Film director Ryan Schifrin (Abominable) has recruited bestselling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama, and hot new illustrator Adam Archer to breathe life into the world of SPOOKS, via a four-issue comic book limited series slated to debut in February 2008. 

“SPOOKS” is the unofficial name for the United States Department of Supernatural Defense (DOSD), a high-tech secret branch of the military that protects American borders from things that go bump in the night. And when the king of all vampires allies with the deadliest of witches, their terrorist plot unleashes an invasion of classic monsters on U.S. soil, propelling the Spooks team into action.

Devil’s Due Publishing, home of Hack/Slash, G.I. Joe, and Forgotten Realms will publish the comic book as a 32-page, monthly four-issue limited series. The SPOOKS concept has been in development for the last two years, as created by Ryan Schifrin (director of the award-winning cult horror film Abominable) and Daniel Alter (producer of the Hitman movie).. When legendary fantasy author RA Salvatore (Forgotten Realms, Demon Wars) and writer Larry Hama (G.I. Joe, Wolverine) came on board, Schifrin revealed, it was the match that lit the fire.

“This is epic fantasy, but instead of castles and dragons it’s Halloween iconography - vampires, witches, werewolves and the Headless Horseman,” Schifrin noted. “I think of it as G.I. Joe meets Monster Squad, but with massive, Lord of the Rings style battles.” It was Salvatore, working closely with his sons Bryan and Geno, who helped to enhance the darker elements of the saga, "and their experience with series like The DemonWars fit perfectly with the sweeping drama of SPOOKS," he revealed.

 “This series is going to be a blast,” Devil’s Due President Josh Blaylock said at the 2007 San Diego ComicCon International. “Larry is developing the Spooks agents, adding a decidedly realistic military element to the organization, while Salvatore is focusing on the monsters. Honestly, can it get any better than that?”

Schifrin and Hama are scripting the series, joined by penciler-inker Adam Archer, whose work on titles such as Friday the 13th and The Batman Strikes has already brought him widespread praise. Archer is joined by color artist Jonny Rench of Friday the 13th, The Highwaymen, and the seminal Wildstorm series Gen 13 and Wetworks.

“Spooks is the ultimate double entendre,” Alter explained. “It’s about a covert unit in the government, only their purview isn’t terrorism or drugs or weapons trafficking. It’s things that go bump in the night!”
When asked about the unique military influences of Spooks, writer Hama simply replied by posing the question, “Have you ever wondered what happens when you hit a vampire with a high-velocity discarding-sabot anti-tank round that has an ash-wood stake core-penetrator instead of depleted uranium?”
The answer to that pivotal question will be revealed in SPOOKS. Issue #1, featuring covers by Greg Staples and Adam Archer, hits comic book stores in February, priced at $3.50.