The Criminal Macabre Omnibus Volume 2 is a collection of various one shots, and mini-series (some seeing a return to print after many dormant years, and some in color for the first time ever!). Don’t let the “Volume 2” title, or over three hundred pages of story, scare you away (let the content of the book do that) and make you think you need to be up on the series or it’s history to get a full grasp on what’s happening, if you hop aboard you’ll feel right at home from page one.
I once heard a rule that you should never have more than 28 words appear in a panel in a comic book, Niles takes this rule spits on it and throws it out the window, in addition to making it sound like a dumb rule in the first place.
Niles has a true knack for the noir genre. His prose flows like Raymond Chandler but is littered with four letter words and undead heathens. In addition to that Niles’ noir differs from what we’re used to, calling on grim humor and a truly incomparable intermingling of monsters. It’s a terrible thing to witness in any medium when we can hear the writer’s voice coming out of the character, but Cal McDonald is a living breathing person all his own as far as I’m concerned. Niles’ is a master of the genre.
Since the omnibus is a collection of various stories, the art was divided between Casey Jones, Kyle Hotz, and Nick Stakal. This is one thing I love about omnibus graphic novels. While maintaining a common character throughout the book, we get different visual styles that are as compatible to the source material as they are different from each other. They all seem to fit into the “style” of the Criminal Macabre comics and they all feature different unique things that go bump in the night. The ones that stick out to me are Hotz’s Golem and Nosferatu, also, Stakal’s satanic worshipers.
Jones art is a more crisp and clean style, very similar to what we see in mainstream comics now. Hotz has a similar style but places a lot of emphasis on the gory and monstrous details. Stackal has the kind of art that, to me, best compliments the style and tone of the entire series. I love the art throughout the omnibus but Stackal’s art really makes the comic.
Experiencing this comic elicited a reaction from me Ive never had from a comic, I felt like I had been told a secret. Luckily it’s the kind of secret that I feel I should tell everyone about. Criminal Macabre is the kind of series that I can get behind, it’s got something for everyone. The well-crafted stories and pitch-perfect art should guarantee it a spot on any comic enthusiast’s shelf. This page turner will have you scared, anxious and roaring with laughter. This is the perfect starting point with Cal McDonald for anyone, and he cements himself as the go-to guy for paranormal investigation comics. They don’t get much better than this.
