Category: Comics

Used to categorize comic book reviews and essays.

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Comics

She’s Got the Killer Instinct: Vanya Issue 01

The Story

In the far future of 2288 AD, mankind has mastered time, dimension, and space travel. Leading humanity’s front-line conquerors are the Astral Guard, fierce warriors who are battled hardened by spending a year surviving in the prehistoric past.

The standard cover for the first issue of Vanya. Vanya is armed with a bow while a triceratops charges at her. There is a full moon in the sky.
Standard cover of Vanya issue 01.

Vanya Tepanov is such a candidate for the Astral Guard, currently eight months into her year of living in four billion years in the past. Each day is a test of her skills, instinct, and luck, as she must deal with the likes of sabretooth tigers, Pteranodons, raptors, and even other Astral Guard trainees, dubbed Time Guards, that she is warned to stay away from. However, a chance encounter (and a night of passion) with a Time Guard named Reed jumpstarts Vanya’s newest escapade where the prehistoric past and the highly advanced future clash. 

Commentary

Vanya issue one is a crowdfunded comic book published by Bad Bug Media, the first in a planned twelve issue run. Kickstarted in August 2021 and shipped to backers in February 2022, Vanya is an ambitious, multi-genre adult comic. The Kickstarter campaign states that the series is for fans of Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, and that it is a “sci-fi twist on the jungle girl genre.” The first issue of Vanya is written by Mike Tener (who is also the editor in chief of Bad Bug), with art by J. C. Fabul (The Dragonfly) and Zoran Jovicic (Burlap), colours by Bryan Magnaye (Militia, Twin Worlds), and lettering by Aaron Locust (Death Nell, HyperGeist). 

With its multi-genre approach, Vanya is ambitious and high concept. The future scenes hint at both a Blade Runner colonial setting (replicants at off world colonies vs. Astral Guards conquering new planets) and a Starship Troopers style of fascism (levels of citizen ship). The time traveling aspect of Vanya looks to take inspiration from Ray Bradbury’s story “A Sound of Thunder” in that going to the past is business-like, matter-of-factly, mixing hunting/safari-ing and surviving. Lastly, the jungle girl aspect is greatly emphasized, combining the menacing and awe-nature that dinosaurs evoked in Jurassic Park, the agility and nimbleness jungle girls like Sheena exhibit, and the eroticism of Budd Root’s Cavewoman, but fully embracing the pornographic elements that the genre normally only hints at. This is a lot to juggle, but Vanya anchors itself with its focus on the prehistoric/jungle girl aspect of the comic.

A nude cover of Vanya issue 1. It depicts a naked Vanya emerging from the sea at night. Behind her, off in the distance, is a brontosaur.
Nude cover variant of Vanya issue #01.

Usually, the first issue of a new comic IP is unwieldy as it tries to accomplish too much (introduce characters, setting, plot, and so on) in too little space. Vanya is surprisingly quite concise in setting its game pieces: the one page pseudo-Star Wars opening text paints the big picture, while the comic proper does a succinct job at establish Vanya’s personality and goals (she wants to become an Astral Guard so her and her girl beau Serah can move to another world), establishes the risks, dangers, and day-to-day life in the prehistoric past (dodging tigers to fending off infections). As with the multiple genres, most comics would crumble under the weight of what Vanya is going for, but instead it pulls it all off effortless, at least in this debut issue.

Like the dinosaurs of the past, Vanya goes big, and its first issue is cleanly edited, drilled down to a concise story that could scatter in too many directions but does not. The action scenes are thrilling (taking down an entire Pteranodon and riding it into the ground), there is an air of intrigue that comes from unknown forces in the future, and the sex and nudity is integrated into the plot and not simply there to just be titillating. 

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

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

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Comics Peplum

Et tu, Mithra?: Rome Eternal #2

The Story So Far

The Mithra Mysteries are a specialized terrorist team, led by the Lion of Jupiter, who wreak havoc in an alternate history Rome, one that is technologically advanced with cyberpunk tech. The last mission of the Mysteries had Jupiter allowing himself to get captured and connected to the Emperor’s Navigator to have his memories prodded by the Veritas Decider. However, Jupiter is acting as a trojan horse, implanted with special memories that trap the Decider, allowing his team to initiate their assault and steal information from the Navigator.

Cover art for Rome Eternal #02. It shows an armored character cradling a female assassin who has died in his arms. Behind them, in the back, is a menacing figure wearing a mask.
Cover art for Rome Eternal #02.

Issue #2 Plot

Information in hand, the Mysteries’ next mission given to them by their Pater is to infiltrate the imperial palace and assassinate Emperor Tiberius. The mission goes horribly wrong as the Mysteries walk right into an ambush due to their ranks having been compromised by an informant. Concurrently, detective Rufus begins to investigate the Mysteries’ attack on the Navigator and Veritas Decider but is stymied by Germanicus and his Praetorian Guard. Rufus’ partner, Eugenio, seeks out a contact in Praetorian Intelligence who perhaps can provide some data on the Mysteries and the Guard.

Commentary

Rome Eternal issue two commits to the same bit that 2021’s The Suicide Squad did by killing the heroes right as their mission starts. In a true Game of Thrones fashion, no one is safe in Rome Eternal in that nearly all the named characters from the first issue, along with newly introduced characters in issue two, are horrifically dispatched. On one hand this raises the stakes of Rome Eternal considerably while at the same time underscoring the cunning and brutality of [techno] Rome. On the other hand, readers do not get a chance to see the members of the Mysteries in much action. In issue one they are all introduced along with their corresponding power/specialty, so there is the expectation to see them in their element, doing their thing, building up more characterization to give their eventual demise more weight. So, it is bittersweet to see the Mysteries members annihilated, quite easily at that.

