Devil's Highway Vol. 1

Devil's Highway #1

by Benjamin Percy, Brent Schoonover (Illustrator), Nick Filardi (Colorist)

Ben Percy (Wolverine) and Brent Schoonover (Batman '66) present a nerve-racking thriller examining murder in the dark underbelly of America's heartland. A young woman with a dark family secret embarks on a quest to hunt down the serial killer that brutally murdered her father – only to discover he is just one piece of a national network of evil that snakes across the country and hides in plain sight. To catch the devil she must first embrace the darkness within.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Graphic Novels Comics

125 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2020

About the author

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels -- most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) -- three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men's Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer's Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.

Reviews

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truck drivers who are also serial killers.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serial killer truck drivers? Sign me the fuck up.

This was a nice little graphic novel about truck drivers who have basically a cult of serial killers. They find prostitutes, beat them, bring them in, torture, kill them and probably more. But one gets away and manager at a restaurant tries to save her and dies in the process. This leads his daughter to return home and hunt down the sons of bitches who would do such a thing.

This is a pretty fast paced thriller horror story that I liked a lot more than I expected. I think it's far fetched and a little corny at points, but it is also really fun. Reminds me of like the early 2000's horror movies not in the movies but straight to DVD but they become a cult classic like Joyride (Great movie btw). If want some faced paced thriller fun check this book out. AWA does it again.

A 4 out of 5.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

(gelesen in den fünf Heftausgaben)

Auf den Highways sind nicht nur die letzten freiheitsliebenden Cowboys unterwegs und mit Sam Packinpahs CONVOY ("Die romantische Vorstellung vom Trucker, der all die Western- und Pioniertugenden wie Ehrlichkeit, Mut, Anstand, rauhe Herzlichkeit, Selbstbewußtsein und männlichen Kameradschaftsgeist in sich vereint, fand vielleicht ihre Krönung in diesem Film; Produktbeschreibung der DVD bei Amazon) hat Percys DEVIL`S HIGHWAY so gar nichts gemein.
Eine Gemeinschaft sadistischer Truck=Driver hat sich vernetzt, um junge Prostituierte zu entführen, in den Laderäumen der Trucks zu quälen und zu töten. Als eines der Opfer vor einem dieser irren Killer fliehen kann, sucht sie Zuflucht in einem Diner. Beim Versuch, ihr zu helfen, wird der Betreiber des Diners getötet. Mehr als Pech für die teuflischen Highway=Killer, denn die Tochter des Getöteten ist entschlossen, ihren Vater zu rächen. Und sie hat das Zeug dazu ...

Eine heftige Rache=Story, düster & blutig.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very fast paced book and I kinda liked it surprisingly.

So the story takes place in Drift County, Wisconsin where we see a woman named Sharon Harrow come in here to find the killer of her father and what she finds is a bunch of cult of Truckers who worship Snakes and kidnap and kill women and also traffic them and all and its about her trying to find the mystery to it, we learn of her past and how it connects to her nature, her investigation into her would be ally and interviewing different people affiliated with these mystery truckers and will she be able to solve this connected gang of underworld traffickers and rescue the trapped women and find the murderer of her father?

This story goes deep and explore various sides of guilt and all and tries to share spotlight on these truckers and the criminal activities going there and how its connected and is about the journey of a woman on a quest of Vengeance but what she becomes is a hero, a savior and along the way gains an ally. Its very fast paced and the art tells the story as much as the writing and I like the dual sided nature of the story and Vol 2 hints are there too!

[The Geeky Viking · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot and premise has loads of potential, and the artwork fits the story, but the characters are pure garbage. The heroine of this tale is a walking, talking stereotype straight out of the SJW playbook right down to the stupid fucking haircut. She's totally badass and totally invincible and there's never any doubt that she won't kick ass and save the day.

Same goes for the renegade cop that she ends up partnering with. We've seen this guy done a thousand times before and done better. It's a shame that Percy couldn't deliver stronger characters to populate this world because the story and premise itself is very cool: a network of serial killers are travelling the highways as truck drivers unbeknownst to authorities.

The pace is fast and the book gives off a strong 'Seven' vibe and I enjoyed those aspects of it. But the lead characters really sink it for me. I'm on the fence about continuing the series. Really like the premise and pacing but don't know if I want to continue following the characters in the story.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. There are millions of big rigs on the road but yet their world seems invisible to us. Well, here some folks use that to their advantage. There is a ring of truck drivers that are killing prostitutes all across the Midwest. However, now one of them has killed the wrong person and our main character will stop at nothing to track them down. A nice detective, murder mystery that was paced out good and had some solid artwork. Looks like it will continue and I’m definitely down for the ride.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this generic thriller the murder of a family member pulls a revenge-seeking, hard-ass, kick-ass combat veteran into the hunt for a serial killer preying on sex workers. The hooks -- such as they are -- are that the veteran is a woman and the killer uses the Midwestern trucking industry as a cover.

