7. Criminal Macabre/The Cal McDonald Mysteries
Genre: Horror Crime Drama With Comedy Elements
What it is: A supernatural comedy crime Noir series by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and various artists including Ben Templesmith and Kelley Jones, Criminal Macabre tells the story of Cal McDonald, a hard living, drug abusing, paranormal detective who does the jobs nobody else wants to. Hell, even he doesn't want to do them half the time. Kind of like John Constantine by way of Hunter S. Thompson, he solves cases with the aid of his undead ghoul friend, Mo'Lock, and fights monsters like Nosferatu. He doesn't always win, and gets his ass kicked quite a lot, even landing in hospital at one point, but that's what makes it such a fun series.
Why it would be great: Kind of like Supernatural, but with balls, Criminal Macabre is that perfect blending of drama, comedy, and horror. Cal is a great character, full of flaws and full of heart, and would easily become a favorite of the coveted 18-34 year old demographic. The series has horror, humor, and a great supporting cast full of ghouls, vampires, zombies, werewolves, possessed Chevy Novas, Devil worshipers, and Cal's vampire girlfriend, not to mention the cops who are seemingly always on his ass. With six collections of comic stories, and plenty of prose stories, this series could have a long life ahead of it with plenty of twists, turns, and laughs around every corner. Let HBO have a whack at it for a bit of gritty realism, as if this sort of thing happens every day, and it would be to die for.