Issue three of Something Is Killing the Children revolves around a few key moments, two of which are entirely dialogue driven. These scenes are some of the best I’ve seen written in some time. Any exposition is natural, the pacing is fluid, and the tension is built through character conflict. James Tynion IV is a fantastic writer, and he’s taking the time to let this story breathe.
As the title suggests, a monster is killing the children of a small, middle-America town. One teenage survivor, James, is being blamed for the deaths of his friends by pretty much everyone in town, and with the arrival of badass monster hunter Erica Slaughter who speaks to her stuffed animal, his life has become even more complicated. The last issue saw the new pair run unknowingly headlong into the older brother of one of the missing girls; it was not a pleasant interaction. This new issue picks up from that conversation and follows the repercussions.
There are two things that I greatly appreciate about this series: 1.) I love the characters in this book. Duh. 2.) I’m thankful that Tynion, Dell’edera, and Muerto are not playing off our nostalgia of teenage horror films. It’s not that I don’t enjoy that, but I feel like it’s become a very easy thing to do. Something has a look and feel that’s unique. The atmosphere that this creative team creates is haunting, but deeply beautiful. The first sequence in this issue is full of deep purples and reds. The images, the way the shadows are used, and the images are tilted this way and that, reminiscent more of German Expressionism than of ’80s horror.
Every time that I tell myself, “It’s time to review fewer series,” I keep running into new series that capture everything that I love about storytelling and comic books. Something Is Killing the Children is one of those series.
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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