As with issue one, Rome Eternal embraces non-linear storytelling. While issue one used memories in tandem with unfolding events, issue two is told in flashback while also switching perspectives between the Lion and the Mysteries and Rufus and his investigation. Ultra violence and non-linear storytelling, it is as if 90s Tarantino decided to make an alt-history neo-peplum.

The art and writing quality from issue one carries over to issue two and everything is top notch. The art is especially stand out, both detailed and colourful. Dark blues dominate this issue, with the nighttime assault and covert meetings in alleyways. The newly introduced Detective Rufus and Germanicus have detailed attire that are anachronistic, they feel both ancient, yet new. It is these details that keep grounding the sword and sandal setting in a different, hi-tech context. Rome Eternal is fully committed to the bit.

With nearly all the heroes killed and the issue ending on a major cliffhanger, it is nail biting to see what will happen next. The introduction of Rufus indicates Rome Eternal may start diving into the toga and sandal genre with more intrigue and the addition of political maneuvering from Germanicus. It is nice to see all these 60s peplum tropes being explored in a way different fashion in Rome Eternal. 

For more information on Rome Eternal and its team, check out the following links:

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Comics Peplum

The Dream That Was Rome: Rome Eternal #1

Plot

Ancient Techno Rome. Veritas Decisor Titus Amaro and the Emperor’s Navigator are memory diving into the mind of The Lion of Jupiter, the terrorist son of the Greek Sergius Lauro who led a failed rebellion against the empire. Titus witnesses the memories of when the rebellion was squelched by Javelin Germanicus followed by the indoctrination ritual from the Cult of Mithra of bringing the Lion into their ranks.

Cover art for Rome Eternal #1. It shows the Mysteries, standing in front of a Roman statue missing its head, and behind that a Colosseum that has been cyberpunked.
Cover art for Rome Eternal #1.

Meanwhile the companions of the Lion of Jupiter, collectively called the Mithra Mysteries (Corax the Raven, Persus the Persian, Amalia the Virgin, Heliodromus the Sun Runner, and Miles the Soldier), initiate their plan rescue their leader and retrieve something else of value.

Commentary

Rome Eternal is a neo-peplum comic written by Homero Rios (Heavy Metal), with Diego Yapur (Bloodshot: Rising Spirit,Death Dealer) on art, Oscar Carreño (Wolverine: Xisle) on colours, and Shawn Lee (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Judge Dredd) doing editing. The first issue was published in November 2024 by Magma Comix. The comic takes place in an alternate history where ancient Rome did not fall but instead became an empire that is a mixture of antiquity and hi-tech, with floating chariots, laser spears, and the cyberpunk-esque ability to view someone’s memories. The juxtaposition of old and future in Rome Eternal is conceptually comparable to the Fallout universe but replace 50s atomic-era Americana with the SPQR.

Ostensibly, Rome Eternal is a superhero/specialist team story, with each member of the Mithra Mysteries bringing a unique talent or ability to the fold: Miles is a giant, brute of a man who wields a titanic hammer; Persus is akin to an agile, stealthy thief, Heliodromus shoots flames from his bracers, Amalia is a sniper, Corax is able to fly and hack into machines, and the Lion is the leader and mastermind. Since issue one of Rome Eternal has two narratives going at the same time, (the real-world narrative and the narrative of the memories of the Lion), each character is given two introductions: one via the memories and then via them showcasing their abilities and the other when they commence their assault. It is a unique take on character introduction.

As a sword and sandal story, Rome Eternal brings its own unique spin to the genre, akin to other neo-peplum comics such as Jonathan Hickman’s Pax Romana and Jean-David Morvan’s Hercules: Wrath of the Heavens. The Rome depicted in Rome Eternal is just as corrupt and decadent as any portrayal in a historic epic, but the addition of hi-tech really ups the brutalism in a way similar to the space marines in the Warhammer 40K universe, where armour and (chainsaw) swords clash with bolt guns and spaceships. It is jarring (in a good way) how one panel will look exactly like it is from an antiquity comic (such as Frank Miller’s 300) and the next the image will be replete with laser rifles and electro-spears.

Rome Eternal is a high concept idea, and writer Rios brings the singular components (techno ancient Roman X-men) while Yapur and Carreño bring the great visuals. The art of Rome Eternal is colorful, creative and detailed, and it has to be in order to portray the mixture of ancient architecture in tandem with cyberpunk technology. The armour and uniforms of all the character look both old and futuristic at the same time. There is a great amount of detail in the characters, but this is also one of those comics that is not afraid to explore the background art as that is the realm that will solidify the anachronistic setting the comic is establishing. 

The arrival of Rome Eternal could not happen at a more appropriate and cyclical, time in pop culture and real-world history. In late 2000 Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was released, starting a revival of the sword and sandal genre with films like 300 (Zach Snyder, 2006), Troy (Wolfgang Petersen, 2004), Immortals (Tarsem Singh, 2011), The Eagle (Kevin Macdonald, 2011), and many more. A bulk of the peplum revival coincided with the presidency of George W. Bush and eight years of right-wing hegemony. Depending on how they are perceived, peplum texts can be a critique of fascism (Neil Marshall’s Centurion) or a glorification of it (such as the jingoism in 300). Fast-forward twenty-four years and Rome Eternal #1 is released, the same month as Gladiator II, and just at the eve of another wave of the rise of the right under Trump. Gladiator II attempted a course correction in its story and went more overt in calling out the evils of the empire. Rome Eternal looks to be echoing the same message, to rebel against fascism. 

