I’m sure you’re all already aware of Cal McDonald?  No?  Well, you should be.  He’s this really cool anti-hero who’s been around for like 20 years, inspiring people like me to protect the innocent, punish the guilty, and be super badass, like, all the time. ‘Cause that’s what I do.
So, anyway, today we’re reviewing Criminal Macabre, the latest mini-series by writer and creator Steve Niles.  You know Steve?  Good guy – he is kind of someone.  I mean, he’s the 30 Days of Night guy . . . Oh you’ve heard of that one?  Well, this guy is responsible.  Which makes him a genius and worth remembering his name. I’m not mad, just don’t do it again. 

Where was I?

Yeah, so Steve Niles is coming out with another Cal McDonald adventure in this 5-part series.  Cal is a guy who was all vigilante on people like molesters and rapists and stuff.  Then, a lot of things that I won’t go into happened.  Long story short, he was transformed into a monster.  Super strength (same size though), giant raven wings, and super fast . . . he’s a badass.  Also, this transformation comes with a good amount of evil, which he’s in a continuous battle with. 

But, he still is a vigilante . . . except now it’s more that he hunts down other monsters.

In this story, it looks like the baddies are getting organized (and, of course, targeting the weak).  Also, the monsters are creeeeeepy!  I mean, there are these gross baby things that make people all wack-a-do angry like a Yankees fan.  It’s good.  Steve continues to impress with his (dark) imagination.

Pretty straight-forward, right?  Well, it is.  And, it’s great.  It’s like Constantine meets Morbius, with swears and darkness and not nice things.  We both know you’ll love it for the story alone.  But, you should know it’s also been drawn by a team of pretty cool cats – so the art is great.  Not descriptive enough for you?  Okay, the art is gritty, dark, and a little dirty (opposite of clean).  Clearly, the images here were crafted not just by humans, but by humans who are trying to express themselves with emotion rather than just putting an image on paper.

Better?  Good.  This comic is good, and the story is good.  I don’t recommend reading it – I recommend going to find all the back issues and reading them first.  Then, read Criminal Macabre.  Maybe if you do tha,t I won’t make fun of you so much.