Retro Review: “Fester’s Quest” (NES, Festival of Dread Special)
The game really isn’t all bad, I simply find Fester’s Quest to be “not very good.”
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Sit DOWN Sunday Comic Book News Livestream – 3 October 2021 Edition
On the latest installment of Sit DOWN Sunday (hosted on “Pumpkin” Patrick Thomas Parnell’s YouTube channel Riot Press Productions), The Splintering founder “Bloody” Blake Worrell and fellow Splintering contributor “Gory” George Travlos got another chance to discuss recent comic book news. This week, we discussed the latest on Parnell’s Sleepy Hollow campaign, international shipping woes (politics and economics!), Parnell’s future
Read moreJakob Morris’ Supernatural Noire “Necromancer: Faith Militant” Now on Indiegogo
Earlier this week, independent comic book creator Jakob Morris launched a crowdfunding campaign for Necromancer: Faith Militant, a 48-page supernatural noire graphic novel set in a cyberpunk-inspired universe. Written by Morris and illustrated by Ibai Canales (Iron Sights, The Abductables), Faith Militant is the follow-up to Necromancer: Tombstone Blues, which was successfully crowdfunded in 2019. Unlike its predecessor, however, Faith
Read more“Pumpkin Jack New-Gen Edition” is Coming to PS5 and SeXbox on 27 October
Game publisher Headup recently announced that spooky 3D platformer Pumpkin Jack is headed to both the PS5 and SeXbox on 27 October. Currently titled Pumpkin Jack New-Gen Edition, the game will feature 60fps, “a touch of next-gen ray-tracing,” and cross-buy with previous generation consoles (PS4 and Xbone). So not only will new purchases give you access to the old version,
Read moreThe Festival of Dread Rises from the Grave!
We may have Attack Helicopter Week, 80s August, Monochrome May, and finally Jolly Jinglings to close out the year, but the theme event that started them all is October’s Festival of Dread! And this year’s Festival of Dread event promises to be even bigger than the last! We have plenty of Halloween-themed pieces coming your way, including multiple features, the
Read moreReview: “Infinity – A Tale of the Inferno” (Caliber Comics, Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all things deadly and demonic! Today, we’re going to take a look at Infinity – A Tale of the Inferno, a supernatural miniseries published by Caliber Comics in 2019.* Written by Chad Strohl and featuring art by Kamil Boettcher and Lukasz Marko, Infinity is a modern story set
Read moreBacklog Review: “Jungle Z” (Nintendo Switch, Festival of Dread Special)
First things first,* Jungle Z clearly takes place in a forest, not a jungle. Sure there are some banana trees thrown around for good measure, but it’s a forest. At first glance, Jungle Z looks a bit like a modern take on Zombies Ate My Neighbors with a few RPG elements mixed in. Overhead perspective, a variety of weapons, undead
Read moreTop Ten Greatest Horror Artists in Comics History (Festival of Dread Special)
The Top 10 Greatest Horror Artists in Comic Book History
Read moreReview: “Johnny Phantasm in the Tales of New Detroit, 1977” (Riot Press, Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things fantastic and phantasmic! We have reason to believe that Johnny Phantasm artist and co-creator Patrick Thomas Parnell has been cozying up to the indie comics press as of late. In fact, we have inside information that indicates that The Splintering‘s own founder, Blake Worrell (aka “me”),
Read moreCrowdfunding Review: “Zombie-Sama!” (Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things dark and dystopian! Today, we’re featuring yet another “Crowdfunding Review” of an independent comic book, this time it’s Zombie-Sama! written by Billy Tucci and featuring illustrations by John Broglia and colors by Paul Little. For those of you not familiar with the crowdfunding review format, we
Read moreSit DOWN Sunday Comic Book News Livestream – 25 October Edition
On the latest installment of Sit DOWN Sunday (hosted on Patrick Thomas Parnell’s YouTube channel Riot Press Productions), The Splintering founder Blake Worrell got another chance to discuss recent comic book news with Parnell, and The Shepherd creator Dr. Andrea Molinari. This week, we discussed the future of online commerce, the latest on The Splintering’s Festival of Dread event, the
Read moreReview: “FUBAR: Empire of the Rising Dead” (Alterna Comics, Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things unsightly and undead! Today we’re featuring FUBAR: Empire of the Rising Dead, a black and white horror anthology published by Alterna Comics. Published in 2012, Empire of the Rising Dead is the second in the FUBAR series, which features a collection of war-themed zombie tales. Each
Read moreTop Ten Terrifying Manga Characters That Fuel Your Nightmares (Festival of Dread special)
On the night of All Hallow’s Eve, you are forced to take a dark alley to escape a mob of an angry spirit, who would you not like to meet in that alley and why. Here are some of the disturbing and scary Manga characters the adds fuel to nightmares.