Will a renewed cycle of sword and sandal films, games, comics, and other texts arise again? Rome Eternal is looking to lead the pack and it will be great to see what the rest of the story will convey and commentate on.

For more information on Rome Eternal and its team, check out the following links:

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Comics

Feeling Fa-Boo!-lous: Becca Boo Issue Three

Plot Recap of Issues One and Two

Becca, a well-meaning but slightly dim woman with a high libido, is hit by a van and dies. When the Grim Reaper comes to take her away, he becomes distracted, allowing Becca to glance at his papers and see her fate. In an attempt to reverse course, she uses her sexual prowess (for good!) to bed men, women, and other ghosts, including Bloody Mary who becomes a friend to Becca in the afterlife.

Cover art for Becca Boo #3. Becca is dressed in her blue-ish/white 1 piece dress and heels. She is holding a scythe. Her shadow is that of the grim reaper. It's kind of a take on the Star Wars: Phantom Menace poster of Anakin the kid with the Darth Vader shadow.
Standard cover of Becca Boo #3 by Kenan Halilovic. Photo taken from PDF.

Becca Boo Issue Three

The Grim Reaper arrives at Bloody Mary’s apartment to finally escort Becca away. Once again using her charms and sex appeal, Becca is able to buy more time in the afterlife by having kinky sex with Death at his bachelor pad. Becca tells the Grim Reaper that she is using her time as a ghost to do good deeds, and recounts her activities the past two months, which include bedding the new tenant in her apartment (sparing him from a fate worse than death: karaoke!). However, the Grim Reaper falls asleep during Becca’s flashback. Seeing her chance to escape again, Becca makes haste, taking Death’s robe and scythe with her. With the help of Bloody Mary, Becca glams up the outfit with white stockings, exposed midriff, and lots of ribbons, and is now ready for more undead action.

As with issues one and two, Becca Boo #3 was a crowdfunded endeavor, which completed its campaign in September 2024 and fulfilled in January 2025 (during a time that the Canadian post was on strike). The third issue continues Becca’s exploration being a ghost, with the story trying out new comedy angles. If Becca Boo #1 was leaning in on ditzy blonde comedy and Becca Boo #2 added in some teen boner comedy, Becca Boo #3 transitions to all out parody. The centerpiece gag in #3 is a spoof of the Ring/Ringu films, where Becca crawls out of a wells à la Sadako, and then trips coming out of the wall-mounted television set. It is a sequence that was parodied over twenty years ago in Scary Movie 3, so it may not be the most current pop culture reference. However, the gag still works and it transitions extremely well to the sequential art format and fits in with the in-universe comedy of Becca Boo as issue one continued a callback to the early 90s movie Ghost.

Panel from Becca Boo #3 that parodies the Rings films. There is a wall mounted TV that shows an image of a well. Becca is show falling out of the TV, head first onto the floor with a "thud".
Becca fall out of the TV a’la The Ring.

Another spoof can be seen at the end of the comic when Becca dons the attire of the Grim Reaper. Recollections of The Simpsons 2003 Halloween episode “Treehouse of Horror XIV” which contains a segment called “Reaper Madness” where Homer becomes the Grim Reaper (itself a parody of the Tim Allen Santa Claus films) comes to mind. Becca’s sexy death outfit gives off a gothic Lolita vibe.

On the subject of the Grim Reaper, this character becomes much more fleshed out in issue three. Issue one introduced Death as a character who may not be the best as his job as he is easily swayed by the promises of sex, and issue three ramps this facet about him up to eleven. The Grim Reaper gives off the impression he is smarter than Becca, the reality is that he is easily manipulated by her sexual powers. The Grim Reaper adds tremendously to the comedy of Becca Boo with his facial – er – skull expressions. It sounds fairly hard to have a skull be so emotive, but Death brings all the squees, furrowed brows, and exasperations, so kudos to interior artist Kenan Halilovic for really bringing Death to life (pun 100% intended) and having him so animated.

Panel from Becca Boo #3. Becca says "Aren't you the least bit interested in what I've been up to for these past few months?" Death, with a look of resignation says "Nope."
Becca and Death in Becca Boo #3.

Bloody Mary is not as prominent in this issue as she is in issue two, but the narrative seems to be pushing her to be the straight character in the comedic escapades.

Becca, as oblivious as she is, displays a surprisingly amount of cleverness and guile (probably accidental on the character’s part) as she is able to escape the clutches of death (again!) and, during flashback, seduce the chaste man who has moved into her apartment. Becca is truly singularly focused to redeem herself as a ghost and escape eternity from hell, so it will be interesting what her next move will be as she assumes the guise of Death.

Artwork shows Becca Boo wearing a black hood, but white garters and white stockings. Topless and holding a scythe with 2 fuzzy things dangling from it. Kinda like fuzzy dice from a car rear view mirror. There is a spooky forest and a full moon behind her.
Personal copy of Becca Boo #3 with cover art by Luca Strati.

As with prior Becca Boo Kickstarter campaigns from publisher Obscura Comics, Becca Boo #3 sports a wide array of alternate covers which in turns have various incarnations of not nude/nude artwork. All of them portray Becca in with different sex appeal styles.

