Search
Resize text+=

‘Something Is Killing the Children #6:’ Advance Comic Book Review

Something Is Killing the Children is so good. James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’edera are masterfully world building and character building all at the same time. Their dialogue-driven scenes are just as visually intense and psychologically involving as their action scenes. This is a masterclass is storytelling.

Erica Slaughter, the anti-hero at the center of this mess, is intriguing as hell. She’s a monster hunter who has absolutely zero social mores for those that act like assholes, and yet her interactions with what seems to be an incredibly traumatized child are full of empathy and understanding. I love the complex character of Erica Slaughter. She is vicious, but also tender. She cares deeply, but also doesn’t give a fig, especially when it comes to authority. She has a job to do, and she’s going to do it.
Unfortunately another element seems to be entering the game to complicate matters which tells us even more about who Erica is and why she’s doing what she’s doing, but also, that she has difficulty conforming to those that she supposedly conforms with. The amazing cover of this issue, by Dell’edera, tells you everything you need to know.

Every year, I discover someone new, and Dell’edera is my newest discovery. The way he breaks down a scene visually; when he decides to show details and from which angles he shows reactions – it doesn’t just show you the story, but it tells you how the characters might be hiding something and tells you so much more about the characters than just a simple, straight-on panel of two people talking to each other. The minutiae of his work is something all visual storytellers should take heed of.

Muerto’s choice of colors also tells the story without being brazenly obvious. There’s a sequence that takes place at night. The panels are covered in blue hues, but as things intensify, he doesn’t go to an obvious choice like red; he goes to purple, essentially telling us the same thing, only alluding to something unknown and ominous, something deeper and more entrenched.

When we get to the final pages of this issue, we’ve been taken through so much in less than 20 pages that it feels like you’ve experience four issues rather than one.

I don’t know why you wouldn’t be reading this series. 

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

Phillip Kelly, Fanbase Press Contributor

ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=150&d=mm&r=gforcedefault=1

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top