It's a bland walk through rogue detective tropes, but I did like one line near the end: "All this time chasing you, I thought you'd look like monsters . . . but you're just men.". There are a few loose ends at the conclusion, so I'm going to go ahead and get the next volume since it's available at my local library, but I assume it will be more of the same.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drive like hell!

Most of the AWA Upshot titles I have been reading recently are dark- and this certainly fits the bill. Sharon, a former soldier who has been out of touch with her father, plans to go home to visit him for Christmas but discovers he was killed in the diner he owned. When she bullies the local policemen into giving her pictures of the crime scene she sees that an intertwining snake was carved into his chest.

Sharon enlists a friend to help and gains intel from a soldier she formally worked with, and discovers an evil network of truckers who work together to hide their serial killings. Prostitutes at truck stops are easy prey for them, and indeed it was one that escaped that Sharon’s Dad hid, that led to his murder. Sharon’s quest for vengeance pays off, and her fighting skills when confronting some of the truckers are second to none. While she does obtain justice in the end, the network still exists and other predators still remain out there. As this is labeled volume one, I assume Sharon has more adventures ahead of her.

Set in the winter in the Midwest, the snowy landscapes and bundled-up people are accurate to the region. As a Midwestern girl, I recognized many of the towns and highways they referred to. The story is illustrated well with good panel placement, but at times close-ups of faces can be a bit off. Appropriately dark-hued, the panels include pink and red tones when there is (much) violence. Letters from the creators and an early mock-up of the first scene, that changed, were included at the end.

This was an interesting read with a kick-ass heroine, but the violence and references to sexual assault were too much for me. I don’t mind gritty stories, but this story takes it to an extreme. (Actual review 3.5/5)

This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2022/09/1...

[Adrienne K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This truly was frightening but a gripping read

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEVIL'S HIGHWAY is a perfect grind house movie on the comics page, a fast-paced and riveting blend of horror, crime and detection thriller. Benjamin Percy excels at this stuff. If you haven't read any of his works before, you're in for a treat - - provided you have the stomach for it.
Some readers may view the character of Sharon as an exaggeration of the heroic but mentally scarred bad-ass heroine, but I loved her. She, as well as Quinn, the disgraced FBI agent still pursuing the case are what made the story memorable for me.

[amy boese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, this has all the nuance you'd expect, especially if what you expect is 10th grade boys in art class. Too bad, since I liked the premise of a true crime truck driving serial killer ring. But any comic where the heroine is a bad girl with a soft heart for her daddy, and all the other women in the book are naked, while the men remain fully clothed - is not art, it is bad porn.

[Ricardo Nuno Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark, violent and troubling tale of an "invisible" world, the long-haul truckers one.
Permeated by a constant sense of uneasiness and gloom, this first volume (hoping for the conclusion in a second one) is a great read.
You'll get strong main characters, a discover-as-you-go plot, great art with awesome cinematic sequences.
If you enjoy "highway stories", this graphic novel is tailor-made for you.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. It's basically a story about serial killing truck drivers, but there's more to the story. It's a cult of some kind, but not much is known about the purpose of the cult. The whole trucker subculture is fascinating, and the exploration of that alone made this worth a read. I'm curious to see where the story goes in the next volume.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop what you’re doing and pick this up now. Wont be long before it’s adapted to a movie/tv series.

[Felix Zilich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Бен Перси - новая звезда Marvel Comics, автор свежей реинкарнации «Росомахи» и «X-Force» - приходит к аутсайдера�� из AWA Studios с двумя авторскими лимитками, которые вполне могут превратиться в нормальные онго. Первая - конспирологический триллер в стиле Финчера и «северной готики».

В основе концепта «Devil’s Highway» - одна из самых популярных городских легенд Среднего Запада. А именно - Smiley face murders. Два бывших копа из Нью-Йорка заявили в 2009 году, что в центральных штатах уже много лет действует неизвестный серийный убийца (или даже целая группа маньяков), на совести которых около 50 мертвых подростков, по официальной версии - случайно погибших по пьянке.

