Criminal Macabre: The Eyes of Frankenstein #1 Review: Big, Bad and Angry

Frankenstein’s monster may be big and pissed, but Cal McDonald can’t die, even if he wanted to- and boy is he sick of living.

An immovable force and an object incapable of death could do some serious damage against one another, or together. This is what the first issue of this series explores in what turns out to be another solid read from one of the best writer/artist combinations in the industry today.

For fans of the series, Steve Niles continues to do stellar work. After the uber awesome “30 Days of Nigh/Criminal Macabret” crossover, you’d expect the series to lose some steam. But the first issue of “The Eyes of Frankenstein” does nothing but further the thought that Niles’ is easily one of the most underrated minds in the industry today.

This arc fit the series like a glove and could end up as one of its strongest.

Niles’ writing, for those who have never read him, is full of casual conversation, pop culture nods and elements of noir. Easy to read, he brings in new readers seamlessly. McDonald is a gritty detective at heart and the essence of his character is always clear. He just wants to solve his case and move on to the next one.

This one though, like many of his cases, has the potential to be his last.

After eliminating the vampires from Los Angeles, McDonald can’t get a goddamn break. Burnt out from the constant fighting and death around him and coming to grips with his new undead-ness, McDonald and his trusty sidekick MoLock find themselves in another pickle rather quickly. But that situation appears to be on the horizon. first they have their hands full with an old friend, Frankenstein’s monster.

Artist Christopher Mitten does an awesome job this issue by bringing the monster out of the dark. His physical strength is clearly shown, but the power of his eyes is not to be taken lightly. This is a torn being and he’s begging for some kind of help. Mitten’s pictorials capture that.

As only his trademark wiseass self could, McDonald tries to help the big lug. Their exchange is funny and the situation has “The Twilight Zone” written all over it. How successful it ultimately is relies on what happens later though. MoLock warns McDonald earlier in the issue that there’s a new battle to be fought. The scene earlier that shows zombies dying sets this scene perfectly. How can Cal, Mo and Frankenstein’s monster help?

That’s the question. How well it’s answered will control the credibility of the title moving forward. For now, it’s another gem from Niles and Mitten that combines their gritty and easily approachable styles with one of literature’s most iconic characters.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13820 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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