Don MacPherson over at the The Fourth Rail gave ALEISTER ARCANE #1 top marks! Don said:

“This may just be the best and most original story Steve Niles has written yet: a horror story about a man who loves the fun of horror story. Despite the darkness and sadness that permeates this comic book, ultimately, the tragedy stems from the passion and delight that the title character found in his favored genre. Niles offers up some biting social commentary in the process while celebrating what could be described as the snubbed, red-haired bastard child of American culture.”

And there’s more! Follow the link above to read the full review and then talk about it on the Steve Niles Forums.

Official Press Release

San Diego, CA, January 29, 2004. When the TV station in Jackson, Oklahoma bows to the wishes of the community’s parents and forces local TV horror host Aleister Arcane into an unwanted retirement, the repercussions of this act spawn more terror than any of the films that Aleister used to present.

Who is behind this plague of arcane activities… the TV station, the parents, the kids, Aleister, or something bigger?

“Aleister Arcane is probably one of my favorite projects going right now because of the gorgeous work being done by Breehn Burns,” says Niles, “This is a very personal story for me and he has really stepped up to the plate.”

“Aleister Arcane doesn’t look like anything else we’ve published,” Jeff Mariotte, IDW’s Editor-in-Chief said. “Breehn Burns and Steve Niles are both pushing themselves in new directions, taking risks, and coming up with an incredible piece of comic book storytelling here. People who think they know what to expect from these creators, or from IDW, have a big surprise in store—and a pleasant one.”

Aleister Arcane #1 is a full color, 32-page comic book on sale in April 2004, with a retail price of $3.99.

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea + Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients including The Upper Deck Company, Electronic Arts, Ultima Online, WizKids, Cartoon Network, Sony Online Entertainment, Nickelodeon, and many more. IDW Publishing focuses on a small number of high-quality titles. Among them are CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and its sequel, Dark Days; Ashley Wood’s Lore; CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations; Beau Smith’s Wynonna Earp; and Steve Niles’ Wake The Dead. Columbia Pictures has optioned the movie rights to 30 Days of Night, with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Konami is producing a video game based on CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations. Dimension Films has optioned the movie rights to Wake The Dead and Hyde.