Book of Butcher #1

Books of Slaughter #2

by James Tynion IV (Writer), Tate Brombal (Writer), Werther Dell'Edera (Illustrator)

Leading into the fifth anniversary of Something Is Killing The Children and building on last year’s Book of Slaughter, Maxine Slaughter steps into the spotlight in her journey from White to Black Mask.

With New Orleans as her destination, what will Maxine uncover about House Boucher… and what will she learn about herself in the process?
The award-winning, bestselling creative team of James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera unleash their only first issue of 2023 and set the stage for year five of the Slaughterverse!

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Monsters, Supernatural

66 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2023

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(A-) 80% | Very Good
Notes: A monster guide, real legends tied, all real plum information, its story bits, though, rarely hit, it takes a plot vacation.

*Progress update

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maxine Slaughter continues her education in the ways of the Order of St. George by training under a black mask named Louis Boucher and hunting a large monster in the swamps of Louisiana.

Again, the sequential story is interrupted with illustrated text pages from books Maxine is reading from the library in Louis' shack, a rich info dump about the types of monsters in the Something Is Killing the Children universe.

Maxine is growing on me a lot, and I like her dynamic with Louis as well as the strains in her relationship with Cecilia Slaughter.

Now off to London for one last bit of book reading in this trilogy of libraries.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Book of Butcher #1.

Contents: Book of Butcher / James Tynion IV, writer, with Tate Brombal, contributor; Werther Dell'Edera, illustrator; with Antonio Fuso, Letizia Cadonici, and Chris Shehan, guest illustrators -- From Script to Page / James Tynion IV, writer; Werther Dell'Edera, illustrator -- Cover Gallery / Dan Mora, Werther Dell'Edera, Dani, Jae Lee, Junggeun Yoon, John Giang, Puppeteer Lee, Justine Florentino, Ivan Tao, and InHyuk Lee, illustrators -- Louis Boucher Character Designs / Werther Dell'Edera, illustrator

[b · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love this combination of transparent scaffolding, lore dump, callback and new story all mixed together. Feels like a perfect transitional / one-off / necessarily independent short within the wider universe. Really pleased. Gonna go looking for the other offerings like this now.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

In an effort to make her the new black mask for House of Slaughter, Maxine is sent to the bayou of New Orleans for training. The training isn't what she'd hoped, and her new mentor isn't making it easy or exciting for her, encouraging her to expand her knowledge through books even more so than actually fighting monsters.
Where the Book of Slaughter expanded the world of Something is Killing the Children with detailed background on the Order of St. George, Book of Butcher attempts to do something similar. Only in this instance, the "books" detail the various monsters and the history of the House of Boucher. Quite frankly, like Maxine, I was pretty bored and uninspired by this entry in the series. Most of the book lore felt more like filler than world building and contained very little I really needed to know.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love lore.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxine is learning the ropes of being a black mask and what she really needs to learn is to trust no one and read between the lines. Sometimes they are the monsters. A lot of monster classification that I maybe wasn’t in the mood for at the moment but really helps in rounding out the world. Also energy vampires are real.

[Marybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Before we had names, we had monsters."
"We shape our monsters from the day we are born until the day we die, & pity the soul whose fear catches up to them."

I did not know this issue existed, or that I was supposed to read it a looooong time ago. I definitely regret not reading it sooner, but it still makes sense in retrospect.

"Here." "A fucking book." "Yeah, a fucking book. Read a fucking book. There's words in it & you learn shit. Maybe, if you're bright enough, you start to figure out you're in a whole fucking house full of fucking books, & they all have fucking words in them. Don't bleed on the pages. They stick together. I hate that." "JUST STITCH ME UP."

It helps a lot if you read this before The House of Slaughter books & everything starting with issue 21 of Something is Killing the Children (it introduces The House of Butcher (Boucher), & explains duplicitype & dracotype monstrum).

"Maybe if you read a fucking book."

This is a little bit about Maxine & her struggle to understand what it means to be a Black Mask & the ways in which its different from a White Mask, while Cecilia is...Cecilia; & a lot more about learning Monstrum & House lore, which is super interesting.

"Learn a lot from books. Namely, you learn what the people writing them wanted you to know."

I may love Louis Boucher, just a bit. I want a 2,000 page graphic novel dedicated to him, & he better have a happy ending 👀 He reminds me of Sevro, if only Sevro loved to read. If Sevro & Roque had a child?? Yes, that's Louis.

"Read between the lines. Read the stories that aren't in the book. That's the only place you'll find the truth [in the Order of St. George]."

Representation: Maxine is a Black woman; small spoilers: the House of Boucher has a history of freeing slaves, & their former Dragon who created a legacy of Dragons with his family, was a Black man. He & his family tree is discussed, but not shown in this issue.

"A dragon, then, is not a singular fear but a civilization's collective horror."

