About Heroes

Writer: Steve Niles
Art: Nick Stakal

Criminal Macabre: My Demon Baby follows the pill-popping monster hunter, Cal McDonald, as he is hired to stop a cult of satanic worshipers from bringing the devil to Earth. This first issue...has a problem or two.

The most glaring thing wrong with this title is....it's not written for people new to Cal McDonald. Generally I don't give a crap about new readers but, in the case of indie titles, it's sorta a big concern. No real backstory is given on Cal. You know nothing of Cal or his past, other then it has been pretty shitty. You have no idea Cal is a monster hunter till the priest pays him to stop some bad mojo from going down. Cal's partner Moloch is never even mentioned by name, and you never get the explanation of what exactly Moloch is, nor why he would help a "monster" hunter, being somewhat monstrous looking himself. Basically, this title is NOT written for someone looking to get into the world of Cal McDonald, as you'll be partly lost at times.

The art for this story is...alright, I could give Stakal crap but, honestly the guy is better then Kyle Hotzs' somewhat cartoony style, that seemed at times more to mirror Tony Moore's penciling work in Fear Agent. Stakal's art style is reminiscent of the kinda stuff you'd see in Hellboy or BPRD, it has a grittiness to it, which has long been absent from the Cal McDonald stories ever since Ben Templesmith parted ways. The lines are sharp yet have a chaotic feel to them which help set the somewhat unreal mood of the story.

NOW, all of the above being said, is this something those familiar with Cal McDonald would like? I would have to say yes. The general setup is good, you get the introduction of Moloch basically kicking Cal's ass to get him out of the depressive junkie mood he's in. You see some evil brewing towards the end, and have your appetite whetted just enough to get you to read the next issue. In general, you got all the elements of a classic Cal McDonald story, though there could stand to be a little more sprinkles of humor thrown in

So, in short, to Cal fans, your gonna dig this title, to non-Cal fans, read Niles & Templesmith's Criminal Macabre stuff first, it's a better starting point. B+