Month: August 2026

Categories
Comics

Cast a Sexy Spell: Death Nell 03

The Story So Far

Nell is a twenty-two-year-old student enrolled at Deus Mortem, a university for necromancy, who has been having a hard time staying awake in class. She has been overcome with sexual urges, which can barely be satiated by her own hand.

Cover shows Nell, wearing black and purple stripped stockings, and 2 giant sailor moon hair funs sitting on a purple bed or couch. It looks blood soaked. There are green flowing tentacles around her legs. She is wearing sneakers. Behind her is a window with the moon beaming through. On the couch/bed are thin vials of different colors. Nell is holding a vial and vapor is emitting from it. She is beckoning with her finger as if saying "Come closer".
Death Nell #3 Aleriia V Cover.

Nell learns that she is half succubus and that she needs to feed on sexual energy. With the assistance of her best friend April, they break into Ms. Flowers’ (the school’s nurse) office in the hopes of summing an imp that can be at Nell’s side to keep her focused. Instead, they summon a s’imp, a red, sexually charged imp named Hans that bonds immediately to Nell much to her chagrin. 

Later during the night, a mysterious cloaked figure slips an envelope under April’s dorm door which contains a picture of Nell’s parents: a human father and a succubus mother.

Issue 03 Plot

After the next classroom session with Professor Reinhart, which was about the differences between krakens and leviathans, April gives to Nell the picture of her parents that was slipped under her door the night before. Hans the s’imp slaps the picture from Nell’s hands, claiming that it is a trap. And it is. When the picture hits the floor a horned purple wolf with a skeleton head manifests and begins chasing Nell, saying “om nom nom!” as it wants to eat her.

April uses her troll powers to stun the beast while Nell uses her succubus singing voice to charm it. Ms. Flowers arrives on scene and casts a spell that melts the wolf into a pile of pink cosmos.

Flowers agrees with the trio that someone is after Nell and that they need extra help. She sends Nell and company to the school’s crypt to begin learning from Frederick, the school’s necromancy instructor.

Nell is being fondeled by 4 skeletons and lots of ghosts who are wide-eyed and drooling. She has her eyes closed and is singing "oooooooooo". All the undead are enthralled with her.
Nell attempts to control the summoned skeletons and ghosts.

Arriving at the crypt, the three are surprised to find that it is a gym full of skeletons. April is immediately smitten with Frederick who is an extremely fit and swole Frankenstien-esque man. To get them started on learning the ways of necBROmancy, Frederick gives Nell, April, and Hans a protein shake that has been enhanced with necromancer ashes. Nell gives her succubus siren song another try and summons a mass of skeletons that begin to fondle her. She loses control of the skeletons, but April smacks her on her butt to snap her back into focus. The skeletons reform and combine into a giant skeleton golem, a skullem!

Commentary

Issue three of Death Nell has a lot going for it: deepening the mystery surrounding Nell, successfully introducing another new character (Frederick), maintaining 80s style sexploitation comedy and doing something “different” with the sex scenes in this issue when compared to issues one and two (throttling it back and placing it on April instead of Nell).

Frederick is laying on his back, performing lifts. He has one blue eye and one purple eye. He is saying "Grrr! The first step to being a good necromancer is to be a part of the swoley trinity. ou need to be swole of mind, body, and spirit. You got that?"
Frederick, the necBROmancer.

This issue introduces the new character of Frederick, a body builder character that, in a Monster High fashion, takes after Frankenstein. His first appearance make him look like a “gym bro”, but he turns out to be anything but. He has been the only adult character in the Deus Mortem University so far who has not either sexually advanced on the main characters, or been antagonistic toward them. Nurse Flowers has made advances to Nell, groundskeeper Edgar has audibly made comments toward Nell, Professor Reinhart has not done any advances toward Nell, but s’imp Hans proclaims something is off about him (this could be jealousy, though Hans has been correct about his other observations such as the cursed picture). Fredrick, instead, opens up to Nell, April, and Hans immediately, welcomes them to the gym, and gets right to work training them. No punishments or demands like from Reinhart, but right into being supportive. He is a good teacher and a positive character.

Nell is naked and eating a slice of pepperoni pizza. She says "nom nom". And she is eating the pizza, with her eyes closed, she has her left hand on Reinhard as he is performing Cunnilingus on Nell and also saying "nom nom". Hearts float around the duo.
Fantasy sequence from issue 1 – Nell eats Pizza.
A recreation of the scene in Lady and the Tramp - April on the left and Frederick on the right. The are eating opposite ends of the same spaghetti noodle. A place of spaghetti sits between the two. Both are naked and staring into each others eyes.
Fantasy sequence from issue 3 – April eats spaghetti.

