"I'm not a superhero. I'm just a tired, sad lady who knows how to kill these things, and I am going to try my damnedest to end it this time."
— Erica Slaughter
Something is Killing the Children is an ongoing Horror Comic Book series created by writer James Tynion IV and artist Werther Dell'Edera, published monthly by Boom! Studios beginning in September 2019. Since its initial release, the series has been collected into seven trade paperbacks, and spawned two spin-off series, House of Slaughter and Book of Slaughter. A story was also serialised in the first 6 issues of the anthology Hello Darkness.
The series is set in a world where vicious, demonic monsters are very real, and very, very dangerous. The main protagonist is Erica Slaughter, a highly-skilled but deeply cynical monster hunter and member of the mysterious Order of St. George, a secretive, brutal cabal of warriors who contain and destroy monstrous threats around the globe. As its title suggests, Death of a Child is definitely in full effect here.
The series has received critical praise for its taut storytelling, unflinching horror sequences, and the character of Erica herself, being nominated for a Harvey and three Eisner Awards, winning two in 2021 and 2022. In July 2021, a Netflix TV adaptation of the series was announced with Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy as showrunners; however, Flanagan confirmed in October 2022 that the two had departed the project, with Dark (2017) and 1899 creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese later announced as the new showrunners in February 2023.
This series provides examples of the following tropes:
- The Alcoholic: It's strongly hinted at that years of monster-hunting drove Jessica to become one.
- Always Chaotic Evil: Monsters seem to exist purely for one purpose: slaughtering and eating children.
- Ax-Crazy: Charlotte Cutter. She's scary enough that even Octo tells Erica to run rather than face her.
- Badass Boast: “You’ve got a monster in those woods. That’s why I’m here. I’m going to kill it.”
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Seems to be the Order's general go-to uniform. It also stands to contrast Erica (and, before her, Jessica) from the rest of the Order, as she wears simple, more casual clothing.
- Badge Gag: Although not a badge, Erica presents Sheriff Cavanaugh with a driver's licence that's clearly, laughably fake, with him pointing out that it looks like a bad photocopy from Kinko's that isn't even laminated.
- This also gets a subtle call-back when Cutter arrives in Tribulation as a means of contrasting the two, as she presents a government ID that very much looks the real deal.
- Berserk Button: Saying anything bad about Cutter's "Dolly" totem will immediately earn you a top spot on her kill list. Stealing and/or potentially harming it will send her into a screaming rage, regardless of witnesses.
- Bittersweet Ending: Both arcs released so far ends on one of these:
- The Archer's Peak Arc ends with Erica managing to destroy the oscuratypes and save the town from further pain before the monsters get hold of any more children to feed off. Unfortunately, Aaron dies in the struggle, Tommy Mahoney is forced to take the blame for all of the deaths in order to spare the townspeople from the Order's policy of absolute silence and their actions disgust Erica so much that she quits the Order entirely, becoming a fugitive from the very people who raised and trained her.
- The Tribulation Arc manages to somehow end even worse, almost crossing into Downer Ending territory: sure, Erica manages to take out Cutter and kill the duplicitype (which, as it had assumed her form before dying, also gives her an escape from the Order and the police hunting her), but it costs her the ability to see monsters and Gabi dies in the struggle, with a vengeful Niqui determined to see Erica dead for failing to protect Gabi, while a now-completely-alone Erica boards a bus for an uncertain future.
- Brought Down to Normal: During Erica's final confrontation with Cutter, the latter manages to cut the dragon's gold stake from Erica's temple, removing her ability to see monsters. Given how important this is to a monster hunter, this is a very big deal indeed.
- Cassandra Did It: At the beginning of the Archer's Peak Arc, quite a few of the town's residents blame James for the murders, as he (so far) is the only survivor that's been found: that he was found covered in blood and surrounded by the bodies of his murdered friends while wailing about how sorry he was probably didn't help much.
- Catapult Nightmare: Child Erica has one reliving her family’s murder while Jessica is driving her to the House of Slaughter for the first time.
- The Coats Are Off: Erica always ditches her heavy military coat before going into battle.
- Color-Coded Characters: The Order’s divisions are all identified by different colored masks
- Black Masks are solo hunters who go after smaller/individual targets.
