Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 7

Something is Killing the Children #7

by James Tynion IV (Writer), Werther Dell'Edera (Illustrator), Miquel Muerto (Colorist)

After narrowly surviving the Duplicitype, Erica Slaughter must still reckon with the murderous Cutter in order to save the people of Tribulation. Separated from Dolly and driven by desperate rage, Cutter won't stop until she exacts her revenge on Erica.

But the horror is far from over as the terrifying Duplicitype, the infamous monster wearing Erica’s likeness that changed Something is Killing the Children forever, also remains at large and in relentless, sinister pursuit! And with Cecilia showing up onsite, will Erica finally find the ally she needs, or is betrayal in the cards? Whose side are they on?

Most importantly, what chance does Erica stand?

Collects Something is Killing the Children #31-35.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Adult

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2024

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-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: Nice and tight, showdown fights, players stop pretending, building doom, it really zooms: a savage car crash ending.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #31-33 ◦ Issues #34-35

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something killed that fucking kid.
Now, I'm not saying that you should run about killing children willy-nilly, but on occasion, dreams do come true, and the correct child gets eaten by a monster.
I know.
There may be things I need to work out in therapy.



Ok, so without giving any spoilers, I'll say that I was all in for this volume. I'm thrilled beyond words at the ending and can't wait to see what the next arc of Erica's story brings us.
And I'm sure I've said it before, but I really enjoyed Cutter as the villain, so here's hoping Tynion can keep that level of menace going strong as the story moves forward.



I'm still loving the weird and wonky art style of Werther Dell’Edera, which is strange because some of the faces in the panels are incredibly off-putting to me. I don't know. I can't explain that any more than I can explain the zeal in my heart as I watched a monster eat a child in this comic book.



Oh, and don't skimp and forget to peruse the Cover Gallery when you read this. Really, the covers are the best part - aside from the delicious children, of course.
I know what you're thinking, but I swear that I'm a loving mother who has eaten ZERO of her young.

Yet.



Good stuff!
Recommended.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Tynion IV has made his career on killing children. No, wait---that sounds horrible.

Tynion himself has not killed any children. He just writes about killing children, lovingly, and in graphic detail.

So, yeah, that doesn't sound any better.

Anyway, his graphic novel series Something is Killing the Children has come to an end (maybe) in Volume 7, and it's, as expected, great.

It's exciting, bloody, and a tear-jerker all in one.

Now, Mr. Tynion, please stop killing children in your comic books. You've done it really well, but take a break for a while. It's emotionally draining for all of us...

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection that picks up from the previous arc. All the characters are on a path where we will have the final battle. Will Erica be able to take out the monster while Cutter is hunting her?

While this was not my favorite arc of this amazing series this was still a great read. I did love the finale and there were a couple of jaw dropping moments. This collection and series is not afraid to go down the dark path and can be very dark at times. I believe my favorite part of this collection is the symbolism as we get Erica fighting a monster that resembles her. At the same time she is fighting Cutter (whom I loved as a character) and the possibility of what Erica might become. The place we left all the characters at the end is a great way to end this arc and I cannot wait to see how this all plays out. Once again the artwork is top notch. It is muted and just conveys the atmosphere of this series. It isn't bright and cheery. It is dark and desolate and it just adds to the overall experience of reading this collection and series.

This might be my least favorite arc of this series and all the collections in this arc basically earned four stars including this one. That just shows the quality of the story , the writers of the story and the artwork. A concluding arc should tie up the current story but also get its audience excited for the next one. This one accomplishes that and I will read the next collection without any reservations.

[Jim Ef · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.6/10
The arc comes nicely into a conclusion. Ok, maybe not nicely for all the characters, but definitely for the readers.

It's a very dark and sad story and it is interesting to see how everyone reacts after the horrible events that take place. So it's quite similar to the first arc. The new thing here, and the best for me, is the villain. Cutter is scary, maybe scarier than the monster. No one is safe around her. Here also lies my only complaint. I wanted more of Erica vs Cutter.

The end of this arc made me very excited about the future, because i have no idea where we go from here.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The New Mexico arc comes to a brutal conclusion.

This series seems to think it has permission to break my heart over and over. But of course, I'm the one who keeps picking up the next volume every time, so I suppose it has come to the only logical conclusion.

[La loca de los libros · Rating 4 out of 5]

No ha pasado gran cosa, o si... igualmente ese "Continuará..." del final siempre consigue que solo quiera ir corriendo a por el siguiente.
Menos mal que lo tengo 😂

Hay muchas incógnitas aún por descubrir y estoy deseando que se revelen la mayoría en el próximo número pero al ritmo que van, y para aprovechar la buena acogida que están teniendo, me veo comprando otra estantería solo para esta colección jajajajaja

Pronto reseña ⤵️

https://www.facebook.com/LaLocadelosL... 💀🖤📚

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites in the run, but still pretty darn good.