The appearance of Frederick takes the spotlight away from Nell’s sexual appetite and places it on April. There is only one sex scene (fantasy or otherwise) in Death Nell #3, and it does not involve Nell, but April. In fact, one of the series’ best jokes is in this issue. It is a meta joke from Nell directed to April when April begins to fantasize about Reinhard: “You better not be eating pizza in there, that’s my thing.” April has collage sexual fantasies just like her best friend Nell, but instead of pizza she goes the other Italian food route and eats spaghetti a’la Lady and the Tramp (1955). There are roughly three nested jokes in one sequence. It is great!

April slaps Nell's butt. She has furrowed eyes.
SLAP DEM CHEEKS!

The comedy in Death Nell #3 continues with its so-bad-they’re-great Monster High-esque puns: necBROmancer, Skullem, etc. Professor Reinhard saying “get kraken” while giving a lecture on leviathans and krakens is the greatest pun ever. Other great instances of comedy in the issue includes a panel of April slapping Nell on her butt to snap her out of a trance, and it turns the phrase “slap dem cheeks!” into an onomatopoeia.

Ms. Flowers is bent over, rummaging through a cabinet. She is wearing a red dress that is hiked up, showing there white panties that have hearts. She is wearing thigh high stockings that have flowers on them. There are books and potions above her and candles lit with purple flames nearby. She is saying "I'll send a bat with a message to expect the three of you. Also, he may come off as arrogant, but...." (she is talking about Frederick).
Panty and stockings (without garter belt) flashes from, Ms. Flowers.

While the sex is throttled back, there is still 80s style sexploitation gags in Death Nell #3. When Ms. Flowers bends over in her office, her knickers and stockings become “accidentally” exposed, something akin to Linda Blair in Zapped Again!(1990) or Linnea Quigley  in Night of the Demons (1988). All in all, this has been the funniest issue of Death Nell so far.

Covers and Swag Impressions

The third issue of Death Nell was successfully Kickstarted back in October of 2023, with physical fulfillment in January 2024. Those that contributed to the campaign received some nifty art-centric swag and trading cards to go with their chosen cover(s).

Death Nell #3 came in nine different covers, with nude and non-nude options available. The standard cover was done by Aleriia V that goes for a sinister approach to an otherwise comedic series. The Aleriia V cover shows Nell sitting on a blood-soaked couch or bed, tentacles wrapping around her legs, holding potion vials and beckoning the viewer to come forth with her finger. It looks like a gothic crackhead crime scene. Not Alerria V’s best cover, especially considering they did the best cover of Vanya #7 (see here).

The sexiest cover of issue three goes to Xong Bros (who focus on Nell’s masturbatory dilemma) while the whimsy-est goes to Mike Debalfo and Tarella Pablo’s cover which captures a more innocent and unassuming side of Nell.

Nell is topless on a purple beach down that has a skull pattern. She is on a dark beach with sinister clouds in the distance. She is cleaning against a tiki statue. Behind her are tiki torches. At her hands is a hollowed pineapple with a cocktail in it, garnished with an umbrella. A green skeleton magic vapor comes from the cocktail.
Personal copy of Death Nell #3, nude version done by Marissa Pope and Hedwin Zaldivar.

The best cover, hands down, goes to Marissa Pope and Hedwin Zaldivar’s tiki cover. Death Nell has absolutely no exotica/tiki/mid-century elements present, but the artistic duo voodoo-tiki-ify Nell and it pull it off.* Co-artist Zaldivar also did the best cover for Vanya #9 (see here).

Two art prints, side by side. The left one shows Nell and June, but in swapped costumes. June, the purple haired sex bot from Hyperguest, is wearing all purple and her hand is reaching from Nell's breast. Nell is dressed in June's outfit, with is black latex with latex garters that connect to latex boots. The smaller art print shows a naked Nell, sitting on the floor, rubbing the top of her head as a dizzy swirl appears. There is a headless skeleton in a cape holding her. She is wearing purple and black stripped stockings that have holes torn in them.
Art print of Nell and June done by Bruno Sousa next to an art print of the Zheanhmeart cover.

For Kickstarter swag, the Death Nell #3 campaign came with two art prints. One is a 6 x 9 crossover piece that has Nell paired up with June, the protagonist from Bad Bug’s erotic cyberpunk series Hypergeist. Nell is wearing June’s attire and June wearing Nell’s. This piece is done by Bruno Sousa who also did the crossover print of Nell and Bobby Jo that was a part of the Death Nell #2 campaign.

The second art print is a smaller 5×7 glossy print of the Zheanhmeart cover for Death Nell #3.

four black and white trading cards showing skeletons engaging in different sexual positions, like reverse cowgirl, missionary, prone bone. The target card shows nell holding an urn of ashes on her head. Her eyes are glowing yellow. She is wearing a purple top that has poofy shoulders.
Necro Sutra trading cards and a Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card.

Finally, as with many Bad Bug campaigns, the Death Nell #3 Kickstarter had a handful of different trading/collectable cards. 

First, there is a set of “Necro Sutra” trading cards done by Cari Salviejo (who has worked on other Bad Bug properties such as the aforementioned Hypergeist). These cards show skeletons engaging in a variety of sexual acts and are similar in theme to the sexy skeleton cards that were included with Death Nell #2.