Read moreTop Ten Halloween-Themed Stages in Retro Games (Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to The Splintering‘s Festival of Dread, our month-long celebration of all things that go bump in the night! Today, we’re going to highlight some of the best Halloween and horror-themed stages in retro games. It’s important to note that this list will not include stages from games that are fully horror inspired like Castlevania or Ghouls N’ Ghosts,
Read moreSpotlight: New HARDCOVER Edition of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and Bernie Wrightson (Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things gory and gruesome! For those of you looking for a classic horror novel to celebrate the Festival of Dread, look no further than the newest edition of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein featuring reproductions of Bernie Wrightson’s classic illustrations. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was original published in
Read moreCOVID Cramping Your Halloween? The Public Domain Comes to the Rescue (Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things dark and disturbing! Let’s face it – there’s sadly fewer Halloween activities to enjoy in 2020. Some venues are completely shut down, and many people are still not working at the levels that they are used to. It therefore goes without saying that “recreational spending” is
Read moreCosplay feature: Capcom’s “Darkstalkers” (Festival of Dread Special)
There’s few game series that scream Halloween as much as Capcom’s Darkstalkers series. Featuring characters inspired by horror mainstays such as Dracula, the Mummy, and zombies, Darkstalkers has a fun take on whatever your Halloween fancy may call for. As with many other Capcom arcade fighters, the roster of Darkstalkers and its sequels (Night Warriors and Vampire Savior) features expressive
Read moreReview: “A Murder of Scarecrows” (Caliber Comics, Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things ghastly and ghoulish! Today we’re getting into the spirit of the season with A Murder of Scarecrows, an 80-page graphic novel first published by Caliber Comics in 2011. In the years before the American Revolution, the seeds of rebellion were being planted. Local colonists are becoming
Read more“War Party” Creator Justin Murphy Talks Horror, History, and Werewolves (Interview – Festival of Dread Special)
Earlier in October, independent comic book creator Justin Murphy launched an Indiegogo campaign for War Party, a six-issue comic book miniseries about supernatural lycanthropes in Colonial America. We were fortunate enough to get a chance to discuss his War Party campaign which is still available to support here. As always, the answers below are represented as closely to “as written” as possible
Read moreBacklog Review: “Night Slashers” (Switch/Arcade, Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to The Splintering‘s Festival of Dread, our month-long celebration of all things hideous and horrid! Today, we’re going to review a lesser-remembered arcade beat-em-up now available on the Nintendo Switch, Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Night Slashers. Originally released in 1993 by Data East, Night Slashers is an arcade brawler for up to 3 players. While the early 90s was
Read moreRetrospective: The Stellar Supporting Cast of “The Invisible Woman” (Universal Studios, Festival of Dread Special)
Take a look back at this 1940 Universal Monster Movie with an instantly recognizable supporting cast.
Read moreBacklog Review: “Claire: Extended Cut” (PS4, Vita, PC, Festival of Dread Special)
Welcome back to The Splintering‘s Festival of Dread event, our month-long celebration of all things evil and eerie! And hoo-boy, do we have some great evil to discuss today, because we’re going to take a look at Claire: Extended Cut for the PS4 and PS Vita, an atmospheric adventure puzzle game that many might call the most terrifying thing of
Read moreTop Ten Monster Characters in Comics (Festival of Dread Special)
A ranking of the Top 10 Monster characters in comic books
Read moreHistorical Horror Comic “War Party” Now on Indiegogo (Festival of Dread Special)
It’s Pocahontas meets Altered Beast in comic book form! Sorta… Earlier this week, independent comic book creator Justin Murphy launched a crowdfunding campaign for War Party, a 6-issue, 140-page fantasy adventure miniseries that blends supernatural horror and Colonial American history. You can check out the promotional trailer below (complete with The Last if the Mohicans musical score), followed by the
Read moreReview: “Vlad Dracul” (Scout Comics, Festival of Dread Special)
A review of the 2020 three issue mini-series Vlad Dracul from Scout Comics.
Read moreNew Horror Magazine “Eyrie” Now on Kickstarter (Festival of Dread Special)
Eyrie Magazine by Mike Hoffman is currently funding on Kickstarter
Read moreComics Legend Graham Nolan Launches “31 Days of Monsters” (Festival of Dread Special)
Sure, The Splintering has our Festival of Dread running through the month, but our creative elders have been celebrating October in unique ways for far longer than us. Enter revered comic book creator Graham Nolan (Batman, The Chenoo), who has marked the occasion for eight straight years with the 31 Days of Monsters. This year, Nolan will livestream himself drawing
Read moreThe Splintering’s “Festival of Dread” Returns this October!
Be afraid! Be very afraid! Sure, we have Attack Helicopter Week in the Summer, Monochrome May, and Jolly Jinglings to close out the year, but none of these events are as big as October’s Festival of Dread. And this year’s Festival of Dread event promises to be even bigger than the last! We already have several Halloween-themed pieces in the
Read moreUnboxing AlternaWeen 2 at The Splintering (Festival of Dread special)
For two years running, Alterna Comics has marked the Halloween holiday with AlternaWeen, a crowdfunded event in which backers receive stacks of discounted comic books (among other swag) to give away to trick-or-treaters. Full disclosure! I’ve backed the AlternaWeen Indiegogo campaign both years, and like last year, I decided to dust off The Splintering‘s criminally neglected YouTube channel to post
Read moreReview: “Old School Monsters” by Ashcan Comics Pub. (Festival of Dread special)
There’s perhaps nothing more synonymous with Halloween than the collection of creatures known as the “Universal Classic Monsters”. Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon – each of these horrors have been recreated and re-imagined across several different mediums over the years. In March 2019, independent comic book publisher Ashcan Comics Pub. gave a handful
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