Five Becca Boo trading cards, each one depicting a different cover art. There is also a magnet that looks like the trading cards in size.
Becca Boo #3 trading cards and magnet.

Obscura continues to provide fun swag as stretch goals are met. The numbered trading cards and magnet depict the different issue covers.

A bookmark that shows Becca Boo in a dark/purple top and hood. A small sticker with the blue Becca Boo logo. A postcard of Becca Boo with white garters and stockings. Death is behind her, grabbing her breasts with his skeleton hands.
Becca Boo #3 bookmark, logo sticker, and postcard.

There is also a bookmark, postcard, and sticker, all fun and collectible swag that all adds to the reading experience of Becca Boo.

More info on Becca Boo can be found at the following websites:

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Comics Peplum

Yor’s [Comic] World: Yor, The Hunter From The Future #01

Yor, the Hunter from the Future is a 1983 Italian Barbarian film directed by Antonio Margheriti (Castle of Blood [1964], Ark of the Sun God [1984]) and starring Reb Brown (best known as the lead protagonist in the MST3K-riffed Space Mutiny [David Winters, 1988]). The movie is a strongman/sword and sorcery film that came during a wave of similar other films (Ator, the Fighting Eagle [1982, Joe D’Amato], Conquest [Lucio Fulci, 1983], The Barbarians [1987, Ruggero Deodato], and so on), that were capitalizing on the success of Conan the Barbarian (1982, John Milius), though the added Star Wars-esque elements at the film’s end edge Yor into sword and planet territory. The film has enjoyed cult status, no doubt due to the presence of Brown and Margheriti’s special effects.

The film was adapted from a series of Argentinian comics titled Yor the Hunter that was created in the mid-70s by writer Ray Collins (Eugenio Juan Zappietro) and artist Juan Zanotto. For decades the comic has been inaccessible to an English-speaking audience, however Antarctic Press (Gold Digger and Ninja High School) is remedying this situation by publishing a translated edition of the original Yor comics. Slated to be released across four issues, the first was released in late August/September.

One thing that becomes apparent when comparing the two version of Yor is just how closely the film follows the plot of the original comic book incarnation. Issue one of Yor, divided into three episodes, corresponds to the first thirty minutes of Yor the movie. All the major narrative events and characters are there.

Film Yor vs. comics Yor:

Brown’s Yor is more lighthearted with a strong helping of naivety. Comics Yor is much more grimdark and serious. Film Yor is an outsider to the initial tribe depicted in the film while comics Yor is already part of the tribe and becomes a leader of it when he exposes a false god – a woolly mammoth encased in ice. Both are strong barbarians that wear a medallion and wield a stone axe. 

Film Kalaa vs. comics Kalaa:

Film Kalaa is played by Corinne Cléry (Bond girl Corinne Dufour in Moonraker [Lewis Gilbert, 1979] and O in The Story of O [Just Jaeckin, 1975]) who is both the love interest of Yor and the damsel in distress of the film. Film Kalaa does not have as much character development as comics Kalaa who is much more strong willed. Comics Kalaa initially rebuffs Yor when he selects her to be his wife, not holding a high opinion of him. Comics Kalaa is also a damsel character, who must be rescued by Yor. 

Film Pag vs. comics Pag

Cinematic Pag is played by Antonio Margheriti regular Luciano Pigozzi (Beetle in Ark of the Sun God, Francesco in And God Said to Cain [1970]) and pretty much is a one to one of comics Pag. Both are confidents/guards of Kalaa, proficient with a bow, and full of sage-like advice.

The major plot beats of the comic are present in the film.

Both the comic and film features a dino battle early in the story. In the film, Yor is introduced by him saving Kalaa and Pag from a triceratops. In the comic Yor saves Pag from a T-rex.

Ukan and his Blue People attacks Yor and friends, kidnap Kalaa and steal Yor’s medallion.

And after the battle throws Yor over a cliff, where he survives. 

Afterwards Yor and Pag enter the caves of the Blue People in order to save Kalaa. In the film Yor rides a pterodactyl in to make a grand entrance while in the comic Yor and Pag battle the pterodactyls en route to the caverns. An epic battle ensues and in both media versions end with Yor destroying a dam and flooding the caves of the Blue People.

While the film adapts the plot of the comics fairly faithfully, where it really deviates is in tone. The filmic version of Yor is much more lighthearted. Even though it has a fair amount of blood (from when Yor slays the triceratops), the overall atmosphere of the film is fantasy-adventure, akin to Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (John Korty, 1984) with a bit of spear and fang thrown in for good measure. Conversely, the comics version of Yor is much more dark, grittier, and violent. There are executions, rape, and the violence is less cartoonish. The comics version of Yor also narrates the inner feelings of Kalaa and Yor, and they ponder the nature of love in the hostile, primitive world.

After comparing the two iterations of Yor, it is interesting to note just how faithful Margheriti’s adaption was to the source material, save for the tone. It is an interesting case study in how the same story can be told the same textually, but differ greatly in atmosphere and mood. Both film and sequential art incarnations of Yor compliment each other quite well. Fans of the film may not find the camp element in present in the comics version, but can certainly appreciate seeing the original source material of Yor and how it all came about. On its own, the comics version of Yor is fun, and feels like it could have been published in the early years of Heavy Metal. 

Yor, the film, definitely derails itself as it progresses and veers into Star Wars territory, so it will be interesting to see if it continues to be faithful to the comics when issues two through four are published.