Lastly there is the Tarot Card. Bad Bug has had a great run of making Rider–Waite Tarot Cards sporting their characters. This card is for the Wheel of Fortune and shows an extremely stylized Nell holding an urn of ashes on her head. She has possessed eyes and glowing arms in her palms, perhaps a nod to the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). The artist is not credited, but it looks akin to the work of Zach Raw.

All in all, a zesty round up of great swag that backers got with their comic.

Conclusion

Death Nell #3 is fantastic. Frederick is a great addition to the series and he treats the main trio respectfully (hoping that issue four or five does not pull a Scooby Doo and turns him into a bad guy). The comedy in this issue is top notch with many humorous panels and puns. Issue three continues to dive deeper into the mystery around Nell (who she is and why others want her dead), while also exploring other characters more closely (such as April’s desires). 

*Note: I am 100% bias toward this cover as I am really into tiki culture. 

For more information on Death Nell 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:

Death Nell Reviews

Vanya Reviews

Categories
Comics

Day of the Lepus: Cavewoman: Bunny Ranch

Plot

Deep in the Jurassic jungle, Meriem the Cavewoman plays hide and seek with a triceratops named Spikey (or Spikes). The tri-horned dinosaur gets a little too much into the game and headbutts Meriem’s bottom. She scolds the triceratops but quickly make amends and rides the reptile to Marshville.

Cover shows Meriem wearing her trademark leopard print bikini top and bottom. She is staying in the middle of the jungle. She is holding a bunny in the palm of her upturned right hand. Her left hand is petting a baby T-rex. There are a few other baby T-rexes hanging in the foilage.
Personal copy of Cavewoman – Bunny Ranch.

Upon entering the town, she seeks out her boyfriend Bruce and her friend, Professor Cook, but to no avail. She happens upon a pet store ran by Cynthia Cross, who knew Meriem when she was young. The two catch up before Cynthia reveals that Bruce and Professor Cook have been working for her, trapping non-prehistoric animals for her to keep safe. Meriem uses her superhuman powers to sprint off into the jungle in search of the duo.

Soon she encounters a baby T-rex that is being bullied by a trio of raptors. Meriem curbstomps one, uppercuts another, and pile drives the last. She then tears off the raptors’ limbs to feed to the baby T-rex who grows attached to her.

Bruce and Professor Cook pop out of the foliage and the three reconnect. Their reunion is short-lived as a giant dinosaur’s stomping causing them to hide, thinking it is the baby T-rex’s mother. Instead, it is a Spinosaurus that promptly devours the infant. The three make their escape back to Marshville and to Cynthia. Bruce and Professor Cook hand over their captured animals and agree to let Meriem accompany them on future excursions. Cynthia marvels at Meriem as she holds a bunny rabbit in her arms, saying she is good with animals. 

Commentary

“Bunny Ranch” is a one-shot Cavewoman comic published in May of 2012, with Rob Durham penning the story and doing the art. As a one-shot comic, like the previously reviewed “Extinction” issue, the story is self-contained, though it introduces a new character, Cynthia Cross, a potential paramour to Professor Cook.

Compared to the solid one shot “Extinction” and the exciting “Snow” story arc that were published in the prior year, “Bunny Ranch” is a major let down. This issue suffers greatly from a ham-fisted coincidental exposition dump, tonal whiplash, and a regression in Bruce and Meriem’s relationship. The overall gist of “Bunny Ranch” is fine, but the actual writing fails this one-shot.

Meriem has her hands pressed against the glass of a pet store. Inside are bunnies. She says "Oh, I haven't seen one since I was a little girl. I..I remember! I remember. Gramps gave me one for my birthday."
Meriem recalls a childhood memory as she gazes on the bunnies.

Early in the issue, Meriem walks about Marshville looking for Bruce and Professor Cook. She happens upon a pet store, sees a family of bunnies in the window, and has a memory come back to her. She remembers being a little girl, Gramps buys her a bunny, and then Meriem’s mother sells the bunny to buy drugs. The next page, Cynthia, the store proprietor, notices Meriem feeling sad and comments the extent of (paraphrasing) “I know you from ten years ago, your grandpa bought you a rabbit, and then your mother took it away.” Why would Cynthia remember these precise details ten years later? It is not a believable exchange between the two characters. It is an exposition dump executed with convenience in mind rather than taking an organic approach with more exchanges, plot building, and dialogue.

The tonal whiplash occurs later in the issue after Meriem has saved the baby T-Rex only for it to be eaten by a Spinosaurus. It is a shocking scene, and a little sad since the baby T-Rex has a cute factor going for it and it had bonded with Meriem. The scene does underscore the harsh reality of how dangerous the primeval jungle is, and death can come at any moment to anyone. The scene loses its impact immediately after when Meriem makes a sexual tease that Professor Cook should mate with Cynthia. This causes the professor to turn beet red and everyone to laugh. It is not an instance of gallows humour, but maybe writer Durham intended this moment that occurs mere minutes after watching the baby T-Rex be devoured as a means to cushion the shocking scene. Instead it comes off tonally wrong, not fitting the gravity of the scene. The joke itself is fine but would have been better executed later when the trio returned to Cynthia in Marshville.

