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REVIEW: SIKTC – A Monster Walks Into a Bar
4.02/5.0 Stars
Rating if the Book Were a Movie: R
Creative Team:
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Werther Dell’Edra
Colors: Miquel Muerto
Letters: Andworld Design
Cover: Wertther Dell’Edra
Editors: Ramiro Portnoy and Eric Harburn
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Ratings:
Story: 4.0 Stars
Artwork: 4.1 Stars
Cover Artwork: 4.6 Stars
Dialogue: 4.0 Stars
Mechanics: 3.6 Stars
Editing: 3.8 Stars
About the Book:
Erica Slaughter makes her way from town to town. She generally stops long enough to resolve a situation involving monsters in the area. As fate would have it, this time Erica isn’t going anywhere. A snow storm has delayed her bus’s departure. To kill time and get some much needed sustenance, Erica goes into the local watering hole.
At the bar she makes small talk with the bartender. He tells her about the six children that have recently been killed in the area. Then he recounts his regular patrons’ theories about what happened to the children.
Reader’s Notes:
“Something Is Killing the Children” and I have had an interesting relationship over the past five years. It’s been very on again and off again. I thoroughly enjoy the title. In fact it’s been on my pull list for five years. However, through no fault of its own, it’s the title that seems to fall to the bottom of the queue. Before I know what’s happened, 6 months have passed and I’m buying a trade paperback to binge and get caught up. Afterwards I say the next time will be different. Then the cycle begins anew.
When I saw “Something Is Killing the Children: A Monster Hunter Walks Into a Bar” number 1 at my local comic book store I instantly snatched it up. I thought this was going to be a new series. I was going to stay on top of it! Sadly, the number one was a misnomer. This book was a one shot.
Not all one shots are created equally. Some have the benefit of having well established characters that people know and love. That allows the creative team the luxury of focusing on the story. They went with a unique approach for this one.
Erica Slaughter is one of the most intense characters in indie comics. The woman’s primary purpose is to hunt and kill monsters. We’ve seen her using different tracking techniques and creative ways of disposing of the monsters. Having a book that focuses on the course of events through the eyes of the local community was brilliant.
The covers for “Something Is Killing the Children” have always been a sight to behold. The artwork on this cover continues the franchise’s tradition. I love the 3-D effect. It is a very fitting metaphor. As we get all the stories from the bar patrons which gives Erica more and more depth.
The artwork on the interior pages is rock solid. There are some panels where I would like to see more detail. Dell’Edra is consistent throughout the book though. We get the same level of detail on pages that would be horrifically graphic with too much detail.
As a geek on a budget I believe that this book is an amazing gift from Tynion and Dell’Edra to fans of the franchise. I also believe that if you aren’t a SIKTC fan this book may be a good one to pass over. There are better places in the franchise to utilize as a jumping off point.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time, gang!