Not much happiness and light to be found here, but more than enough carnage and mayhem to go around....

I still waffle on what it means that I've enjoyed the run/storyline/characters so much to this point. But, at this point, I'm pretty vested.

And, no, if you didn't start at the beginning, this is definitely not the place to start.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The release of a new volume of this title is still a highlight for me. It's just so darned dark!

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series continues to be overhyped. This was good, but not great. I’m enjoying the story, just not as much as it seems everyone else is. I’m curious though with the ending of this book how the tone of this story may change with the next arc.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid end to this Arc..Brutal ending and promises of what's to come.

[⁀➷ Heisy ˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

let 👏🏻 my 👏🏻 girl 👏🏻 have 👏🏻 a 👏🏻 break 👏🏻

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice finale. Dell'edera is on fire with the art in this volume. Love the chaotic motion, with the blurred effect that makes you want to rush through the pages. For Tynions part, I really felt a sense of urgency in the story.

This series is a major hit, obviously. It has unique mythos with slasher monster horror movie elements.

One side note this is another series that will undoubtedly read better as a binge or in single issue. I don't get the feel it was intended to be read in tpb. I would consider doing a re-read a few years down the road

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume.

This series continues strong.

[Sibel Rac · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
There was a lot of crying and whining, I hoped for more action, but it's still one of my favorite series.

[Ilias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still quite nice and interesting plot. The series is apparently ongoing at the time of my review, so it left me waiting for more. Not the best ending for this volume, but definitely gave me something to wait for the next issues. Can't wait for the next issue or volume.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

When this arc started, I felt it was a bit repetitive of the previous story arcs, but it really turned around in this and the previous volume. I think Cutter started out menacing, and then became a bit silly in this book, but that's a minor gripe. I liked the visual echo of young Erica with Gabi.

If I have one complaint, it's that Werther Dell’Edera's art (which is generally excellent) is hard to read in action scenes, sometimes even downright confusing.

(Picked up a review copy on NetGalley)

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good, but it could've been great. I have to admit that I didn't believe a lot of it. A few details just didn't sit right; little (and sometimes big) things here and there took away from it. Of course I don't know where the story is going from here, but I felt like the writers ultimately betrayed Erica's character. Someone as smart and as caring as she is wouldn't have done something so blindingly stupid. I wasn't expecting the ending to be all peaches and cream, but I would've liked to see the story go in a different direction than it did. The next two volumes are set in the past, and I'm looking forward to reading them, but I'll be excited when we are back in the present again. For now, I'll just have to wait and make do with what I've got.

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finishing off the story that was started in the last collection, I wasn't expecting a lot, to be honest. Blah blah, they'd figure out how to kill the thing that's killing the children, blah blah, they'd kill it.

Boy, was I wrong.

This was utterly fantastic, probably the best arc of the series so far.

[Frédéric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.
Harsh and cruel ending for this 15 issues run which didn’t left me wanting for one second.

We discover more about Cecilia, Cutter finally plays her part and Erica is again shown as more humane than she let on the first volumes.
Pacing is perfect, dialogues flow easily, you feel for the characters, even the supporting cast. Which makes their fate all the more sad.

SIKTC never left me down so far. The more I read it the more I like it. Tynion has created a great series with great characters and Dell’edera definitely found his series, the one with which he’ll leave a mark.
I’ll never praise Miquel Muerto’s wonderful colouring enough.

[Bus · Rating 5 out of 5]

En la misma línea. Si sigue así y sacan mil números, me compraré los mil. Disfruto muchísimo con esta saga

[akacya ❦]

2025 reads: 66/300

cutter won’t stop until she ends erica, and erica’s having trouble balancing cutter and the monster at hand. this volume was packed with plenty of emotion and action. i can’t wait to read the next one!

[Jessie (Zombie_likes_cake) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has such a choke hold on me. It's violent and bleak and everything I could love in a graphic novel, I'm soaking up every minute of it. Just know, they'll kill all your friends.

Usually I feel like series run too long, even if I like them, but right here right now I am not mad that it seems we are going to get more. As long as they keep up the quality I'll be riding along and begging my library to add the next issue whenever they come out.

But what did I think about this installment in particular? Was it truly that 5*? Maybe, maybe not. I went into this expecting a finish line and didn't expect this sad gut punch that opened the door to future volumes. It hit me like a bullet train and that needs to be honored. I have some things about this that could warrant a star reduction but I don't want to. Maybe the big fight against Cutter followed too much of the annoying structure where at first it looks like the hero is losing, like she's just not strong enough but then just pulls deep and finds the motivation... never a huge fan of that. But also the fight against the Duplicitype made up for everything that might have been too expected in the confrontation against Cutter. That was so not what I thought would happen and it was devastating. Yeah, I want my books to be devastating sometimes, especially these ones. Additionally, I like seeing Erica's arc in this, it's a sad one. Like how much more can the woman lose?

