Something is Killing the Children Volume 1 Review

Something is Killing the Children is an Indie horror comic written by Batman scribe James Tynion IV, with illustrations done by Werther Dell'Edera and colored by Miquel Muerto, while the comic is lettered by Andworld Design. The comic is a totally original story written by Tynion IV and was published by Boom! Studios.

Something is Killing the Children follows the small town of Archer's Peak and focuses on children going missing under mysterious circumstances. After a survivor escapes from one of the attacks, he is approached by Erica Slaughter to get the town rid of the monster, because that's what she does.

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Something is Killing the Children offers a great horror with some execptional art

Now if you have watched Stranger Things, then you will see this and the show have heavy similarities with each other. Both take place in small towns, both have children mysteriously disappearing and both have a female lead kicking butt. The inspiration here is quite noticeable, and I think it makes the comic all the more enjoyable.

The star of the show here is of course the story, that doesn't pull any punches. Children die, and it's dark, and it's violent, and it makes for a very haunting read. Whenever I read horror media, it never really scared me. Intimidate? Yeah, sure, and definitely had me on the edge of my seat, but here I was scared to find out what it would entail on the next page.

Something is Killing the Children does great in that aspect, and its story is heavily carried by its cast of amazing characters. Starting off with James, here you have a kid who feels responsible for the death of his friends, and that trauma is wonderfully explored with him. His chemistry with Erica is also explored quite well, and their banter makes it so much better.

Erica Slaughter as a character is an instant show stealer too. With a name like that, you can be sure that there is going to be some violence, and she brings it here. There is so much more to her character that I can't wait to explore that in the next few volumes.

There is one particular character, Tommy, who just felt mildly annoying. I liked the setup with him, and I hope it leads somewhere, but at the end of the comic he just came off as more of a hindrance than anything.

Also talking about criticisms, the story can feel like a setup galore at times. Like, it's building up to something that will be answered in the next comic, but aside from that, it still succeeds in telling a tale that's great and coherent.

The comic also gets overwhelmingly violent, which I loved. This aspect is brought forward by the jaw-dropping illustration and coloring done by Werther Dell'Edera and Miquel Muerto. The colors pop and the characters are drawn amazingly. Not to mention, the monster design too is quite top notch.

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Final Verdict

Something is Killing the Children offers a great blend of horror and action that one should definitely check out. Tynion and the team have crafted something really special here that everyone will enjoy a lot. I can't wait to jump into the next volume. Something is Killing the Children is available to read on Comixology.