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A review by realbooks4ever
Criminal Macabre Omnibus Volume 1 by Steve Niles, Kelley Jones, Ben Templesmith
4.0
Dark Horse Digital Comics had a Criminal Macabre bundle (issues #1-5) on sale and it sounded like the perfect story; a strung-out ex-cop fights ex-humans in the sewers underneath Los Angeles. I loved it! This first story arc is a great beginning that introduces the world of Cal McDonald. I’m sure I’ll like the following stories as well. The Volume 1 Omnibus only has issues #1-3, but this review also covers Issues #4 and #5 which appear in Volume 2.
Personally, I usually feel like I could scream if I hear about yet another book with ‘zombies’, but this book is different. No real zombies. Ghouls, yes. Werewolves, yes. Vampires, yes. Ghouls are in between life and death – they aren’t alive so they don’t need to aggressively attack things (e.g. humans) for food but they aren’t completely dead either. They walk around looking, well, ghoulie. The main theme is not how werewolves and vampires are attacking people, it’s about Cal’s discovery that both kinds of monsters are actually grouping together and organizing the conquest of humans. He must stop them.
Cal’s sidekick is Mo’Lock, a ghoul. Mo’Lock makes a few ghoul jokes, but my favorite character is the armless ghoul Tabitha. She makes a very brief appearance but has the best line of all. I won’t spoil it for you.
Ben Templesmith’s artistic interpretation is a messy shadowy environment, perfect for creatures to come leaping and snarling out of the dark. It seems to get messier as the story moves from Issue #1 through Issue #5.
Communication is brief between the characters but that’s to be expected in a noir story. The characters are believable unless you don’t believe in ghouls. Don’t you?! As previously stated, Cal is an ex-cop, thrown off the force due to drugs and alcohol, which he still consumes in mass quantities. He’s currently hunting down vampires, werewolves, and things that go bump in the night, to save Los Angeles from their mayhem. His friend on the force, Detective Lt. Brueger, doesn’t have much personality; she mostly serves as another sidekick.
One thing that stood out wonderfully for me is the way Templesmith’s art portrays violence. Sure there’s blood, but in the scattered way the artwork is done it isn’t realistically gruesome like Frank Quitely’s work in We3 (which was a big detraction from enjoying that title). I really don’t want to see every piece of gristle.
I’d definitely recommend this book. Fun ghouls, talking heads, and an ex-cop who doesn’t care if you don’t like him; what’s not to love?
Personally, I usually feel like I could scream if I hear about yet another book with ‘zombies’, but this book is different. No real zombies. Ghouls, yes. Werewolves, yes. Vampires, yes. Ghouls are in between life and death – they aren’t alive so they don’t need to aggressively attack things (e.g. humans) for food but they aren’t completely dead either. They walk around looking, well, ghoulie. The main theme is not how werewolves and vampires are attacking people, it’s about Cal’s discovery that both kinds of monsters are actually grouping together and organizing the conquest of humans. He must stop them.
Cal’s sidekick is Mo’Lock, a ghoul. Mo’Lock makes a few ghoul jokes, but my favorite character is the armless ghoul Tabitha. She makes a very brief appearance but has the best line of all. I won’t spoil it for you.
Ben Templesmith’s artistic interpretation is a messy shadowy environment, perfect for creatures to come leaping and snarling out of the dark. It seems to get messier as the story moves from Issue #1 through Issue #5.
Communication is brief between the characters but that’s to be expected in a noir story. The characters are believable unless you don’t believe in ghouls. Don’t you?! As previously stated, Cal is an ex-cop, thrown off the force due to drugs and alcohol, which he still consumes in mass quantities. He’s currently hunting down vampires, werewolves, and things that go bump in the night, to save Los Angeles from their mayhem. His friend on the force, Detective Lt. Brueger, doesn’t have much personality; she mostly serves as another sidekick.
One thing that stood out wonderfully for me is the way Templesmith’s art portrays violence. Sure there’s blood, but in the scattered way the artwork is done it isn’t realistically gruesome like Frank Quitely’s work in We3 (which was a big detraction from enjoying that title). I really don’t want to see every piece of gristle.
I’d definitely recommend this book. Fun ghouls, talking heads, and an ex-cop who doesn’t care if you don’t like him; what’s not to love?