Something Is Killing the Children #1

Something Is Killing the Children #1
Information
Written by	James Tynion IV
Illustrated by	Werther Dell'Edera
Colors by	Miquel Muerto
Lettered by	AndWorld Design
Release date	September 4, 2019
Chronology
Next →	Something Is Killing the Children #2

Something Is Killing the Children #1 is a horror comic from James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera that was published on September 4, 2019 by Boom! Studios. It is the first issue in the Something Is Killing the Children comic series, the first issue of the five-part The Angel of Archer's Peak arc, and the first issue of the fifteen-part Archer's Peak saga.

Synopsis

GLAAD Award-winning writer James Tynion IV (Memetic, Batman: Detective Comics) teams with artist Werther Dell'Edera (Briggs Land) for an all-new limited series about staring into the abyss to find your worst fears staring back.

When the children of Archer's Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories—impossible stories 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 see 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.

Plot

At a sleepover, a group of preteen boys play Truth or Dare. James describes a monster he supposedly saw coming through the forest while he was home alone, to the disbelief of his friends. He then challenges Noah to go look under the bridge. Following, James is in the police station, the sole survivor of his group of friends. He tells the police that the monster he'd described had come and killed them all, but he doesn't understand, because he had made the story up.

Two weeks later, Erica Slaughter comes out of the woods, bloodied, and meets with a little girl. She gets a call from The Order of St. George to go to Archer's Peak, which will take her sixteen hours.

At Archer's Peak, James is confronted at a memorial for several lost students by Dan Brisby, who accuses him of killing the children due to his homosexuality. Robbie shouts at him to "shut the fuck up," which gets him sent to the Principal's office. John Collins, however, simply tells him that he probably should have punched him, before revealing that the police think the children are being killed by a bear. He apologizes for breaking in front of him, but James lets him know that it makes him feel better, before returning to class.

Erica, holding Octo, gets off the bus at Archer's Peak; a woman next to her remarks about the missing children. Erica looks at a large wall of missing posters, and a police officer asks if she knows any of the children. She says "You could say that," before leaving. James arrives home at his family's hotel room, where they've been staying to avoid the press. Erica then approaches him, asking him to be honest about the monster he saw, swearing that she will believe him. James explains that he'd seen his friends ripped apart, before seeing Tyler being stabbed by a monster. After seeing Erica respond to a phone call, James realizes that Erica is here to kill the monster, and asks if he can help.

Characters

Order of St. George

• Octo
• Erica Slaughter

Archer's Peak

• Dan Brisby
• Sheriff Joe Cavanaugh
• Principal John Collins
• James
• James's Father (voicemail)
• Karl †
• Tyler Monitz †
• Noah †
• Officer John Richards
• Robbie †

Monsters

• Oscuratype
  • Archer's Peak Oscuratype mother

Gallery

Something Is Killing the Children #1 cover by Werther Dell'Edera

Something Is Killing the Children #1 variant cover by Jae Lee and June Chung

Something Is Killing the Children #1 variant cover by Jenny Frison

Something Is Killing the Children #1 2nd printing variant cover by Dani

Something Is Killing the Children #1 3rd printing variant cover by Dani

Something Is Killing the Children #1 4th printing variant cover by Lee Garbett

Something Is Killing the Children #1 5th printing variant cover by Werther Dell'Edera

Something Is Killing the Children #1 6th printing variant cover by Werther Dell'Edera