Forbidden Surgeries of the Hideous Dr. Divinus

More about the book

During his 45th year, a notable filmmaker decided to create a comic book. After releasing three acclaimed films added to the Museum of Modern Art's collection, S. Craig Zahler returned to his first passion: illustration. Utilizing skills honed as a director, screenwriter, and novelist, he embarked on his graphic novel debut, a full-length noir horror titled Forbidden Surgeries of the Hideous Dr. Divinus. The story unfolds in New Bastion, where homeless individuals are vanishing, and dismembered bodies occasionally surface in dumpsters. These crimes go largely unnoticed until a comatose woman, Lillian Driscoll, is abducted from the hospital. Her brothers—a grumpy detective named Leo and a slick mobster named Tommy—embark on a quest for answers that leads them into a world of darkness, arcane medicine, and suffering. Fans of Zahler's film Bone Tomahawk, recently hailed as the best film of the decade, will appreciate his return to the supernatural. The tough-guy dialogue reminiscent of his crime films, Dragged Across Concrete and Brawl in Cell Block 99, is also present in this stark, black-and-white graphic novel. It showcases a unique blend of pre-code horror, vintage comic strip aesthetics, and modern indie art styles.