one.
Personal copy of Cavewoman: “Extinction”.

Plot

In Marshville, a town that has been teleported to the prehistoric past, life goes on as normal as possible, despite being surrounded by the jungle primeval and dangerous dinosaurs. Children Lumpy, Will, Miguel, and Susie are about to play a game of baseball but need an umpire. Lumpy asks Meriem Cooper, the superhuman Cavewoman who acts as a guardian over Marshville, if she would be their umpire. Meriem, with plans already made to relax in the magma-heated pools outside the town and recompose herself, asks for a raincheck.

Meriem swings on a vine.
Meriem off to relax at the hot pools by swinging on a vine.

At the bottom of the ninth, Will hits a ball that gets caught by a pterodactyl and then dropped in the jungle. The children set off to retrieve one of the many lost balls and happen upon a dark cavern. Inside they discover a nest of eggs. Will handles an egg but winds up breaking it, awakening a slumbering monster in the process. The children attempt to flee the cave as they are pursued by dozens of tentacles from the shadows. Susie becomes trapped in a crevice while the other three kids escape to seek help from Meriem.

Meriem is on the ground, pushing herself back up with her front two arms. Behind her is the cave monster. Think of a crab without legs or claws, but instead dozens and dozens of tentacles coming from it.
Meriem fights the cave monster.

Meriem braves the cave by herself to rescue Susie and pit herself against the tentacle monster who has been angered by its eggs being disturbed, encountering a powerful foe of the likes she has never encountered before. Meriem takes a battering from the monster’s tentacles, but Susie distracts it with an egg, the last one since the others in the nest appear to have broken. Deducing the monster is the last of its kind, and the egg its sole lineage, Meriem and Susie give the egg to the monster, who retreats into the darkness, allowing the duo to escape. Back at the surface, Meriem promises Susie ice cream after demonstrating her braveness and teases the three boys to stay out of trouble.

Commentary

“Extinction” is a one-shot, self-contained comic in the Cavewoman series, published in 2010 with the story and art done by Rob Durham. Though Budd Root’s Cavewoman series is known for its cover nudity and cheesecake portrayal of Meriem, “Extinction” is rather chaste and instead feels like an 80s/early 90s Saturday morning cartoon that revolves around children getting into trouble and then getting saved. The first few pages feel like the movie The Sandlot (1993), where a group of kids playing baseball lose their balls over the fence into a backyard guarded by “The Beast” (a big English Mastiff). In “Extinction” the children playing baseball lose their balls in the jungle, and the beast they encounter is a Cthulhu-esque monster with dozens of tentacles that protrude from a central, crab-carapace-like, body. The children are put into peril, but it is no more violent than, say, what kids encounter in cartoons like Denver the Last Dinosaur or Dinosaucers. “Extinction” is also full of kid friendly messages akin to the endings of episodes of G.I. Joe or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: don’t play in unsafe areas (dark caverns), don’t be a bully (calling one a chicken to force them to go into said cave), seek the help of adults (Meriem), leave wild animals and their offspring (eggs) alone, the importance of bravery, and so on. All of the above demonstrates that Cavewoman, or at least this specific issue, can be surprisingly kid friendly and positive.

That is to say not all of “Extinction” is without some form of titillation. Aside from her standard issue attire of a leopard print bikini that showcases her body, there is a sequence of Meriem bathing in a hot pool. All of her nudity obfuscated by lapping water or wafts of steam, yet her voluptuousness is still on full display. Late in the issue when she is fighting the underground monster, there are numerous panels of Meriem surrounded and grabbed by tentacles, veering in the direction of Toshio Maeda territory.

Naughty tentacle innuendo aside, the underground monster in “Extinction” is quite cool. The monster does not fit into the cosmic horror bucket per se, so it is not Lovecraftian in the traditional sense, but all of its tentacles give it that Cthulhu, perhaps Gla’aki (from the Ramsey Campbell story “The Inhabitant of the Lake”) vibe. The beast is extremely formidable, and its one on one battle with Meriem at the issue’s climax is a great sequence. There is a series of panels that shows the monster grabbing Meriem and slamming her from side to side, like Bamm-Bamm from The Flinstones. It is a captivating battle.

Four panels, each one shows Meriem being slammed side by side by a tentacle.
The cave monster thwaps Meriem around.

Finally, aside from the aforementioned morality messages geared toward children, there’s other themes present in “Extinction”, especially around Meriem’s character. Selfcare is important, and Meriem realizes this has she has to say “no” to the children (and sometimes, one has to feel comfortable saying “no”), to go and relax in the superheated pools. But it is a short respite and Meriem is cursed with what other superheroes have to deal with: they always must be on “on mode” and be able to save the day at a moment’s notice. Rest is extremely important to avoid burnout, but it is easily taken away.

Meriem holds Susie in her arms close to her chest.
Meriem rescues Susie.

Just like Ripley and the alien queen in Aliens (1986), there are some matronly themes between Meriem and the underground tentacle monster. Meriem takes a motherly role to the four children, especially Susie when she rescues her from the dark and gives her comfort. Conversely, the monster is trying to protect its last egg, the last of its kind (of note – how did the rest of the eggs break between the children finding them and then giving one back to the monster?). Meriem and the monster have a lot more in common with each other, both being incredibly strong and protective of their children. 

Conclusion

“Extinction” is a terrific one-off, self-contained story in the Cavewoman series. It is a quick adventure, with fairly low stakes and that by the issue’s end, the narrative returns back to the status quo, with the hope that the children will stop peer pressuring each other and taking off on dangerous excursions. The issue standalone enough in that it is not too reliant on other issues to establish the universe. A general feeling of what Cavewoman is about is sufficient for reading the issue which can act as an entry point into the series proper. Meriem herself is selfless and brave, and Durham’s art renders her in a detailed and sexy style that brings these attributes to the forefront of the character.

For more information on Cavewoman “Extinction” check these links:

Categories
Comics

The Chaos Continues: Vanya 09

The Story So Far

Vanya is a warrior in training, sent to the prehistoric past for a year to test her survival skills against a harsh primeval environment and dinosaurs. Her journey becomes upended as she is drawn both into an intergalactic war with the purple skinned Torridians and the prophecies of the Bone Tribe who seek to hatch Torridian Dragon eggs. Vanya finds momentary respite when she and her lover, Serah, make it to a Federation installation. There Serah is cared for after having been implanted with a cranial device by the Bone Tribe Witch that gives her visions. As the Torridians commence an all-out assault against the base with their legion of cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs, the Federation responds in kind with their army of mechs. As the battle rages, Vanya is sent out into the jungle once again on a mission to retrieve a set of Torridian Dragon Eggs.

Cover is a scene at night. Vanya stands over a campfire, spear in hand. On a tree root next to her is a saber tooth tiger with a scar across its right eye. Beams of moonlight filter through the jungle foliage.
Vanya #09 cover by Zoran Jovicic.

Issue 09 Plot

The large scale battle between the Federation in their mechs and the Torridians with their cybernetic dinosaurs rages on. Taking advantage of an opening, Torridian general Tora pilots her robo-T-Rex, leaps off her mount, and lands on Relo Quarr’s mech, slashing it open. Holding her double ended sword at Relo’s throat, she orders the Federation to surrender. At that moment, in a deus ex machina, a battalion of Astral Guard arrive, mowing down the Torridians and their dinosaurs with their chain guns, laser webs, light blades, and other futuristic weaponry. Seeing the battle lost, Tora impales herself on an Astral Guard’s blade.

Panel shows a T-rex with metal arms that have blades instead of claws, roaring. General Tora, who has purple skin and is wearing green arm, has a double ended blade in her hand. She leaps from her T-rex mount saying "H'yahh!" toward a bipedal mech that looks like an AT-ST from Star Wars.
General Tora leaps from her cyber T-rex onto Relo Quarr’s mech unit.

