The Devil’s Highway is the nickname for a sun-blasted stretch of desert that runs from Mexico to Arizona, a rocky wasteland teeming with scorpions, rattlesnakes and seismic listening devices planted by the United States border service in order to monitor human traffic. In the desert, temperatures vacillate 50 degrees between sunset and sunrise, alternately scalding and freezing exposed flesh. Bandits and automated aerial drones roam above and below, looking for unlucky strays to prey upon. Now, something worse has begun to prowl The Devil’s Highway, something that bays gutturally at the fattening moon, and yet walks upright…

Fifteen years ago, the word “zombie” would have brought an ear-to-ear grin to my face. Nowadays, unfortunately, almost every drop of originality seems to have been exsanguinated from those once lovable flesh-munchers. The mass production of everything undead over the past 10 years or so has led the ghouls to become a bit trite, limiting their appeal to those projects that showcase a more imaginative narrative. Still, do you compulsively collect every example you can get your grubby little claws on? Then sink your moldy mandibles into ZOMBIE TERRORS, Asylum Press’ anthology of bite-sized horrors!

Radical Publishing’s ABATTOIR hooks its readers from the first page of the first issue and never lets go, continuing to hook readers with its engaging storytelling and surrealistic artwork. Created by filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman (of SAW sequels and REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA fame), it follows a real estate agent investigating the twisted history of a haunted house—and entering a downward spiral into complete madness.

The first issue of WINTER’S EDGE (Vertigo Comics) is a vast array of exciting horror tales centering around Christmas. Death, demons and mythical creatures lurk within the illustrated pages. These short tales are written by noteworthy authors (Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis and Brian K. Vaughan) and drawn from talented artists (Dave Gibbons, Paul Pope and John Bolton).

The graphic novel is one of the best ways to discover (or rediscover) comics in an affordable format. One can pick up and read an entire storyline and, based on that, the reader can decide whether or not to purchase it. After reading NORTH 40, this reviewer wonders if anyone would want to waste their money on this…

The first issue of Wildstorm Comics’ five-part miniseries VICTORIAN UNDEAD: SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. DRACULA sets up the impending battle between the master sleuth and the immortal vampire. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are pursuing their next case after the defeat of Professor Moriarty and his revenants in the first series, and their investigation takes a dangerous turn towards a gruesome crime scene, an angry mob and deadly encounters.

It’s safe to say that Vincent and Ida Smith are my favorite pair of schizoid siblings to ever grace the silver screen. So you’d probably guess that my first reaction to IDW Publishing’s announcement of its four-issue MOTEL HELL comics miniseries was a positive one. If nothing else, it will draw attention to the original film, and that’s fine by me. Still, I had absolutely zero expectations going into this one—and let me tell you, I was not let down.