News Roundup: July 2026 – Nicholas Diak's Homepage

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.

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.

“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.

“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.

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.

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:

Then Dead Media and Joseph Scrimshaw:

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

And Monster Mania: Destroy All Monsters:

And Monster Mania: Kaiju Trivia:

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.

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

Dead Media and Joseph Scrimshaw – Fan2Fan Podcast

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

Monster Mania: Destroy All Monsters – Fan2Fan Podcast

Monster Mania: Kaiju Trivia – Fan2Fan Podcast