Tag: The New Peplum

News

News Roundup: October 2026

Post author By Nicholas Diak
Post date November 1, 2026

Personal / Website News

Well, October was a wash for writing. I worked on a few things, but nothing published at my website or elsewhere. Car issues still plague Michele and I. The last two weeks have been hectic at work (in a good way!). My goal to get some spooky comic book reviews up in time for Halloween did not happen. However, I can still share some fun stuff and other news. Here is to a better November!

Scholars From the Edge of Time – Gladiators 7

Italian genre cinema star Richard Harrison passed away last month, so to commemorate his contributions to peplum cinema, Michele and I discussed a film of his, Gladiators 7 (1962), on this month’s Scholars from the Edge of Time.

DVD that says "4 movies - Gladiators - Rebel Gladiators, Duel of the Champions, Giants of Rome, Gladiators Seven". The cover art shows a gladiator wearing a helmet, holding a spear and shield. Behind them is a coliseum. — Personal copy of the Gladiators 4 movie DVD pack.

I believe the movie is on Tubi or Youtube, but I have one of my trusty, low grade movie packs, in this instance, Gladiators, that has the film on it. Spoiler: I dug the movie, Michele not so much. You can watch our discussion on YouTube.

National Capital Panthans Journal #353

The October issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a reprint of my review of issue two of “Snow” of the Cavewoman series. My original review can be read here.

Black and white cover of a Mariann sitting on a rock, writing in a book. — National Capital Panthans Journal #353. Cover by Mark Wheatley.

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

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

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.

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.

“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.

Black and white cover for issue 352 of the National Capital Panthans Journal. It shows a woman in a robe atop a submarine with the number 33 on the side. — National Capital Panthans Journal #352. Cover by Mark Wheatley.

“It’s Getting Cold: Cavewoman: ‘Snow’ Issue 1″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #352, September, 2026.

Original can be read here.

“It’s Getting Cold: Cavewoman: ‘Snow’ Issue 2″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #352, October, 2026.

Original can be read here.

Peplum Stuff

New peplum movies and autographs this month. Lets break it down!

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

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

The Messenger

I was surfing on Youtube earlier in the month and happened upon a video called “The Most CONTROVERSIAL Halloween Blu-Ray EVER” by The Lost River Drive-In. Click bait title got my attention, I was curious as to what’s up, and give it a watch. Long story short, an early Halloween 2 blu-ray release removed a credit for producer Moustapha Akkad and replaced it with the studio name. Fans for rightfully mad.

I am no expert on the Halloween series of films, so I had no idea who Moustapha Akkad was. One Wiki-rabbit hole later and I was like whoa.

Standard black 4K case. Cover shows a man in a white beared wearing a black hood. Behind him is a woman with jewels on her forehead and a white hood. Below them a white flag is waving and below that looks to be a skirmish in the desert. — Personal copy of The Message on 4K.

Akkad has done exactly three things: he is the main money behind the majority of all the Halloween films (up to Halloween: Resurrection in 2002), and directed two historic epics, one being a sword and sandal film about Muhammad called The Message (1976)

Decades of Michael Myers and a film on Muhammad. Holy moly talk about going from one genre extreme to another. Learning this factoid, I had to pluck up a copy, which got a 4K release fairly recently.

Masters of the Universe

I missed the Masters of the Universe (2026) film when it was in theaters. Apparently it was pretty good, so I was bummed I missed it on the big screen, but I pre-ordered it as soon as it became available. Limited edition steel book of course.

Excited to give this a watch! I didn’t grow up with He-Man per se, but I caught episodes now and then (the first cartoon I was REALLY into was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Back in the 2010s I went to a few Power Con conventions, which were devoted to He-Man and She-Ra and had a lot of fun. But, yeah, I got a good feeling about this one.

Sword and Sandal Autographs

Two sets of autographs on peplum-related things were acquired in October. I love getting things signed, specially when it is in my field of study!