Meanwhile, Vanya, having survived the rocket attack from a cyber-pterodactyl, encounters a scarred sabretooth tiger, who beckons Vanya to follow. Vanya does so, and their trek takes them across a chasm bridged by a rotten log. The log breaks, plummeting the two in to the treacherous river below, however they make it safe to shore and set up a camp.

At the caves of the Bone Tribe, the Witch grows frustrated that her pheromones are not imprinting on the Torridian Dragon egg. She tries to force the captured Astral Guard soldier Elah into the massive ritual orgy, but Niya offers to take her place instead.

Far at the edge of the Galaxy, a fleet of Torridian ships receive a transmission from the now defeated General Tora.

Commentary

The titanic battle that started in issue eight sees its conclusion in Vanya #9, though with a change in perspective. Issue eight went for big and epic, with many of the panels zoomed out to show the battlefield between the Federation and the Torridians and how large its scale was. Issue nine takes a personal, focused approach, narrowing it down to General Tora and Relo. The arrival of the Astral Guard, though a deux ex machina, was unexpected and a pleasant surprise. The last appearance of the Astral Guard was back in issue seven and it was not a positive portrayal. In that issue, Elah and her squadron of Guard arrive through a portal and are easily tricked and dispatched by the Bone Tribe Witch. The elite guard, the best of the best, did not live up to mythological-esque hype prior issues hinted at. This issue rectifies this portrayal (perhaps the issue seven portrayal is more of Elah was simply an ineffective leader and hence why her men are killed and she and others are captured so easily). The Astral Guard show up, do not falter in any way, and steam roll over the Torridians.

The panel shows two spider web like webs (all straight, no curves), drive through three pterodactyls. The pterodactyls are slices into little tiny pieces.
The razor sharp webs of the Astral Guard make short work of the cyber pterodactyls.
Close up of a xenomorph from the Alien series, who has a criss cross green pattern on his head and shoulders, caused by being caught in a web launched by a Predator.
The Grid Alien from the 2004 Alien vs. Predator movie.

There are a few panels in the Astral Guard battle that might be homages or pop culture references. The Astral Guard shoot a web that passes through a flock of cyber-pterodactyls, slicing them into tiny pieces. This is akin to the Predator’s net weapon in the Predator movies (best exemplified with the Grid Alien in Alien vs. Predator [2004] that survives such a net attack).

A woman in a grey soldier's armor. She has blonde hair and 2 braids. She his holding a giant chain gun in her hands. Her speech bubble says "Time we made the Torridians extinct, boys".
An Astral Guard Warrioress wields a giant chain gun.
A warrior woman wearing a skull with two tusks sticking up from it, face paint, shoulder pads with a skull on them, and holding a chain gun in her hand. Basically a Lady barbarian with a big gun.
Barbarianna from the movie Kung Fury.

Another panel shows a blonde, braided lady Astral Guard, who evokes images of a Valkyrie, holding a chain gun in her hand. This is reminiscent of the synthwave movie Kung Fury (2015) that features a lady Barbarian (named Barbarianna) from the past who also wields a chain gun. These references may be coincidental, but they are bad ass and rehabilitate the image of the Astral Guard as the elite force that Vanya has been training to be a part of.

As the General Tora plot line comes to a close, another one gains momentum and that is the mystery of the sabretooth tigers. In this issue, Vanya encounters a sabretooth cat with a scar with two slashes across its right eye. Vanya follows the cat, which leads to a near brush with death for both of them as they fall into a chasm (though there is some whimsy present in the panel of Vanya and the sabretooth tiger riding the log together as if it were an amusement park ride).

Vanya, wearing a torn white shirt and pants, holds on to a log. Behind her a giant sabertooth cat also holds on. The river they are in goes "Slam! Slam!"
Vanya and a Sabretooth tiger ride a log in the river rapids.

Is the cat friend or foe? Way back in issue two there was a sabretooth cat that was stalking Vanya and company. However, this cat lacked the scars over its eye, so it cannot be the same sabretooth. Its fate is currently unknown: is it alive or perhaps it was one of the sabretooths that perished during the attack on the Bone Tribe back in issue five.

Close up of a sabertooth tiger's face as it peers through tall grass. It has 2 scars that cross its white eye.
Sabretooth tiger in issue 9 that leads Vanya.
The Bone Tribe Witch is topless and wears a primitive skirt. She has a rope necklace dangling from her neck. She has black makeup around her eyes that run a little bit. There are three sabertooth cats around her, one with two scars over its eye. Behind them is a dark forest and a red sky.
The Bone Tribe Witch and three sabertooth tigers at her command in issue seven.

Issue seven shows the Bone Tribe Witch with a pack of three sabretooth tigers who follow her commands. One of the tigers does have two scars over its right eye. Has the Bone Tribe Witch sent this particular feline out to fetch Vanya and lead her back to the Bone Tribe’s caverns? In issue seven the Bone Tribe Witch references the Prophecy of the Dragon Rider. Perhaps the Witch needs Vanya in order to fulfill this role? With the tribe’s ritual orgies causing the Torridian Dragon eggs to hatch, there will definitely be some dragons to be rode.

Covers and Swag Impressions

Issue nine of Vanya was crowdfunded via Kickstarter in September of 2025 with physical rewards being shipped in late January of 2026. With this issue of Vanya came the news that the series was not going to end on issue twelve but instead would be turned into an ongoing series, the first for publisher Bad Bug.

This issue of Vanya was particularly awash with amazing alternative covers. John Royle’s cover gave Vanya a J. Scott Campbell vibe. Renato Camilo (who did the best covers for Vanya issues two, four, and five) brings their A-game again with a spooky night hunt scene between Vanya and a T-rex. Marissa Pope’s cover is particularly vibrant and luminescent.

Vanya is in the nude save for some cauldrons and bracers and straps. She has her dreadlock hair in a beehive with dinosaur spikes sticking out from her. She is poised atop a tree root. Behind her a volcano erupts and a flock of pterodactyls fly by.
Vanya #9 with nude, alternate cover done by Hedwin Zaldivar.

The best cover for issue nine goes to Hedwin Zaldivar who captures both the cheesecake style with the battle-hardened cave woman girl style. Zaldivar’s Vanya sports a giant beehive-dreadlock with dinosaur spikes sticking out from it, a cross between midcentury pinup girl and jungle girl. The cover is also action packed, with an exploding volcano and a squadron of pterodactyls flying about. A great, energetic cover all around.

Issue nine also came with an abundance of extra swag, more so than other issues in the series.

Cheesecake style of Vanya, done in a cute/adorable style with bigger eyes and wing/cat eye liner. She stands, holding a long spear in her left hand. She is wearing a jungle girl bikini top and bottom with boots that have a fluffy top.
Vanya #9 art print by Sam Payne.

Firstly, there is the art print done by Sam Payne who has a distinctive “good girl” style, which is evident in the wing-tipped eyes of the women he draws. This is an adorable iteration of Vanya.

Three stickers. One is Vanya on a knee, bracing herself against a spear. The other is a cheese cake Vanya, standing up holding a long spear.
Stickers for Vanya #9.

Next comes not one, not two, but three (!!) stickers! One of the Vanya series logo, the other is of Yum!’s Vanya cover, and the final one is of the aforementioned Sam Payne art piece.

Two tarot cards. The one on the left is "Justice" and shows Vanya hunched over a puddle, bracing herself against a spear while a T-rex looms behind her. The next one is "The Hermit" and shows Vanya crouched on a tree branch holding a vine, spear in hand, ready to leap off.
Two Tarot Cards for Vanya #9.

Stickers are not the only thing in quantity as this issue came with two tarot cards. One is of “Justice” and uses the Yum! cover art, and the other is of “The Hermit” and uses Tony Tzanoukakis cover art.

