Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Tony Bedard
Penciled by: Karl Moline
Inked by: Drew Geraci
Colored by: Nick Bell & James Rochelle
Lettered by: Oscar Gongora
Editor: N/A
Publisher: CrossGen
I’ve been smitten with ROUTE 666 since day one. When CrossGen expands their line of books, they usually go into a new genre that they haven’t touched before, and most other companies tend to ignore. Horrorific, chills, thrills, and suspense are in short order in today’s comic scene, and no other book out there boasts what ROUTE 666 has to offer. A road trip from hell, can sum up what series lead Cassie Starkweather has endured so far. ROUTE 666 is a comic masterpiece, which stirs memories of the wonderful horror movies I watched as a child, mostly from beneath my blanket.
The planet of Erebus in the CrossGen Universe harkens back to the cold world era of 1950’s American history. In this world, many ambulance drivers, doctors, care workers of the elderly, and others that labor near the dying or recently dead are in fact demonic soul stealers. Our heroine Cassie can see through the disguises of these demons, and is making a concerted effort to stop them. Cassie has ridden the rails with a serial killer, joined forces with circus folk on the same path as her, and even fought her way out of an insane asylum. This is horror the way it was meant to be!
Tony Bedard has kept Cassie on the run, since she appears to be a murderer, when in fact she’s only guilty of killing the demons. Due to her constantly fleeing pursuit, there has been precious little time to learn more about the intriguing powers she possesses. Finally though, we get to see just what Cassie is made of. While several subplots come to a boil around her, we are enlightened to Cassie’s power, as she pulls a page from the book of DC’s Spectre. This new ability of Cassie’s comes to light, and should give ROUTE 666 a very interesting slant in the future.
Not being an art critic, or having even the slightest artistic talent to call my own, the hardest part of my reviews each week are always those concerning this area. There are many artists work that I enjoy, but getting down to the nuts and bolts of why I like it, is quite difficult. The style and tone of the art is the most important thing to me when I read a book. Karl Moline and Drew Geraci’s work with ROUTE 666 is absolutely ideal for Tony Bedard’s stories! Whether it’s crazed killers, demonic hoards, or just plain old humans, the characters are brought to life with a flourish that’s always memorable. So much of what I think of this title is the strange denizens and spine-chilling locations each month. I think that’s one of the highest compliments I can pay an art team.
Month after month ROUTE 666 continues to be one of my favorites. The writing is wonderful, and the artistic talents on display each month are top notch. While the book may lend itself to heavy shadows and muted tones, that’s just not the case. The colors by Nick Bell and James Rochelle are as important as anything to the overall tone. Each of the creators lends a piece of themselves to ROUTE 666 every month. That’s why there is such distinctive look and feel that so many books out there just cannot boast.
