Dax The Warrior!

Time for some DAX THE WARRIOR!  This was an Estaban Maroto piece that blew my young mind, the quality of work-as is usually the case for his strips-just smashes me right in the sensory portions of the brain and leaves me wanting more.  Show me a better intro splash... click the thumbs for readable copies and be sure to buy yourself all the Eerie reprint volumes!

Throne Of Fire - Sabrina Siani Slashes

The Throne of Fire is one of my favorite ULTRA cheap Italian barbarian films, this time released by the always reliable Cannon Films!  Starring Peter McCoy (Pietro Torrisi), Harrison Muller Jr. and the beautiful Sabrina Siani, it has bikinis, head bashing, a fast pace and one of the best goopy jelly child creatures ever presented in Eurotrash Barbarism.  

After a prophecy is established and the evil Belial impregnates an old woman with his glob beast boy we are introduced to the evil Morak. Now, both Belial and Morak are played by Harrison Muller Jr, so any film with double Muller is double good already!  Regardless if he is a post nuke warrior or Barbarian, the man does not change his facial hair.  Morak wants to sit on The Throne of Fire, which is literally a throne that burst in to flames if the prophecy parameters are not met. Morak likes to prove the point with his flunkies, flambeing them for the hell of it.  But we need the Princess, this time played by Sabrina Siani, so we meet Princess Valkari!  She can smack down foot soldiers (who wear motorcycle helmets???) but needs a little extra beef in her bikini to help out. Luckily Peter McCoy is lurking around as Siegfried.  He's big, he's tough and he is all for the side of good.  

Actually, he is on the side with the hot woman in the bikini...smart barbarian.  

Basically, they fight, they escape, they are captured, they escape and then we have a great meltdown as everything goes sideways for our man Morak.  Good fun.

"ma...maaaaaaa"

"Who ordered a barbaric pummeling?"

"Thanks Sabrina!!"

Throne of Fire is cheap cheap cheap...producer Ettore Spagnuolo did a number of films covered in the book Tough To Kill (plug from co-author!) and he is not really the kind of person to slather on production values.  But that doesn't matter, because it gives the film a really unique vibe. It could easily be a post nuke film with one or two background matte paintings added.  The effects are crude, but Paolo Ricci works a little bit of his magic when the goo needs to ooze across the screen.  Also, the film is "blessed" with one of the wonkiest heroic blooping and bleeping from the synthesizers of Paolo and Carlo Rustichelli I have heard.  I think someone misheard the words "rousing heroics" with "R2D2 spasming while attempting to project an image of Princess Valkari!" 

The performers are...limited.  I'm always glad to see the rather flat yet oddly compelling Muller Jr and anything, and I do mean anything, with Sabrina Siani is welcome in my media players!  She did not have a long career, but if you needed a girl in a bikini (or a lot less) to be in your jungle, action, barbarian film-she can't be beat. 

And well, if you see the name Franco Prosperi in your 80s Barbarians (and I'll be watching more soon), you can expect some sub Enzo Castellari slow motion and a lot of zooming in on axes hitting flesh. Not bad really, though I don't think anyone would complain about his habit of lingering on the carnage.  A fun film, perfect for a quick shot of B-Side Barbarian Bliss.  

Huh? Heavy Metal??

Thongor Returns for Paperback Pugilism!

Here are the second set of Thongor paperback scans.  I read the first novel and enjoyed it quite a bit, Lin Carter takes the familiar aspects of Sword and Sorcery and writes a fast paced and often funny bit of barbarism that I'm looking forward to enjoying further.  Next up...THONGOR in the comics!!

Kromag The Killer...The Second Coming

I found the other KROMAG THE KILLER!  Here you go...feast your eyes on that artwork, barbaric and beautiful bashing awaits. Click the thumbnails for fiction so powerful it will punch your nose off!

The Barbarians-Deodato Brings The Beef!

When you say Ruggero Deodato to me I think of Cannibal Holocaust, the amazing KILLER PHONE VS. CHARLOTTE RAMPLING masterwork DIAL:HELP or Atlantis Interceptors or...well, lots of things. Outside of his dabbling in Peplum very early on, I don't think of Barbarians. Well, that has changed. 
You have to love the first 20 minutes of this film. Gore! Violence! Action! Richard Lynch as an evil wizard! Cool Masked Warriors! Floggings! Training Scenes!  This is good fun Neo-Peplum with lots of head banging and muscle flexing.  And then...well, I still love it, but your miles may vary.
After a traveling circus holding twin boys Kutchek and Gore is captured by the evil Kadar the film chronicles the boys rise to being GIANT dudes that love to fight. After being kept apart and made to fight, they quickly recognize each other and team up for adventures and running about while calling each other BONEHEAD!  Monsters fall, sexy evil women abound, sexy good gal women abound and the brothers argue over everything along the way.
Welcome to Cimmeria, NJ (or The Hyborean Shore) once the Barbarian Brothers start talking. The film switches gears multiple times, bouncing between comedy and action with the kind of ease that makes me a fan of European Trash Cinema.  I found both elements very satisfying and this is like eating an ice cream cone as big as the beefcake brothers pecs...filling, maybe a bit too sweet, but it is still ice cream. I'll eat it til I explode.

SEEK Books...and you shall find them!

Just a brief break from Barbarism and Brutality to share a recommendation. Located about 20 minutes from my home is SEEK BOOKS, which is a virtual Wheel Of Pain for me to decide what to spend my limited allocation of BrutalBucks on.  Now, there are lots of bookstores online, but being around these books is something I enjoy as much as reading them. Every spine glance reveals a surprise and I have a long "short list" I'll be working on. On Father's Day I picked up the THONGOR series and can't wait to get back and hit the bricks n' mortar again when I can. 
Check out Brad's website, and definitely give the "About Us" section a read. It contains one of the best reasons to shop in the store if possible right here..."10. I encourage browsing and you can spend hours here and not buy and it won't get you a sour look, only a "come back again."
You can't put a price tag on that.  Add the fact that the owner knows, and LOVES, these titles and can help you find not only what you are looking for, but things you know nothing about, is a great bonus.  You can work with them on the net as well, and I bet you'll be pleased.  Join the Facebook group and you even get a discount!
So, if you live anywhere near the Boston area, get your directions and head on down. On top of that, you'll find a nice variety of food will keep you sustained as you take a lunch break and then start staring in awe at the collection of the first 100 DAW titles. 

Onward Barbarians...more brutality coming your way...lets SEEK out something truly weird and wonderful!

My hand must have been shaking to make the picture blurry, but this is just BLADE books...seriously.

Neat! Tidy! Still Barbaric! Ahh....I love it!

Kromag The Killer! Jack Sparling Gets Barbaric!

Time for some Barbaric Banging and Bashing from the dawn of time....KROMAG THE KILLER by Jack Sparling and Gabe Levy!  Click the thumbnails for reading copies.  One of the best stories in this very very excellent magazine!