A print of a lady cosplaying as Vanya. She is wearing a black bikini top and bottom and is laying in a pool of water that has Lilly pads. She has necklaces and a wait chain that has dinosaur teeth on them.
Vanya #9 Sooyoung Cosplay Print.

And finally, as with issue seven, Vanya #9 comes with a cosplay art print. The model in this print is Sooyoung, and shows a Vanya relaxing in a pool of water, something the character is fond of doing (see issue one and the Bruno Sousa and Tommy Shelton alternate cover of issue three). Overall, this issue of Vanya is mighty stacked with loot and those who contributed to the Kickstarter are well rewarded with some great swag.

Conclusion

Issue nine of Vanya was a nice package of both wrapping up story threads and introducing new ones. General Tora is no longer a menace, but it appears that victory may be short lived as interstellar Torridians mobilize. Vanya is back in her element being a neo-jungle girl who technically has an animal companion now. Will that sabretooth tiger align itself with Vanya or is it truly under the control of the Bone Tribe Witch? The Astral Guard received a much needed image makeover after their less than impressive entrance a few issues back. With this issue it feels like the Vanya series is moving into a new phase, one that is more mature, mature in the sense that the story has become wise to itself and knows where it is going and each character has solidified themselves into a specific role with specific stakes/goals: from Serah coping with her new kinda-psychic dinosaur ability (from the prior issue), to the Bone Tribe Witch working her magic and showing frustration at the ritual, to even Relo Quarr, who has only been present in the most recent issues, showcasing himself as a formidable leader. Vanya has elevated itself from a fun, chaotic at times, hypersexual comic to a story driven one that is taking itself seriously.

For more information on Vanya and the comic’s creative team, check out the links below:

Also, consider checking out the reviews I’ve done of other titles published by Bad Bug:

Categories
News

News Roundup: February 2026

Personal / Website News

Vanya #8 Review

First new article for 2026 and it is a review of the adult, neo-jungle girl series Vanya!

Cover depicts Vanya, crouched in foliage, drawing back on a bow. It is kind of dark, with a little beam of light coming through the leaves. Her red hair is in a pony tail.
Vanya #08 standard cover by Zoran Jovicic and Zork Marinero.

I take a gander at issue eight from the series, and my review can be read right here. A review for issue nine will be published in early March.

H. P. Lovecast Podcast Returns

After over a year of hibernation the H. P. Lovecast Podcast is back!

Image shows the Synapse blu-ray boxset next to the Synapse DVD. On top of both is a well space Deadly Spawn toy. The DVD is autographed "Thanks Nick! Best Wishes, Douglas McKeown"
H. P. Lovecast Podcast Episode 63 thumbnail – The Deadly Spawn

Recorded in January but published early February, we just dropped our first episode since November 29th, 2024. So, it has been a while. Sorry about that folks, things have just been busy with Michele and I juggling a lot of projects and doing real life stuff.

We return back with the great cult film and Lovecraftian horror movie, The Deadly Spawn (1983)! One of our favorites, it was great to talk about, so hear us discuss it at our Buzzsprout page here, at the player below, or via your podcast app of preference.

Ep 63 – The Deadly Spawn – H. P. Lovecast Podcast

The plan for our next episode is the 1991 Dan O’Bannon film The Resurrected.

Talkin’ Talkies Appearance

Author Robert P. Ottone, who has been a guest on our H. P. Lovecast Podcast (check out those appearances here and here), has his own vidcast called Talkin’ Talkies that he does via Instagram livestreaming/reels. I was super honored to be invited on his last episode to talk about non-Italian giallo films!

Square podcast thumbnail. Done in an old Golden Age of Hollywood style. There is a chevron style diamond in each corner. In the center is a film reel. It says Talkin' Talkies hosted by Robert O. Ottone.
Logo for Robert Ottone’s Talkin’ Talkies IG vidcast.

Aside from Ottone hosting and myself as a guest, the other two guests were some rad folks: Michael Varrati (co-host of Midnight Mass podcast) and Adam Allen (co-host of the Horrifically Well Read, Bled, and Said podcast). Check out their pages and podcasts.

The episode of Talkin’ Talkies I am on is hosted on Instagram, so you may have to be on your IG account on your mobile to view it. Here is the direct link. Sincere appreciation Rob for having me on!

Scholars from the Edge of Time

For February’s Scholars from the Edge of Time Michele and I talk about the 2010 neo-peplum film, Centurion.

Standard Blu-ray case. Cover shows A roman soldier swinging a sword at a legion of other soldiers. Above them are headshots of Olga Kurylenko, Michael Fassbender, and Dominic West.
Personal copy of Centurion on Blu-ray.

The episode can be streamed on YouTube.

Note: Centurion was heavily written about in Dr. Wetmore’s essay in The New Peplum. If you are curious, consider plucking up a copy of the book at McFarland.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2026.

Cover is by Mark Wheatley and called "The Beasts". It is red hued. It shows Tarzan riding atop of an elephant. Below the elephant are two gorillas and a lion. Behind them is a tree and a setting sun.
National Capital Panthans Journal #344.

“All E.T.’s Aren’t Nice: Vanya 06” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #344, January 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover by David Michael Beck. It's a drawing of Tarzan atop an elephant, with 2 axes in front.
National Capital Panthans Journal #345.

“The Prehistoric Purge: Vanya 07″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #345, February 2026.

Original can be read here.

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

The ever growing peplum research library grows with these recent sword and sandal acquisitions.

Hercules and the Captive Women Film Masters Blu-ray

Back in 2021 The Film Detective released a Blu-ray edition of Hercules and the Captive Women (1961) that was full of special editions, such as the MST3K version of the film, documentaries and commentaries (PeplumTV did a review of the release and compared it to other versions. It can be read here).

Standard blu-ray case. Cover is mostly white. It shows the legs of a Hercules character, with a goblet in hand, spilling out. Between his legs is a blonde woman in a blue top and bottom. There are flames behind her. You know that poster for the Bond film, For Your Eyes Only? it's just like that, but with a muscle man legs instead of a Bond girl's.
Film Masters 2026 Blu-ray of Hercules and the Captive Women.

Not five years later another Blu-ray of Hercules and the Captive Women has been released! This one is put out by Film Masters and is a bare bone release (no supplemental material). I decided to double dip (well, triple dip, since I have this on the Retromedia DVD) and pluck this copy up. Maybe I’ll do a comparison between the two Blu-rays, see if there is a difference in image? Might be fun!

Ben-Hur 4K

Hercules and the Captive Women is not the only classic sword and sandal getting a re-release in early 2026! Mutha-fucking big daddy papa pump OG Ben-Hur (1959) is as well!

Standard black 4K case. Cover shows a statue holding a shield. The words "Ben-Hur" diagonal. Below that is Charlton Heston on the Chariot with 4 horses.
Personal copy of the 2026 4K release of Ben-hur.

Back in 2022 I did an unboxing article for the Ben-hur 50 year anniversary Blu-ray set (which can be read here). That edition came out in 2011. So, 15 years later (65 year anniversary!) there is now the 4K edition of Ben-Hur.

Amazon sold out of the steel book edition, so I had to go with this version. Going to DVDCompare, the 2026 release vs the 2011 release, it looks like the 2026 version lacks trailers and the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. The 2026 version omits the 57 minute “Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema” 2005 documentary that appeared on the 2011 version, but replaces it with two new, way shorter featurettes: “Ben-Hur: Anatomy of an Epic 2026″ (6 minutes) and “The Cinematography of Scale 2026” (8 minutes).