Being a Yor superfan, I’ve accumulated some Yor artifacts over the years, and the publishing of issue one of the comic is a perfect opportunity to show off a bit of the collection, which include different home video editions (including a German version of Yor on DVD signed by Reb Brown himself) and soundtracks. Check everything out in the slide show:

I had the opportunity to talk about Yor on the Fan2Fan Podcast, which can be streamed at the Fan2Fan Libsyn.

For more information on the Yor comics, check out the following links:

Categories
Comics

Just Here for the Boo!s: Becca Boo Issue Two

Becca Boo, the ditzy bombshell who awoke one morning in a grave and deduced that she was a ghost, finds herself as an actual ghost when she is hit by a truck. Though Death comes for Becca, he becomes distracted at the prospect of hooking up with a talented lady, and takes off. Becca looks through Death’s book and reads that she is bound for Hell, and uses the opportunity to flee. 

Over the next few months Becca finds herself haunting mirrors, where adolescent men summon her by repeating her name. However, urban legend icon Bloody Mary takes umbrage at Becca infringing on her turf. Bloody Mary’s anger is short lived as Becca Boo is able to charm and bed her. As the two undead ladies become acquainted with each other, a knock as the door announces someone sinister has arrived for Becca. 

The ending of issue one put Becca Boo in a narrative crossroad. The story of Becca Boo could have continued with the idea of Becca not actually being dead, but maintaining her insistence that she is a ghost, and interacting with the world accordingly. The second option is to have Becca become a ghost and influencing the living world in comedic ways, going the route of movies such as Beetlejuice (1988), Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991), and Frighteners (1996). The former would have been much more challenging to write but it would have kept the comic exploring an iteration of ghost-comedy that is not often done. The latter is the safer and easier option, so it is understandable that the writers of Becca Boo decided to go the route of making Becca a ghost. 

Issue two of Becca Boo maintains the comedic tone of issue one with some fun delighters. Becca Boo dips into parody territory by having a Ringu-esque Bloody Mary, covered in blood and tattered clothing, becoming an erotic apparition. Becco purrs to Mary “You know what happens when you change a few ingredients in a Bloody Mary? You get a cosmopolitan.” She is technically not wrong, (take out everything but the vodka and replace with cranberry juice, Cointreau, and lime juice), she just has a different grasp on what “few” means. But in a strange, Becca Boo sort of way, there is some insight to be had in her proverb. 

The cast of characters in the second issue is broadened with the introduction of Bloody Mary and Death, providing Becca more opportunities to interact with others, be them living, dead, or undead, providing more venues for comedic dialogue and situations.

The art maintains the same consistency as with issue one, with all the characters looking fleshed out and detailed. The majority of issue two takes place indoors, but attention has been paid to make sure the rooms, walls, et al. look interesting and not generic. Where a time-pressed artist would simply have an empty wall to save time, Bloody Mary’s flat is adorned with weird-circular art pieces (gold records?) and plants. Unlike issue one, issue two of Becca Boo only contains one scene of sexual intercourse, but it is stretched longer over more panels, adding an underscored element of intimacy between Becca and Bloody Mary.

As with issue one, issue two of Becca Boo was a crowdfunded endeavor. The campaign met almost all the stretch goals of cards, magnets, etc., but the publisher, Obscura, failed to include the bonus items with my pledge, so I unfortunately cannot comment on them as I typically do with these indie comic reviews. Fun comic, but terrible fulfillment, which is waved away under the risks of pledging to a Kickstarter, and that these items are simply “extras.”

Disappointing fulfillment aside, the product proper of Becca Boo is what matters. 

Becca Boo continues to be fun and sexually playful. Despite Death’s notes indicating she has lived a “vapid..drunk..driven by libido” life, Becca’s heart is in the right place, giving readers a worthwhile character to latch onto and worry about what will happen to her as she negotiates the afterlife looking for redemption. 

Edit 2025-02-18 – Publisher Obscura did rectify the missing stretch goals and sent over the missing swag shortly after this review went online, so extreme kudos to them for making that right.

As with issue one, issue two of Becca Boo came with trading cards that sports an alternate cover on each one.

And there is a book and magnet as well, all fun, high quality extras that make these crowdfunding endeavors extra fun.

More information on Becca Boo can be found at the following websites:

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Comics Interview Peplum

Reborn With The Strength Of Stone: Interview With Ben Lacy On Samson #1: Nazi Smasher

Hercules, Ursus, Maciste, Goliath, Samson, et al. – all strongman characters and archetypes founds in peplum cinema, both classic and new. They are singular in their exploits, be it mythical, folklore, or cinematic only, but also interchangeable for the same reasons. The strongman is a malleable character, who can be juxtaposed against a variety of ages and settings, leading to fun and interesting scenarios. These could be tales of a Hercules-style character in space, superhero adventures, time traveling adventures that can feature a fish-out-of-water element, and others. 

Ben Lacy’s comic book series Samson is one such text that takes an iconic peplum protagonist and Hebrew Biblical hero, and applies a different spin to the character. Lacy’s incarnation of Samson leans heavily into the superhero genre (which has always has a strong link to mythology, see Marvel’s Hercules and Thor characters for examples) by having his character, a concentration camp prisoner, become the subject of Nazi experiments that leads to superhuman strength – a Jewish equivalent to Captain America. 

Variant cover by David Gallart.

Samson, written by Lacy, with Jhonesbas Craneo (Tomb of Horror) on pencils, Anton Polkhovskyi (The Cthulhu Man) as the colorist, and Nikki Powers (Burn, Wayward Kindred) providing lettering, is currently going through a crowdfunding campaign to realize the debut issue. Lacy has generously provided his time to be interviewed about his strongman comic. 

