From March to July of 2018, Dark Horse Comics published the five-issue miniseries of Frank Miller’s neo-peplum comic, Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and The Rise of Alexander. Xerxes was a continuation of Miller’s prior sword and sandal epic, 300, which became a pop culture juggernaut in the mid-2000s when it was adapted into a film by Zack Snyder. Dark Horse has now collected all the issues of Xerxes and published them in a handsome hardcover collection.

The Lupanarium: Book 1 of the Many Trials of Matt-Lin and Jak is a pornographic, neo-peplum novella written by the anonymous Adele Leigh. The novella continues the dialogue of exploring sexual debauchery of Rome of antiquity as allegory for other issues, a path explored by predecessor works such as Tinto Brass’ Caligula, the Spartacus series on Starz, and even the Czechsploitation films from Lloyd Simandl’s Boundheat Films (Slave Tears of Rome, Caligula’s Spawn, etc.).

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the eleventh entry in Ubisoft’s popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, following the release of last year’s Assassin’s Creed Origins. While the series has flirted with the historic epic genre since its incarnation, having settings during the French Revolution, the Third Crusades, and even during the Age of Piracy, Odyssey is the first title to embrace the sword and sandal genre, specifically drawing influence from contemporary neo-peplum films such as Gladiator and 300.

As Halloween is fast approaching, the Fanbase Press staff and contributors decided that there was no better way to celebrate this horrifically haunting holiday than by sharing our favorite scary stories! Be they movies, TV shows, video games, novels, or any other form of entertainment, members of the Fanbase Press crew will be sharing their “scariest” stories each day leading up to Halloween. We hope that you will enjoy this sneak peek into the terrors that frighten Fanbase Press!

“Fundamental Comics,” is a monthly editorial series that introduces readers to comics, graphic novels, and manga that have been impactful to the sequential art medium and the comic book industry on a foundational level. Each month, a new essay examines a familiar or less-known title through an in-depth analysis, exploring the history of the title, significant themes, and context for the title’s popularity since it was first released.

There’s a blaze in the northern sky: crimson, deep purple, and all of the darkness in between. A wronged man takes up his battle axe and sets out to destroy his destroyers.

Sitting triumphantly on his command chair, Lord Morgan of the Black Sun Templars surveys the carnage around him during the battle of the White Monk’s citadel. Captain Janek offers his services to safeguard the malevolent leader who overconfidently replies back, “No need. The Black Knight already killed all incoming reinforcements. They’re out of surprises.”  

What proceeds to follow for the remainder of issue five, the final issue of book one of Sword of Ages, is nothing but continuous surprises.

In the world of covert ops and espionage, World War II is almost legendary in its stories, both fictional and real, of code breaking, infiltration, assassinations, and intelligence gathering. Spy fiction has used the WW2 backdrop to tell stories both grounded in realism as well as pulpy and farfetched. Most of these stories center on male secret agents that run from suave and seductive to gruff and lantern-jawed; however, past this archetype, there’s a legion of women agents - vamps, femme fatales, and secret agents, too - with their own stories to tell.

Aside from a large vendor room full of exhibitors, authors, toy dealers, and guests who had worked on He-Man and She-Ra, Power-Con had an impressive lineup of panels for attendees to partake in. Running for one-hour sessions, the large Lighthouse Ballroom at the Marriott was devoted exclusively to panels that ranged in topics from the He-Man toys to the cartoon to the mini-comics.

The fifth issue of Xerxes sees the end of Frank Miller’s sword and sandal epic, putting closure both on this story, as well as the events of 300.