Both have the 78 minute “Charlton Heston & Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey” 2011 documentary, the 58 minute “Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic” 1994 documentary, the 5 minute “Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures” 2005 featurette, 29 minutes of screen tests, and some other features. The 2011 has a plethora of other, smaller, features, such as newsreels, Academy Award ceremonies, etc. that are not present on the 2026 edition.

So overall, just at a cursory glance, it looks like the new Ben-Hur may have better image quality at 4K, but scales back the supplemental material. Maybe this is ok: you can only re-re-re-re-release the movie so many times and re-re-re-re-re-reuse the same supplemental material before it gets stale?

Deathstalker Comic and Remake

2025 was the year for the cult 80s sword and sorcery series, Deathstalker, and I got some loot!

Graphic novel is hardback and has a wraparound of the original movie poster. The Blu-ray shows all the characters collage together with mountains behind them.
Deathstalker the graphic novel and the Deathstalker remake on Blu-ray.

First, there is a remake of the film, simply called DeathStalker. I’ve heard good things about the remake, and I actually dig Daniel Bernhardt (Michele and I talk positively of him in G2: Mortal Conquest [1999] on Scholars from the Edge of Time). I’m excited to watch this one!

The next thing is the Deathstalker graphic novel that was done via Kickstarter. I did the Tier IV plus which was supposed to be a cloth bound hardcover, a standard dust jacket, a Kickstarter exclusive dust jacket, and a book plate. Instead the hardcover is not cloth bound, and no book plate has been sent. Per a January 12th post, it sounds like book plates will be sent later on, and they decided to change from a cloth bound book mid-production. Thems the risks doing Kickstarter, I guess.

Autographs from the Archive

Here are some autographed treasures I’ve shared on social media recently.

Hard Drive

On Robert Ottone’s Talkin’ Talkies vicast (see above) we brought up 90s erotic thriller films.

Snap case DVD. Cover shows a woman in the throes of passion, eyes closed, holding a candle in her hand. In black marker it is signed "Nick - Lots of Love! Stella Stevens
Personal copy of Hard Drive on DVD signed by Stella Stevens.

This was a perfect opportunity to show off my copy of Hard Drive (1994) which is signed by legendary starlet Stella Stevens (RIP). Her son, Andrew Stevens, acted and produced a lot of erotic thrillers, and Stella appeared in a handful of them. It’s been probably 1.5 decades since I last saw this, maybe time for a re-watch!

News from Friends

Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.

New Ride the Stream Episodes

Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata have some brand new episodes of their Ride the Stream vidcast, but something has gone down! Netflix has removed Lost from their services! That means Ride the Stream is looking at other shows and movies to talk about.

The duo kick off their post-Lost content talking about The Thursday Murder Club:

And then move on to a new show, Falling Skies!

Here is their discussion on Falling Skies, season 1, episode 1:

And then episode 2:

And finally, episode 3:

Make sure to subscribe the Ride the Stream YouTube channel to see when new episodes drop.

New Fan2Fan Episodes

Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online.

First is their episode “Earl Owensby with Noel Manning“:

Earl Owensby with Noel Manning – Fan2Fan Podcast

Then “Cinema, Criticism & Classrooms with Noel Manning“:

Cinema, Criticism & Classrooms with Noel Manning – Fan2Fan Podcast

Followed by “Friday the 13th Franchise Part 1“:

Friday the 13th Franchise Part 1 – Fan2Fan Podcast

And “Film Reviews: At the Movies to the Algorithm“:

Film Reviews: At the Movies to the Algorithm – Fan2Fan Podcast

This is followed by a new series of episodes called “Monster Mania”.

First there is “Monster Mania: Defining Monsters & Universal Horror“:

Monster Mania: Defining Monsters & Universal Horror – Fan2Fan Podcast

Next is “Monster Mania: The Wolf Man 1941“:

Monster Mania: The Wolf Man 1941 – Fan2Fan Podcast

And then “Monster Mania: Creature from the Black Lagoon“:

Monster Mania: Creature from the Black Lagoon – Fan2Fan Podcast

Older episodes of Fan2Fan can be found at its Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference.

Pacuła: Najsłynniejsza Polka na świecie

Marta Górna has a new book coming out and about cult Polish actress Joanna Pacuła (Gorky Park, Dinocroc, Tombstone, Virus). This is the first laser focused retrospective on the actress. The booked is titled Pacuła: Najsłynniejsza Polka na świecie (Pacuła: The Most Famous Polish Woman in the World).

Cover is a black and white photo of actress Joanna Pacula. It is a close up of her head, with her chin resting on her arms.
Pacuła: Najsłynniejsza Polka na świecie by Marta Górna.

Górna’s book can be (pre) ordered here. It is slated to be published March 25th by Agora Publishing House.

Morgana Pendragon Kickstarter

Madeleine Holly-Rosing (Boston Metaphysical Society) has a new Kickstarter up for issue two (with issue one caked into some of the reward tiers) of her other comic series, Morgana Pendragon.

Cover depicts a woman with long hair, lots of magic/rune-like tattoos on her face and arms. She is walking barefoot through a forest with pointy sticks and thorns on the ground.
Morgana Pendragon cover art by Claudia Ianniciello.

Check out the campaign on Kickstarter.

The End is Trending Trailer

Dannie Delisle is in an upcoming movie called The End is Trending. Check out the trailer at Youtube or below. Dannie is the conspiracy lady!

The director, Mark Christopher (husband to Kathleen Kaufman who has appeared on a few episodes of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast [this one and this one]), has a Substack where more info about the film can be found. There is also an entry at IMDB.com.

Laser Joan and the Rayguns Kickstarter

D. J. Kirkbride (whom I’ve interviewed prior on my website, check it out!) has a Kickstarter going to reprint his comic miniseries Laser Joan and the Rayguns that was originally in Dark Horse Presents.

Cover depicts two ladies, both new wave style, kind of like Gem and the holograms. They are holding guitars/guns and have stars painted over their faces. They look to be rocking out.
Laser Joan and the Rayguns.

Check out the campaign here.

Action Girls Kickstarter

J. Manfried Weichsel (whom I’ve also interviewed before on my website, check that out here) has a Kickstarter for an omnibus called Action Girls that collects three of his prior stories: Jungle Jitters (2021), Into the Bush (2024), and Space Escapades (2025) into one book.

Cover says "Action girls: Triple Threat. Jungle Jitters. Into the Bush. Space Escapades." It shows there circles, each with a themed lady in them: a jungle girl, a safari lady, and an astronaut girl wearing fishnet stockings.
Action Girls by J. Manfred Weichsel.

This campaign can be found on Kickstarter and it goes live March 3rd at 4pm EST. Click the “Notify Me on Launch” button if checking out the campaign before then.

Categories
Comics

Warpath and Rampage: Vanya 08

The Story So Far

Vanya, Serah, Niya, and Guy are four soldiers from the future trapped in the prehistoric past, surviving against dinosaurs, savage humanoids, the Torridians (a race of warrior aliens hellbent on conquering humanity), and the Astral Guard (elite human warriors who view the heroes as deserters and traitors).

Cover depicts Vanya, crouched in foliage, drawing back on a bow. It is kind of dark, with a little beam of light coming through the leaves. Her red hair is in a pony tail.
Vanya #08 standard cover by Zoran Jovicic and Zork Marinero.

Vanya and her lover Serah make their way to Terran Base Alpha, and Serah is taken in for treatment for the cerebral implant put into her by the Bone Tribe Witch. Concurrently, Niya and Guy make off to hide a batch of Torridian Dragon Eggs from the Witch. Their efforts are in vain as they are apprehended by the Astral Guard, and in turn, everyone is captured by the Witch who has the eggs back in her possession as she needs them to fulfill a prophecy to make her a powerful god-queen.