From classic 1960s sword and sandal films, Hollywood Golden Age Biblical pepla, and even Gladiator and neo-peplum, is this a genre you’re into? If so, how did you get into these types of films?

One of the first movies I saw in a theater was The Ten Commandments back in the early 1970s. I’ll always watch it if it’s on. The same with the last half of Ben-Hur and the few good parts of Cleopatra. I’ve also always liked the Steve Reeves Hercules movies. Not only did they have a lot of cool action, I’d never seen anyone like Reeves (this was pre-Arnold times) and I always wanted a build like that (which I never achieved). For the same reason, I liked the ridiculous Three Stooges Meet Hercules movie where a nerdy professor turns into a strong man.

What are your favourite sword and sandal films, comics, books, and so on?

In addition to the movies mentioned, I’ve liked a lot of the Busiek run on Conan. I used to read a series of books by John Jakes about Brak the Barbarian that were a lot of fun.

Various Samson pepla.

Have you watched any of the classic Italian Samson peplum films (such as Samson and His Mighty Challenge,Samson and the Sea Beast, Samson Against the Back Pirate, etc.), and if so, your thoughts on them? Did you draw any inspiration or ideas from these films?

No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen any of these. I did see Samson and Delilah as a kid.

What is the general synopsis of Samson?

Samson is an epic tale that takes place over the course of fifty years from WW2 to just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. During WW2 we see how the Nazis took two young boys and experimented on them, giving one of them great strength, speed, and invulnerability. He takes on the name Samson as a way of inspiring people.

Years later, after the reunification of Germany, Interpol has discovered that the Uberfuhrer, a Nazi supervillain, may still be alive and living in America. They urge Samson to come out of retirement to take him down. The first story arc follows both the younger and older SAMSON as we learn what’s happened to him and his world over those many years.

What was the genesis of this comic?

I’d always wanted to do a superhero comic (my other books are more sci-fi and adventure oriented). As a Jew, the idea of creating a Jewish superhero whose origin is very much related to his being Jewish was something I thought would be both exciting and unique.

How does your iteration of Samson compare to the Biblical incarnation?

Samson takes his name from the Biblical version both to be a sort of Captain America figure for Jews and because his real name is conveniently Samuel.

There are a lot of stories out there about Nazis doing weird science experiments and creating super soldiers, monsters, etc. How does Samson stand out from these types of stories?

This is inspired by actual events. The Nazis did experiment on Jewish twins. The two scientists in this book are based on two of the real men who conducted these experiments. Of course the experiments they actually conducted were quack science, but in a superhero universe, they succeed, but may wind up regretting it.

What was something important you learned or a surprise you encountered while writing and Kickstarting this comic?

I’ve done ten successful Kickstarters. The first time I tried to Kickstart Samson, it failed to fund. I learned that I had to expand my audience to people who were interested in superheroes. I printed off a large number of B&W Samson mini comics and gave those away to the backers of my other books and to people at comic cons.

What is the biggest goal you want to accomplish with Samson?

At this point, I want to get it funded and get issue one out there. Hopefully, when people see it, there will be more demand for issue two because I think this story will excite a lot of people.

What can fans of the sword and sandal genre look forward to in Samson? Any homages to the classic character or to the genre?

Probably more in variant covers than in the story itself though when Samson ends up in Israel and gets his first costume, he will have the more traditional longer hair and beard.

And finally any other news and projects you’d like to share?

I have two other ongoing series, Shark of War and The Vicious Vixens of Dakuwanga. People can read the first issues of both at BitingComics.com. And of course Samson still has a six days left at Samson.BitingComics.com.

Sincere appreciation to Ben Lacy for his time to talk about his Samson comic. More information on the comic, including a link to the Kickstarter campaign, can be found in the below list:

Categories
Comics Peplum

Maiden Voyage: Hearteater #1

Kimona, better known as the Hearteater, is an adventurous pirate lass, who along with her talking raven companion Zephyr, have had their fair share of encounters with treasures, riches, and near death misses. Their newest adventure brings them to Port Harmony, where a magical voice compels Kimona to rescue Finn, a handsome scoundrel of a thief, sentenced to be hung at the gallows. After getting intimately acquainted with each other during the night at an inn, a mystical bell that Kimona wears around her neck begins to glow, signifying a new adventure for the trio.

PDF Cover.

Hearteater is crowdfunded, erotic pirate comic set during the Golden Age of Piracy. Published by the women-owned Laguna Studios, (an offshoot/successor of Unlikely Heroes Studios), the comic is written by Laurie Foster (The Surgeon, Super!), with Cari Salviejo (Xenogeist, Hypergeist) on line art, Patty Arroyo (cover artist for Bombshell & Atomica,Roseblood Manor) on colours, Saïda Temofonte (Number of the Beast, DCeased) on lettering and Brian J. Lambert (Wingless Comics founder) and Sarah White (The Surgeon) as editors.

Genre waves come in cycles: rising, cresting, and retreating every few years. The pirate genre is no exception. After a period of cooling from the numerous Pirates of the Caribbean films, the last few years have seen pirates remerging in all corners of media: television (Our Flag Means Death), video games (Sea of Thieves, and Ubisoft’s freshly released, though somewhat maligned Skull and Bones), music (Visions of Atlantis), and comic books (The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl). Laguna Studios’ Hearteater definitely contributes to the pirate genre canon while overtly embracing the erotic angle promised by tales of swashbucklery. 