Maybe I am also feeling like congratulating the whole of these with a full rating, it's not easy for a series to keep me invested, I jump ship from TV shows as soon as it's not interesting for me anymore and I rarely ever even start a series in book form. So, all the start for "Killing Children" to keep me going. My only worry is that at some point they cannot sustain this level anymore, it's the natural way of things. I hope they'll finish it before that happens. But for now: Wow.

4.5*

[Zedsdead · Rating 5 out of 5]

The grand finale. Erica, the Cutter, and the duplicitype settle things once and for all and it goes down in worthy, grim fashion.

There's a notable art win in the first issue: a stunned survivor is describing to the sheriff how the monster killed his friend. Something is off about how he looks, and it took me a moment to parse that his tank top strap had fallen and left an appropriate blank spot in the blood spray. Brilliant attention to detail by the illustrator.

Plot points:
--The shapeshifting monster mimicks Erica while it murders children. The cops are looking for her while the Cutter hunts Erica, Gabi, and Riqui.
--Erica sets a trap for the monster using Gabi as bait. They all know it's doomed to fail.
--Slaughter house princess Cynthia finds Erica. She offers an irreversible poison that is the only way to kill the duplicitype and encourages her to kill the Cutter.
--As the monster arrives, drawn by Gabi, the Cutter takes Gabi and Riqui hostage. Erica fires a poisoned arrow at her but the Cutter catches it and poisons Gabi. Erica beats the Cutter to death.
--Gabi, realizing she's going to die of the poison, charges the monster. It bites off her hand and succumbs to the poison.
--Erica flees. Cynthia has the duplicitype, which still looks like Erica, burned in her stead.
--Riqui knows Erica is still alive and vows to hunt her down for letting Gabi die.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
In the latest chapter of Something is Killing the Children, after Erica Slaughter has stolen her "dolly," an even crazier than before Charlotte Cutter has unleashed her plan to finally kill Erica, and the old Dragon is fine with whatever the outcome will be. While Cutter tracks her down, a Duplicitype monster bearing Erica's visage is also on her trail. With no choice but to use Gabi as a lure, Erica prepares for what may be a final showdown versus the creature and Cutter.
The issues within this graphic novel contain some of the best story line of the title. Tynion's fantastic and unique writing along with the slightly bizarre and abstract artwork continue to produce the most intriguing and best comic book title out there today. I love this book.

[Alex Sarll]

If nothing else, I'm impressed at the regular release schedule they're maintaining, something not even great success guarantees an indie book - just look at Saga. The Cutter story concludes, albeit in such a way the next volume can reprise with variations, and while we get a reminder of how dirty the series is prepared to play, there was another avenue offered here which I think would have made for a better, and certainly a more different, next arc. Above all, though, even if I continue to find it Tynion's least interesting horror story, Dell'Edera's art remains gorgeous.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I want to say if you aren't reading Something is Killing the Children, what are you even doing with your life. This is by far the series I recommend most to people. I have every single issue, every trade, the first hardcover deluxe edition, and every mask. So is my review biases, maybe. But this is by far my favorite horror series out right now. Tynion balances horror with a fast paced story. The art is perfect for the horror aspect of the story. There are twists and turns that I did not see coming. Everyone should be reading this.

5 stars (as always)

[Adam Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how sometimes you are watching an action movie and things have been building to a huge fight, and then the fight happens, and you realize there's till 20 mins left of the movie and it's not over? Vol 7 of SiKtC is exactly that. When I was reading Volume 6, I thought for sure it would end with 7.... but there's one more left.
Spoilers!


Erica continues to use Gabi to lure the Duplicitype, and Riqui swears that if anything happens to Gabi, she'll kill Erica. Cecelia from the House of Slaughter shows up and gives Erica one last chance to get off their radar or she'll be brought back in and killed. So..... Erica practices with poison arrows for the Duplicitype, Charlotte comes back into the scene to get her Dolly, Erica shoots an arrow at Charlotte, Charlotte catches it and uses the arrow to kill Gabi, the Duplicitype kills Charlotte, Erica kills the Duplicitype, and runs. Cecelia takes the Duplicitype corpse to get the House off of Erica, but Riqui swears to find and kill Erica for her part in Gabi's death.

Volume 8 is coming!

Damn this series is so good....

[kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, I can’t believe this is the final chapter. It feels as if it was just yesterday that I was binging the series. And given that jarring ending, I can’t wait to see what Erica’s next story has in store.

[Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot get enough of this series!