Issue 08 Plot
 
At Terran Base Alpha, Relo Quarr reveals to Vanya that the Federation has their own Torridian Dragon, one that is to be released in an emergency should the Torridians overcome their defenses. Quarr recalls to Vanya how the Torridian planet was destroyed by the Galactic Federation when they set the dragons free on their world. Nearly conquered, the Torridians surrendered to the Federation, but asked for a new home world, which turns out to be the human’s planet Terra.

Vanya has her red hair in a long pony tail behind her back and is wearing a white shirt. She is pointing forward. NExt to her is the alien Relo Quarr. He has a grey, angular face with a green jacket that has big shoulder pads and collar.
Vanya and Relo Quarr gaze upon a Torridian Dragon.

Serah awakes from a nightmare with more visions of the Bone Tribe Witch. Sensing the situation as dire, Quarr gives Vanya the clearance to arm herself and to go and destroy the eggs that Niya and Guy hid.
At that moment the Torridian army, led by the ruthless Geneal Tora, launch a massive attack on the Terran base. With their numbers already decimated by a plague, the Torridians take a suicide approach of fight or die, sending their spaceships crashing into the base’s shields followed by waves of cybernetic dinosaurs. Quarr and his men take to the battlefield in their tanks and mechs to ward off the Torridians as the base is given an evacuation order.

Meanwhile at the Bone Tribe’s cave, a captured Niya, Guy, and Astral Guard Elah watch as the Witch leads her tribe in a giant orgy to imprint their pheromones on the hatching eggs.

Commentary

Issue eight of Vanya is the Battle of Helm’s Deep of the series so far. The fervor attitude of the Torridians under Tora’s command is depicted in their hail Mary attack on the Federation base. Knowing that the plague that has decimated them has put them in a dire, inescapable position, the Torridians send their spaceships, their only way off the planet, to Kamikaze the base. The army of cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs the Torridians command is epic to behold, and the Federation responds in kind by sending in giant tanks and ED-209/AT-ST looking mechs to intercept the attackers.

A booming battlefield filled with explosions and laser cannons. In the background moving forward is a fleet of tanks. Behind it are burning building and mountains. In the foreground, advancing toward the tanks, are cybernetic ally enhanced triceratops, stegosauruses, Tyrannosaurus Rexes, and more. The color of the page is all shades of red due to all the fires going on.
Epic battle between the Torridians and their dinosaurs and the Galactic Federation with lots of tanks.

In a traditional story, at a scene like this, the grunts would be sent in to do the dirty work as their commanders and leaders sit safely back at their command center. Not so in Vanya as Quarr and his other commanders join in the fray as well. Both sides of the skirmish are depicted as equally brave among panels that show tanks blowing up dinosaurs while T-Rexes with sharp metal claws rip apart mechs. Overall, the battle is a blast (pun intended) to see unfold in the issue, from the large-scale fighting to the minutia in the commanders planning in their war room.

The panel shows the backs of six commanders, looking at a green screen on the wall. The screen is a computer display, with coordinates and lattitude/longitude, and shows the gathering torridian forces.
Terran Base Alpha War Room.

A new development in this issue of Vanya is Serah’s cerebral implant allows her to communicate with the cyberdinos. As she is fleeing the base, she encounters a raptor with blades protruding from its back, but Serah is able to convince the reptile she is friendly and the beast scoots away. Possible foreshadowing here: if Serah can do this to one dinosaur, she can probably do it to more. Say, an army of dinosaurs

There is a certain irony that Vanya is sent back out to destroy the Torridian eggs as they were all in her possession not a few days ago. If Guy and Niya had not split off to hide the eggs, they would instead be in the Federation hand’s and not the Bone Tribe Witch’s, where they would be destroyed (or, more likely, made into additional weapons). Regardless, the orders from Quarr get Vanya back into her natural habitat, the jungles primeval. A missile blast from a robo-pterodactyl (yes, only with Vanya can one say that sentence with a straight face) knocks Vanya out, disintegrating her clothes. It is only a matter of time in a subsequent issue that she will not doubt be back to wearing her normal neo-jungle girl garb (or nothing at all).

Covers and Swag Impressions

Issue #8 of Vanya was successfully Kickstarted in early February 2025, with digital editions being fulfilled in June and physical editions later that summer. This issue was released in numerous covers by a variety of different artists, in normal and nude incarnations. The standard cover was done by Zoran Jovicic (who has been the illustrator of the series since its beginning) and Zork Marinero.

Vanya is nude save for her bracers, spikey shoulder pads, and boots. She is leaning against a tree branch. Her hair is in dreadlocks. She is hiding behind her a serrated halberd. She is biting on her finger seductively. Behind her it is a sunny day, with a canyon wall and a sky with a faint, fluffy cloud.
Personal copy of Vanya #08, nude variant, done by Brian Miroglio.

The best alternative cover for issue eight is the one done by Brian Miroglio. A vibrant and seductive cover (nude or not), it shows a battle-ready Vanya against a rather serene jungle scene. Whose blood in on the spear she holds behind her in an assuming fashion to how Negan (Walking Dead) holds his baseball bat Lucille?  Did she slay a dinosaur? Or perhaps a violent caveman? Aside from the attractive pinup vibes of the cover, it invites readers to hypothesis their own Vanya story, and it probably would not be too far off base.

The Tarot Card is of "The Hanged Man" and it is from the issue 8 cover done by Luca Strait. It shows Vanya, sitting on her knees, holding a spear in her right hand. Behind her is a giant snake. The sticker is done in 16 bit era style graphics. It shows Vanya holding a bow and stepping backwards.
Vanya #8 Tarot Card and pixel art style sticker.

For additional Kickstarter loot, Vanya #8 came with three additional goodies: a tarot card, a sticker, and a PDF story. The tarot card continues the tradition Bad Bug has been doing with their other comics, and these are always fun to see. The best tarot cards have unique artwork, though the card for issue 8, The Hanged Man, uses the Luca Strati #8 alternate cover.

The sticker realizes Vanya in a 16-bit, pixel/retro style and it is awesome. It fuels the imagination that a retro game based on the Vanya IP, perhaps done by a company like WayForward, would be entirely plausible. There are a plethora of vintage cartoonish caveman game out there, such as Chuck Rock, Bonk, and Caveman Ninja, why not instead go the serious route and make a Vanya platformer or Metroidvania?

And finally, a first for the Vanya series, there is a short story with some black and white comicbook style illustrations (though it is not a comic) titled “First Encounter”. The story is about Vanya’s first week upon arriving in the prehistoric past and encountering both a raptor and a sabre tooth tiger. This is a great way to add more story, character development, and “Vanya-ness”, to the series.

Conclusion

How far Vanya has come in scale in eight issues! Initially a more singularly focused on Vanya and surviving the hostile dinosaur world, the stakes have been upped many times in the issues since: large scare battles between humans and purple-skinned warrior aliens, a tribe of cave people wanting to rule the world, fleets of cyber dinosaurs, almost mystical dragons. It all seems over the top, and, well, maybe it is, but it works. There is a dead-seriousness vibe with Vanya that grounds it. Issue eight contains all these elements (an epic war, a jungle girl tale, etc.) and then some, such as romance and a little political intrigue on a galactic scale. With four more issues to go (the series is already 2/3s of the way complete?!), it will be fantastic to see where this escalating action goes. 

For more information on Vanya and the comic’s creative team, check out the links below:

Also, consider checking out the reviews I’ve done of other titles published by Bad Bug:

Categories
News

News Roundup: January 2026

Personal / Website News

This is my first News Roundup post for 2026. This is also my first post of moving to my new schedule of publishing these once a month at the end of each month.

2025 Accomplishment Recap

My recap of 2025 – writing I got done (published or reprinted), vidcasts, podcasts, conferences, etc. is now online.

Five books laid out on a table.
Works published physically in 2025: Three issues of NESS, 1 issue of Burroughs Bulletin, and Merry Creepmas.

