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Category Archives: Opinion

Comic Review: “Jack the Ripper – Vampire Hunter” (Stuntman Comics, Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 18, 2022 by The Splintering Staff One comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things ripping and roaring. Today we’re going to take a look at Jack the Ripper: Vampire Hunter written by Mandy Summers, illustrated by peter Gilmore and published by Stuntman Comics in 2022. So does it suck? Or does it suck the other way? Naturally, some spoilers will follow. Extremely loosely based

Crowdfunding Review: “Inglorious Rex” (9 Lives Comics)

Posted on October 17, 2022 by George Travlos 3 comments

Today we’ll be reviewing the crowdfunded comic book campaign Inglorious Rex by Shane Davis. Is it a knock-out of a book?

Retro Review: “Splatterhouse 2” (SEGA Genesis, Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 14, 2022 by R One comment

Of all the games I’ve owned, sold, repurchased, etc., over the years, I’ve never sold any of my original Splatterhouse games. Why? Because braining demons with blunt objects and watching their unholy essence spray from their freshly-cracked skulls is good ol’ family fun. Wholesome shit, am I right? My personal experience with the Splatterhouse series went like this: Splatterhouse (TG-16 version), Splatterhouse 3, and finally Splatterhouse

Comic Review: “The Fear Diaries” (Alterna Comics, Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 13, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things that go bump in the night. Today, we’re going to take a look at The Fear Diaries, a double-sized one shot book published by Alterna Comics in 2018. Written by Garrett Gunn and illustrated by Nicolas Touris, The Fear Diaries follows a small band of stuffed animals who defend

Crowdfunding Review: “God’s’Dog: Monster” (Jonathan Pageau, Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 12, 2022 by The Splintering Staff One comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things mysterious and menacing. Today we’re going to take a look at God’s’Dog: Monster, a 112-page graphic novel that was successfully crowdfunded in 2021 via Indiegogo. For those of you not familiar with our review format, we grade a crowdfunding campaign on four distinct categories: Naturally, some story

Let’s All Go To The Con: Lehigh Valley Comic Convention (With George Travlos)

Posted on October 11, 2022 by George Travlos Leave a comment

Let’s take a look at the Lehigh Valley Comic Convention, the longest running convention in Lehigh Valley, PA

Retro Game Review: “Naxat Super Pinball Jaki Crush” (Super Famicom, Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 11, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things dreary and disturbing. Today we’re going to take a look at Jaki Crush (aka Naxat Super Pinball Jaki Crush), a horror-inspired pinball game released on the Nintendo Super Famicom in 1992. Developed by Compile, Jaki Crush is the third game in their “Crush” pinball series (We don’t

Comic Review: “Do You See What I See?” (Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 6, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things that lurk behind the corner. Today we’re going to take a look at Do You See What I See?,* which, despite the title Christmas carol-inspired title, is not a Christmas book in the slightest. If it isn’t obvious, it’s definitely more of a Halloween book –

UPDATED Crowdfunding Review: “Tyger Blue” (Retro Graphic Books)

Posted on October 5, 2022 by The Splintering Staff 7 comments

*Note: This review has been updated to reflect additional communication and products delivered since the original review posted. You can find a summary of these changes at the end of the review. Welcome back to another Crowdfunding Review here at The Splintering. Today, we’ll be taking a look at Tyger Blue, a 52-page sci-fi action book written and created by Matthew Fowler and featuring

Comic Book Review: “Wraith of God” (Empire Comics, Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 5, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things God-forsaken and unholy. Today we’re going to look at Wraith of God, a superhero book with a horror twist written and illustrated by Aaron Lopresti. Set against the iconic backdrop of the American West, Wraith of God pits a mysterious, supernatural vigilante (the titular Wraith) against a clan

Comic Review: “Josh Howard Presents – Sasquatch” (Festival of Dread Special)

Posted on October 4, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things that lurk in the woods… Today, I have once again decided to take on the unfortunate task of reviewing an anthology book, which often don’t get the same attention as other comics and graphic novels. Why is it unfortunate? Because they almost always include stories and

Review: “Gunslingers and Zombies” (Nintendo Switch)

Posted on October 1, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

“NNNNGGGHHHAAA!” Zombies abound, partner! Oh, never mind. I’m not doing “cowboy speak” this entire review. Sure, it’s not nearly as annoying as pirate speak, but most cowboy types seem pretty cool most of the time, so why make fun of them? …aaand we have a game to look at. Specifically, it’s Gunslingers and Zombies, a turn-based strategy game originally developed

Retro Game Review: “Truxton” (SEGA Genesis, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 31, 2022 by The Splintering Staff 2 comments

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things octogenarian… from a 20th century point of view. The SEGA Genesis is largely remembered as a 90s gaming powerhouse, but it was actually released in 1989. That makes a handful of the console’s early games babies of the 80s. Truxton (aka 達人 or Tatsujin in Japan… which means something like “expert”) is one

Vintage Comic Review: “Laffin’ Gas Cartoonies” #3 (Blackthorne, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Blake Worrell Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade. Ever. (Change my mind) Today, we’re going to take a look at Laffin’ Gas Cartoonies issue 3, which was published by Blackthorne Publishing in November 1986. Laffin’ Gas Cartoonies was an ongoing black-and-white anthology featuring several comedy and parody short stories. The book is very much in the spirit of

Retro Game Review: “Vulgus” (Capcom, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 26, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the martians built the pyramids. Today, we’re going to look at Capcom’s very first game, a 2D, vertically scrolling, space shooter titled Vulgus released in 1984. Humanity is under attack! Maybe. Who knows? I wasn’t able to discern any plot from my time with Vulgus, but that was pretty much par for

