Monster & Madman #1
The Secret History of Jack the Ripper and Frankenstein’s Monster
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Damien Worm
Colored by Damien Worm
Edited by Chris Ryall
Covers by Damien Worm
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 12, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Have you ever wondered what became of Victor Frankenstein’s Monster at the end of Mary Shelley’s classic story? Did he perish while drifting off to sea on an ice patch, or did he survive both the bitterness of the wild and his own self-loathing? Well, the mystery is over.

Steve Niles new comic book contains the truth behind the Monster’s fate, and his secret history seems to involve an infamous villain from the past: Jack the Ripper. In IDW’s latest mini-series event, Monster & Madman, Niles, along with illustrator Damien Worm, weave an intricate tale encompassing such themes as inner-turmoil, murder, and insanity.

Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem
Story by Steve Niles and Matt Santoro
Script by Steve Niles
Art by Dave Wachter
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $14.99

Every so often a comic comes along and reminds you why you began reading them in the first place. The perfect marriage of art and story can be used to produce some epic books. Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem is just such a work, from the spectacular writing of Steve Niles to the exceptionally emotional artwork of Dave Wachter this comic is more than the sum of its parts.

The story opens to a firefight taking place in April, 1944. A young man, Noah, finds himself in a dangerous predicament and his thoughts turn to his early life and how certain events changed him and his perception of evil. As his mind focuses on this, so does the story, allowing us a look at what happened we he was but a teenager in Poland during the German invasion.

Ash and the Army of Darkness #3
Written by Steve Niles
Art by Dennis Calero
Covers by Arthur Suydam
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: January 8, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Ash didn’t get to spend much time back at S-Mart before the deadites returned and pulled him once again back to 1300s, where they have been growing in power since he left. Lead by the Wiseman, who read from the Book of the Dead and had his soul consumed, the deadites have plans to conquer the entire land.

Now reunited with his medieval love, Sheila, as well as his boomstick and chainsaw, Ash is getting back into the swing of things and learning just what has happened since he left the land. Sheila and Ash, along with a company of men who worship the strange one, must retrieve the Book of the Dead if they are to stop this evil, but no sooner do they begin their journey then they come across a familiar face – Henry the Red!

If you are saddened and confused about the consistent back and forth rumors that a second Army of Darkness movie will or won’t be made, than this ongoing series is just the cure for your woes. Picking up right where the theatrical cut of the movie ended, Ash and the Army of Darkness continues the tale of Ash and endless fight against the deadites.

Criminal Macabre
The Eyes of Frankenstein #3 of 4
Written by Steve Niles
Art by Christopher Mitten
Colors by Michelle Madsen
Letters by Nate Piekos
Cover by Justin Erickson
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 27, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Cal McDonald, the creation of Steve Niles (possibly best known for his title 30 Days of Night) is back in his latest mini-series under the Criminal Macabre banner. As the inset of the comic so accurately summarizes him, Cal is a pill-popping, alcoholic degenerate, who teams up with his ghoul associate Mo’Lock and traverses around the sin-infested streets of Los Angeles battling a growing horde of monsters. Think Dylan Dog but with less clarinet and more inebriation. The Eyes of Frankenstein picks up shortly after Cal’s last adventure where he found himself transformed into one of the undead and is now contending with life, so to speak, as a ghoul.

For Cal though, there is no rest for the weary and he finds himself quickly swept up in his latest adventure, this time providing his unusual investigative talents to Frankentstein’s monster, who is slowly going blind and it is up to Cal to find a solution. Through his associate Mo’Lock, Cal reluctantly turns to Jason Hemlock, an authority on the occult, for assistance. Hemlock may just be able repair the Monster’s eyes, and shed some light on Cal’s transformation into a ghoul, but is his help truly benevolent or is there a larger sinister plan at work?

Mystery Society, Vol. 1
Created by Steve Niles and Ashley Wood
Written by Steve Niles
Artwork by Fiona Staples, Andrew Ritchie
Letters by Robbie Robbins, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee
Cover by Fiona Staples
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 2, 2013
Cover Price: $27.99

Volume 1 of Mystery Society takes you on a journey around the world in 160 pages. Nick and Anastasia Hammond, er…I mean Mystery (they had their name legally changed), are the leaders of the newly formed Society and are hell bent on righting wrongs and pretty much just saving the world. Of course, they have their faults. You can’t look that good and have that much money without some issues, right?

Nick is a bit overconfident, not to mention a tad impulsive. These two attributes tend to get him in trouble from time to time. Luckily he’s actually a pretty good superhero, especially when you add his wife, Anastasia, to the mix. She’s far more level headed and meticulous about the plans they make when setting out to solve a problem. The coolest thing about these two is their backstory. They inherited a bunch of money but before that they owned a bookstore (awesome, right?). And it was during those early years that they decided that, if given a chance, they would spend their time helping people. Add in some cool hideouts and gadgets and that is how the Mystery Society was conceived.