Last year was a pretty good year! I did not get to everything I wanted to (Emmanuelle book), but I was pretty prolific! Feel free to read the recap here.

Panthans Journal #344 and #345

The newest issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a re-print of my review of issue five of of the adult/neo-jungle girl series Vanya: The Lost Warrior. The original version of my review can be read right here.

Cover is by Mark Wheatley and called "The Beasts". It is red hued. It shows Tarzan riding atop of an elephant. Below the elephant are two gorillas and a lion. Behind them is a tree and a setting sun.
National Capital Panthans Journal #344.

The February Panthans issue #345 came out a day earlier on January 31st. This issue has a reprint of my review of Vanya #7, and the original can be read here.

Cover by David Michael Beck. It's a drawing of Tarzan atop an elephant, with 2 axes in front.
National Capital Panthans Journal #345.

As a preview of things to come, the March issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal will contain a reprint of one of my short stories that has been OOP for a few years. Stay tuned!

Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journalis a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos, and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.

Sincere appreciation to Laurence for the opportunity to have my work published in the journal.

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearance

The cool kids at the Fan2Fan Podcast have been dropping episodes recently about collecting physical media (see below).

Square podcast thumbnail. It is black and orange. It shows a hand holding a music CD. It says: F2F New Fan2Fan Podcast Epiosode! CDs fanpodcast.com
Fan2Fan Podcast episode thumbnail for the episode about CD collecting.

They just dropped an episode about CD collecting and both Michele and I are on it. The episode can be streamed at this link here, via the embedded player below, or via your podcast app of preference.

The One Where We Talk About CDs – Fan2Fan Podcast

Following that they have another episode about how Michele and I’s collection of movies, games, etc. and how we collect lots of media.

Thumbnail shows a stack of 4 TVs, one displaying a record, one a CD, one a video game contractor, and one a record. The thumbnail reads: F2F New Fan2Fan Podcast Episode! Physical Media - Movies & Music Special Editions Video Games. Fanpodcast.com
Fan2Fan episode thumbnail on Physical Media.

That episode can be heard here or in the player below.

Physical Media: Heavy Boxes, Special Editions, and Video Games – Fan2Fan Podcast

Check out both episodes!

H. P. Lovecast Podcast

H. P. Lovecast Podcast will return in February! We’ve already recorded our discussion on the 80s creature feature classic, The Deadly Spawn, it just needs to be edited and published.

The New Peplum Citations

It has been a hot minute, but new citations for The New Peplum have just popped up!

Cover shows an actress wearing a purple peplum looking over her shoulder to a movie camera.
Audio-Visual Roman Women cover.

The open access collection, Audio-Visual Roman Women: Gender, History & Screen Media, contains two essays that reference The New Peplum. Martin M. Winkler’s essay “Caesar’s Daughter: Lucilla on Screen” while Panayiota Mini’s essay “British Women in a Roman World: Female Figures in Audio-Visual Works about the Ninth Legion” cites Kevin Wetmore’s essay. Always wonderful to see The New Peplum continue to be cited by others.

Audio-Visual Roman Women can be read online here.

Scholars from the Edge of Time

The last episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time in 2025 was on the David Carradine/Roger Corman 80s S&S classic, The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984).

Blu-ray cover shows a woman with 2 sets of breast (really) and a barbarian swinging a sword and the two are dragged by tentacles into a toothy maw.
Blu-Ray of The Warrior and the Sorceress.

The cover promises a lady with four boobies and a Cthulhu and gosh darn it, the movie actually delivers four boobies and a Cthulhu. Our discussion of The Warrior and the Sorceress can be watched on YouTube. Check it out!

For January 2026 we kick of a new year of Scholars on the comedy side by discussing Hercules Returns (1993). An Australian movie that is essential a comedic redubbing of Samson and His Mighty Challenge (1964) with a thin plot of sorts that act as bookends. It’s a hilarious film.

DVD of Hercules Returns is blue. The title is being held up by Hercules on his back. The Blu-ray is a cardboard slipcase. It shows Hercules flexing, with the main character imposed in his toga top.
Personal copies of Hercules Returns on DVD and Blu-ray.

Our discussion of Hercules Returns can also be watched on YouTube.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2026.

Cover is by Mark Wheatley and called "The Beasts". It is red hued. It shows Tarzan riding atop of an elephant. Below the elephant are two gorillas and a lion. Behind them is a tree and a setting sun.
National Capital Panthans Journal #344.

“All E.T.’s Aren’t Nice: Vanya 06” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #344, January 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover by David Michael Beck. It's a drawing of Tarzan atop an elephant, with 2 axes in front.
National Capital Panthans Journal #345.

“The Prehistoric Purge: Vanya 07″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #345, February 2026.

Original can be read here.

Calls for Papers/Proposals

Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my path or I am sharing on behalf of my colleagues. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.

Werewolf Media Journal

Seeking paper abstracts for an upcoming WEREWOLF MEDIA-themed literary journal. Abstracts are open for critical theory papers discussing ANY MEDIA OR FRANCHISE WITH WEREWOLVES. The Horror Scholar Journal Vol 8 aims to be made available online in July 2026. This opportunity is paid 50 USD upon receipt of the final paper. Abstracts should be ~300 words briefly describing the scope and topic of your paper.

Final papers must be anywhere from 2000-5000 words. Not accepting reviews or previously published papers. This journal attempts to prioritize underserved or less published horror academics. Proposals and papers should be submitted in a readable, neutral size 12 font.

CUT OFF DATE FOR ABSTRACTS: FEB 3rd, 2026

CUT OFF DATE FOR FINISHED PAPERS: JUNE 1st, 2026

STEPS FOR APPLICATION:

  1. Submit your abstract via email to horrorscholar@gmail.com, along with your name, a 3-sentence bio, and social media links.
  2. Once your abstract is accepted, a finished paper can be submitted via email any time until the cutoff date above.
  3. Payment for your work will be sent upon reception of the first draft.
  4. Each paper will have 1 round of edits.

ABOUT HORROR SCHOLAR

HS is an independent horror research brand and one-woman publishing operation. It strives to make academic publishing more accessible and to celebrate both critical theory and fandom. @scholarhorror on Twitter or horrorscholar@gmail.com for questions.

Contemporary Indigenous Horror – Creative Writing

Contemporary Indigenous Horror (University Press of Mississippi, 2027) solicits original, unpublished short horror fiction, poetry, and experimental works by self-identifying Indigenous creatives. No work produced with AI will be accepted.

Honorarium: $250 (Canadian) per accepted piece

Deadline for submissions: July 14th, 2026

Name of organizer: Dr. Naomi Simon Borwein and Dr. Krista Collier-Jarvis

Contact email: Naomi Simone Borwein (nborwein@uwo.ca) and Krista Collier-Jarvis (Krista.Collier-Jarvis@msvu.ca)

As a companion to analysis in Contemporary Indigenous Horror (contracted with University Press of Mississippi), we are looking for creative pieces to be published within this academic volume.

To acknowledge the various ways in which Indigenous scholarship may engage in an ongoing conversation with other forms of expression and writing, we welcome both traditional as well as more exploratory approaches to fiction, poetry, flash, and related hybrid, experimental intertexts that rupture settler-colonial categorizations of genre. Word/line count should be as follows:

  • Flash Fiction: about 500-1000 words
  • Short Stories: about 1000-4000 words
  • Poetry: maximum of about 110 lines
  • Experimental, hybrid words: some flexibility

Please send submissions and a 100 word bio to editors Naomi Simone Borwein (nborwein@uwo.ca) and Krista Collier-Jarvis (Krista.Collier-Jarvis@msvu.ca) by July 14th, 2026.

Autographs from the Archive

Here are some autographed treasures I’ve shared on social media recently.

