Route 666 by CrossGen (2002)

Route 666 by CrossGen comics (2002)
Route 666 was CrossGen’s first venture into the horror genre. No character in this series was revealed to own a sigil. Instead, Cassie, the lead character of the series, did have a special talent. Since a young age, Cassie was able to see dead people. After a series of events similar to the movie Final Destination kills a college friend of hers, evil spirits witness her talking to the soul of her friend, sending her down a path where she would not only be haunted but also hunted by these spirits. After spending time in a mental institution, she realizes there’s a larger conspiracy at play. There’s a battle going on for souls between in the “next world”. Cassie ultimately escapes, but gets many murders in her hometown pinned on her.

Throughout her travels, she does come across a small town sheriff. Cassie’s demons follow her and through more series of bad luck situations, causes the death of the sheriff’s son. While Cisco, the sheriff, has every right to blame Cassie for the death of his son, he actually becomes more of a father figure to her. This adds an unexpected level to the story as Cisco ends up being Cassie’s biggest supporter when she is unable to find anyone else to help her.

What made this series very cool was the world Route 666 exists in is based on the simpler, more conservative 1950s in America. There are references to a Cold War-like confrontation between Cassie’s country, The United States of Empyrean, and a Communist nation known as The People’s Republic of Rodina. The cars resemble the classic cruisers of the mid-50s. The next-worlders posing as monsters in the physical world resemble b-movie monsters. So the monsters might seem odd to be considered so powerful and menacing, but they fit right in with the world created by writer Tony Bedard. Between the story, the backdrop, and the visuals provided by Karl Moline, Route 666 was just a fun title that occasionally shocked you with a particularly gruesome scene here and there.