Something is Killing the Children Volume 1. By James Tynion IV
BOOM! Studios, 2020, 148 pages
Trigger Warnings: Strong Language, Violence
About the Author: James Tynion IV is a comic book writer, best known as the writer for DC Comic’s flagship series, Batman. In addition to the 2017 GLAAD Media Award-winning series The Woods with Michael Dialynas James has also penned the critical successes Memetic, Cognetic, and Eugenic with Eryk Donovan, The Backstagers with Rian Sygh, and Ufology with Noah J. Yuenkel and Matthew Fox from BOOM! Studios. An Alumni of Sarah Lawrence College, Tynion now lives and works in New York, NY.
Twitter: @JamesTheFourth
Instagram: @jamesthefourth
Newsletter: https://jamestynioniv.substack.com/people/736178
About the Illustrator: Werther Dell’edera is an Italian artist born in the south of Italy. He has worked for the biggest publishers in both Italy and the U.S. with his works ranging from Loveness to the graphic novel Spider-Man:Family Business. He also worked for Image, IDW, Dynamite, and Dark Horse. In Italy, he has drawn Sergio Bonelli’s Dylan Dog and The Crow Memento Mori for which he has won awards for Best Cover Artist, Best Series, and Best Artist.
Twitter: @wertherscut
Instagram: @wertherscut
Website: http://wertherdelledera.blogspot.com/?m=0
About the Colorist: Not dead, Miquel Muerto has lived in Barcelona since 1992, where he studied illustration, ran a small press and worked as a graphic designer until feeling entitled to chase his dream doing comics! The Druid’s Path was his comic book debut as a full artist, a traumatic experience he swore would never happen again. Coloring comics was the first good step he has taken in his career; he has been happily following the path ever since.
Twitter: @pollomuerto
Instagram: @pollomuerto
Website: https://pollomuerto.com/
Something is Killing the Children follows the story of Erica Slaughter as she comes to the town of Archer’s Peak which has seen a bunch of gruesome killings. Erica stands out from the crowd from her big eyes to her talking octopus and her bag full of knives. She draws lots of attention from the adults of this world and that’s because unlike her—they can’t see the monsters.
Something is Killing the Children starts off with violent action and runs right through the next five issues at a breakneck pace. The story sets up the major plot of the world and the conflict Erica will face in it. The violence stands out immediately as you turn a page and see the red flashing — a sign that something bad has happened. The different reactions people have to her from violently assaulting her to writing her off as crazy, give the world a real feeling in regard to the monsters that inhabit it. This debut collection has me excited to read more and ready for the next section.
(Pine Reads Review was provided with an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
PRR Writer, Jon Kresal
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