Student Bodies

Student Bodies (1981) is one of, if not the first, slasher comedy film. It is fairly rough around the edges if I recall, but still an important film in the early days of the genre. It would take a while to kind of juggle the two genres successfully, perhaps the first Scary Movie (2000)?

DVD shows a dead cheerleader, with a megaphone protruding from her mouth. She is laying on a school desk with a blackboard behind her.
Personal copy of Student Bodies on DVD.
Backside of the DVD. Shows images from the film. In the bottom left, in ball point pen, it is signed "Best - Robyn Flanery"
Student Bodies DVD signed by Robyn Flanery.

Way back in the 2000s, I was hooked on buying Mike Nelson commented movies from Legend Films, and they released Student Bodies, so of course I plucked it up. I sent my copy off to actress Robyn Flanery who graciously signed it.

The Strangeness

Two decades before The Descent (2005) there was The Strangeness (1985), though The Strangeness did come 5 years after Alien 2: On Earth (1980), when it comes to subterranean horror.

The Strangeness was one of those films I discovered during my Stephen Thrower/Nightmare USA phase in the 2000s. This movie was talked about in great detail in Thrower’s book, and I was tracking down all the movies I could. The only copy of The Strangeness I could find at the time was a British import from 23rd Century, a DVD label of dubious quality. I mean, look at that skull on the back. Generic much?

Shady looking, quasi bootleg DVD. The cover shells a skull and the inside of a well.
Personal copy of The Strangeness DVD.
Back of the DVD. It has a skull with swirls around it. In black ink it is signed "Best Wishes Nick! Mark Sawicki".
Strangeness DVD signed by Mark Sawicki.

Regardless, I plucked up this film to add to my growing Nightmare USA collection. I did reach out to Mark Sawicki, who worked on the film and asked if he could autograph it for me, and he said sure!

Years later Code Red released a much better version of this film. Time for a re-watch!

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

The ever growing peplum research library grows with these recent sword and sandal acquisitions.

The Last Legion and Seventh Son

Michele and I took our periodic trip to Zia Records the other weekend. I’m always on the lookout for some peplum and peplum-adjacent movies when we are out and about and this time I scored two!

DVD of The Last Legion shows Colin Firth is armor about to swing a sword. There is a battle behind him. The Blu-ray for Seventh Son its the standard characters face forward and is not particularly interesting.
Personal copies of The Last Legion and Seventh Son.

The first is The Last Legion (2007). I’ve been on the prowl for this one for a while, especially since it is mentioned in Dr. Wetmore’s essay in The New Peplum. That’s on the to watch pile for sure, and possible Peplum Ponderings article?

The second is Seventh Son (2014). I’ve never heard of this movie before and bought it because it looked like a post LOTR cash grab. Turns out I was wrong and it is based off a series of grim dark young children’s fantasy novels from the Spook’s series by Joseph Delaney. So, this is more of a post-Harry Potter cash grab as kids fantasy was in. Didn’t no one learn from Eragon (2006) a decade earlier? Regardless, it could be fun, so I look forward to checking it out.

News from Friends

Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.

New Ride the Stream Episodes

Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata have some brand new episodes of their Ride the Stream vidcast where they dive into season 2 of the cult television series Lost.

Here is their discussion of season two episode ten:

And season two episode eleven:

Their discussion on Season 2 Episode 12:

John 3:16 Remix

Philippe Gerber has a new remix that just dropped.

Black and white cover. It looks like a swipe of black paint with scratches in it.
Sobaki Tabaka Remixes cover art.

Under his John 3:16 moniker, Philippe has done a remix of the song “V Bezdne” by Sobaki Tabaka that appears on the remix album Sobaki Tabaka Remixes. The album is released by Industrial Complexx and is available at Bandcamp.

New Janet Joyce Holden Books

My friend Janet Joyce Holden has two books that are coming out at the very beginning of February.

Two book covers. Palladium's Resolution is white, with a symbol on the cover that looks like a bunch of music symbols. There are drops of blood next to it. Palladium's Insurrection is green. It has a symbol on the cover too that looks like a swirl of flames.
Palladium’s Resolution and Palladium’s Insurrection by Janet Joyce Holden.

They are titled Palladium’s Resolution and Palladium’s Insurrection. Blurb below for what these are all about.

Here is the Amazon link for all of the books in Holden’s Palladium series.

Press Blurb

Rogan is a troubled clairvoyant who can see more than most, but when he teams up with the monstrous Jake, a Khir’gham Guardian of the Void, it’s for an undeniably good cause. Keeping the hungry Void from invading Jake’s home of Palladium, and thereby saving Rogan’s own world from destruction.

Except a hitherto mysterious threat has now fully revealed itself. Carl Drake, visionary CEO of Stormquell and secretly one of Palladium’s mighty dragons, is not only hellbent on breaking his exile and reclaiming what he has lost, he has greedy ambitions regarding Rogan’s world, too.

The series reaches its climax in the final two novellas, Palladium’s Insurrection, and Palladium’s Resolution. The confrontation they always feared is now on the horizon, its arena shifting from the glossy mansions of Benedict Canyon, to the Southern California high desert, and finally into the fragile world of Palladium, and it’s up to Jake and Rogan to save the day. Except the task of killing dragons, not only seems impossible, its consequences will prove devastating and unforgivable. Perhaps Rogan and Jake will survive, but at what terrible cost?

Palladium is a series of high fantasy and dark adventure, containing monsters, dragons, interdimensional worlds, along with the all too human attributes of trust, courage, and family treachery.

Arriving on Tuesday 2nd February.

New Fan2Fan Episodes

Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online. Aside from the CD collecting episode above, there’s a plethora of other episodes since the end of December. Check these all out:

First there is “2025 Horror: The Monkey, 28 Years Later, Good Boy & More“:

2025 Horror: The Monkey, 28 Years Later, Good Boy & More – Fan2Fan Podcast

Then “Best of 2025: Movies, Music, and More“:

Best of 2025: Movies, Music, and More – Fan2Fan Podcast

Followed by their first episode in their physical media series “The One Where We Talk About Physical Media“:

The One Where We Talk About Physical Media – Fan2Fan Podcast

And “VHS Collecting with Cory Gorski“:

VHS Collecting with Cory Gorski – Fan2Fan Podcast

And then “VHS Collecting with Jim Karl“:

VHS Collecting with Jim Karl – Fan2Fan Podcast

Older episodes of Fan2Fan can be found at its Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference.

Apocalypse Later Film Review: The Giant of Marathon

Hal A. F. Astell has a new film review up at his Apocalypse Later website, this one on the sword and sandal classic The Giant of Marathon (1959).

Black thick DVD case. The cover shows Hercules with a shoulder wound standing in an arena. Below shows Hercules walking with a lady and a crowd of people behind him.
Personal copy of the Clash of the Olympians DVD collection.
Back cover of the DVD. Shows a group of archers lined up. The text reads: A Colossal Collection of Epic Adventures! Take a mythological journey back in time with this Herculean compilation of lavish sword-and-sandal films filled with muscle-bound men, ravishing ladies, malicious monsters and awesome action. Movies: Ali Baba and the Seven Saracens (1964) The Avenger (1962) The Giant of Marathon (1959) The Giants of Rome (1964) The Giants of Thessaly (1960) Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (1963) Hercules and the Captive Women (1961) Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964) Hercules Against the Mongols (1963) Hercules and the Masked Rider (1963) Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965) Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon (1964) Hercules Unchained (1960) Herod the Great (1960) Kindar the Invulnerable (1964) Spartacus and the Ten Gladiators (1964)
Clash of the Olympians DVD collection, back cover.

Check out the review at the Apocalypse Later website.