[Ma'Belle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book itself lists James Tynion IV more prominently as the main writer, so it's interesting that the unknown (to my knowledge) Brombal gets authorship on Goodreads. This one was a real sleeper, and I don't mean that in the usual, complimentary sense. I mean it kept putting me to sleep, with page after page of rather boring text - not in typical comic book panel form, or with any action happening, but more like reading encylopedia entries. I can appreciate the intention of world-building and giving us savory details of the Order's lore and history, possibly hinting at other stories to come, but I just thought it could have been more engaging, since it's supposedly being actively read by the main character. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the last *third* of this TPB is just behind-the-scenes padding, so I could finally close it and return it.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like last year's Book of Slaughter, this was some good stuff in a thick square-bound format. It's set in the Something Is Killing the Children universe. It follows Maxine Slaughter in her training to be a black mask. She's training down in New Orleans and the story is interspersed with illustrated pages from the Book of Boucher. It documents all of the known monster types out there including several never seen before along with traditional monsters like vampires, werewolves and zombies. I'm very curious how soon Maxine's story is going to collide with Erica's.

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite things being a bit confusing at first and me wishing this comic issue was a bit longer to pack in some more content, I did still really enjoy reading this comic book.
Seeing Maxine navigate New Orleans and her trainer was very interesting to see. Her trainer: Louis, was a particular character to say the least and I hope to see more of him in future SIKTC-verse comic issues. All of the information and lore that got revealed in this issue was vastly fascinating and, I was happy to see the mention of Jace since he is such a complex yet likable character.

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

50% guidebook 50% teaser

A young hunter Maxine is sent to learn from a veteran hunter Louis in the swamps of Louisiana.

That story teases an internal conflict with the order of St. George and parallels Erica's journey in the main book.

I'm not sure why it's seperate from either Something is Killing the children or House of slaughter.

It works better as an interlude than a standalone piece.

[Stephanie Augustine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backstory

This was interesting. It was different than the other books so don't go in expecting that. Book of Butcher is really more a history of the monsters. I enjoyed this though and thought it was interesting. Learning about the different monster types and more about the Lore of this universe. I guess we'll see about the story as it unfolds but I wasn't as interested in that part.

[Asha McKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxine is a protagonist you can easily love, and her new mentor fits the bill of the other black mask hunters throughout the “something” and “books of” series. I’m glad there was a lesson learned. I can appreciate the history and lore being added in throughout these volumes, but it’s a bit too much writing and not enough plot action. That being said, it makes me anxiously await the completion of her training and the future plans that Cecilia has for her.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maxine Slaughter continues her training to become a black mask by visiting an old hunter from the House of Butcher, now exiled to living alone in a swamp near New Orleans. Maxine learns some more of the history of the Order, including detailed descriptions about the various types of monsters out there. And her teacher tells her that the actual history of the Order is written "between the lines." And...scene.

[Will Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this introduction (or re-introduction, as it were) of Maxine Slaughter, and her adventure now down in Nola with the House of Butcher/Boucher. Very excited to see where it goes. Also, the twins, Tybault and Paris follow in the grand tradition of literary twins being just THIS of bat-shit insane, so that's fun.

[Laïni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frankly, it was probably my favorite volume of the entire slaughterverse. It's pretty, well executed, well written and it's instructive on the universe. You could read the volume after picking a few others from the slaughterverse or you can start discovering the universe by choosing this one.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hear you're leaving tomorrow. That's fine. But here's a lesson for you. Keep reading, Maxine. But read between the lines. Read the stories that aren't in the book. That's the only place you'll find the truth in the Order of St. George."

Ooooooooooohhhhh yesssssssssss!!!

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume delved way further than the last!

The lore and context this gives to the whole universe is well worth it and gives lots to think about!

Reveals how well planned and intricate this universe really is!

Highest of recommends if you are into this franchise!

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues to not be the best entry point to the slaughterverse for a new reader, but for those who have been following along, Maxine's training offers up plenty of fresh lore and some major revelations hidden in the shadows of the Order of St. George.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

More source book than narrative. Interesting, but below the other books in the series.

[Misa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to learn more about the monsters, their origins and more this guide is for you.

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels a bit too familiar but even rehashed angles in the house of slaughter series are some of the more intriguing stories going.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh great, an appendix of lore masquerading as story.

[Julie Boudreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une édition spéciale pour mieux comprendre la maison de Boucher. Lire le Book of Slaughter juste avant, car il y a une chronologie logique entre ces deux numéros spéciaux.

[Rhonda Rubalcaba · Rating 5 out of 5]

More informational than anything, but I'm not mad about it 😊

[Alex Calva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed with this series. Give me all the spin-offs

[Seher · Rating 5 out of 5]

what???!!!!

So I’ve been reading houses of slaughter and something is killing the children and I didn’t expect this take. Ummmmmmmmm. What??!!!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxine learns an important lesson. All of the alt covers are devastatingly gorgeous.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope the Red Mask kid with the photographic memory changed stuff he didn't like about Red Mask policies when he was recreating all the books that got burned in the fire.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excited to step back into this series and loved the monster lore in this one 🫶🏼