Nicholas Diak's Blog, page 37

Xerxes Review and Voice of Olympus Appearance

Two sword and sandal updates for today!

First, issue #4 of Frank Miller's Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander has been published at Fanbase Press. It can be read here:

http://fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/reviews/item/9015-xerxes-the-fall-of-the-house-of-darius-and-the-rise-of-alexander-4-advance-comic-book-review
Second, both Michele and I will be guests on tonight's Voice of Olympus program. The show starts at 6:00 pm PST, I'll be on at 6:30 pm and Michele at 7:00 pm. It will be broadcast here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/surn/2018/07/03/voice-of-olympus

The Mercenary Films of Antonio Margheriti

I'm extremely excited to have a new essay published at the Cold War-era pop culture website We Are the Mutants. I've composed an essay called "Welcome to the Jungle: Fun and Games in Antonio Margheriti’s 1980s Mercenary Films." Really happy with this one as I got to dive back into the world of Margheriti and leverage my master's thesis, but also excited for the opportunity to write for WATM. 

The essay can be read here: https://wearethemutants.com/2018/06/25/welcome-to-the-jungle-fun-and-games-in-antonio-margheritis-1980s-mercenary-films/

Dinosaur Island and RetroModernism Panel

Today the new Jurassic Park film is released into theaters. To commemorate the new film and the legacy of the franchise as a whole, Fanbase Press is doing a series of articles on Jurassic Park. I've contributed an article about the Choose Your Own Adventure book Dinosaur Island. It can be read here:

http://www.fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/item/8974-jurassicpark25-return-to-dinosaur-island-revisiting-the-choose-your-own-adventure-version-of-jurassic-park
Also, back during Comic Con Revolution, I was on a panel about 80s appearing back in pop culture. The panel was recorded and it can be listened to here:

http://www.fanbasepress.com/index.php/audio/podcasts/the-fanbase-weekly/item/8954-fanbase-feature-comic-con-revolution-2018-fanbase-press-presents-play-it-again-with-retro-modernism-panel-audio

Essay In Upcoming Tiki Magazine Exotica Moderne

The Tiki mug company House of Tabu is launching a new magazine called Exotica Moderne. I've contributed an article to the inaugural issue called "Tiki-Noir in Fritz Lang's While the City Sleeps." The magazine will be out later this summer. Check out the House of Tabu link below for more information. 

http://www.houseoftabu.com/product/exotica-moderne-magazine

Dead Reckonings Contributor Copy

Back to back publishing news! I've received my contributor copy of Dead Reckonings #23 from Hippocampus Press. My essay on Gary Myers and his various versions of "House of the Worm" is in this issue.


The journal can be ordered from the publisher's website: https://www.hippocampuspress.com/journals/dead-reckonings/dead-reckonings-no-23

Stranger Things Book!

I've received my contributor's copy of Kevin Wetmore's Stranger Things book. It's fantastic to have an essay in this wonderful academic anthology!

The book can be found at McFarland's website: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/uncovering-stranger-things/

Xerxes #3 Review Published and Voice of Olympus Appearance

My review of issue #3 of Frank Miller's Xerxes comic is now published online at Fanbase Press. This is a great, artistic issue with every page being a double spread. The review can be found here:

http://www.fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/reviews/item/8906-xerxes-the-fall-of-the-house-of-darius-and-the-rise-of-alexander-3-advance-comic-book-review
Also tonight, both Michele and I will be on the Voice of Olympus program. We will be on at 6:30 PM PST. It will be streamed here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/surn/2018/06/05/voice-of-olympus

Sword of Ages #4 Review Published

My review of issue #4 of the sword and planet/neo-peplum comic, Sword of Ages, is published over at Fanbase Press. It can be read here:

http://www.fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/reviews/item/8895-sword-of-ages-4-comic-book-review

The New Peplum Cited in Xena Essay at Bible Films Blog

If yall recall, the other month The Bible Films Blog did a review of The New Peplum, which can be found here:

https://biblefilms.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-new-peplum-essays-on-sword.html

In the review, Matthew noted Valerie Estelle-Frankel's Xena essay that he'd like to explore the "Giant Killer" episode. Well, he did! Earlier in May he did an essay on that episode of Xena and cited Frankel's essay from The New Peplum in it! His essay can be read right here:

https://biblefilms.blogspot.com/2018/05/xena-warrior-princess-giant-killer-1996.html

So wonderful to see The New Peplum being used in other folks' scholarship, research and writing! 

Comic Con Revolution Coverage - Intro to Podcasting Panel

My panel coverage of the Ready Set Geek!: Intro to Podcasting panel at Comic Con Revolution has now been published at Fanbase Press. Check it out here:

http://fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/item/8874-comic-con-revolution-ontario-2018-ready-set-geek-intro-to-podcasting-panel-coverage