The joke Meriem makes so soon after witnessing the baby T-Rex get eaten, especially after saving it from the pack of raptors, seems uncharacteristic of the character. Prior issues of Cavewoman have explored the mothering and nurturing attributes Meriem exhibits, such as saving Susie from the underground tentacle monster in “Extinction” and have the fever dream about her unborn children in issue four of “Snow”. The subject of the joke is not the issue, but its sudden utterance after watching the infant T-Rex, which she shared a brief mother-child relationship with, comes across as callous and not keeping in with Meriem’s character.

Cynthia is handing Meriem a rabbit. The exchange. Meriem: Oh, it's adorable! Cynthia: I named her "Snowflake". I caught her right after the snow started melting last winter.

This not keeping with how characters should be operating continues with the last major flaw with “Bunny Ranch”, and that is the regression of Meriem’s relationship with Bruce (and, to some extent, Professor Cook). An initial first impression, everything does seem status quo between Meriem and Bruce: they are still in love, still care about each other, etc. The big question: why isn’t Meriem privy to Bruce and Professor Cook’s outings to the jungle to collect animals for Cynthia? The duo have been doing this activity for quite a while, and Meriem has never been notified about it. Shouldn’t Bruce keep his girlfriend in the know of what he is doing, especially if what he is doing involves venturing into the dangerous Jurassic jungle? At the end of “Bunny Ranch”, Bruce and Professor Cook even admit it will be great having Meriem on their adventures go forward because she has valuable skills. So, why not bring her in the loop earlier? The only reasons for Bruce to keep his activities from Meriem are either a) he wants alone/male-bonding time with Professor Cook, b) not thinking and unintentionally coming off as insensitive, c) bad writing that was designed to introduce the new character of Cynthia and get Meriem into the jungle to close the narrative loop (which may have had the side effect of causing a or b). As a reminder, back in “Snow” issue three, Professor Cook tells Bruce a secret while Meriem is away and neither she nor the readers are informed of what was said during that story arc. This does establish that Bruce and Professor Cook are not above keeping information from Meriem, which may explain why they were not initially letting her in on their bro-time.

Black and white panel. It shows a baby T-tex having butted its head against Meriem's butt. She dinosaur says "Grunk!". Meriem says "Oh-Crappo!". Her bikini bottom is flown up, but she still has knickers on. She is bent over, tumbling forward as Gramps looks on.
Meriem is head butted on her posterior by a baby T-Rex.

While the writing falters severely in “Bunny Ranch”, the issue does have its high points. Durham’s art style is excellent, as usual, and his depictions of Meriem capture that cheesecake jungle girl vibe perfectly. There is no nudity in this issue, but Durham does find ways to pepper in some sexploitation. Meriem’s posterior is highlighted a handful of times in the issue. Meriem has a proclivity of being butted in her rear, toppling her forward, causing either her bust or her butt to become more prominent depending on point of view. In “Snow” issue two she is hit by a truck that causes her breasts to pop out of her top. In “Bunny Ranch” she is butted by a triceratops and later by the baby T-rex. It is a combination of a running gag within the series and a way to sexualize Meriem in an otherwise non-sexual situation.

Panel is show from below, as at the ground looking up. Meriem is bringing her foot down on a raptor's head. It then explodes in gore with a "SAAMASH!!".
Meriem curbstomps a Raptor.

The curbstomped raptor is a brutal panel, but exciting to see in action. While the artwork depicts Meriem as a pinup, it is moments like these that remind the viewer that she is incredibly powerful and can be vicious. If anything, after “Extinction” and “Snow”, Meriem’s violent side has not been explored nearly enough, so it is nice to see it exhibited in “Bunny Ranch”.

Conclusion

Regretfully, “Bunny Ranch” is not a good issue in the Cavewoman series. While the art remains consistently pinup stylistic and the overall story at a high-level works, the actual writing to execute it is severely flawed. Flawed so much that it hampers the characters, portraying them in uncharacteristic fashions: Meriem’s mothering nature being swept aside for a sexual joke that tonally does not fit the scene; Bruce (and Professor Cook) keeping their activities a secret form Meriem for seemingly no reason. Finally, what exactly is a “Bunny Ranch”? The issue ends with a joke, with Cynthia watching Meriem pet rabbits, inspiring her to want to open a bunny ranch. Is this a reference to the Nevada brothel of the same name? Is Cynthia looking to become a madam and prostitute Meriem out? Questions that should not need to be asked if the writing was better.

