Facing Down The Beast With ‘Something Is Killing The Children’ #5
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Erica’s stuffed octopus begins speaking to James. It tells him to go into the Archer’s Peak cave and help Erica kill the beast within. Inside the cave, Tommy has pulled a gun on Erica, but the monster interrupts Tommy’s plans. Erica saves Tommy from the beast, but she’s unprepared for the size and strength of this creature. James goes into help, but Tommy manages to disrupt this effort too, if only on accident. Now, Erica Slaughter has two people to save and she still has to kill the monster within Archer’s Peak.
Something is Killing the Children #5 brings the first arc to an end, with Erica facing down the monster that has killed so many children in the town. She faces additional challenges on this quest, but saving the children of the town is still her main goal.
Tommy is a hard character to judge in all of the chaos. He, understandably, believes that Erica Slaughter is responsible for the death of his sister. James only wants to help Erica, but he still winds up as another roadblock between Erica and the monster.
Needless to say, it’s an action-heavy issue. While many things seem to get between Erica and the monster, there are still plenty of scenes of our dark hero fighting the beast.
We also get some glimpses of the world which produced Erica and how she can see these monsters when others don’t.
Werther Dell’Edera once again makes a great showing, giving the book the gritty and gory aesthetic it deserves. We are put into the intense and horrifying environment within the Archer’s Peak cave with Tommy, James, and Erica. The creature often lumbers off-panel and in the shadows. We do get a decent view of it and it has a solid design fitting for the title. Miquel Muerto gives the book another striking color palette which makes sure the atmosphere is as oppressive and cruel as the book deserves.
Something is Killing the Children #5 finishes the arc on a strong note with us getting to watch Erica Slaughter do battle with the murderous beast what kills said children. Dell’Edera and Muerto make another strong showing in the visual department. This one gets a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Something is Killing the Children #5 comes to us from writer James Tynion IV, artist Werther Dell’Edera, color artist Miquel Muerto, letterers from Andworld Design, cover artist Werther Dell’Edera with letterer Giovanna Niro, and variant cover artist David Lafuente with German Garcia.
Final Score: 8.5/10