По одной из самых популярных теорий маньяками могут быть дальнобойщики, настоящие либо ряженые. Бен Перси раскручивает эту теорию на полную катушку. Бороться с заговором дальнобоев предстоит армейскому спецу Шэрон Хэрроу, отец которой был случайно убит в Висконсине одним из серийников. Вернувшись в родной город, Шэрон приступает к собственному расследованию, постепенно погружаясь в мир ночных дорог, бесконечных сугробов и мертвых проституток с татуировкой уробороса. Написано пока жидковато, но в качестве основы для потенциального телесериала вполне сгодится. Вот только объясните мне - кто такой Квентин Скиннер?

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/kShvqyQjXdc

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman goes down a rabbit hole when her father is murdered. She uncovers a group of serial killers hiding in plain sight, roaming the highways of the upper Midwest as truck drivers. It's a brutal tale mixing the best of horror and detective stories. The main character is a badass former soldier who doesn't take gruff from anyone. A really good but extremely dark miniseries.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Polished and well done, the story never really seems to get into gear.

[John Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devil's Highway vol.1 is a great horror story perfect for Halloween reading.

I just finished reading this graphic novel and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised at how good this was. I am familiar with Benjamin Percy's Marvel stuff but this story, Devil's Highway vol.1, is in a whole different league. From the beginning it feels like a movie is playing out right before your eyes. Sharon Harrow turned out to be a pretty cool lead character and I can't wait to see more of her in vol.2.

Quinton Skinner's not a bad character but, to me, Sharon is just a better character because she's better developed and has more pathos to her than Quinton does. The artwork by Brent Schoonover is just gorgeous to look at. I love that this story takes place in the snow. It really adds to the eeriness of the story. You can feel the isolation and the tension that the characters are feeling in Mr.Schoonover's artwork.

And Nick Filardi's coloring is fantastic. He manages to make the story have a pulpy feel to it. The story veers back and forth between a horror story, a pulp noir story, and a grind house story like Hostel. It's not disorienting one bit when reading the story because Benjamin Percy is a fantastic writer and knows how to build a scene.

I don't want to give away any spoilers here because this story really needs to be read to be appreciated. But there are jump scares galore in this and some pretty graphic occult stuff too. Mr.Percy really did his research for this story and, just like with Stephen King, the genesis of this story was based off of a real life incident that Mr.Percy had with a truck driver late at night twenty years prior to the story being published. The best horror stories are always the ones that are based off of the author's fears and this story does not disappoint.

And even though it takes place at Christmas, this is still a great spooky read that can be read and enjoyed on Halloween as well.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦

Devil’s Highway
2020
Comics
Rating: 4/5

Devil’s Highway is a twisted and emotionally intense comic book that combines thrilling storytelling with rich world building. Written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Brent Schoonover, this series delves into the dark and gritty world of serial killers and a cult level conspiracy behind it. The narrative is sharp, nuanced, and unflinchingly raw, bringing a strong lead character who has her own demons simmering above the surface.

Percy’s writing is typically exceptional, offering a powerful blend of suspense and introspection as he builds a world filled with morally bankrupt characters. The pacing is tight, with moments of tension and surprise that keep the reader engaged from start to finish. The way Percy weaves unsettling 90s level thriller elements into the story without it ever feeling out of place or forced is one of the book’s standout achievements. Schoonover’s art complements the tone perfectly, with its gritty, realistic style that enhances the book’s cold atmosphere.

This is more than just a crime story, it’s an exploration into the dark web and a commentary on the exploitation of vulnerable people and the darkness lurking in the world. It tackles the serial killer genre with the key elements of creating something special, making it an exciting read. The villains are never fully explored and by the time the story is finished, you’ll understand why. Altogether, the ending is immense, which gives some closure but opens new doors. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

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[Alex Sarll]

Probably the last thing I'll read in the Comixology app, whose assimilation/evisceration by Amazon concludes tomorrow. And annoying as that is in itself, it would at least have been nice to part on a high. Benjamin Percy's X-Force and Wolverine have been good enough often enough that I thought it was worth giving something else of his a try, but where those take the most horribly ingenious twists, this is as basic as it gets. A trucker murdering sex workers - Jeremy Clarkson was making jokes about that 15 years ago. Yeah, there are some frills and furbelows, but they're exactly the sort of generic, vaguely ritualistic nastiness you know to expect from the modern serial killer thriller. In pursuit, an ex-military badass, but a female one this time, which makes it progressive, even if you still get the old comrade whose damage is more visible wisely intoning "It's just that some of us wear our scars on the inside." Oh, and a disgraced Fed who got too close to the case; he doesn't really do much, but you can't not have a disgraced Fed who got too close to the case, can you? What really brings home the utter lack of inspiration is that with scenes in Minnesota, and even a funeral home called Gunderson, it can't help but recall Fargo, whose new season continues to treat some not dissimilar material in vastly more novel and engaging ways (it's on Prime in the UK now, incidentally). Worse still, in the backmatter Percy and artist Brent Schoonover recount memories that helped inspire Devil's Highway, and allude to an earlier version of the story, all of which sound much more compelling and odd than this route one trudge into which they were somehow sanded down.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5*

