Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover proved they are very good at crafting a detective thriller with Devil’s Highway. That story is ongoing and kicking off its second volume this week with Devil’s Highway Vol. 2 #1. It’s a narrative involving a detective named Sharon, an ex-FBI agent named Quentin, and a new truck of victims turning up. There’s a serial killer out there on the hunt and his target is those trafficked by shipping trucks.
Devil’s Highway Vol. 2 opens with the Russians being trafficked over the Canadian border. Given this series, we already know they’re all likely doomed. Well, maybe not all, which may be the biggest lead for Sharon and Quentin. Leads are somewhat light for our heroes in this issue, but the cliffhanger makes up for that in a big way. There’s definitely a scene or two that runs on a bit long drawing things out, however.
If you’re unfamiliar with this series, the first scene with Sharon and Quentin does well to establish their unique relationship. They both just want to stop this killer and are, at most, on friendly terms. As the characters follow leads, loose ends are established and a new threat is also revealed. It’s fun to see both of these characters on a crime scene and approach things differently, too.
Courtesy AWA
Schoonover and color artist Nick Filardi do a great job with this issue, especially in the various environments. The backgrounds look great, with nice touches like shadows on the characters through the leaves of trees above them. There’s a gruesome murder scene that’s depicted well which establishes the level of crazy our heroes is dealing with. The last page full page splash is a stunning page.
Quentin ends up getting more of a focus on this issue. New info helps establish his past and his belief in the supernatural. It does mean Sharon gets a lot less focus, but given she was the main character in the first arc there’s enough carry-over for that not to matter. The final scene ends up beautifully connecting the dots and setting him up for a collision course he won’t see coming.
Devil’s Highway Vol. 2 #1 opens up the second season of the series with a good bit of detective work and another haunting murder scene. There really isn’t another detective storyline like this in comics today.
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