Well the double dare challenge in Steve Niles newest CRIMINAL MACABRE series CELLBLOCK 666 is to keep his main character grounded in reality while taking a shortcut through witchcraft. Thing is, once you cross that line, there’s no going back, even if it is a one time gig. Because if Cal McDonald never uses a magic trick again, it will always be questioned against him and writer Steve Niles as to why he used it in the first place. Granted, Cal is sitting in a jail cell, getting death threats from other prisoners and beatdowns from the guards, he’s still been through worse. And that’s a particularly good memory to not only draw the symbol on the prison grounds, but also to recite the words without coughing through it like a certain...
[more]
The man that would be nicknamed “Timex” continues his quest to rid the world of supernatural scum. His real name? Cal McDonald. His real job? Drink, swear, do drugs, and kill said supernatural scum. In reality, a guy like that would eventually end up in a place most don’t want to be in. A place where the baddest of the bad go; to get put down or put away. So when the cops finally catch our favorite detective with a bad attitude, is it no surprise that he finally ends up doing the “Jailhouse Rock”? Steve Niles finally turns the corner with his favorite character to write as Cal McDonald has been begging readers to put him in jail. So now he’s there, along with four solid brick walls around him at all times and no ghouls to watch his...
[more]
If you read all our comic book reviews, then you might remember how I highly praised Steve Niles for creating such a dope character in Cal McDonald. I've only read the Two Red Eyes and My Demon Baby story arcs but as far as supernatural detectives go, he's number one in my books. In issue three of My Demon Baby, Cal and Mo'Lock go undercover and sneak into Erik Bocha's Satanic cult party. Their mission is to save the baby girl by all means necessary. Things go all wrong when a zombified Templar Knight shows up to kill the baby and anyone in his way. Why is everyone after the baby? Oh, because she's Satan's daughter!! Issue four is the big climatic finale that ties everything up in a surprising fashion. It also gives you a hint at what...
[more]
Cal McDonald is one of my favorite comic book characters. But it wasn't until a few years ago that I found out that Cal got his start in prose fiction. Since then, I've searched conventions and online for Cal's original prose adventures, collecting a few, but never getting all of them. It's great to see Dark Horse recognize an interest for Cal's original stories is out there. This book seemingly was meant for fans who can't get enough of the pill-popping, drug-addled, monster-fighting, multiple-fractured, heavily-stitched and bandaged paranormal detective. Fans like me. So the completist in me is satisfied. I now have all of the Cal McDonald stories in prose and comic book form. Yay, me. So how is the book? It's pretty darn good....
[more]
This is the first issue of the new Cal McDonald ongoing series, and Steve Niles has decided to crank the volume up. There's a lot going on: higher stakes, more subplots, more monsters, more freakiness. As a fan of the previous few miniseries, that makes me a little nervous--sometimes you can go too large and it's hard to find anything else to build up to. On the other hand, widening the scope for an ongoing is probably the right call. So far so good, though: the series has everything the past minis did and then some. Kyle Hotz' art is clearly influenced by Kelley Jones, but he's starting to develop a more distinct personal style, and it's definitely shadowy and creepy enough for the story being told. If you like your noirish P.I.'s...
[more]
Trying to conceptually relate Criminal Macabre to mainstream characters isn't exactly easy, but I'll try for the sake of framing this review. X-Files. Punisher. Blade. If you take those three properties and their worlds (not their current books) you'll have something close to Macabre. Cal McDonald is a private investigator/monster bounty hunter of sorts. Unfortunately his situation could be better. At the start of the series, he is nearly beaten to death by the husband of one of his dead friends (who died because she knew Cal). Some of the many evil spirits and monsters that Cal has offended over the years want revenge while he is recuperating in a hospital, but our hero has his own legion of undead to come to his aid. This first issue...
[more]
Cal McDonald can see dead people. Actually, some of his best friends are ghouls, and he can often be found hanging out in the dark pits of Los Angeles with various forms of undead people: ghouls, ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves. Ever since he was a child, he's been plagued by the undead. After an unsuccessful stint as a police officer, he ended up working for tabloids and a supernatural detective. In Criminal Macabre, McDonald finds himself mixed up in a series of events that are shattering all the truths he has learned over the years of dealing with mythical creatures. Werewolves and vampires are organizing and stealing from the humans instead of just hunting as they have always done. They are also a lot stronger. Before,...
[more]