- White Masks are group hunters who take on much bigger, more powerful monsters.
- Scarlet Masks take care of administration and housekeeping.
- Silver Masks are specialists in mythical monsters with more established rules.
- Azure Masks are weaponsmiths who test new recruits and are also in charge of maintaining the Masquerade.
- Emerald Masks hunt the most dangerous type of monster: dragons.
- Cool Mask: The Order of St. George wear bandana masks while hunting and in their House. Each division is identified by a different color mask, and full members have long fangs adorned on them. The Dragon, the House of Slaughter's mysterious head, wears an ornately sculpted mask designed to look like the mouth of, well, a dragon.
- Inverted with the English House of Cutter, whose members wear their masks over the top of their heads, giving them a more sinister appearance than their American counterparts.
- Covered with Scars: Erica, as a result of years of hunting.
- Creature Hunter Organisation: The Order of St. George was founded specifically for this purpose. And yes, it was indeed founded by that Saint George, who actually was a real dragon-slaying monster hunter in-universe.
- Crying Wolf: James tells his friends a scary story that, upon seeing a monster outside his living room window, he was saved by running upstairs, turning on the lights and hiding under the covers (which gets a laugh out of them). He tells the same story at a later date, but his friends heckle him about trying to pass off the same story twice. He actually had seen a monster that time, but can't explain why it disappeared from something as minor as a bedroom light. In truth, the monster couldn't enter James' home because that's where it had originated from.
- Death of a Child: You did see the series title, right?
- Disproportionate Retribution: Cutter kills a woman on her flight from the UK to America when they get off the plane, both because she was obnoxiously talking loudly on the flight, and because she called Cutter's totem Dolly ugly.
- Establishing Character Moment: Erica's introduction is her walking out of the woods, covered in blood and clearly exhausted after having killed some monster while a small girl waits for her. She makes a call and reports success in her mission to the Order, then is immediately given the mission for Archer's Peak, before wearily asking the girl if she can use her shower. The scene establishes that Erica's mission is never-ending and utterly draining, but she continues to do it regardless due to her dedication to saving lives.
- Cutter is introduced relaxing in the successful aftermath of her own particular hunt. Her method of relaxing? Killing the human survivors of the monster, pinning their eyelids open and their mouths into smiles before making herself a cup of tea.
- Evil Counterpart: Cutter to Erica. Both are ruthlessly efficient, excellent trackers, and highly regarded for their skills within their own Houses, but where Erica is dedicated to saving lives, Cutter just wants to kill things (whether it's monsters or humans). It's also implied that Cutter's overall unhinged Ax-Crazy mentality is the worst possible outcome of being a long-term Black Mask, and that, if not for her own sense of humanity, Erica could have gone down the same path given enough time if she hadn't quit the Order when she did.
- Evil Redhead: Cutter to a T. Also serves as a visual contrast to the heroic, blonde-haired Erica.
- Eye Colour Change: Every member of the Order of St. George gains bright, unnaturally-colored eyes following their initiation ritual.
- Go Out with a Smile: Cutter's final expression before Erica caves in her skull is a sneering grin, as she gloats over her dooming Erica, Gabi and Riqi.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Aaron sacrifices himself to the oscuratype babies in order to buy Erica more time to get the townspeople in the school gymnasium.
- Gabi, knowing she's been fatally poisoned, saves Erica from being killed by the duplicitype by letting it eat her arm, which promptly poisons and kills the monster.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Coroner Tim Cavanaugh starts actively drinking beer on the job as a direct result of having to deal with a growing number of slaughtered children. He later offers a beer to Principal Collins, who gratefully accepts, as he's about to bring in parents to identify the mangled bodies of their children after they've been recovered.
- Jessica and Big Gary's means of dealing with Erica's initiation ritual (wherein she is to be bonded to her own monster) is to get ridiculously drunk, as they fully expect that Erica won't survive the ordeal.
- Invisible to Adults: Monsters can only be seen by children. The only way an adult can see one involves being trepanned
with a small stake made from dragon gold. - Knight in Sour Armor: Erica. Considering what she’s dealt with throughout her life, it’s really not that surprising.
- The Lad-ette: Erica. Seems like she probably picked it up from Jessica, who's even more of an example.
- Masquerade: The Order of St. George maintain this out of necessity, covering up any and all evidence of monsters existing, even being willing to kill entire towns if needed. There’s very good reason for this too, as the more people who know that monsters exist, the more powerful they become. The Order's willingness to kill the townspeople gathered in the gymnasium to keep them silent is what ultimately causes Erica to quit entirely.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The townspeople at the school get a massive one when one of the oscuratypes - which is completely invisible to them - graphically slaughters a young girl in full view of the crowd.
- Mentor in Sour Armor: Jessica. It's notable that, despite her best efforts, Erica grew up to be a lot like her.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Big Gary secretly aids Erica after her desertion from the Order by sending her targets and keeping the Order off her trail. Of course, as soon as Cutter is recruited to take Erica out, she goes straight to Big Gary, and kills him on a phone call with Erica, both as punishment and to torment her.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The House of Slaughter, whose members also bear the name.
- Necessarily Evil: Though the Order is perfectly willing to kill civilians (including children) to cover up the existence of monsters, they see this only as a last resort and its members clearly take no pleasure in doing so. At least, except for Cutter.
- Non-Action Guy: Somewhat downplayed with Aaron, who, despite being a Black Mask and having undergone the same combat training as the other members of the Order, is generally one of its weaker fighters, especially compared to Erica, who manages to knock him out cold with one punch. He makes up for it with intelligence and a talent for intimidation, however.
- Oh, Crap!;
- Erica and Tommy have this reaction after the latter has followed Erica into the oscuratype's lair with a gun, and accidentally shoots James while confronting Erica.
- Aaron has this when trying to hold off the oscuratype babies. He knows he's about to die, but hopes to at least take one or two of the creatures down with him, only for one of them to cut his arm off within seconds of his confronting them, leading to his swift and messy demise.
- Erica again during the Tribulation arc, when she receives a call from Big Gary... and it's Cutter on the phone instead.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Principal Collins doesn’t punish James for snapping at a bully at school, and actually admonishes him for not punching the kid out.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Each member of the Order has a totem, a small, stuffed toy that contains a monster which the member is bound to, and who they use for intel and advice. Erica’s monster is one of the only ones which had actually killed people before being bound and is implied to be a lot more powerful as a result.
- Theme Twin Naming: House of Slaughter's White Masks have Paris and Tybalt, fraternal twins named after the characters from Romeo and Juliet. Also crosses into Meaningful Name, as both characters in the original play are antagonists to Romeo, with Paris being not so bad but still forced against the hero by circumstance, and Tybalt being a largely Ax-Crazy Blood Knight - just like their namesakes.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Erica wears her hair in one. It's generally the most feminine thing about her.
- Waif-Fu: Erica is a prime example, and it's actually played quite realistically. Due to being quite short and slender, she knows she doesn't stand a chance against ten-foot-tall monsters in a straight battle of strength (to be fair, practically nobody does), so she utilises her speed and agility to wear the creatures down instead. If House of Slaughter is any indication, it seems like this is the encouraged mould from which most Black Masks spring.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Big Gary has this reaction to Jessica in the flashback to Erica's initiation ritual, expecting the monster she's to be bound to to be one of the younger, generally less harmful creatures the Order normally use... and discovering that it's actually a more powerful, fully-grown, pissed off nightmare that has already tasted flesh, lessening Erica's chances of survival considerably.Big Gary: That's fucked up. That is so fucked up.
- Would Hurt a Child: The monsters shown in the story will kill anyone without prejudice, but generally prefer children. It’s in the title, after all.
- The Order of Saint George itself is also willing to kill children who've witnessed a monster attack if need be, in order to prevent the world from learning about the existence of monsters.
- Cutter kidnaps and sacrifices a young boy to the duplicitype in order to facilitate its transformation into Erica's doppelganger.
- Zero-Approval Gambit: When Tommy Mahoney is faced with the realisation that the House of Slaughter have arrived to kill the townspeople in the gymnasium due to their exposure to the monsters, he offers to take the blame and has Sheriff Cavanaugh and the townspeople pin all of the monster murders on him. It's pretty much guaranteed that this will get him sent to prison for the rest of his natural life, but the House of Slaughter agrees to spare the lives of everyone else if they stick to the story.
