Savage Membrane: A Cal McDonald Mystery [Paperback]

Steve Niles (Author), Ashley Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

A hardboiled horror novel featuring two-fisted occult detective, Cal McDonald - a gumshoe with no love for ghosts and ghouls alike. Featuring illustrations by award-winning artist Ashley Wood, this high-caliber conjuring of classic detective fiction, horror, and comedy finds McDonald (a tough-as-nails private dick in the same vein as Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe) stumbling on a mystery in the nation's capital, where people are dropping dead all over the place - with all the brain matter missing from their skulls! What follows makes this novel a monster read.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Steve Niles is the writer for Spawn: The Dark Ages, Hellspawn and the new upcoming series from Image Comics entitled Fused!. He has also contributed to several issues of Todd McFarlane's flagship series Spawn and is co-writer on the upcoming film Spawn 2 for Sony Pictures. Prior to his work for McFarlane, Steve had his own publishing company where he published, edited and co-published several anthologies, as well as adapted works by Clive Barker and Richard Matheson. Originally from Washington D.C., Steve now resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Nikki and their two black cats.

About the Author

STEVE NILES is the current writer of the monthly comic book HELLSPAWN and the new Image Comics series entitled FUSED! He has also contributed to several issues of SPAWN, SAM & TWITCH, and is co-writer with Todd McFarlane on the upcoming SPAWN 2 movie for Sony. Steve got his start in the industry when he formed his own publishing company called Arcane Comix, where he published, edited and adapted several comics and anthologies for Eclipse Comics. His adaptations include works by Clive Barker, Richard Matheson and Harlan Ellison, among others. He has also worked as a writer for Dark Horse comics contributing to titles such as DARK HORSE PRESENTS, and most recently 9-11: ARTISTS RESPOND. Steve's latest projects are the upcoming novel SAVAGE MEMBRANE with artist Ashley Wood, and the new comic series 30 DAYS OF NIGHT with publisher Idea & Design Works. Originally from Washington DC, Steve now resides in Los Angeles with his wife Nikki and their two black cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: IDW Publishing (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097122823X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971228238
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Niles (born June 21, 1965) is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre, Simon Dark, Mystery Society and Batman: Gotham County Line.

He is credited among other contemporary writers as bringing horror comics back to prominence, authoring such works as 30 Days of Night, its sequel, Dark Days (IDW Publishing), and Criminal Macabre (Dark Horse Comics) with frequent artist collaborator Ben Templesmith.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did I like it??, May 29, 2004

By 

Igor (Horror-Web.Com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Savage Membrane: A Cal McDonald Mystery (Paperback)

Written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ashley Wood this book is AMAZING... I have enjoyed the comics, but the graphic novels are absolutely to die for!! Why??

The atmosphere he creates is gritty, dirty, and real - you can feel these characters, you can see the locations, and you can sense the danger, as you giggle at the dark humor sprinkled through out.

The storytelling is perfectly paced and keeps your attention right to the end - smooth, lots of action, great dialogue... genius! Short chapters suck you in until the wee morning hours as you tell yourself, 'well, they're short, i'll just read ONE more'...

IDW Publishing carries a 'Warning: Mature Reading' tag for the book, but honestly it's barely outside of pg13. There is drug/alcohol use by our star witness, er loveable character Cal, but honestly... if YOU could see what he sees you'd stay drunk too!

Did I like it?? Loved it! Definately a five star rating Cal and his 'ghoul' sidekick Mo'Lock are definately worth your time and money - find this now!!

-Horrorwench

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent sacrastic film noir horror!, June 25, 2002

By 

Christopher (CONCORD, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Savage Membrane: A Cal McDonald Mystery (Paperback)

This cross of pulp comedy, film noir detective work, and Lovecraftian horror works on so many levels! It's an excellent book in all senses and should be reccomended to everyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air, March 5, 2005

By 

Timothy D. Hatcher "Prof. Nutterbutter" (Omaha, Ne) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Savage Membrane: Cal McDonald, Monster Hunter: Book 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

Like a cross between Kurt Russel's character in Big Trouble in Little China and F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack, Cal more or less stumbles on solving cases than actually figuring anything out himself. Both humorous and scary, Cal McDonald is a character for the times, not to be missed.