'Monster & Madman' - A New Comic Series From Steve Niles x Damien Worm For IDW

One of my favorite comic writers is Steve Niles, especially due to his special work on the 30 Days of Night comics. That series, with its debut in 2002, ushered in a golden age of horror comics and made vampires in comics cool again. Niles has gone on to work on a slew of other things including Batman: Gotham After Midnight, Batman: Gotham City Line, DC Infinite: Strange Cargo, Simon Dark, The Creeper, and Criminal Macabre that I have absolutely loved, so when IDW issued a press release for his newest project I naturally got excited. It is called 'Monster & Madman' and features Frankenstein joining forces with the most famous serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper. Yup, that's right... Jack the Ripper and the original man made monster in a period piece. Penned by Niles. Drawn by Damien Worm. Good god... I for one can't wait. They book hits stands around March of 2014. Check after the jump for a full size shot of the cover and the full press release from IDW...

The characters:

The covers:

The Press Release:

A New Twisted Tale From Steve Niles! Author Returns To IDW To Unite A Monster And A Madman San Diego, CA (December 12, 2013) – Visionary author and celebrated comic creator Steve Niles is returning to IDW in 2014 and bringing the most nefarious fiends along with him. Debuting in March, Niles weaves together a grave team-up between Frankenstein’s monster and Jack the Ripper in the terrifying new series, Monster & Madman. A lost soul, Frankenstein’s monster seeks refuge from his waking life but finds no comfort in the bitter harshness of his surroundings. He sets out to free himself from his lonely isolation and during this journey he finds himself at the doorstop of a creature more sinister than he could have imagined, the madman, Jack The Ripper. “Niles reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief,  “In the same way that Ozzy was always finding great new guitarists to bring his macabre visions to life, so too is Niles always finding amazingly talented and dynamically creepy new artists to bring his dark fantasies to life.” Ryall added “And yes, we know Niles is also shepherding another Frankenstein series inFrankenstein Alive, Alive with Bernie Wrightson. That one is still happening, with a third issue coming in April, is unrelated to this one, and happens whenever Bernie’s amazing and meticulous art for each issue is complete. All of us are very vested in that series as well as this one, and we’ve appreciated readers’ and retailers’ patience on Alive, Alive. M&M will nicely fill the gap between those issues, and the entire series will be complete before the first issue is released so there will be no waiting here. Monthly creepiness awaits!” Niles reinvigorated the horror genre in American comics with his lauded IDW series 30 Days of Night,with artist Ben Templesmith. Since the widely successful and Eisner-nominated series debuted in 2002, 30 Days of Night has gone on to spawn 10 additional series and a major motion picture from Sony. "I think this is the 5th or 6th time I've used the Frankenstein Monster in a story. I've always been fascinated with Mary Shelley's creation and I've found the creature lends himself to all sorts of new stories," says Steve Niles, "There were eleven White Chapel Murders. Only five of them were attributed to Jack the Ripper. I became obsessed with the idea of a ‘what if’ situation where these two monsters crossed paths.” Joining Niles in this terrifying new series is Damien Worm, whose macabre style brings the undead to life. In addition to penciling, inking and coloring the covers and interior pages, Worm will also be handling lettering chores on the three-issue series.  Niles added, “I'm very excited to be working with Damien. He has that dark edge to his art I love for horror stories. I'm constantly impressed with just how macabre his images can be." IDW is eager to share the world of a monster and a madman in this twisted tale from Steve Niles,debuting in March 2014.

CCD Holiday Geek Gift Guide #5: What To Get The Comic Book Newbie In Your Life

I am a veteran of the comic book game... I have been collecting since I was four (just over 28 years) and I have tons of comics/graphic novels to prove it. I, along with many of my fellow 80's baby comic geeks, were way ahead of the current comic book movie craze and have read ALL of the source material that is making the summer blockbusters the masses are devouring at a record pace. But what if you have to buy a gift for the person who is just getting started with comics? Here is a list of a few of my personal faves that will give any comic fan, new or old, a smile on their face. These will even work for a hardcore fan, even though a true comic book head SHOULD have in their collection (both in issue format and collected versions...lol). Click after the jump for my suggestions...

Watchmen by Alan Moore & David Gibbons-

Why do I start here? Well, to put it simple and plain, this is THE GREATEST GRAPHIC NOVEL EVER WRITTEN!!! Period. Nothing to discuss. Pure fucking genius. Didn't like the movie? Doesn't fucking matter... if you read the source material, you will forget there even was a movie (even though I thought the movie was wonderful). Alan Moore is one of the greatest comic writers of all time, and David Gibbons drew one of the greatest comics ever. A good story and great images... what else does a comic need. The best part is that this is a self contained story in its own universe, which for all you non-comic heads means you don't need to know any back story to enjoy it. It's all there in this beautiful black and yellow covered comic... click here to buy the softcover version or here to buy the fancier hardcover. 

Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale-

Who doesn't love Batman? Not anybody I know, especially after Christopher Nolan did his thing on the past few Dark Knight movies. With the third film coming next summer, why not get somebody into the Batman groove? Now this is where most comic nerds would point you to Frank Miller's Batman: Year One (which is a solid choice and a great gift as well, but I digress)... but I have chosen to go in a different direction. Loeb and Sale revisit the early years in this Batman story that took place over 13 issues and is focused on Gotham Cities mafia families as well as all his colorful rouges. The gang is all here, from Joker to Riddler to Two Face... and the story is magnificent. Published back in 1996/97, it helped jump-start interest in DC Comics and The Bat for a whole new generation. I have my own copy signed by both Loeb and Sale, and it may very well be my favorite Batman story ever. This 384 page collection will definitely inspire more trips to the comic store for stories of Gotham's shining knight. Click here to order.

Wanted by Mark Millar & J.G. Jones-

Listen, I liked the movie as much as the next guy. James McAvoy is great as the loser Wesley Gibson, Angelina Jolie is perfect as Fox. Not to mention that sexy shot of her naked and soaking wet leaving the healing tub... nerd boner!!! But the movie, dope as it was, really has very little to do with Millar and Jones's original work. There is a shell of a story in the movie, but not at all like the one that is in the book. If you thought the movie was twisted, wait till you see this book. This one also takes place in a self contained universe (no complicated back stories that you need to know), but in this universe the bad guys won. All the way. And they have killed off EVERY SUPER HERO in the world. All of them... and brutally. These bad guys mind-wiped the rest of the world's memories of these heroes, and they rule the world free to rape/pillage/murder with impunity. And they do just that... a lot. Cursing, innocent people getting maimed and killed, rape for fun... yeah, it's a bad guys dream world. But bad guys can't play by the rules, so it's only a matter of time before one tries to overthrow the rest. Then it's bad guys vs badder guys, which can never be bad. Click here to order this one...      

Start with these three, and then if all else fails try these other winners:

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman Omnibus by Alan Moore

The Sandman: Absolute Editions 1-5 by Neil Gaiman

Marvel 1985 by Mark Millar

Marvel: Zombies by Robert Kirkman, Sean Phillips, and Arthur Suydam

City Of Others by Steve Niles

Marvels by Kurt Busiek Alex Ross

Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar & Dave Johnson

Kingdom Come by Mark Waid & Alex Ross