September 2026 – Nicholas Diak's Homepage

Personal / Website News

August was a fantastic and productive month! Four (!!!) articles up at my website along with the release of Troy and Vanya #10’s digital edition. Looking forward to the autumnal season, see what spooky stuff I can put out there.

Flesh of all Sorrows Reviews

First article up at my website in August was my review of Jeffrey Mariotte’s new book, Flesh of All Sorrows.

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.

I had the honour to meet Mariotte back in 2025. I did an interview with him about being the guest of honour at the 2025 ECOF event in Willcox (read that here), and of course there is my write up of said event (which can be read here).

In 2026 Mariotte has a slew of books coming out, such as a new Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn, but also this one, Flesh of All Sorrows, which takes place on the outskirts of Phoenix, where I live. So, it was fun reading a crime story in an area I know!

Anywho, check out my review here and consider plucking up a copy!

Cavewoman Reviews

My retrospective deep dive of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series continues with “Bunny Ranch” and “Natural Selection” #1.

“Bunny Ranch”

First up is my review of the one-shot issue “Bunny Ranch”.

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.

I’ll be honest, I found this one shot issue to be pretty bad. There were many fumbled balls with this one. But, that is to be expected when looking at individual entries in a decades-long running series such as Cavewoman. My review of “Bunny Ranch” can be read here.

“Natural Selection” #1

The next review for the Cavewoman series I did for August for for the first issue of “Natural Selection”.

Cover shows Mona (left) and Meriem (right) fighting each other. Mona has blonde hair, Meriem dark. Meriem has her right hand on Mona's neck, and Mona has her hand on Meriem's hand trying to pull her away. Both are looking at each other wide eyed making "grrrr" faces. Both are wearing skimpy attire showing off lots of skin. — Personal copy of Natural Selection issue 1. This variant does not have any titles/logos on the cover.

This is the first issue I’ve covered in this retrospective that was done by other Cavewoman series mainstay, Devon Massey. The art style is a little jarring when compared to Rob Durham’s, but regardless this was a fun issue! This review can be read here.

My next Cavewoman review will be on issue two of “Natural Selection” and will be published in September. That will followed by the three issue “Gangster” series, so stay tuned!

Death Nell Issue 3 Review

As I eagerly await the physical release of Bad Bug’s issue 10 of Vanya, I realized I have yet to wrap up my reviews of their series Death Nell! My last review, which was of issue two, was last summer! Fail.

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.

So, I am going to rectify that. My review of issue three of Death Nell is online and can be found here. I loved this issue!

Issue four’s review I hope to have published in September and then issue five, the last one of the original series, in October. Right in time for Halloween!

Troy from Arrow Video

One of the big news for me comes from something pretty small. Arrow Video released their edition of Troy (2004) in mid-August, and those looking at the production credits page in the booklet will see your’s truly listed in the special thanks!

4K Blu-ray of Troy. The clip cover shows the head of the Trojan Horse, and it is on fire. Next to it is the booklet for the release, with the page open to the production credits. There is a special thanks section and Nicholas Diak is the second name listed. — Personal copy of Troy on 4K and booklet with production credits.

I was contacted by the producer for this release for some materials to be reprinted in the booklet which I was super more than happy to help with. It was an extremely small part in this fantastic re-release, but a part none-the-less. A bucket list item crossed off: be a part of a sword and sandal movie in some capacity. But, very honored to be part of it all.

For those curious, do check out my unboxing write up of the old Troy director’s cut boxset, which can be found here.

Vanya #10 – Digital Compendium

The digital edition of issue 10 of Vanya was released in late August by Bad Bug. I’ve been covering the series as part of my (unofficial?) neo-jungle girl comics series. My review of the last physical issue, #9, can be read here, and links to all the other issues can be found at the bottom of the page.

Cover depicts the witch of the bone tribe. She has on a hood and a skirt made of bones. She is holding a scepter with a skull atop (that looks like it is wearing a viking helmet) and its eyes are glowing. She stands at the edge of a cliff, and from the cliff a dragon is silhouette emerges. It has glowing eyes and mouth. — Vanya #10 with cover by Zoran Jovicic and Bryan Magnaye.

For the digital edition of the issue, there also came with it a compendium of character bios, a short story, but also a “story so far” write up. Yours truly got to compose the “story so far”, so that was really cool to do. So, for folks who backed the Kickstarter and got a digital edition, you’ll be able to see the “story so far” file. I’m, credited in the, uh, file name.

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.

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.

“The story so far” included in the digital compendium for Vanya #10, August 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.

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.

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

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

The Return

Raise of hands for the folks who totally forgot that another Odyssey movie dropped like a year or so ago!

Standard Blu-ray blue case. Cover is a close up shot of Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche's faces. Fiennes is holding a bow and is sporting a grayish beard. — Personal copy of The Return on Blu-ray.

That’s The Return (2024), and it has Ralph Fiends and Juliette Binoche. I want to say this movie entered my radar when it was originally announced, and I totally forgot about it. I guess that is what happens when you don’t have the big Hollywood marketing machine backing you up? Anywho, plucked this up up, excited to give it a watch. Fiennes is a neo-peplum veteran, with Clash/Wrath of the Titans, so that will be great!

Devil’s Sword

Indonesian sword and sorcery? Yes please?

Blu-ray slipcover shows a princess-type lady, wearing a tiara and with armored shoulders. Behind her are 4 green lizard people with glowing red eyes. — Personal copy of Devil’s Sword in Blu-ray with slipcover.

I learned of Devil’s Sword after is had long been out of print from Mondo Macabro. I saw the trailer and it looked like a trip – one I would love to take! I just happened upon it got a new release at Terror Vision, so had to snag this before it became OOP again.

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

After a small break, Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata’s vidcast, Ride the Stream, is back! The duo pick up talking about Dark Skies with episode one of the second season:

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.

First is “Monster Mania: Monster Toys of the 1990s“:

Then “Monster Mania: Silver Bullet“:

And “Monster Mania: Grab Bag Part 1“:

And finally “Monster Mania: Monster Squad“:

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 follow!

Jeffrey Mariotte’s Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman

Aside from the aforementioned Flesh of All Sorrows (see review link above), Jeffrey Mariotte had a second book published in August! This is part of the America 250 series from Dusty Saddle Publishing and it is called Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman.

Cover says: America 250 - Billy the Kid Cheat the Hangman - Jeffrey J. Mariotte. The cover shows Billy the Kid, wearing a hat, a vest, looking like a cowboy. Behind him is a lake and mountains. — Cover of Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman.

The novella can be purchased on Amazon. Also, check out Mariotte’s Substack entry about the writing of this novella.

Monster Mania: Monster Toys of the 1990s – Fan2Fan Podcast

Monster Mania: Silver Bullet – Fan2Fan Podcast

Monster Mania: Grab Bag Part 1 – Fan2Fan Podcast

Monster Mania: Monster Squad – Fan2Fan Podcast