For more information on Cavewoman “Bunny Ranch” check out the official product page at Amryl Entertainment:

For more reviews of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series I’ve penned, check these out (chronological order of issue publish date):

Categories
Essays

Death Rode Upon a Monsoon: Jeffrey J. Mariotte’s Flesh of All Sorrows

Daniel Mansfield Jr. is the brand-new chief of police of Sossaman, a small but expanding town that borders the southeast corner of Phoenix. The Mansfield name carries tremendous currency in the desert town due to Daniel’s father, a prior chief of police, who apprehended the Bookbinder, a serial killer in the early 80s who captured, tortured, and then killed women. His calling card? He would bind hardbound books with their skin.

Barely a moment on the job and Daniel’s world is turned upside down: he falls in love with Kristin, who has a stalker in the form of a Sossaman police officer who is also a Nazi sympathizer; Daniel’s brother Davey, and golden child of the family, announces his intention to run for the mayor of the town; and finally, but most chillingly, the body of a dead twenty year old girl is found in a farm field that shows the signs of having been killed by the Bookbinder. With the Bookbinder already in prison for the past four decades, is this the work of a copycat killer, or could the wrong man be behind bars and the original Bookbinder is still on the loose? Daniel’s foray into the mystery will unravel truths that others would rather not have unearthed. 

Cover depicts the rear of a white van, its red tail lights beaming. Next to it is a man standing, hidden in a shadow. In front of him/the rear of the van, on the road, is a red high heel shoe. On the horizon is a set of men's eyes looking menacing.
Flesh of All Sorrows cover by Greg Chapman.

Flesh of All Sorrows is the newest police procedural novel by Jeffrey Mariotte. The author of The Slab (2019), River Runs Red (2019), Empty Rooms (2014), and 7 Sykos (2016)(with Marsheila Rockwell), Mariotte is a multi-genre author who has penned many thriller and crime fiction works before including books in The Narcos (Narcos: The Jaguar’s Claw [2018]), Criminal Minds (Criminal Minds: Sociopaths, Serial Killers & Other Deviants [2010]), CSI (Brass in Pocket [2009]), The Burning Season [2011], and Blood Quantum [2010]), and NCIS (NCIS: New Orleans – Crossroads [2017] and NCIS: Los Angeles – Bolthole [2016]) universes. Mariotte brings his police procedural expertise to Flesh of All Sorrows.

The novel is told through two characters: Daniel Mansfield Jr. and the murderer. Aside from each having their own chapters, each character is read from a different perspective: Daniel in first person and the murderer in third person. The alternating perspectives give Flesh of All Sorrows the ticking time bomb element: readers see what the murderer is doing/about to do and the suspense comes from hoping that Daniel and his police officers will be able to save the day. On top of trying to solve these neo-Bookbinder murders, the couple of subplots, such as the right-wing/stalker policeman who seeks revenge on Daniel for perceived wrongs add in more thriller elements and action sequences. There’s a James Bond-style trapped for death sequence, a handful of pursuit and shoot out sequences, and of course, the actual detective work and sussing out theories from the evidence while a killer runs at large in the community.

What makes the aforementioned activities stand out in Mariotte’s work is the emphasis on giving his characters memorable quirks. The majority of police officers Daniel works with are fleshed out and competent at what they do: Deacon Glass, an impeccable, Holmesian detective that becomes Daniel’s right hand man on the case; Rosalie Sepulveda, an admin assistant with a booming laugh who makes sure Daniel has what he needs to run the department and investigate; Leila Vélez, another detective who was once Daniel’s partner who settles in a more action-centric role. Daniel himself has some quirks, such as driving a 1962 Land Rover as his vehicle of preference and having a collection of guitars (some autographed) even though he is terrible at both playing and singing.

Someone (or someones) on the force is a mole to Erica Wilson, a reporter for the East County Courier, who is secretly being fed information about the cases being worked on. In conjunction, after Daniel gives an impromptu address at a protest in response to an indigenous American being shot by a police officer earlier in the week, his response by his own department is mixed, with some praising him and others considering him a traitor. With all the officers humanized and fleshed out with personality, it adds a cloud of sorts to the reader (and Daniel) during interactions: could this likable and proficient character perhaps be an informant, or perhaps an unsympathetic officer whose loyalties lie elsewhere?

After the characters, the next major component of Mariotte’s story is its setting, the fictional town of Sossaman, located in the Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona. The town, of course, is an important backbone to the story, not just with its small-town vibe, but also the political forces at work, no doubt due to Daniel’s position as a policeman and his stature in the community, one that his family has been a pillar of. Even bigger than the small-town setting is the Arizona desert setting proper. Though the story mentions many times how hot it is, the temperature is not particularly a deterrent to any of the characters. What is, though, is a monsoon that arrives at a climactic moment near the middle of the story that not only threatens crime scenes, but the lives of the characters too as the environment turns to flash flooding. Mariotte takes advantage of the unique monsoon season of Arizona to add an additional element of danger to the story. 

