Steve Niles worked in comics and film for nearly twenty years before hitting big with his break-out series from IDW Publishing, 30 Days of Night. Now, you can't swing a cat without hitting someone who wants to praise him. And it's well deserved, too (the praise, not the cat-swinging). Niles is following up the success of 30 Days... with a handful of new series, most notably Criminal Macabre which features Cal MacDonald, a character who has already starred in a novel, a book of short stories, and a series of short comics in Dark Horse Presents. Like 30 Days..., Criminal Macabre once again melds the hard-boiled and horror genres to creating something new and startling. Recently, Niles was kind enough to answer some questions I had about his new series and a few other topics.

Adam Gallardo: 30 Days of Night seems like one of those great ideas that makes you smack your head and think, "I should have thought of that!" Is the concept behind Criminal Macabre another of those head-slappers?

Steve Niles: I wish! It's a bit more of head-scratcher then a head-slapper. It's sure to leave some folks wondering where I spend my nights! It's a mystery that leads Cal [MacDonald, the series' main character] down a road leading straight to an unbelievable mess of monsters, mystery and horror.

AG: Criminal Macabre is a cool mix of the hard boiled and horror genres. It's a mix that's been done only a few times (I'm thinking of Max Allan Collins's Johnny Dynamite): what made you think about combining these two genres?

SN: It just sort of happened. I'm a huge fan of the old hard-boiled writers like Chandler, Hammett and Goodis and new guys like Ellroy. But I'm also a lifetime horror freak. I started mixing them together and I had a lot of fun. It's like peanut butter and chocolate; two great tastes that taste great together...but a lot scarier.

AG: What would you site as your influences?

SN: I always site Richard Matheson and Raymond Chandler. Matheson for being one of the first guys to drag horror out of the gothic castle and into Main Street and Chandler for writing some of the most likable slime-bags ever.

AG: How did you come to work with Dark Horse on Criminal Macabre? Wasn't there a Cal MacDonald story that ran in DHP a while back?

SN: The DHP story came about after I showed Bob Shreck some of my early Cal McDonald stories. I've known Mike Richardson for longer then I care to admit and we've always tossed ideas back and forth, but when he read the first Cal novel, Savage Membrane, something really clicked and we started talking about spinning the character off into a comic. I pitched an idea to Mike [Richardson, Dark Horse's publisher] and Scott [Allie, the series' editor] and they liked it, I asked Ben Templesmith to do the art and the rest is history.

AG: How did you hook up with Ben Templesmith and what kind of working relationship do you two have?

SN: For a guy I never met face-to-face until after our first series was complete, I'd say we have a great working relationship. We met online through a message board. He's in Australia and I'm in Los Angeles so we work entirely through email and Instant Messaging. He's able to put up with my hyperactive art requests and I'm able to cope with him being...well...Australian.

AG: The way people talk about anyone who has a big hit on their hands is as if they're overnight sensations, but that isn't true with you. What were you doing before 30 Days of Night hit big for you?

SN: If overnight means 20 years then I'm an overnight success. I've been at it in comics since I was 19-years old when I started Arcane Comix. Since then I've written, edited and published everything from interviews with Kiss for McFarlane to writing a TV pilot for UPN called Gorilla World (not my idea!). I also spent 10 years playing in a band, being married and eventually moving to LA to work for Disney.

AG: What has the experience of having 30 Days of Night optioned for film been like?

SN: It was very strange...strange, fun and exhilarating. I'd been out before, pitching scripts and whatnot, but I only got so far. This time, all of sudden, the process seemed to take on a life of its own and before I knew it, I was waaaaay past any point I'd ever made it to before. I was really lucky.

AG: Has it started to open doors for you?

SN: So far so good. People seem interested in my writing and, for me, there's nothing better.

AG: Are you back pounding the pavement trying to pitch ideas for films?

SN: I've been spending most of my time working on the screenplay for 30 Days of Night, but once that's clear, I'd like to get right back out there.

AG: I know you have a lot of other projects in the works at the moment, what else can people look for from you?

SN: Well, the two biggest are Criminal Macabre for Dark Horse and Dark Days for IDW. Dark Days is a six-issue series that follows the survivors of 30 Days of Night. I also have a few fun things brewing, but I better keep quiet so Mike and Scott don't shoot me.

And don't think Niles is being coy. I know from personal experience that Scott Allie will shoot a man just to watch him die. Criminal Macabre: A Cal MacDonald Mystery #1 of 5, written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith will be in comics shops beginning May 14.