Categories
News

2025 Accomplishments

At the start of every new year I like to reflect on the previous year, see what I accomplished, had published, got done. Did some projects I say I would get realized actually get realized? Did I wander off and do something else? Am I more or less prolific?

Two IKEA shelf cubbies filled with books, magazines, and journals.
Shelfie at the end of 2025. All work I’ve had physically published in my career up to this point.

Prior year recaps can be found at the following links:

Publication Accomplishments

In the realm of physical publications, I appeared in five (!!) journals, magazines, and books! 

Firstly, the year began with the publication of Merry Creepsmas: The Red Book which contained my horror/sword and sorcery/comedy short story “There’s Always Room”. I do not write much fiction and this was the first time in years I had something that was not non-fiction published. This was actually a story I wrote ten years ago for a different anthology that did not make the cut. Thus, the story has been sitting in my arsenal to be used later all this time. The opportunity popped up in 2024 for a different anthology, I revisited this story, polished it up a bit, submitted it, and got accepted. Take this an encouragement that rejections can turn into successes, even if it takes a while.

Next, in February, the 109th issue of the Burroughs Bulletin, the journal of the Burroughs Bibliophiles, came out and contained my interview with peplum starlet Bella Cortez titled “Tagliolini al Tarzan: Interview with Actress Bella Cortez on Taur the Mighty”. Michele and I spent a good chunk of 2024 discussing the sword and sandal films of Bella Cortez on Scholars from the Edge of Time, and this interview is the cumulation of those efforts. I felt really proud to immortalize her and one of her movies, in this instance, an Italian Tarzan knock off.

Fast forward to the end of the year and volumes five, six, and seven of New Edge Sword and Sorcery were published simultaneously. I was invited by editor Oliver Brackenbury to contribute a themed cocktail to each issue. It was fun inventing cocktails to honour different characters of sword and sorcery fiction and I was ecstatic to be involved. The hardcovers of these issues are so damn stately and it feels really rad to be included in their pages.

Five books laid out on a table.
Works published physically in 2025: Three issues of NESS, 1 issue of Burroughs Bulletin, and Merry Creepmas.

2024 saw the beginning of my past works being reprinted and that practice continued well into 2025. Last year I had six previously published works reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal, while this year I had nine! 

In 2024 I had 13 articles published at my website. This year I had 15:

  • Comic Book Reviews = 10
  • Magazine Reviews = 2
  • Interviews Conducted = 1
  • Peplum Ponderings = 1
  • Conference Recaps = 1

So, overall, on the writing and publishing front, by the numbers I had a much more successful year in 2025 than in 2024.

On the flip side, some projects did fall through. The book that my peplum cats essay was initially accepted for had a change in editors or publishers or something and my essay is no longer a part of it. If anyone out there is editing a collection that needs an essay about lions/tigers/panthers and how they recreate the Nemean Lion myth in sword and sandal films, let me know! In the meantime, the essay goes into the arsenal, to be used at a later date.

I did bow out of the Roger Corman project. The essay I was writing was less Roger Corman-centric and more industrial sampling specific, and I really could not find a way to rejigger it. So, better to bow out rather than write an essay that does not even pass my muster for the project at hand.

Podcast/Vidcast Accomplishments

Podcast and vidcasting took a bit of a backseat in 2025. For H. P. Lovecast Michele and I did not record any episodes. There are lots of reasons for this including there was just a lot on our plates. Michele and Travis Lakata did start their vidcast, Ride the Stream, so do check that out. We are hoping in 2026 that we will bring H. P. Lovecast back. On the board is to start with an episode on Deadly Spawn.

Even though there were no H. P. Lovecast this past year, Scholars from the Edge of Time was pretty prolific! Overall 2025 can be recapped as:

  • 10 appearances on Scholars from the Edge of Time
  • 1 appearance on Castle of Horror podcast

Conferences

2025 did see me return to the conference circuit, somewhat. In late September, Michele and I attended the Edgar Rice Burroughs Circle of Friendship (ECOF) gathering in Willcox, Arizona (read my recap of it here). It was our second time ever vending a convention, so that was neat. I sold a few books, which is a nice feeling. I gave a presentation on the sword and sandal elements of the Burroughs novel Tarzan and the Lost Empire, which, I think, was decently received? Hopefully I made some impression on the ERB Inc., folks and other attendees. The last time I did an academic presentation was at AnnRadCon in 2022. I am not 100% sure what I am going to do with my presentation. I may record a version of it and put it on YouTube with some of my other presentations, or rewrite it to be in essay format and submit it so one of the Edgar Rice Burroughs journals out there. But, it was nice to be back at a conference and giving a presentation and hopefully another opportunity pops up in 2026.

2026 Expectations

Overall, 2025 was not a bad year at all. A fairly successful year in fact! I did hit a few slumps through the year. After giving my presentation in Willcox, I was pretty much drained from writing, so the last part of 2025 I did not get much done. I’ll be honest, it is tough sometimes. I am still culling through a backlog of obligations. I’ve said “yes” instead of “no” to too many things. My work life has gotten more strenuous as I am now juggling being on two different teams, reporting to two mangers both with different sets of projects. Sometimes when I am done with a day at work I don’t want to look at my computer anymore. General life anxiety also creeps in, and, well, it takes a lot of effort to push myself to work on things.

Walking into 2026 I already have things lined up to be published. I have a stockpile of reviews that are spoken for to be reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal (one just dropped earlier this month!). A short story of mine that has been out of print for many years will also be reprinted around March, so that is great!

Michele and I did a few episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast in December, so expect those episodes to drop soon. We also contributed some text to an upcoming secret Fan2Fan project. I can’t say more, but I’m extremely excited about it. 

I will also be returning to Exotica Moderne! I am finishing up am essay about the documentary The Donn of Tiki and interviewed the filmmakers behind it. This will see the light later this year as well. I have other ‘to do’ items on my Exotica Moderne list (that have been there for a while) that hopefully I will realize.

So, 2026 is already looking pretty good with material already primed and good to go.

Other obligation-wise, the Emmanuelle book needs to be a big priority to complete in 2026. I’ve been stymied on this project and hope to get is sussed out and get back on track. I’ll be honest, unliked my peplum book which went by smooth, this project has not been the best to work on for a variety of reasons. I’ll say no more out of professionalism. 

I also hope to get re-caught up with my reviews of the Vanya series of comics. I was caught up for a brief spell there, but then Willcox happened and I got fatigued on writing.

I would like to go back and revisit some of my presentations I’ve given in the past and see about getting them published in some form. Maybe working backwards from the Tarzan presentation I just did, and then the Acylum presentation. I believe I’ve done some great academic work that should be published to reach a greater audience.

I have been asked back to contribute cocktail recipes to the 2026 issues of New Edge Sword and Sorcery. Of course this requires me to go back into the lab, experimenting with mixology to come up with some great, new libations.

A big thing I want to pivot to are revenue generating projects. I’ve gotten too much in the hole for doing things for/about others and I should be doing more projects that I want to do. I think of back to the early years of Covid and Nick Mamatas was sharing on social media how much he was making each month in royalties and passive book income. It was interesting and kind of inspiring. Aside from the yearly McFarland check I get for The New Peplum and Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Moderne, I do not have any other publications that generate passive income. I would love to change that, especially as we move into more uncertain times economically. With that in mind, I do want to draw attention to my “Support Me” page which has a list of ways to support me in what I do.

Overall, I am looking forward to 2026. I am intimidated to get back on track for the Emmanuelle book, to be honest. Words of encouragement and motivation will be greatly appreciated.
I do want to end with a sincere thank you to all the folks who support what I do, be it buying books I am a part of, inviting me to podcasts, recommending me for projects, or even sharing my work on social media. It is dog eat dog out there. I am a small fry in the sea of other writers and academics. Every little bit helps and I am grateful for the support I do receive.