“At its base, and at its summit, the Something is Killing series is a solid horror-action story with visually fascinating characters. And if that’s all you’re looking for . . . you will be satisfied.​”

Vol. 1

I may revise my rating later, but this first entry into the series of horror comics feels at one and the same time cliched in its scenes and characters and working too hard to provoke readers through its gore of child bodies.

I’m a fan of Tynion’s other work, especially Nice House on the Lake, so I want top read the rest of the series to see where it goes; this first volume leaves far too much yet unexplained (though the foreshadowing of a dark cabal of monster-killers isn’t altogether promising).

Am I missing something, or is some horror now more akin to dark fantasy? I felt no horror, but was compelled a bit by the action.

(And as ever, kudos to Tynion for normalizing the non-binary.)

Vol. 2

I’m settling in to this series (as yet not completed, apparently!) and I will finish the story arc before doing a full review, but here is what I thought of Volume 2:

Much like Vol. 1, this is a dark gorefest with an insidious cabal of PR-masters behind it. We learn more about each, the tensionAs a literary term, I often use this in place of "conflict" ... More and action (if not the terror) is ramped up, but nothing is really resolved. Tynion is not afraid to shock us by losing important (or seemingly innocent) characters, but again this feels more like a need to shock than an essential plot point. The brief appearance of a character with seemingly conflicting motivations (somewhat promising) is too-quickly dispatched.

We do get some more hints at the Erica backstory, but this too is not unusual or especially insightful. In the end, this story currently appears to be an action romp with lots of night scenes and blood: there is little wrong with this (I’m still reading, after all), but I have seen so many graphic novels or series (including Tynion’s) pull off more.

Vol. 3

Much of this resolution, somewhat predictable, was unnecessary conflict to begin with. In other words, the sheer irrationality of the human antagonists made them an implausible and unsatisfying adversary for Erica’s story; this is especially true when the story was escalating on its own with the monsters themselves. There was plenty of weighty story for Erica and allies to deal with in that small town. In the end, the resolution for the monster-side was a quick one, and the one with her human antagonists was resolved outside of the main action.

That said, the human story resolution of this series of issues was original and provocative, making it the highlight of the 3 volumes so far. I totally bought it, as desperate and classically ‘awe-full’ as it was.

This is a potentially powerful series–as I would expect from Tynion–but as it continues, I am hoping for more of this kind of imaginative storytelling than trope-heavy retreads.

Volumes 4-7

I should say, too, that I generally like Tynion’s works, especially his horror stuff, for its original conception and decent character design. So in some ways, I am comparing Something is Killing the Children to his darker DC stuff, The Woods, Nice House on the Lake, and The Department of Truth.

I know that this series is routinely given great praise by critics and fans. Even so, my strengths and flaws from the first three volumes are here in these works with minor variations: largely, the stories are quite gory (and since many victims are children, not for the meek) and, unfortunately, this is the focus of the horror, kind of a one-trick pony. Because this is not wholly sustainable across the series, then, Tynion offers us the major sub-plot (really enhanced in this series) of a secret cabal of monster hunters and the amoral politics which drives it. Our hero, Erica, of course, sits apart from its corruption, which makes her a kind of horror-noir lone gunman for America monster-hunting. It’s an interesting idea (especially since she is not emotionally whole, either). Like King’s Gunslinger series, a lot of the best action in Tynion mirrors the duller sequences of storytelling in King. And, like a decent George R R Martin, Tynion makes no promises which characters will survive any scene. I should note, too, that the artwork by Dell’Edera and Muerto is startlingly good.

Overall, this storyline is more developed in the political intrigue, but often at the cost of the monster lore. Our most terrifying monster yet, especially in its last incarnation, is given precious few frames of development or interest. Mindless and ruthless, it appears in order to squash or be squashed. Tynion allows the artwork to carry this horror. So much for the monster-hunting. And this will explain why the entire Volume 7 is mostly given to action-based silent boss-battles.

Even so, Tynion’s best volume is probably the 4th, the “interim” series which looks back at Erica’s backstory and initiation and helps us see the relationships she has built and will grow. We learn more, too, about the toy totems the hunters carry and some of the motivations between competing schools in the secret society. But . . . and this is a big but for me, a lot of it has all the import of learning why Han Solo has fuzzy dice on the Millennium Falcon. Just because we can create back stories and answer plot-level questions about the “How-did-this-happen?” and “What-happens-to-character-x?” doesn’t mean that we automatically have good story or good writing. At its base, and at its summit, the “Something is Killing” series is a solid horror-action story with visually fascinating characters. And if that’s all you’re looking for–you don’t want to ask questions about child death, about the nature of horror, or even the lore of psychological projection and daemon/demon guides, all within easy reach of the storyteller–you will be satisfied.