Pompeii with Kiefer Sutherland

There is a local collectibles business called Inked who seem to specialize in getting celebrities to autographed Funkos. They also do a mail in service where folks can send in their memorabilia to get autographed. They recently had a session with actor Kiefer Sutherland. I said “why not?” and decided to send in my copy of the neo-peplum film Pompeii (2014) to be signed.

Blu-ray in standard blue case. Movie is Pompeii. Top of the artwork shows the shoulders up of four of the characters/actors: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Emily Browning, Kit Harington, and Keifer Sutherland. Below them is an erupting volcano shooting out lava and fire balls, and in front of it a man and a woman are locked in am embrace/kiss. In silver marker it is signed Kiefer Sutherland. — Personal copy of Pompeii autographed by Keifer Sutherland.

In the first half of October I got my Blu-ray sleeve back, all signed I silver sharpie by Sutherland. I do not have many neo-peplum movies autographed, so I personally think this is quite cool. I have not watched the film since working on The New Peplum, I think it is time for a rewatch in the near future. Maybe as a Scholars from the Edge of Time episode.

The New Peplum with Tony Amendola

In early October Artists Assemble Productions did a horror con in Mesa. It was a big event for the Aliens (1986) film as many actors and actresses were guests, but other horror celebrities were also in attendance.

One of the guests was Tony Amendola, perhaps best known for appearing in the Stargate SG-1 series. One of the movies he had a small part in was the BBC docu-drama Pompeii: The Last Day (2003).

Book on the left, DVD on the right. Book cover has a scene from the Hercules movie with The Rock. The DVD shows a man and a woman fleeing an erupting volcano with a roman city behind them. — Copy of The New Peplum and Pompeii: The Last Day on DVD.

Folks who have read The New Peplum will probably recognize this movie as it is has almost an entire essay dedicated to it, “Sounds of Swords and Sandals: Music in Neo-Peplum BBC Television Docudramas” by Nick Poulakis. So, of course, I had to get my book signed!

Signature reads "Nick - Pompeii is minutes away from where my mother was born! Good Luck! - Tony Amendola" — Tony Amendola autograph in The New Peplum.

He told me as he signed it that he was born August 24th, which is the day that Mount Vesuvius erupted! How cool is that! Anywho, very happy to have him sign my book, really meaningful to me.

Of note, a few weeks later I started playing the game Mafia: The Old Country, and he is in it! I was doing a mission to steal some whisky from an impound at a port, and his character walks right in! Same likeness and everything.

Autographs from the Archive

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

Red Spirit Lake + We Await

Charles Pinion is a cult filmmaker, probably best known for his SOV movie, Twisted Issues (1988). The first movie I saw of his was American Mummy (2014). I wound up befriending him on social media and he is a really cool dude.

Blu-ray in a clear, transparent case. Says "Double Feature" at the top with blood dripping down. There are two posters on the front, one for each movie, each is a collage of faces of characters. — Personal copy of Red Spirit Lake/We Await signed by Charles Pinion.

I posted my copy of Red Spirit Lake/We Await for him to sign, which he graciously did.

Of note, he was a guest on the Fan2Fan Podcast last year, talking about making 3D movies. Give it a listen!

Episode one:

Episode two:

Joe Lansdale Autographs

On October 12th Joe Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale came to Scottdale to the Poisoned Pen to promote their respective new books. Michele and I, of course, had to go because Lansdale is the man.

I was first exposed to his work via the Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) movie, which was amazing. Probably my favourite Don Coscarelli film (next to Beastmaster of course!). We met him at a Vintage Paperback Show in Glendale, CA sometime in the 2010s and he signed my DVD of the film.

Later on I would get a copy of his novella, Under the Warrior Star, which is an Edgar Rice Burroughs/John Carter pastiche. Last year when I was asked by New Edge Sword and Sorcery to create cocktails for sword and sorcery characters, I made a cocktail based on this novella for the sword and planet issue.