Kimona is a fun character, who knows what she wants and is always on the prowl for the next promise of adventure, be it by the sword or between the sheets. She is also a liberated character, both in race and gender, which gives her the agency and mobility to do her pirating deeds. Her raven familiar, Zephyr, acts as her voice of reason, but Kimona is the type of character who does not always give into reason.

Issue one of Hearteater is fairly short, there is no seafaring or sword fighting to be found, but there is an escape attempt and a steamy love scene. Kimona proper gets her character foundtations fleshed out and it is easy for readers to latch on to her.

While the narrative sets up the chess pieces as is traditional in first issues of a new series, the art of Hearteater tells a different story: great characters but forgettable backgrounds.

The expressions and details on characters such as Kimono and Zephyr are great.

The characters, especially Kimona, in Hearteater, look great. Kimona has the best facial expressions that compliment her speech bubbles and make transparent her emotions. Her seductive poses are sultry (with some breast jiggle onomatopoeia thrown in for good measure) while her other depictions show her in command, perhaps with air of mystery as readers are learning more about her.

Opening panel of the comic.

The background art, on the other hand, falters a bit. The opening shot of the comic, designed to lure readers in right from the get go, is an aerial shot of Port Harmony, filled with nondescript, featureless, flat buildings. Hearteater may actually be aware of this limitation because subsequent panels focus on closeups of Kimona and other characters, rather than have backgrounds shown in detail. It’s a shame since in the pirate genre, setting is important as readers want to be whisked away to tropical islands and port cities. The look of the characters nails it, but the world proper needs a bit more love.

Hearteater’s Kickstarter campaign concluded in the autumn of 2023 with backers receiving their rewards in February 2024, a pretty quick turnaround. As with many crowdfunded comics, Hearteater sported a variety of alternative covers – both in normal and risque formats – and came with a handful of extras from meeting stretch goals.

Zheanhmeart risqué cover – personal copy.

Artists who contributed covered are Cari Salviejo, Ian Richardson, KodiArt, Dravacus, Zheanhmeart, and Katy Rewston. All the covers are great, making choosing one a difficult process. Salviejo’s cover though, showing Kimona surrounded by green tentacles, hints at the eldritch elements stated in the Kickstarter campaign but not shown in issue one (something to look forward to in the next issue).

Rewards for the campaign included a metal bookmark and a chibi-esque sticker of Kimona.

Backers also received both digital and physical prints done by Mike Watson and Veronica Smith.

Pirates are awesome and Hearteater is looking to be fantastic as well. The erotic elements are definitely sexy, Kimona and company look to be fun characters to invest in and see their adventure continue, especially if it might venture down into Lovecraftian/Eldritch horror territory while maintaining the pirate atmosphere. A Lovecraftian-Erotic-Pirate story? Yes, please!

Links to know more about Hearteater:

Categories
Comics

Putting the “Boo!” into…: Becca Boo: The Bimbo Ghost Issue One

Late into the night an inebriated Becca wanders into the local cemetery. After flirting with a statue, she falls backwards into an open grave and passes out. Upon waking up the next morning and seeing herself in the grave, Becca arrives at the logical conclusion: she has died and became a ghost. Feeling a sense of purpose to complete some unfinished business, Becca deduces she can put her sexual prowess to use and “sleep her way into heaven.” 

Blonde, beautiful, and sporting a set of bangs that puts many anime characters to shame, Becca recalls the ditzy, airhead trope found in the likes of Three’s Company, Clueless, and Romey and Michele’s High School Reunion. Depicting such characters can be a challenge: are the readers laughing at Becca or laughing with her? Is the comic mean-“spirited” (pun intended) or not? 

On one hand, there is a sequence where Becca is sitting on a bench next to a handsome stranger who, depending on interpretation, takes advantage of Becca’s lack of common sense in order to bed her. While the scene becomes the catalyst for Becca’s plan to use her sexual attributes to get into heaven, the circumstance pushes Becca into one-dimensional territory, marking her as easily manipulated. The story progresses at her expense.

On the other hand, Becca Boo is extremely self-aware with both the titular character and the narrative itself, giving readers winks and nudges in a playful way. Right before Becca makes love to her ex-girlfriend Nadja, Becca seizes an opportunity to re-create the famous pottery scene from the 1990 film Ghost. She even calls out “I’m ‘Ghosting’ you” while embracing a confused former lover. The scene is extremely funny and shows that the comedy comes from Becca, that she is the one directing it, and it is not directed at her. 

Becca Boo: The Bimbo Ghost is created by Sun Khamunaki who is probably best known for her articulate and detailed cheesecake comic covers done for publishers like Zenescope. Though created by Khamunaki, the story proper is written by Garth Matthams (The Living Finger from Darby Pop [a fantastic publisher]) who maintains the lighthearted tone and writes Becca with her heart in the right place. 

Khamunaki’s body of pinup-esque art sets a high bar for quality to be followed in the pages of Becca Boo and artist Kenan Halilovic and colourist Anna Jarmolowska certainly succeed. There are not many characters featured in Becca Boo, and because of this, lots of panels are devoted to really fleshing out how the characters are depicted. The little details of Nadja’s tattoos to Becca’s facial expressions that really sell her mannerisms greatly elevate the comic. Another important detail of Becca Boo are the colours which are both bright and light. White and blue dominates the palette on the pages, which both radiate a warm, sunny feeling yet at the same time gives the comic an ethereal quality, which of course, goes hand-in-hand with showing a ghost/“ghost” character. 