Eh.
It was a bit flat considering the Percy's introduction, his own weird encounter with trucker and wondering what kind of man would, etc...
That took him to this story and it's a very simple retaliation story of Sharon, a very capable, slightly insane soldier, figuring out who killed her father and delivering her own type of justice.
Too many subjects thrown into it, but the glaring one and the one he made a point about in intro is the objectification of women, not just in trucker culture, but more so "on the road" culture. I think it's the fact that author and artist in collaboration didn't really show them as anything but objects as well. AND I tell that despite Sharon being a woman, because she is muscled, mean, tattooed with shaved-side and in one instance she was even described as "probably a bloke." But other women are shown in various positions of distress, humiliation, shaming and dismemberment. So he lost me on the whole "female angle" of the story.
The other thing is resolution behind it because the simple psychopathy without background and explanation will always be scarier to me than any secret organization- cover up, but this one is better for sequel, I guess.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon is a tough-as-nails young woman who is investigating her father's murder. She does so without worrying about breaking the law. There is someone not far behind her and there are many others with a thirst for blood ahead of her, but nothing is going to stop her from getting revenge.

Sharon believes her father was killed for getting in the way of a trucker who is killing prostitutes. Quinton Skinner is following her every more. He was disgraced during an investigation of interstate killers when he got personally involved. The two come face to face after Sharon gets bitten by a snake. Quinton givers her anti-venom and cares for her for two days before offering to work together.

Quinton found that many truckers are working together to satisfy their thirst for blood. Sharon and Quinton find a hooker who reveals some details about the trucker who tortured her for three days. She escaped captivity and was helped by Sharon's father, which put a target on his back and then put him in the grave.

Sharon and Quinton find a group of truckers as they are torturing a hooker. The truckers aren't pushovers, but they get their comeuppance. Sharon's dad's killer is still on the loose, so there is more violence to come in this story.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read a comic book or graphic novel in my life but there was a Kindle achievement to read one, so I decided to give it a try. This one caught my eye, so I read the sample, and the story hooked me. It's about a woman who comes home from Christmas only to find that her father has been murdered and she wants revenge. Sharon is a strong, badass woman and no one is going to get in her way on her quest for vengeance. The direction the story took surprised and horrified me. I have to say that while some of these scenes would have been disturbing had I been reading a novel, seeing the graphics as well made the experience more visceral. I wouldn't say I'm a convert, but I can see why people enjoy graphic novels now. I may actually read the next volume because it would be interesting to see what happens next. Though at first I was annoyed when I saw this achievement, I'm actually glad that I read something outside my comfort zone. 5 stars!

[Maraya21 (The Reading Dragon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Kurious · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast, moving,action and keeps you involved!

This comic cut the readers involved constantly turning pages or pushing the next button depending on what you're reading Or how are you reading I like the realism of the entire story because we don't know what trucker's really do behind the wheel and in the truck I like the realism of the entire story because we don't know what trucker's really do behind the wheel and in the I like the realism of the entire story because we don't know what trucker's really do behind the wheel and in the truckstops

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim - it was an Amazon recommendation, and I always want more mystery graphic novels. Then it came, and I realized it was about truck driving serial killers, and I was like, ugh. I hate serial killer stories. But I read it anyways, and it's actually really good.

Some of the violence is certainly gratuitous, but the detectives are appealing and I will read their further adventures.

[The Smoog · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one, the concept of a ring of serial killers plying their trade in the dirty underworld of cargo hauling seemed like a great idea. Unfortunately, a dislikable main character - who quite literally marches through every single problem in her way pretty much blindfolded - combined with a shallow plot and art that didn’t really grab me meant it was a bit of a disappointment. I’ll still give the next one a try, see if it gets any better though.

[coty ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5) i love when stories end with abusers being violently murdered, but... not much substance here beyond that. i think the narrative could've touched on the dehumanization of sex work and violence against women with a little more respect—but the art tends to come across more so as sexualizing the violence than actually highlighting the very real horror/epidemic that is violence towards + serial killings of (mostly) sex workers on highways

[A1Cvenom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow I regret buying this TPB. Based on the synopsis I thought it would surely be awesome but I was wrong. Very poor writing and bland artwork mixed with an SJW heroine who’s basically invincible. The plot had potential but the story never grabbed me at all. Would not recommend, I won’t be continuing the series.