A mysterious serial killer case with well written characters and an unforgiving setting, the last element Flesh of All Sorrows provides are a handful of introspective themes. Family patriarchy and their influence on their children or children’s children is a huge motif in the book. Both Daniel and the murderer are who they are because of influence of their father/father’s father. Both feel they are living in the shadows of their respective figure and not fulfilling imposed expectations. It is in each character’s self-journeys into their lineage that major things unfold which in turn have huge consequences in Sossaman, from piling dead bodies to unearthing coverups. 

Flesh of All Sorrows in an engaging police thriller. The sections from the killer’s perspective are goosepimplingly scary as the character self indoctrinates themselves into a murderer. These sections are not necessarily gory, but they are still harrowing. The chapters from Daniel’s perspective are more fun as he winds up in life-or-death action sequences while doing the detective work. He does not operate in a vacuum – he’s no Hollywood supercop – and it is his officers operating at their best that allows Daniel to make his way through the case. With Mariotte weaving multiple mysteries, big and small, going on concurrently, he makes Flesh of All Sorrows an engaging and suspenseful desert thriller.

More information about Jeffrey J. Mariotte and Flesh of All Sorrows can be found at the following links:

Categories
News

News Roundup: July 2026

Personal / Website News

July was an extremely productive month! Three articles up at my website, one being a Peplum Ponderings? Two reviews already chambered for August? Let’s keep up the momentum!

Cavewoman “Snow” Reviews

July may have been a hot-hot-hot month (110F regularly here in Phoenix) but I kept things nice and cool by reviewing issues three and four of the Cavewoman “Snow” storyline!

“Snow” #3 Review

First up is my review of issue three of “Snow”. This review became a huge focal point on my professional Facebook author page! I am small potatoes, so usually when I post something on Facebook it gets onesie-twosie likes. Posting the cover art used in this review to Facebook resulted 3.5K likes and hundreds of follows and 2K views on my website! It appears that folks commenting on the post thought it was AI and the dialogue triggered some Facebook algorithm and it just gained traction. I have never had a post on social media in all my years of social media-ing do that. So for that, I’m glad!

Cover has no text. It shows Meriem being pulled in different directions by three white gorillas as she sits atop a rocky peak in the mountains.
Personal copy of Cavewoman “Snow” issue 3, special edition version.

With that, do check out my review which can be read at my website here.

“Snow” #4 Review

Because it looked like the iron was hot after posting the review for issue three, I quickly raced to do a review for issue four, which is also the final issue in the “Snow” story arc.

Cover shows Meriem leaning forward in knee deep snow. Behind her is Bruce who looks to have had a roof of snow fall on his head.
Personal copy of Cavewoman Snow #4.

Of course it did not generate the activity like my prior review did, but it looks like a handful of folks stuck around to read this and other Cavewoman reviews I’ve done. For those that are sticking around, I thank you!

My write up to issue four can be read here.

Peplum Ponderings: The Odyssey

With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey out there breaking records and being a talking point for everyone, of course I had to do a write up of it!

Poster shows Odysseus walking left to right, as the Trojan Horse burns behind him.
Poster for The Odyssey.

A reminder: I am not a historian, translator, or classicist. I’m a scholar of the sword and sandal genre, and that is how I approached The Odyssey. How true it is to the text or how it is adapted is not my field. How it functions as a peplum genre film is, and that is how I approached it. Long story short, the movie ruled. Check out my write up here.

August Website Content

Believe it or not, I’m actually ahead of the game and have two articles ready to go in August!

  • 8/5 – My review of Jeffrey Mariotte’s new book, Flesh of All Sorrows (slated to be released later in the month)
  • 8/12 – My review of the one-shot Cavewoman comic “Bunny Ranch”

PangoBooks Bookstore

I have an online bookstore at Pangobooks were I am selling books I no longer need, duplicates, etc. I have lots of horror, sci-fi, non-fiction, OOP, and weird books, so make sure to check my store out. Purchases help me out greatly!

Michele also has a store, so check that out as well.

The New Peplum

My book, The New Peplum, received some attention this past month! With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey out, my publisher, McFarland, did a promotion for all July. For all mythology books, which included The New Peplum, you could use the code MYTH26 to get a 25% discount. That promo was just for July, so this post is going up right as it ended. But, hey, still check out the product page for my book and consider plucking it up.

The New Peplum book. The cover is a scene from the Rock version of Hercules - it shows Hercules and his companions and small army behind him.
Cover art for The New Peplum

Aside from that, The New Peplum has a new citation and was part of an exhibit!

A New The New Peplum Citation

Marina Valvi did their master’s thesis at Utrecht University titled “Astérix and the Riff Out of Time: An Analysis of Musical Comedy Strategies in Asterix Animated Films (1968-2014)”. This thesis references Nick Poulakis’ essay “Sounds of Swords and Sandals: Music in Neo-Peplum BBC Television Docudramas.” Valvi’s essay can be read here.

