Something is Killing the Children is a decent start to a horror graphic novel series. We follow James, a sole survivor of a horrible massacre of his friends. Someone or something has been killing children in James's small town. James, along with a mysterious companion, set out to find the monster and destroy it. This story had a slow start, but it kept my interest. The story doesn't bring anything new to the horror or mystery genre, but it's a promising start. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume. People who don't like dark content should read this book. The title speaks for itself. There are some very gruesome illustrations.

A solid book with a STUNNING art style! Very gripping and a well paced plot as well as well layered characters!
3/5

Many thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I read the first few pages of this before deciding whether I was interested, and phew, okay, this premise got me right away. It’s so freaking creepy right from the start, and it definitely lives up to its horror tag.

Something’s Killing the Children, Vol. 1, will leave you wanting more, guaranteed. It blends horror and the supernatural for some spine-chilling moments, but also some dark comedy for a bit of levity.

The thing with graphic novels is they always stop when things start getting good, darn it! I will say, this arc was satisfying. It left things with a promise of more, but also having sufficiently wrapped up this introduction. The ending gave me a “greater things to come” sort of vibe, and I just cannot freaking wait to revisit this world.

My Thoughts:

- This was so much gorier than I thought it’d be, but the premise was so interesting that I didn’t even care. Normally, I can get squicked out pretty easily by gore, but this was what I’ll call “fuzzy gore.” Yes, you get the horror-inducing sense of people getting torn apart, but it’s not particularly detailed. The image appears a little “fuzzy,” so it’s almost gore lite. I mostly thought this approach was great, and it made it easier for me to stomach. The one part I felt suffered a bit from this was the monster. I love the art style here, but the monster? Eh. I mean, I suppose it’s supposed to be scary, given what you see it doing to people. But when it’s actually shown, it doesn’t exactly creep me out. I’m sure this says more about me than the book, but it is what it is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- While I confess that I may not know much about Erica Slaughter, but I’m already totally in love with her. Erica’s name obviously fits her. She’s a bundle of mysteries and contradictions, on top of being a total badass, so … you know, she’s kind of got a lot going for her right now. There’s very little I actually get to know about her personally, but she’s in the monster hunting business, and that’s enough for me. I’m easy, what can I say? I was already interested in the story by the time she showed up, but she sealed the deal. I couldn’t get enough of her, and I can’t wait to learn more about the people she works for/with and more about her story.

- The atmosphere of this book really hearkened back to the old-school, small-town horrors. I’m not sure what it is about small towns that make them perfect for horror settings. No, scratch that, I totally do. Because small towns are safe. Everyone knows each other. Everyone looks out for each other. Right? RIGHT?! All that murder and crime and stuff happens in the big cities. Having grown up in a small town, I found the setting both charming and alarming, which was a perfect blend. Add to that the natural suspicion that small-town folks feel when a stranger comes to town, and it really lends itself to a tense situation.

I liked this new graphic novel and the premise of monsters killing children, with another young adult available to kill the monsters. Good first effort at this series.

This is a great, spooky read that we haven't seen from Tynion since The Woods. This, however, is spookier and more violent. The writing is great, as is the art. The colors are dark and fitting to the story. I look forward to more in this series.

So about something is killing the chrildren vil 1. I had a Hard time rating this one, nothing against it really just it lost me under the way since I was reading on the Phone, and I feel this would have been better to have in the hands. Really like the art style and can't wait to know more about the story in vol. 2.
So about 3.5 or 4 stars.

A good first volume with just enough of a creepy factor that left me wanting more. There's enough mystery but still plenty of questions to be answered. It reads very much like the first hour of a two-hour monster hunting film or the first half of a TV season.

This actually had a lot in common with my other most recent NetGalley-acquired graphic novel, "Lizard in a Zoot Suit" by Marco Finnegan. Both were enjoyable enough that I flew through, but neither was a particularly fresh story; not to mention that some of the action scenes were kinda hard to follow in both.

In this one, the title tells you all you need to know: there's monsters killing children, and a girl is sent there to kill the monsters (gave me "Malus Domestica" by S.A. Hunt vibes besides the obvious It/ Stranger Things) The premise is fine, it's a solid one, but the problem is that it has no roots. There's no backstory for Erica (the monster killer), or her octopus "familiar" (for lack of a different term), or the mysterious organization that employs her, or the monsters.

This sort of "just go with it" mostly action focused stories are popular with some people (coughMadMaxFuryRoadcough), but they don't work for me all that well. I'm one of those people that want a bit of backstory and WHY I should care about [x thing] before I start rooting for it. While Erica was cool and I was obviously on her side throughout this, I wasn't all that attached to her.

I understand that the decision to hold onto all that backstory was very much on purpose, and that the author is going to tell that story sooner or later because it's obviously going to continue, but, like I don't like the "just go with it" stories, I also don't like "just keep reading to find out the answers!!!!" when it's obvious they could have been revealed already.

All that to say: I liked the graphic novel and I'm probably going to keep reading sometime in the future, but this first volume is basically all setup.

The art is fine, does its job, but isn't anything spectacular either.

This is a great, scary comic. I loved the characters and the style and I can't wait to read the next volume. Thank you for the review copy.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher BOOM! Studios for allowing me to receive this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN
by James Tynion IV (The Woods, Batman: Detective Comics) & Artist Werther Dell’Edera (Briggs Land)

Description
When children begin to go missing in the town of Archer’s Peak, all hope seems lost until a mysterious woman arrives to reveal that terrifying creatures are behind the chaos - and that she alone will destroy them, no matter the cost.

