The BlackSwordsman - A Berserk Fansite

Dark Horse updates Berserk pricing for next year

patrickmjones — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:41:17 +0000

Based on a tip from a commenter (thanks grapeofdeath) that Dark Horse pricing for Berserk would be going up $5/volume starting next year with Volume 27, I decided to do some inquiring. As it turns out the Dark Horse website simply had a typo, they’ve since corrected their site, and it does not appear that there will be a price change in the near future for Berserk. I’d say it’s a good thing the price doesn’t go up since new readers may not be too excited about picking this up when comparing price to many of the other items on the manga shelves.

What do you think? $13.95 too low, too high, just right? Is there a price where you would absolutely stop buying Berserk legitimately?

Guts Video Game Appearance

patrickmjones — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:09:14 +0000

A friend sent this link along to me. Looks like someone managed to get a decent looking Guts into Soul Caliber IV. I don’t have SC4 and haven’t tried it yet, but custom character creation always makes it more interesting. Anyone else willing to give this a try?

Original story at Kotaku

Berserk Volume 23

patrickmjones — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:52:17 +0000

Finally adding a review of this volume thanks to a forum regular - Verses. You might remember him for winning this volume a little while ago for his excellent work on a new header for the site (scroll up).

Full volume description and review.

Berserk Tattoos

patrickmjones — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:07:22 +0000

Well, these things finally arrived. We’re using these tattoos basically as a fund raiser for the site. This will help fund contests, prizes and hopefully pay any costs for maintaining the site. These things are made by a reputable company, meaning: they last long, they’re hypo-allergenic, FDA approved ingredients etc.

They’re about 1.5 x 2.5 inches and only $1 each.

The BlackSwordsman Store

Berserk Winner chosen by Community

patrickmjones — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:14:37 +0000

Not long ago we had we had a contest calling on the creative side of the Berserk community. After a week of voting, and a extremely close race, Verses’ header design won by a single vote. You can thank him for the excellent new header adorning our site. Our other contest, a Berserk Trivia contest, was won by another community member ElPadre. They should be receiving their prizes in the near future, I have faith in the USPS.

Everyone’s looking forward to that next big chapter, I haven’t heard a peep on when we’ll see it yet. Should we start taking bets? Hehe

I’ll be posting a showcase of all the entries in the near future… so stay tuned. There are also a number of new wallpapers submitted by community members, so be sure to go check them out.

Contest Updates and Finalists

patrickmjones — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:51:28 +0000

A winner has been selected for Contest #1, please check your email! I would like to announce the winner, but I will hang out a few days to get ahold of the winner, Congratulations random person!

As for the second contest there were some excellent entries! These obviously took a lot of work, so I want them to be recognized for their effort first and foremost. Then I’d like the Berserk community to get to choose the victor, so there will be a vote held in the forum… link below.

Visit the voting booth in the forum!

Contest Reminders

patrickmjones — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:06:57 +0000

This is a reminder that tonight is the cut-off for contest entries (specifically Contest #1 and Contest #2). Any entry that makes my inbox before I return from work tomorrow is fair game. That means you have approximately 24 hours. Entry for Contest #1 is simple and should not take any time at all if you’ve read some Berserk. As for the second contest, this could take longer, but there have been relatively few entries, which means your chance of winning are not bad!

Good luck!

Contest! - Win Berserk Vol 23

patrickmjones — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:48:44 +0000

Our second contest… which happens to run alongside our first will earn you a brand new Berserk Vol 23. Much like the first contest, if you win, I will ship it to you wherever you are. Entering this contest is not going to be as easy as the first one, at least in my mind. For this contest you’ll need to get creative!

To enter this contest, you can do any of the following, though you are not limited to these:

Entry Possibilities:

Header/Footer/Signature artwork
Music Video
Fanfiction
Essay on what Berserk means to you

Rules / Reminders:

Each entry must be created and owned by you the entrant.
Entrants are encouraged to enter multiple times.
By entering your creative work, you give theblackswordsman.com permission to reproduce or distribute your work, with credit to you of course!
Entries should have a Berserk inpired theme.
Email all entries to contests [at] theblackswordsman.com, subject “Contest #2″
All entries must be submitted before July 1, 2008.
I will try to narrow the entries down, and then as a community we’ll vote on the prize-winning entry!

Contest! - Win Berserk Vol 22

patrickmjones — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:30:24 +0000

Winning our first contest will score you a brand new Berserk Vol. 22 by Dark Horse. I don’t care where you are, I will ship this to outer space if you win. Entering the contest is simple, answer these 10 questions and email your answers to contests [at] theblackswordsman.com.

The questions are not designed to be difficult. This should be fun and give everyone a chance to win. Sharing the answers is not recommended.

Questions

What is the name of Guts’ elf companion?
Name three members of the original Band of the Hawk.
Guts’ sword, the Dragon Slayer, was made by who?
Who helped Guts escape his first Eclipse?
Which Godhand member has their brain exposed?
Slan is defeated by Guts in this place.
The Skull Knight has a special weapon made out of these.
Who created Guts’ armor?
Name three members of the new Band of the Hawk.
In the Berserk Prototype, where did Guts’ brand appear?

Rules/Reminders:

Berserk Volume 22 is the prize
Correct answers to all 10 questions required for entry.
Entry must be mailed to contests [at] theblackswordsman.com, subject: “Contest #1″
One entry per email address.
One entry will be randomly selected.
Entries must be in before July 1, 2008.

Berserk 297 (Evil_Genius)

patrickmjones — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:59:43 +0000

Well, here it is, everyone can stop holding their breath. Evil_Genius has released their scanlation of the latest chapter of the Berserk manga, Berserk 297!

Download: Torrent

Latest Dark Horse Releases

patrickmjones — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:46:14 +0000

Thanks to the odd behavior of Amazon.com, I decided to pick up the latest couple volumes of Berserk from my local bookstore. Even though I preordered these volumes ages ago through Amazon, they are not expected to ship until late July. You will probably notice that this is MORE THAN 2 MONTHS after they came out.

Now, before I write up my crappy little reviews on these volumes, I also wanted to point out that I can’t cancel my order from Amazon. What this means is… The BlackSwordsman is going to have it’s very first contest and ultimately I will be shipping those books out to some lucky Berserk reader free of charge. I haven’t really decided on the format of the contest… so I’m all ears. I want to do something simple that everyone can take part in like a few trivia questions.

Berserk 297 (Binktopia)

patrickmjones — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:18:57 +0000

Looks like even on a Friday night Binktopia is not messing around. Thanks to Fanboi for bringing to my attention. Here are the Berserk 297 links you’re looking for…

Find at: Direct Download at MangaShare | View Online at BleachExile

How to read Berserk

patrickmjones — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:36:37 +0000

I saw this article on how to read Berserk manga over on WikiHow. Obviously not everyone will agree on how the steps to reading Berserk are outlined in that article. How do you read your Berserk?

http://www.wikihow.com/Read-Berserk

Berserk 297 Preview

patrickmjones — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:51:34 +0000

I was not able to find a preview through Young Animal, maybe I’m too lazy. I went ahead and pulled a pic from the raw. Are you getting pumped for Berserk 297 already or what?

I will never tire of release days. Never.

Berserk 297 (raw)

patrickmjones — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:38:51 +0000

I saw this Berserk 297 raw posted on http://www.raw-paradise.com. As with any raw, I will remind you that this is in the original Japanese, some of you will probably want to wait. Or if you’re like me you’ll just read it twice!

Download at: MegaUpload