Vintage Comic Review: “The California Raisins – The Ultimate Collection” (Blackthorne, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 25, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since fry bread. Before Ronald McDonald starred in his own video games and the Geico Cavemen were given their own ill-fated television show, the marketing minds at CalRab (the California Raisin Advisory Board) decided to expand the presence of their own claymation mascots in pop culture. As

Retro Game Review: “Thunder Cross” (Arcade, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 24, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate! Today, we’re going to look at Thunder Cross, an a side-scrolling shoot ’em up (or simply “shooter,” as we called them back then) released in arcades by Konami in 1988. It’s important to note up front that I am looking specifically at the US

Retro Game Review: “Cyborg Hunter” (SEGA Master System, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 22, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the invention of the hurdy-gurdy. Today we’re going to take a look at Cyborg Hunter, one of the very few third party (sort of) games released for the SEGA Master System. Cyborg Season? Developed by SEGA and published in the United States by Activision in 1988, Cyborg Hunter

Vintage Comic Review: “Shatter” (First Comics, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Blake Worrell One comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the discovery of zero. Today we’re going to look at Shatter Special issue 1, a sci-fi adventure published in June 1985 by First Comics, and billed as the “first computerized comic book.” Set on a gritty, futuristic version of earth, Shatter follows the exploits of a freelance security contractor named

Comic Review: “London Gothic” (LG Comics)

Posted on August 17, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome to the dark, shadowy underbelly of London Gothic,* where mysteries and magic abound. Here, hidden in the shadows, there is a secret battle being fought between an underground organization known as the Tuttori and… erm, the bad guys who worship demons. To be fair, they’re called the brotherhood of Sinistre, but you’d only know that if you read the back

Retro Game Review: “3-D Worldrunner” (NES, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 17, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since bacon. Today, we’re going to take a look at The 3-D Battles of Worldrunner (aka 3-D Worldrunner), a game published by Acclaim for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. Developed by Square before they started making good Final Fantasy games, then bad ones, then good ones

Game Review: “City EYE” (Steam PC)

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Jayden Kaige One comment

Surveillance: noun: close observation of a person or group, especially one under suspicion We live in a world where constant surveillance has been weaponized by overreaching technocratic dictatorships, projecting the right to privacy as a necessary sacrifice to ensure safety and security from both foreign and domestic threats. Observation devices are purchased at-will, sometimes worn on our wrists as status symbols, and other times installed in our homes

Retro Game Review: “Thunder Force II” (SEGA Genesis, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 12, 2022 by R 6 comments

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of everything 80s. Derp. Despite being primarily famous as a 90s console the SEGA Genesis (aka Mega Drive) was actually released in 1989, so the launch games and other early titles can still lay claim to being entertainment artifacts of the 80s. One such launch game is Thunder Force II. I know what

“Stealth Hammer” Creator Ryan Drost Talks Tech, Elves, and Nicknames for His Wife (Interview)

Posted on August 11, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Independent comic book creator Ryan Drost recently completed a crowdfunding campaign for the second issue of Stealth Hammer, a sci-fi fantasy superhero book starring a spunky teenage heroine. We were fortunate enough to get a chance to discuss his Stealth Hammer campaigns, and his plans for the future of the series. As always, the answers below are represented as closely to “as

Retro Game Review: “Chack’N Pop” (Taito, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 11, 2022 by The Splintering Staff Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the chicken laid the first egg… or, wait… Today we’re going to look at Chack’ N Pop, an arcade puzzle platformer released by Taito in 1983. A horde of monsters has stolen all of Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man Chack’n’s hearts, so now they don’t love each other, or something

Comic Review: “The Mighty Mascots: Byte the Dust” (Alterna, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Blake Worrell 2 comments

While we typically use our 80s August event to focus on entertainment produced during the 1980s, there is also room for covering things that are inspired by the era, too. That’s why today, we’re looking at The Mighty Mascots issues 4-6, which is published by Alterna Comics.

Retro Game Review: “Ninja JaJaMaru-kun” (Nintendo Famicom, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 9, 2022 by The Splintering Staff 2 comments

Konichiwa! Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the development of opposable thumbs. Today, we’re going to take a look at Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, an arcade style 2D action game developed by Jaleco and released for the Nintendo Famicom in 1985. Ninja JaJaMaru-kun stars the young hero JaJaMaru who must come to the rescue of Princess Sakura, who has

Game Review: “Mothmen 1966” (PC, Consoles)

Posted on August 5, 2022 by The Splintering Staff One comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since movable type. When I was in elementary school, one of my friends had a computer in his bedroom that we would stay up all night playing around on. He was the only person I knew with a computer, and coming from a household that only gamed

Vintage Comic Review: “ATARI Force” (DC Comics, 80s August Special)

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Blake Worrell Leave a comment

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the chicken laid the first egg… or, wait… Today we’re going to take a look at ATARI Force issue one published by DC Comics in 1984. Written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by José Luis Garcia Lopez, the DC ATARI Force series actually serves as a sequel to five mini comics that

Comic Review: “My Deadly Beloved” (Jean-Paul Deshong)

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Blake Worrell Leave a comment

Konichiwa! Today we’re going to take a look at My Deadly Beloved by Jean-Paul Deshong.* Set in the beginning of Japan’s unification period (approximately 250-500 AD), My Deadly Beloved is a girthy, nearly 200-page, mostly black and white graphic novel. I say “mostly” as there are moments where splashes of color are used for mood or to highlight certain parts