Something Is Killing the Children #12 is a horror comic from James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera that was published on November 18, 2020 by Boom! Studios. It is the twelfth issue in the Something Is Killing the Children comic series, the second issue of the five-part A Game of Nowhere arc, and the twelfth issue of the fifteen-part Archer's Peak saga.
Synopsis[]
Time is running out for Erica to save Archer's Peak, both from its monster infestation and from the occupation of the Order of St. George. Will Erica be forced to finally stop being a lone wolf and accept help from unlikely allies?[1]
Plot[]
At Officer Richards's parents' house, James pounds on the door for help. Richards tells him to run and that Erica must have something terrible planned for him; James says he knows she wants to use him as bait, but they need to help Erica, who is injured from a monster bite. She tells him that she managed to kill one monster, but there are four to go. She can stitch herself up, but she needs a place to hide, because the Order of St. George is coming.
In the house, Richards demands an explanation. Erica says that everything she says will sound crazy, and there is no way to prove it without putting him in danger, so he is just going to have to accept what she says to save more lives. When he agrees, she and James tell him that monsters are real, only children can see them, that Monster Hunters form the Order of St. George and now that the situation has escalated, they will be coming to keep people quiet. The monsters are now outside the school, and will eat everyone inside if they don't lure them away. Erica says in order to lure them, they will need to tap into the invocation that created the monster, and asks where Bian is.
Tommy goes outside, looking for the monsters, but only sees bodies. As he's about to call the clear to Joe Cavanaugh, he is nearly attacked by an Oscuratype. He is pulled inside just as the White Masks arrive.
Bian refuses to talk to Erica, because she wants to "hurt the babies." Erica tells her she is sorry, but the babies grew up and have killed four children and an adult. She asks when Bian first heard about the monsters, before she was taken by the mother. Bian said her sister was having a sleepover at Carly Monitz's house, and she had to go to, as he didn't want to deal with her. James recognizes the name as his friend Tyler's little sister. The girls were telling scary stories, when Tyler came in and told them about the monster James had told him about. The girls spread the story around the school, to keep children from going into the woods, but then their friend Sara Washington stopped going to school. The more kids that disappeared, the more scared Bian became, until she started seeing the monsters in the forest. One day, the Oscuratype mother killed her sister, and Bian pretended to be dead. The mother brought them to its den, and then gave birth to the babies.
Erica goes outside to talk to James, who asks if this is all his fault. She says it did start with him, and she's known for a long time, because otherwise it wouldn't have left him alive. James says the week prior to their deaths, James had told Tyler about the monster, which was why he asked him to talk about the most scared he'd ever been. James made up the story, but it was real enough to spread. She says that it wasn't all his fault, as a lot of things have to happen in order to create a monster. Cecilia Slaughter then arrives, and the White Masks bring Richards out to the deck as well. Cecilia then slices Richards's neck, killing him.
Characters[]
Order of St. George[]
Archer's Peak[]
Monsters[]
- Oscuratypes
- Archer's Peak Oscuratype children
Trivia[]
- After being referred to as "Tom" twice, Richards is referred to as "John" again in this issue.
Gallery[]
Comic guide[]