IT’S THE MONSTERS WHO SHOULD BE AFRAID.

When the children of Archer's Peak—a sleepy town in the heart of America—begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories—impossible details of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope of finding and eliminating the threat is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to be the only one who sees what they can see.

Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. That is all she does, and she bears the cost because it must be done.

GLAAD Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (The Woods, Batman: Detective Comics) teams with artist Werther Dell’Edera (Briggs Land) for an all-new story about staring into the abyss.

Collects Something is Killing the Children #1-5.


THOUGHTS

I enjoyed the artwork a lot, it was creepy and eerie and really made the story more enjoyable!
It was definitely gory and you should know that before reading, I could have used a bit more horror and spook to it, just never got me immersed into it the way I thought that it would.


Characters 7
Atmosphere 8
Writing 7
Plot 6
Intrigue 6
Art 8
Enjoyment 6

RATING SYSTEM CREATED BY BOOK ROAST
1-2 REALLY BAD 3-4 MEDIOCRE 5-6 GOOD 7-8 REALLY GOOD 9-10 OUTSTANDING

Overall 6.85
3 Star Rating

This is the first time I've read anything like this, I don’t usually read graphic novels but this was fantastic and very entertaining. It reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer a little and I loved it. Who doesn't love a kick-ass heroine? 110% Definitely want to read the next volume. Highly recommend.
Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

If u like the stranger things tv show u will like this book !!!!!

It is mind blowing, disturbing ,haunting and spooky in all. The way the story was told was amazing. This happened in the beginning of the graphic novel and like all of James friends were murdered I know right sad case and he is the one and only survivor who need to know who kill his friends. There are so many moments were u think like Erica was like a friend of James throughout his journey he found was helping him but I thought that she was kinda weird and spooky like no offence.

The way it ended was a suspense which me hate, need to wait for book 2 I Guess.

Liked the illustrations.

The storyline was just not that convincing to me.

I guess I was expecting a lot more from the book loving the book cover so much.

I wanted it to be more thrilling and adventurous.

The blurb sounds more interesting.

Thanks netgalley for the copy.

Volume One of this graphic novel is a very interesting and it introduces the reader to the town of Archer’s Peak and its inhabitants. Using a unique graphic style which really adds to the overall finished product which is finely meshed with James Tynion’s narrative style works extremely well.

The story, and as this is Volume One of a bigger picture, does a wonderful job of introducing plot, characters and visual style to help flush these out together. Using a graphic novel story telling device, you can tell that Tynion and Werther Dell,Ederm work very well together to pull this off successfully.

The book is the first five of the series which lets the reader fully emerge themselves into the story but as this is Volume One, there are some story threads leaving the reader dangling and hungry for more. It does keep you interested and builds a strong anticipation of what is to come and waiting with bated breath for the next instalment. The plot is very well paced and yearns the reader to find out more.

The characters are very well drawn and are essential to the plot. Deeply layered with in-depth emotional range helps the story becomes more involved. The reader feels a sense of kinship with the main character and relatively cares about them as they set out on their journey of adventure.

Overall, this is a very constructed graphic novel that has piqued my interest and I am keen to know what happens next. It has a great story structure, excellent graphics and fantastic characters that keeps the reader involved though a little disheartening when it seems to end abruptly. Bring on the next edition.

I enjoyed reading this book. The mood was just as creepy and dark as I was hoping for when I selected the book. It was a great read and I would recommend it to my friends. It was an easy read on my Kindle, and I loved it so much that I'm thinking about investing in a paper copy to be able to read again and again, since I enjoy having my favorite books in physical copy.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book.

This was an intense story and I'm very glad that we were able to get as much in this volume as we did. The art of this story matches the tone and the seriousness and danger of the situation that the characters found themselves in. The story was gripping and the art and dialogue natural and creepy and I can't wait to see what else comes from this story!

Overall 5 out of 5 from me.

I am the biggest fan of kid/teen gangs being badass (especially female characters) fighting against monsters. Hi Stranger Things, Monster Squad, Paper Girls. I am a sucker for horror graphic novels, and I CANNOT wait for volume 2 to come out.
I loved Erica Slaughter and will definitely be purchasing a physical copy for my ever-growing graphic novel collection.

'Something is Killing the Children, Volume One' by James Tynion IV with art by Werther Dell'Edera is a graphic novel about a boy, a monster and a monster hunter.

Archer's Peak was a quiet town. Then the kids started disappearing. One horrific night, James is out with his friends, and he becomes the only survivor. Enter Erica Slaughter, the mysterious stranger. She recruits James for answers and tells him she is in town to kill the thing that is killing the children.

I really liked this story. James is so hangdog, and Erica definitely has some mystery to her character. I felt like the art took some getting used to. By the end, I liked the art style.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Boom! Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Stranger things with a badass female character called Erica Slaughter Is saving children with her sidekick, a stuffed animal.. I need the next volume and of course this is creepy because it involves children and it is very graphic so be prepared for blood and gore. You will be wan to put this book down once you pick it up.

This was a decent story setup. In a small town there is (title drop) Somthing Killing the Children. We are introduced to this at a sleepover where the boys wander into the woods on a dare, but only one comes back. He's of course questioned relentlessly and suspected. He teams up with the strange girl who wanders into town Erica Slaughter to defeat the other-wordly beast that's attacking the town's kids.

It poses a lot more questions than it answers. Erica Slaughter is a super badass character and I wish we would have learned more about her and where she came from. It ends on quite a cliffhanger, so I'm assuming there's more to come.