MAY ONLY ORDER ON FREE COMIC BOOK DAY
(W) Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Steve Niles (A) Ben Stenbeck, Christopher Mitten
Dark Horse pairs two series with heroes battling the mysterious evils of the world - Baltimore in war torn Europe circa 1920s, and Cal MacDonald from Criminal Macabre in modern day Los Angeles. Both FCBD stories are excellent entry points to these fantastically horrific and compelling comics series.
BONUS REVIEW by EARL GEIER
A good reason to pick up this book is that it's a twofer; two different series are represented here. Baltimore, creator Mike Mignola's third after Hellboy and BPRD, is an alternate history where World War I was ended by a plague of vampires (and other things). The hunting Lord Baltimore is their nemesis. The story is a nice little vignette. The art by Ben Stenbeck is good in some places, lacking in others:he's still trying to find his own style. The second feature, Criminal Macabre, by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and Christopher Mitten, is a light enjoyable tale as a infamous fictional(?) character seeks hero Cal Mcdonald's help. It doesn't give quite as much a feel of what the series might be like, as Baltimore does, but intriguing enough to get me to check it's graphic novels.