Titans on the Wall: Peplum Films of the 1950s and 1960s

My alma mater, the University of Washington, had an exhibit earlier this year titled “Titans on the Wall: Peplum Films of the 1950s and 1960s”. This looks to have been held on a library at the main Seattle campus. It sounds like it was an exhibit of peplum movie posters that had been donated to the library by David Chapman, author of Retro Stud: Muscle Movie Posters from Around the World. This would have been epic to see!

The exhibit wall material plus some photos of items on display have been uploaded to the university libraries website, and can be accessed here.

Lots of text on this wall: PEPLUM FILMS: AN INTRODUCTION GOLDEN AGE OF PEPLUM FILMS Primarily made in Italy, peplum films had their heyday from 1959 to 1965. Italian filmmakers sought to emulate Hollywood epics, such as The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959), but the Italian sword-and-sandal films were much more cheaply produced than those big-budget films. The genre's popularity began with the U.S. release of Italian-made Le Fatiche di Ercole in 1958. American producer Joseph E. Levine renamed the film Hercules and successfully promoted it in the U.S., leading to a series of 19 Hercules movies that were made in Italy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Almost all peplum films featured bodybuilder stars, and despite their low budgets and English dubbing, many of the films enjoyed widespread popularity among audiences; however, by1965, their popularity waned, and they were replaced almost overnight by the Italian-produced “spaghetti westerns.” Peplum films, otherwise known as “sword-and-sandal” films, were named after the garment of the same name worn by ancient Greeks and Romans. The genre is defined largely by Italian adventure films that had subjects set in antiquity, often with plots based loosely on Greco-Roman history and mythology. Most featured a superhumanly strong man as the protagonist, such as Hercules or Samson. The peplum genre originated during the silent film era, with the release of producer-director Giovanni Pastrone’s epic Cabiria, in 1914. It featured a popular early sword-and-sandal character, Maciste, a loyal, heroic servant possessing superhuman strength. Strongman Bartolomeo Pagano became famous in the role. The Maciste character appeared in at least two dozen Italian silent films from 1914 through 1926. GOLDEN AGE OF PEPLUM FILMS Primarily made in Italy, peplum films had their heyday from 1959 to 1965. Italian filmmakers sought to emulate Hollywood epics, such as The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959), but the Italian sword-and-sandal films were much more cheaply produced than those big-budget films. The genre's popularity began with the U.S. release of Italian-made Le Fatiche di Ercole in 1958. American producer Joseph E. Levine renamed the film Hercules and successfully promoted it in the U.S., leading to a series of 19 Hercules movies that were made in Italy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Almost all peplum films featured bodybuilder stars, and despite their low budgets and English dubbing, many of the films enjoyed widespread popularity among audiences; however, by1965, their popularity waned, and they were replaced almost overnight by the Italian-produced “spaghetti westerns.” POPULAR CULTURE & SCHOLARSHIP The peplum genre continues to resonate with film afficionados today. It is featured in film festivals around the world and has become the subject of popular and scholarly books, as well as being reflected in comic books, toys, and games. The contrived plots, overdubbed dialogue, novice acting skills of the bodybuilder leads, and primitive special effects have given these films a certain camp appeal in contemporary culture.
Titans on the Wall – Exhibit Was Panel 3.

PDF #3 ‘s exhibit wall (image above) has a reference/image of The New Peplum! How amazing is that! I’m super honoured to have the book mentioned in the exhibit!

New Issues of National Capital Panthans Journal

In July two issues of the monthly National Capital Panthans Journal came out. Issue #350 is the standard July issue, but editor Laurence Dunn published the August #351 issue a few days early.

Issue #350

This issue contains a reprint of my interview with Mike Dubisch and Tom Simmons about their graphic novel I am a Barbarian. The original can be read at my website here.

Black and white cover. Shows a caveman and a cavewoman, the caveman swinging a club.
National Capital Panthans Journal #350. Cover by Mark Wheatley.

Issue #351

And this issue contains a reprint of my Cavewoman “Extinction” review. That review can also be read at my website.

Black and white cover. It shows Tarzan holding a spear, walking. Around him, chilling, are two lions and 2 rhinos.
National Capital Panthans Journal #351. Cover by David Michael Beck.

All my other Cavewoman reviews this far are slated to be republished in Panthans through this autumn, so keep an eye out!

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.

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.

Product page at House of Tabu.

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.

Cover is deep in the jungle. Tarzan knees on a large tree branch with Jane behind him. They look like they are scouting.
National Capital Panthans Journal #348. Cover by Mark Wheatley.

“The Chaos Continues: Vanya 09″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #348, May 2026.

Original can be read here.

Cover shows Tarzan and his monkey familiar Nima, traversing through a tree.
National Capital Panthans Journal #349. Cover by David Michael Beck.

“The Chaos Continues: Vanya 09″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #349, June 2026.

Original can be read here.

Black and white cover. Shows a caveman and a cavewoman, the caveman swinging a club.
National Capital Panthans Journal #350. Cover by Mark Wheatley.