Under the Warrior Star autographed by Joe Lansdale.
New Edge Sword and Sorcery #07
The Brax recipe signed by Joe Lansdale.
Personal copy of Joe Lansdale’s “In the Mad Mountains”.
In the Mad Mountains signed by Joe Lansdale.
Personal copy of Lost Echoes.
Lost Echoes signed by Joe Lansdale.
Personal copy of Midnight Mavericks.
Joe Lansdale interview page autographed.

Anywho, I had to have Lansdale sign my copy of NESS that contains the recipe I created in homage to his novella. He was very excited to do so! Aside from NESS, I had an armload of other books he wrote that he also autographed, so check out the gallery above to see all of them.

Jeffrey J. Mariotte Autographs

In attendance in the audience for the Joe Lansdale/Kasey Lansdale signing event was Jeffrey Mariotte! He’s a long time friend of the Lansdales (read his Substack here), and he has had a plethora of books publish this late summer and early spring. So, I came prepared and brought some of this with me for Mariotte to sign.

First was my copy of 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.

Title page inside the book. It is signed "For Nick - Back to the old west! - Jeffrey J. Mariotte". — Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman signed by Jeffrey Mariotte.

Next was my copy of Flesh of all Sorrows, which I did an in-depth review that can be read here.

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.

Title page inside the book. It is signed "For Nick - Hold onto your flesh!! - Jeffrey J. Mariotte". — Flesh of all Sorrows signed by Jeffrey Mariotte.

If you’re curious, I have lots of other Mariotte signed books. Last year at the Willcox ECOF event, which he was the guest of honour at, he signed lots of my Star Trek comics and other books. Check out that gallery at the bottom of my ECOF diary.

Werewolf

Red Letter Media did their annual Halloween Best of the Worst episode and the first movie they discussed was Werewolf (1996). The movie was already made infamous due to being on MST3K.

I have a non-MST3K version of the film! Well, I also have the MST3K version, but still. My copy is autographed by the late, great Richard Lynch! He was a guest at a Hollywood Collector show back in the day, and I, of course, had a pile of campy films for him to sign, which included Werewolf. Lynch passed away a few years later, which is a shame because he was always a great presence in otherwise low budget affairs (such as Werewolf).

News from Friends

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

New Ride the Stream Episodes

New episodes of Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata’s vidcast, Ride the Stream, have been published online at YouTube.

The duo continue their discussion of the series Dark Winds with episode 6 of season 2:

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. It was October, spooky month, so seasonal themed episodes!

First there is “Spooky Screenings: Deathwoods, Camp Miasma, Hope, Buffet Infinity & More“:

Then “Horror Movie Marathon Madness Part 1“:

Followed by “Horror Movie Marathon Madness Part 2“:

And “Spooky Screenings: Resident Evil, VHS Mixtape, and Onslaught“:

And finally “Spooky Screenings: Buddy, Hokum, and The Cycle“:

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!

T. A Simmons’ Scion of Torn

Four years ago I had the honour to interview T. A. Simmons, the author of the comic series adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ book I am a Barbarian (check out that interview here).

Cover shows a man in a green cloak on horseback, pointing at his sword against a man wielding a shovel. They are in the ruins of a castle and there is snow on the ground. — Cover of T. A. simmons’ “Scion of Torn”. Art by Benito Gallego.

Simmons is back with a new novel, Scion of Torn, which is a sequel to Burroughs’ Outlaw of Torn (which Simmons also adapted into a comic strip [see the ERB comics website on how to subscribe and read those]).

Super congrats on the new book! A kindle version of the story is readily available at Amazon.

Cozy in the Apocalypse

My friend Naomi Simone Borwein (author of Global Indigenous Horror and essayist for Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern) has a new book out! She’s a co-editor and contributor to Cozy in the Apocalypse published by Angry Gable Press.

Cover shows a picture frame with no picture. Behind it is a red sky and a green planet. — Cozy in the Apocalypse front cover.

The book can be purchased at Amazon.

News

News Roundup: July 2026

Post author By Nicholas Diak
Post date August 1, 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

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.

Issue #351

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

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.