Issue one of Becca Boo is a short affair, clocking in at only twenty pages. However there is an extensive gallery of pinup covers that depict Becca in a variety of styles, from cartoonish to superhero-ish. The debut of Becca Boo: The Bimbo Ghost was realized via a Kickstarter campaign in early 2023. As with many Kickstarted comics there was a lot of supplemental loot and stretch goals to be had.

Firstly there is a series of seven trading cards, each one adorned with a different cover art used for issue one. 

There is also a two-sided bookmark and a sticker.

And a thick-paper print of the Khamunaki cover of Becca in white stockings. 

An option of some of the comics was to have Khamunaki and Matthams sign copies and have a corresponding certificate of authenticity accompany them.

Becca Boo is sexy and lighthearted. The premise has lots of wiggle room to take the character in different directions, hopefully developing her even more during her ghostly journey. 

A Kickstarter campaign to fund the second issue of Becca Boo is currently going on. The campaign can be found here.

For more information about Becca Boo, check out these resources:

Categories
Comics

Hyper[Sex]Drive: Alicia Carter and Robot Issue 02

Intergalactic thief extraordinaire Alicia Carter and her robot companion GDU-3 have just fled Junk World in a stolen space freighter belonging to reptilian bounty hunter Klaven. Klaven, none-too-happy to be stranded on a world of refuse along with his fellow hunters Kira and Arms, sends an SOS to his brother Vardak for rescue. Vardak is more than interested to help Klaven, for a price of course: a percentage of the bounty on Carter and the value of a crystal she has stolen. Meanwhile the freighter Carter is piloting beings to break down, experiencing issues with both the gravity and the hyperdrive. Carter and GDU-3 set about fixing the ship, with things getting quite personal in the close quarters. 

Shikarii Cover for Issue #2.

Issue two of Alicia Carter and Robot (ACaR) picks up right after issue one with the duo having fled their bounty hunting pursuers. The minor amnesia subplot present in ACaR #1 is thankfully nowhere to be found, allowing issue two to better align its focus on true character development of Carter and GDU-3 as they bond. GDU-3, after encountering robot space leeches, expresses fear, something not really explored with robot characters. Carter’s backstory gets expanded upon as well, revealing she has partaken in sapphic rendezvous, specifically with the main antagonist’s wife. 

The pulp elements hinted at in issue one of ACaR also appear to be dropped. Instead, the story embraces a more Cowboy Bebop approach regarding spacefaring adventuring. However, if there is a word to describe the tone of issue two of ACaRit is “horny.” The first half of the issue sees the narrative push Carter and GDU-3 as close to having sex as possible without actually having sex or showing nudity. The cramped access ducts of the space freighter force the two to straddle each other. GDU-3 sends some of his tendrils to fix various apparati of the ship and in the process rubs/vibrates against Carter’s labia majora that protrudes through her suit.

Is GDU-3 an innocent robot who is merely trying to fix the ship who is accidentally getting Carter all steamed up? The bend in his tendril suggests otherwise. Coinciding with the in-panel suggestive antics are innuendos galore as repairing the ship allows for many out of context verbal opportunities such as “I can barely reach the shaft,” “it’s getting harder,” and “Ah yes! It’s in!”

The sequences do give the scifi-adventure story overtones of 80s sex comedies, but at the same time does challenge the relationship between the two. Will Carter and GDU-3 remain platonic partners on the run from other criminals and assassins? Develop a true friendship? Or perhaps a more intimate relationship? (Some of the alternate covers for issues one and two definitely hint at the latter)

Story-wise, author Tristan Vick devotes issue two to characters, not just Carter and the robot, but introducing new characters and adversaries as well. The stakes are increasing against Carter which sets up the dominos for even more action in subsequent issues while in the process having the characters become even more interconnected as they not only pursue Carter, but some pursue each other (such as Kira and Vardak).

Chris Awayan and Mirza Wirawan both return to issue two on art and colours respectively. The images of space proper, instead of being void and black, are instead popping with colour and activity. The artistic depiction of Carter, though it retains an emphasis on showcasing her bust and bottom, still portrays her in a warm fashion. Carter is a thief, a Han Solo-esque character, yet her facial expressions depict her with a girl next door quality.

As with issue one, issue two of ACaR enjoys a bounty of Kickstarter loot (that is if one contributed to the campaign). The art print done by the Xong Bros. showcases Carter and GDU-3 in a manga style. Carter sitting atop of her robot companion is reminiscent of some of the Masamune Shirow/Ghost in the Shell covers.

The swimsuit print done by Rocha is fun and flirty. 

And there are trading cards, fridge magnets, and stickers of the characters done in a chibi style.

As with many Kickstarted comics, there are numerous alternative covers for issue two, with Shikarii’s version depicting the bounty hunter Kira (shown at the beginning of this review and in the fridge magnet above) being the most standout. Shikarii has an iconic hyper-realistic style that is always a pleasure to see.

ACaR issue two plays more naughty than nice in its narrative, but it scratches the itch to see Carter and GDU-3 taking the next step in their galactic adventure as thieves on the run. It is both playful and fun to see the two characters interact (sexual overtones or not) as they are both extremely likable. The art and colouring are also well done, with an emphasis on vibrant purples and pinks that pop on the page. 

If you’ve enjoyed this review consider backing the Kickstarter campaign for issue three of Alicia Carter. The campaign ends on November 18th. Also, consider checking out my review of issue one of Alicia Carter.

More information about Alicia Carter and Robot and the team behind it can be found at the following locations: