Something Is Killing the Children


Something Is Killing the Children is a 2019 ongoing comic book series created by writer James Tynion IV and artist Werther Dell'Edera and published monthly by Boom! Studios. The series follows Erica Slaughter as she hunts monsters that are killing children.

Plot summary

''The Archer's Peak Saga''

In Archer's Peak, a small town in Wisconsin, children begin to vanish and turn up dead, their bodies mutilated in horrific ways. Erica Slaughter, a mysterious woman with pale blond hair, big green eyes, and a small stuffed octopus, arrives in town, seeking a monster adults can't see. Erica is part of the Order of St. George, trained to locate and kill monsters, gifted with the ability to see the monsters into adulthood. While Erica is focused on saving the children, the Order of Saint George is far more interested in keeping their organization a secret, willing to kill the locals if need be.
While Erica succeeds in killing the monster and its spawn, she does so by defying the Order. Afterward, she chooses to abandon them and continue hunting monsters alone.

''Me and My Monster''

In a flashback arc, a young Erica nearly succeeds in killing a monster that killed her parents and friend until the Order shows up. Seeing promise in her, she is inducted into the House of Slaughter, the branch of the Order based in Chicago, Illinois. Erica's monster is sealed inside her stuffed octopus toy, Octo, which she will one day learn to use to hunt monsters.

''The Tribulation Saga''

Erica travels to Tribulation, New Mexico, to hunt a shape-shifting monster, and the Order sends an assassin to hunt her. While Erica succeeds in killing the monster and her assassin, she fails to protect a child and loses her ability to see the monsters.

Development and publication history

In June 2019, Boom! Studios announced SIKTC as a five-issue limited horror series to debut that September. Tynion later said the concept, about monsters that prey on children and the one hunter who can see them, had "been living in my head for a long, long time". The announcement explained that the story was set in a small town beset by child deaths and disappearances, and a mysterious outsider, Erica Slaughter, who claims she can stop the killings.
Something Is Killing the Children #1 was released on September 4, 2019. Even before release, the book had gone to second and third printings. By October 2019, Boom went to a fourth printing of issue #1. The company's Sales & Marketing President Filip Sablik announced it was "the top-selling original series launch in our history". The publisher upgraded the title from a limited series to an ongoing monthly book before issue #1 was in shops.
In June 2024, Tynion said that he and Dell'Edera plan to continue the series for many more issues, potentially even beyond a hundred. That same year Tynion said that he hopes the success of SIKTC well help move the comics industry back towards more longform creator-owned series again, as he believes the longform serial is one of the greatest strengths of the American direct market.
As part of the series' fifth anniversary, Boom announced SIKTC #0, which explores the backstory of the mission Erica took before heading to Archer's Peak. Like the first issue, SIKTC #0 sold out at the distributor level.

Spinoff titles

Something Is Killing the Children spurred a franchise coined "the Slaughterverse". In May 2021, Boom Studios released the one-shot Enter the House of Slaughter as part of Free Comic Book Day, which functioned as an introduction to the upcoming series, House of Slaughter. ''House of Slaughter launched in October 2021 and it explores the Order of St. George that forged Erica Slaughter into a monster hunter. The first arc, "The Butcher's Mark," was written by Tynion alongside Tate Brombal, with Dell'Edera co-plotting and Chris Shehan on art. It's told from the perspective of Erica's handler Aaron, who, as a teenager training at the House of Slaughter, meets Jace Boucher, the sole survivor of the House of Butcher.
Tynion explained that, after SIKTC #5, he "knew there was an entire world of monsters and monster hunters outside of Erica Slaughter's story," so he called in Brombal and Shehan to "tell this exciting new story introducing everyone to the hunters Erica grew up alongside".
House of Slaughter ran for thirty issues through February 2025. The series alternated between two ongoing storylines, which focused on Jace Bourcher and different mask types.
On December 28, 2022, the oversized one-shot Book of Slaughter #1 was published. This was the first in the Books of Slaughter series, which focuses on Maxine Slaughter's journey in Europe. It was followed by Book of Butcher #1 on December 27, 2023, and Book of Cutter #1 on January 29, 2025.
Though the House of Slaughter and Books of Slaughter series have finished, Tynion has said that he and Dell'Edera have plans for more spinoffs.
At New York Comic Con 2025, the spinoff Fall of the House of Slaughter'' was announced for 2026. The title is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher".

Art book

In December 2024, Boom Studios published The Art of Something Is Killing the Children. The book explored the creation of the seven arcs spanning issues #1–35 with creators Tynion and Dell'Edera interviewing each other throughout. It also contains a selection of covers and some of Tyion's scripts. Editor Eric Harburn indicated in the art book's introduction that he wishes to do further volumes, a point which he later clarified and reiterated on BlueSky.

Crossover

In October 2025, a crossover with DC Comics' Black Label imprint was announced for 2026, entitled Swamp Thing Is Killing the Children. Tynion will write the miniseries with Dell'Edera providing the art.

Awards and nominations

Something Is Killing the Children was nominated for Best New Series at the 2020 Eisner Awards, and Tynion won Eisners for Best Writer in 2021, 2022, and 2023 for his work on the series and other titles. In 2022, SIKTC tied for the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series with Bitter Root.
YearOrganizationAwardResult
2020Eisner AwardsBest New SeriesNomitated
2020Harvey AwardsBook of the YearNomitated
2021Eisner AwardsBest Writer
2022Eisner AwardsBest Writer
2022Eisner AwardsBest Continuing Series
2022Bram Stoker AwardsSuperior Achievement in a Graphic NovelNomitated
2022Ringo AwardsBest Series
2022Ringo AwardsBest Single Issue
2023Eisner AwardsBest WriterWon
2025Eisner AwardsBest WriterNomitated

Reception and sales

The first 20 issues of the comic book series sold over 2 million copies within the span of 2 years. In June 2020, the series was nominated for Best New Series at the 2020 Eisner Awards, which was Tynion's first nomination.
Critics have praised Tynion's writing and Dell'Edera's moody artwork, and trade collections began topping graphic-novel bestseller lists.
By mid-2024, Boom reported that all Something-related titles combined had sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. Boom noted at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 that House of Slaughter #1 was 2022's top-selling comic and that SIKTC Volume 1 was the second best-selling trade of the year.

Adaptation

In 2021, Boom announced a television adaptation at Netflix as part of the studio's first-look deal. Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan were announced as co-writers and executive producers for the pilot, but they later stepped back from the project, citing Netflix's desire to take the project in a different direction. By early 2023, Netflix brought on German showrunners Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese to develop the series, with Boom executives Stephen Christy and Ross Richie producing and Tynion and Dell'Edera as co-executive producers. In mid-2024, the project moved into development and pre-production.
In October 2025, Blumhouse Productions acquired the rights after Netflix released the option in late 2024. Blumhouse is set to the adapt the series into both a live-action feature film and an adult animated television series, with Tynion spearheading development of the animated series.