Vampires, werewolves, ghouls, demons, mutants and maniacs — Cal McDonald has put a boot through all of them, and he isn’t done yet. Steve Niles, the co-creator of 30 Days of Night, is bringing his pill-popping paranormal private eye back to prose with Cal McDonald: Plague of Evil and Other Stories, a new collection that launched today on Kickstarter from Clover Press’s new creator-owned imprint, The Fourth Leaf.
The 216-page hardcover collects ten brand-new Cal McDonald stories, each paired with a chapter illustration from a different artist. The lineup is stacked: Cat Staggs (John Carpenter’s Tales of Halloween Night), Liam Sharp (StarHenge), Scott Morse (Soulwind), Christopher Mitten (Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.), Gyula Németh (Criminal Macabre), Steven Russell Black (Magic: The Gathering), Francesco Francavilla (The Black Beetle), Alison Sampson (Werewolf by Night) and Damien Worm (The October Faction). Wrapping it all up is a painted cover by Joe Jusko, the illustrator behind the landmark 1992 Marvel Masterpieces card set and years of The Savage Sword of Conan and Vampirella work, plus a foreword from actor and Count Crowley creator David Dastmalchian.
McDonald first crawled out of the gutter in the 1990 story “Big Head,” and Niles has kept returning to him ever since, through novels such as Savage Membrane and Guns, Drugs and Monsters, short fiction and the long-running Dark Horse comic series Criminal Macabre. The new book sends Cal and his undead sidekick, the ghoul Mo’Lock, through a Los Angeles overrun with monsters, freaks and fresh horrors hell-bent on chaos — a supernatural spin on the hard-boiled tradition of Mickey Spillane and Raymond Chandler.
“Cal has always been my favorite character to write and it feels good to be back in the saddle again.”
Steve Niles
“It’s hard to believe but I’ve been writing Cal McDonald in one form or another for almost forty years now,” Niles says. “The last short story collection came out almost 20 years ago, so I am excited to have Plague of Evil coming out through Clover Press. I am especially thrilled with this volume because I have so many friends along for the ride; some of my favorite artists in the industry have added their talents. I hope readers enjoy this collection because I’m aching to do more.”
Clover Press publisher Hank Kanalz, the former DC executive who runs the company alongside IDW co-founder Robbie Robbins, calls it “supernatural crime horror in the classic Cal McDonald tradition, full of blood, grit, dark humor, and noir only Steve Niles can deliver.”
Beyond the illustrated hardcover, the campaign offers prints, lithographs, stickers, a slipcase upgrade and exclusive T-shirts and hats, the latter featuring Damien Worm art and the logo of Niles’ Bloody Pulp Books. The campaign runs through October 16. Fans can back Cal McDonald: Plague of Evil and Other Stories on Kickstarter now.
