Nicholas Diak
LightNews LightNews
banner
nickdiak.com
Nicholas Diak
@nickdiak.com
420 followers 72 following 1.4K posts
Pop culture scholar of peplum, Italian films, industrial music, horror studies, and other odd subjects. Tiki and cocktails, mid-century and pinups. Co-host of H.P. Lovecast Podcast. He/Him. nickdiak.com. Glendale, AZ.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
nickdiak.com
Nicholas Diak @nickdiak.com · 11d
New article (first for 2026!) up at my website!

I did a #comicbook review on issue 8 of the Neo-jungle girl series Vanya from @badbugmedia.bsky.social - check it out!

nickdiak.com/2026/02/warp...

#JungleGirl #Tarzan #Sheena #Comics #Dinosaurs #LostWorld #SciFi #Vanya #IndieComic
Cover depicts Vanya, crouched in foliage, drawing back on a bow. It is kind of dark, with a little beam of light coming through the leaves. Her red hair is in a pony tail.
nickdiak.com
Good morning everyone!

After taking a year off, Michele and I are back with a new episode of the @hplovecast.bsky.social / HP Lovecast #Podcast !

In this episode we talk about the great 80s #cultfilm and creature feature, The Deadly Spawn. Give it a listen!

www.buzzsprout.com/1022692/epis...
Podcast episode thumbnail. It shows a Blu-ray and a DVD copy of The Deadly Spawn.
February 6, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
hplovecast.bsky.social
We are back!

After a year and some change hiatus, @nickdiak.com and Michele are back with a brand new episode of the HP Lovecast #Podcast!

In this episode we talk about the 80s #Cultfilm, creature feature classic, The Deadly Spawn. Check it out!

www.buzzsprout.com/1022692/epis...

#Horror
Episode thumbnail that shows a blueray and DVD copies of the film.
February 6, 2026 at 3:38 PM
nickdiak.com
Newest acquisition for the #peplum library: Hercules and the Captive Women - a new version from @filmmasters.bsky.social ! It just came in the mail today - always great to get a new #SwordAndSandal flick.

A year or so ago a version was put out by Film Detective. Here they are side by side.
February 5, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
newedgeswordmag.bsky.social
It's issue 10's cover! Illustrated by @smuggerby.bsky.social
💀TIMEWORN TERRA🌏️ is our special issue of tales set in futures so far they feel ancient, where magic & technology blur together, and Earth's days are short yet still we lust & laugh!
Learn more here👉️ www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
February 5, 2026 at 1:01 PM
nickdiak.com
New article (first for 2026!) up at my website!

I did a #comicbook review on issue 8 of the Neo-jungle girl series Vanya from @badbugmedia.bsky.social - check it out!

nickdiak.com/2026/02/warp...

#JungleGirl #Tarzan #Sheena #Comics #Dinosaurs #LostWorld #SciFi #Vanya #IndieComic
Cover depicts Vanya, crouched in foliage, drawing back on a bow. It is kind of dark, with a little beam of light coming through the leaves. Her red hair is in a pony tail.
February 4, 2026 at 3:16 PM
nickdiak.com
My monthly news recap of my writing and projects!

Check it out here:

nickdiak.com/2026/01/news...

2 reprints of reviews of the #junglegirl #comic series Vanya
New #CFP
Appearance on the Fan2Fan #podcast
Citations

And more!

#Tarzan #Peplum #SwordAndSandal #Hercules #SwordAndSorcery
January 31, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
nsborwein.bsky.social
Contemporary Indigenous Horror (University Press of Mississippi, 2027) solicits original, unpublished short horror fiction, poetry, and experimental works by self-identifying Indigenous creatives. No work produced with AI will be accepted. See details:

www.cfplist.com/CFP/46993
The CFP List
An academic call for papers database.
www.cfplist.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:47 PM
nickdiak.com
There is a brand new episode of the Fan2Fan Podcast online and Michele and I make an appearance to talk about CD collecting. Check it out!

fan2fan.libsyn.com/the-one-wher...

#Podcast #CD #PhysicalMedia
Episode thumbnail. It shows a hand holding a CD.
January 28, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
newedgeswordmag.bsky.social
Oh hey, it's the cover art for issue 9! Modelwork by Plastiboo.
✍️ Sign up to be alerted when NESS 2026 launches,
👨🏫 Learn about our crowdfund exclusives,
and
👁️ See teases, with reveal dates, for all kinds of surprises all at...

⚔️THIS LINK⚔️: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Cover art for new edge sword & sorcery issue nine. This is a photograph of a model set displaying a deep underground cave with lots of painted Styrofoam stalagmites and stalactites. Plastic and clear lacquer are used to create the underground lake covering the cave floor, and a homemade model warrior woman stands in the middle, half sunk in it. Looming in the shadows is some long, serpentine, aquatic horror with big white eyes, watching her...
January 22, 2026 at 1:02 PM
nickdiak.com
Genre films and weird ass films topping the Oscars? I am so down.
a girl with purple hair is giving a thumbs up sign
ALT: a girl with purple hair is giving a thumbs up sign
media.tenor.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:36 PM
nickdiak.com
Today's treasure from the archive: The Strangeness signed by Mark Sawicki!

First exposed to this film via Stephen Thrower's book Nightmare USA. This was back in the 2000s, so I found a grey-market British DVD. Doesn't it rules.

#CultFilm #Horror #HorrorFilm #DVD #Autograph
The Strangeness DVD cover. DVD back. Autographed says "Best Wishes - Mark Sawicki"
January 16, 2026 at 10:13 PM
nickdiak.com
Citation news!

"The New Peplum" is cited by two essays (one by Panayiota Mini and the other by Martin Winkler) in the new book from @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social, Audio-Visual Roman Women. Very Cool!

