James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’edera’s Something Is Killing the Children is wicked, wonderful fun. After setting up chess pieces and moving them strategically for the last four issues, the first climatic battle is taking place in issue 5.  From everything the first four issues set up, it’s everything you would hope it to be.

Tynion is worried less about plot beats and more about who these characters are and what they would do in situations well out of their wheelhouse; they are in way over their heads. Even our monster hunter, Erica Slaughter, seems to be getting deeper and deeper into the muck and mire of a situation she wasn’t fully expecting.

Needless to say, no one handles this first explosion of characters butting heads perfectly and there are consequences, potentially dire ones.

Let’s not think, however, that this is all fun and games. Tynion’s series for BOOM! Studios have always been allegorical explorations of current events or social anxieties. The title of this series points to a potential theme, and his stories have almost always featured LGBTQ+ characters as one of the main leads. This year, we at Fanbase Press are asking ourselves and our readers why #StoriesMatter? This is why they matter:

Science fiction has always been one of my favorite genres, because it can explore issues directly without being on the nose or heavy handed, bringing forth ideas to readers in a palatable and interesting situation. And for Tynion to continuously humanize characters of the LGBTQ+ community for readers that may not have as much first-hand experience, or for people of the LGBTQ+ communities to see themselves represented in his books – this is why stories are powerful instruments of change. Tynion does not allow these elements to feel exploitative. Instead, they free the reader from stereotypes and misrepresentations of people who deserve the same levels of depth and agency on the comic page as they have in real life.

Creative Team: James Tynion IV (writer), Werther Dell’edera (artist), Miquel Muerto (colors), Andworld Design (letters), Eric Harburn (editor), Assistant Editor (Gwen Waller)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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