“We Are Barbarians: Interview with Mike Dubisch and Tom Simmons on I Am a Barbarian” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #350, July 2026.

Original can be read here.

Black and white cover. It shows Tarzan holding a spear, walking. Around him, chilling, are two lions and 2 rhinos.
National Capital Panthans Journal #351. Cover by David Michael Beck.

“Release the Subterranean Kraken: Cavewoman: Extinction” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #351, August 2026.

Original can be read here.

Autographs from the Archive

Here are some autographed treasures I have shared on social media this past month.

Cannibal Apocalypse

Cannibal Apocalypse! This was an exploitation movie released at a time when cannibal films were in, zombie films were in, and Vietnam war films were in. Aside from John Saxon getting a little too creepy in film with an underage girl, it is a great film! And of course, it is directed by Antonio Margheriti, so you know it will be fantastic.

Stand black DVD case. The top says "The Euroshock collection: Widescreen special edition". The cover is a post of Cannibal Apocalypse It shows John Saxon's head appearing in a bullet hole in a cannibal's stomach with a city skyline behind them. It is signed "To Nick, Best Wishes, John Saxon" and "To a good friend, Edoardo Margheriti".
Personal copy of Cannibal Apocalypse signed by John Saxon and Edoardo Margheriti.

My copy is signed by both John Saxon (RIP) and by Edoardo Margheriti.

Cryptz

Hood films were a cycle of films that started in the late 80s and gained acclaim during the 90s. There were a few excursions into horror in the hood films, with Tales from the Hood (1995) being the most standout example (the scene of David Alan Grier getting folded – oooh ouch but he deserved it).

Full Moon Entertainment (the Puppetmaster folks) dipped their hand into hood horror a few times, with one of those movies being Cryptz (2002).

Standard black case DVD. Cover shows a stone archway or doorway, with vampire folks looking from behind it. In silver it is signed "Hey nick = Michele
Copy of Cryptz signed by Julia Marchese.

My copy is signed to Michele and I by Julia Marchese. She had also signed my copy of Final Exam (see that here).

Army of Darkness

The great cult movie itself, Army of Darkness (1992). It probably is my favourite of the original Evil Dead trilogy on the account of being the first one I saw, even though I know deep down Evil Dead 2 is the better film. But alas, I love Army of Darkness. I collected the Dynamite comics run of AoD for over a decade. I have figurines, games, and multiple copies of the movie.

Anchor Bay DVD release of Army of Darkness. Cover shows Ash standing on the wreckage of his car, chainsaw for a hand, while Shelia and her arm around his leg. Behind them is the army of deadites. In gray ink it is signed "Bill Moseley". In black it is signed "To Nick XO Patricia Tallman" and in other blank ink "To Nick Richard Grove".
Personal copy of Army of Darkness signed by Richard Grove, Patricia Tallman, and Bill Moseley.

This is a limited edition Anchor Bay DVD (well, to be honest, they cranked out many “limited” editions). My copy is signed by Richard Grove (Henry the Red), Patricia Tallman (the pit witch), and Bill Moseley (the deadite captain).

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

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

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad 4K

After visiting the Ray Harryhausen exhibit in Tucson back in the spring (someday I’ll get around to writing about it!) I started to look into filling the gaps in my film collection.

4K blu-ray release. Black case. Cover shows Sinbad and a woman at a ship's steering wheel and a big mast behind them. On the horizon is a skeleton fighting with a sword, a giant buzzard, a lizard, and a cyclops like monster.
Personal copy of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad on 4K.

And just in time as a brand new 4K of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) released this month. My pre-order came in and it looks pretty stately!

News from Friends

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

New Fan2Fan Episodes

Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online.

First there is Monster Mania: John Carpenter’s Creature from the Black Lagoon:

Monster Mania: John Carpenter's Creature from the Black Lagoon – Fan2Fan Podcast

Then Dead Media and Joseph Scrimshaw:

Dead Media and Joseph Scrimshaw – Fan2Fan Podcast

Followed by Monster Mania: Monster Toys of the 1980s:

Monster Mania: Monster Toys of the 1980s – Fan2Fan Podcast

And Monster Mania: Destroy All Monsters:

Monster Mania: Destroy All Monsters – Fan2Fan Podcast

And Monster Mania: Kaiju Trivia:

Monster Mania: Kaiju Trivia – 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. Give them a like/follow!

Edgar Rice Burroughs Bibliography: The British Editions

Laurence G. Dunn, the editor of the National Capital Panthans Journal (see above) has just had his epic book published: Edgar Rice Burroughs Bibliography: The British Editions. It is a handsome looking edition!

Thee hard back books, one standing on its edge, one face down, one face up, on a brown wooden table. The cover depicts Edgar Rice Burroughs reading a copy of Tarzan.
Edgar Rice Burroughs Bibliography – The British Editions (Photo provided by Laurence Dunn).

Copies of the book can be purchased on Amazon.