#Peplum #SwordAndSandal #NeoPeplum #Antiquity #GenderStudies

www.bloomsbury.com/us/audiovisu...
January 13, 2026 at 9:46 PM
nickdiak.com
My small contribution to the Erich von Däniken canon: a mention in my essay about Encounter with the Unknown in the Twilight Zone book from
@mcfarland.bsky.social

#AncientAliens #Aliens #ErichvonDäniken
January 12, 2026 at 6:23 PM
nickdiak.com
Today's from the archive: Student Bodies signed by actress Robyn Flanery.

A very early slasher-horror film. Not as good as, say, Scary Movie, but an interesting movie for the time.

#Horror #Slasher #CultFilm #DVD #HorrorFilm
January 10, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
possumpunks.bsky.social
Issues 5 thru 7 of @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social are now available in the Bodega! ⚔️
If you're longing for the scifi/fantasy anthologies of yore, with a heavy emphasis on Queer perspectives: this is your magazine⚔️
Magazine wall with NESS issues facing out. Each cover is a unique illustration
January 9, 2026 at 8:45 PM
nickdiak.com
Good morning everyone!

Here it is, a recap of my 2025 year in writing, projects, and what I got accomplished. A pretty successful year!

nickdiak.com/2026/01/2025...

Check it out! Sincere appreciation to the folks who support what I do or give me opportunities.

#SwordAndSorcery #SwordAndSandal
Copies of Merry Creepsmas, New Edge Sword and Sorcery, and Burroughs Bulletin. A shelf - 2 white Ikea bookshelf filled with books I am in.
January 7, 2026 at 4:05 PM
nickdiak.com
An essay I wrote for @wearethemutants.com back in 2018 has been uncannily relevant this weekend with the Venezuela news.

One of the most political essays I've written - give it a look:

wearethemutants.com/2018/06/25/w...

#CultFilm #Venezuela
Welcome to the Jungle: Fun and Games in Antonio Margheriti’s 1980s Mercenary Films
When it comes to Italian genre filmmakers, Antonio Margheriti is perhaps the underdog when compared to the likes of Dario Argento, Sergio Leone, Mario Bava, and Lucio Fulci. His 1963 gothic masterpiec...
wearethemutants.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:04 AM
nickdiak.com
Starting off the new year with some (re)publication news!

The newest issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal is out. It contains a reprint of my review of issue 6 of the #junglegirl #comic Vanya.

The original review can be read at my website:

nickdiak.com/2025/07/all-...
January 3, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
ridethestream.bsky.social
Truth, lies, and Mr. Eko's backstory - we continue the #Lost journey with another episode in season 2.

#RidetheStream #LikeandSubscribe

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwC8...
Lost Season 2 Episode 10: The Truth Shall Set You Free
YouTube video by Ride the Stream
www.youtube.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
doomgolly.bsky.social
Thank you @boldjourney.com.web.brid.gy for the lovely feature and insightful questions! What a fantastic way to close out the year. 🙏🤘🙏

boldjourney.com/kallie-marie...

#MusicSky #Composer #RecordProducer #Author #NYC #WomenInMusicProduction #FilmTVComposer
boldjourney.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:38 PM
nickdiak.com
Last news on my writing and publishing projects!

Review of #junglegirl #comic Vanya reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal

3 #Cocktail recipes printed in @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social

& lots more! Check out here:

nickdiak.com/2025/12/news...

Thank you everyone for your support in 2025!
Cover of NESS #5 Cover of NESS #6. Cover of NESS #7. Cover of National Capital Panthans Journal.
December 29, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Nicholas Diak
baconetti.bsky.social
Aca-Zombie-Colleagues

Just published, The Palgrave Handbook of the Zombie! Probably best accessed through your library it is the most wide-ranging study of the zombie megatext currently available and contains some of the best zombie scholars out there.

a.co/d/dlvfXOA
The Palgrave Handbook of the Zombie: Bacon, Simon: 9783032056955: Amazon.com: Books
The Palgrave Handbook of the Zombie [Bacon, Simon] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Palgrave Handbook of the Zombie
a.co
December 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
nickdiak.com
Attempting to tackle our lemon tree this weekend which is just laden with fruit.

Made some dehydrated lemon wheels for cocktails, preserved Moroccan lemons, and some lemon oleo saccharum.

#Lemons
Our lemon tree. It's green and there are ALOT of lemons on it. Three jars and a plastic container. Two look like science projects, which are lemons floating in a mix of salt and lemon juice. One jar is filled with thinly cut lemon wheels that are dried out. The last, the plastic container, is filled with lemon peels and sugar, with the sugar pulling out all the oils.
December 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
nickdiak.com
Tonight's libation: the Q.R.V. No. 222, a cocktail from "Uneasy Elixirs" - cocktails inspired by Edward Gorey.

Gin, creme de cassis, lime, ango, and simple. This is a very sweet, almost candy-like cocktail. Using the Data Von Teese gin in this one! I like it!

#Cocktail #Gin #EdwardGorey #Horror
A reddish cocktail in a small rocks glass positioned in front of an olive-green book that has a cocktail glass on the cover with Edward Gorey illustrations. Flanked to either side is a bottle of Gin and a bottle of Creme De Cassis.
December 26, 2025 at 2:45 AM
nickdiak.com
Arrived in the mail - just in time for me to play after work! (working on x-mas eve, eeew).

The Gex Trilogy from @limitedrungames.com

I never played Get back in the 90s, but this looks like a lot of fun. Time to get mah #RetroGaming on!

#Gex #Xbox #VideoGame #3DO #Playstation #Retro
he Gex Trilogy in an oversized box that mimics the old Playstation 1 cases. The cover shows an anthropomorphic gecko, who is green, standing on his feet while wearing sunglasses.
December 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM