While superhero comics can seem very different on the surface, there are only so many variations on theme you can get in that particular genre. Ultimately, no matter what the story, the core issues of the very best of your standard superhero books is how the hero faces different situations while keeping true to their moral code. While a skilled writer can still present an amazing story under these conditions, it still takes a great deal of work to create a truly great and distinctive story. This, perhaps, is one of the reasons that the titles that garner the most critical acclaim these days have crossed that line that defines the superhero genre into something unique. Part of what makes these books so enjoyable is their individuality. There is no doubt in my mind that Sleeper would not be nearly as acclaimed if there were a dozen other similar titles on the market.

Comics today offer a great many choices beyond the superhero genre. I am not suggesting you drop your subscription to Batman by any means, but sampling stories from different genres can add a breath of fresh air to your comic pile, and make your weekly read much more enjoyable. If anything, CrossGen leads the industry in these genre-hopping titles.

Route 666 is CrossGen’s horror contribution to their genre-cornucopia. It is set in Erebus, a world not unlike our own, Cold-War era Earth. Spirits and ghosts are typically viewed as myths by the people there, except by one woman who has learned they are very real indeed, and are up to a whole lot more than simple hauntings.

The Story So Far

Cassandra Starkweather, or Cassie, is on the surface your run-of-the-mill college student. She obsesses about her love life and what to wear, and on the surface, she is really not much more than that. That is, until her friend is seemingly killed in an accident at gymnastics practice (something she feels is her fault), and the spirit of her friend appears before her pleading for help. To make matters worse, her family thinks she is crazy. She saw spirits all her life, and her family thought it was nothing more than imaginary friends, until her grandfather Too-Too passed, and she saw his spirit at his funeral.

Naturally, at this point, her parents suspected she had mental problems, and took her to an endless string of shrinks. The ghosts finally stopped appearing to her after she attempted suicide at eight years old. That is, until her friend Helene appeared to her thirteen years later.

Cassie is admitted to the psych-ward of a hospital indefinitely, where things come to a head for her. The spirits who took Helene come after Cassie to determine why she can see them, when the rest of the “Warm Ones” are unable to. The spirit of her grandfather, Too-Too, appears to defend her from the dark spirits, and to “jump-start” her gift.

He also reveals to her that those dark spirits were working for a higher power called the Adversary, who wants the souls for himself. There is a war between the spirits on this world and the next, and Cassie has been drawn into it because of her gift.

Things come to a head for Cassie as she finds out that there are more than just very real spirits on Erebus: werewolves, vampires, and all sorts of other demons are indeed very real, and all working for the Adversary. It seems they have infiltrated all of the places where the sick and dying go, seeing these people to an early death to satisfy the Adversary’s hunger for souls.

Cassie escapes from the asylum after a werewolf (posing as an orderly) and a vampire (posing as her doctor) both attempt to kill her. She manages to kill them both, and escape the hospital.

She is now on the run. Her gift allows her to see which people are normal and which servants of the Adversary, so she has left a trail of bodies in her wake. The authorities believe her to be a mass murderer, and they are working to bring her to justice. The Cadre working for the Adversary is hunting her because she is a threat to them. Cassie just wants to save her friend Helene, and the other souls in the grip of the Adversary, and can’t do that if she is imprisoned.

Thoughts

There have been other horror books on the market at one point or another, but Route 666‘s uniqueness in the market today is one of the things that grabbed me. The world Tony Bedard has created is so much like our own. If a person like Cassie, and her situation, did indeed exist, people would react in much the same way they do in Route 666.

I have read many reviews citing this comic was eerie, but I did not find it so. Admittedly, this is likely because I have been desensitized by my many years of watching gory slasher movies. This is not to say there are not some edgy scenes in this book. The scene in issue #1 of Helene crushed to near-death inside of retracted bleachers is certainly not a walk in the park. The “body-count” is also typically quite high, with both innocents and demons dying quite regularly in each issue.

This title has been compared to Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and I can’t argue with that comparison. The theme is similar in that you have a young woman chosen to fight demons. Though there are some differences. Cassie does not have the benefit of a strong advisor like Giles, with centuries of records to give information. Nor does she have a wealth of support from friends and family. Cassie is virtually alone, all except for the spirit of her grandfather Too-Too, who serves as something of a mentor. Unfortunately he is not very proactive, as he only appears to her on occasion and offers only limited help- just enough to keep her going on her own.

Cassie also does not have the benefit of a normal life outside of fighting the demons. One of the main conflicts in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is how she balances her duties as the Slayer with the normal life she tries so hard to live on the side. Cassie’s normal life has been completely shattered, and though she may long for it, it is totally unattainable.

On its own, the “conspiracy” element of Route 666 is perhaps the most interesting thing about the title. It makes perfect sense that a cadre of demons looking for souls would farm the hospitals where the nearly dead and insane were kept, and pose as normal people to avoid detection. One of the dark spirits even mentions a “dress code,” where “all field operatives must embody local legends whenever taking hostile action.” In other words, if you want to kill someone, you had better do it in your werewolf form in case someone sees you. Much like it is here, if you ran screaming into a police station claiming you saw a vampire murdering someone, it is a virtual certainty that you will land yourself in an asylum. Of course, then you are right in the “cadre’s” hands. They have also infiltrated various “official” agencies, like law enforcement, to aid in covering up their existence. It serves to add a real sense of hopelessness to Cassie’s situation.

The art on Route 666 is just as good as I have come to expect from CrossGen. Karl Moline has drawn the title since the beginning and has set an appropriate tone for the stories with his art. The ink and color work is also fantastic, especially when it comes to the appearance of the different kinds of spirits. I am not personally the best art critic out there, but I know enough to know when something is badly done, and Route 666 is not it. The most important factor of art to me is how well it works with the story being told, and I have no complaints about this as far as Route 666 is concerned.

Bottom Line

I have to say that I have been impressed with CrossGen’s newer titles. After I covered Way of the Rat, I began to look forward to this column all the more, and Route 666 did not disappoint. The book is compelling and fresh, and I am very curious to see where it will be going in the months to come.

There is a trade paperback collecting the first six issues of Route 666 on the market now. In addition, catching up on back issues should be no trouble on CrossGen’s Comics on the Web site. For a small fee you can read most all of the back issues of just about any CrossGen title. I have found this to be a great way of catching up on things I might have missed. Granted, I still prefer actual paper comics, but this beats shelling out a lot of money on back issues, especially for some of CrossGen’s older titles.

A new Route 666, #15, is due out tomorrow, August 20th, in stores. I recommend that you all take a look at this book – Route 666 is the newest addition to a growing list of CrossGen titles I feel do not get nearly enough attention and sales.

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