Thank you Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for granting me a free copy of this graphic novel for an honest review. This was INCREDIBLE. As I was reading this, I was holding my breath every so often afraid of what would happen to some of the characters. 'Something is Killing the Children' is about a town that has suddenly had a lot of children/teens go missing or turn up dead. One kid in particular, had witnessed part of a massacre but refuses to give any information. The story quickly takes a turn as we realize that there are monsters only visible to kids and teens. I loved the illustrations throughout this graphic novel and the dialogue was perfectly timed with each turn of events. Now, the WORST part of this, it leaves with a cliff hanger - ugh the nerve!! Definitely going to look for the second volume to find out what happens in the next installment.

A thrilling story with great writing and characters -- however, maybe it was just this ARC but some of the art seemed more of a sketch than a completely finished project, which would give me pause if I was buying a physical copy. All in all though a great spooky read to add to your graphic novel TBR.

This comic is pretty killer! I loved the graphics. And Erica is super awesome! It's very dark and could make you feel like the monster is watching you right now! I enjoyed this do much!

This was a great reading experience! The plot was creepy and kept me reading, with even a pinch of humorous and almost!? cute moments thrown in. The illustrations were awesome, with enough detail to get a a good idea of nature of the creatures, but no full-blown portraits to reveal everything at once. There were also a lot of hints towards a complex background story waiting to be explored in further volumes, which makes this first installment a successfully mouth-watering introduction - I'm ready and waiting for more!

I love the art in this graphic novel! It's very well done and creates a spooky atmospheric vibe. The story line is great and I can't wait to read the next issue.

Kids are disappearing or turning up dead in a small town. It begins super intense. At a sleepover, a kid tells the story of a nightmare. The next thing we know he is sitting at the police station talking about the screams. A girl comes to investigate and she is amazing. I love her attitude and how she is drawn. It is everything you want in someone who is fighting the supernatural, she looks great and is badass. You get glimpses of the monster which makes everything that much scarier. The color changes help with the effect. As soon as you see the color changes you know things are about to get intense, as soon as you turn the page the colors fill you with a sense of dread. I read the book as it was released in single-issue and enjoyed reading the trade just as much. I can't wait to get my hands on the hard copy!

Creative Team
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Werther Dell'edera
Colors: Miguel Muerto
Lettered: Andworld Design
Published by Boom

I received an eARC from NetGalley and BOOM! Studios in exchange for an honest review.

“Something is Killing the Children” is set in a town where children are going missing and/or turning up dead, stolen away by a monster in the woods. I had no idea what to expect going into this graphic novel except a creepy story that would freak me out. Oh boy, I was not disappointed! The plot was pretty freaky, but like with any good graphic novel, it was the artwork that really made the story one of nightmares. It is full of gore, dead bodies, blood, all things I would not normally gravitate towards reading. But in the context of a nightmare made real, it was perfect and spooky! 3 stars, only because I have a lot of unanswered questions which I’m sure will be explored more in Volume 2!

Excellent gore. Perfect amount of violence. Amazing cast of characters (even if it's a same cast).

A very dark and haunting omnibus of the first 5 comics in this series. A quick read and a lot of loose ends (cliffhangers) to be dealt with in the next omnibus.

A definite must read for those who love Joe Hill.

5/5.

It must be a sign of the times that I've read a lot more horror this year. And in this case, some seriously bloody horror! I have seen comparisons to It and Stranger Things, and while there are children running around trying to kill monsters - the focus is mostly on a specific young woman appropriately named Erica Slaughter. There is something so much more grim and mysterious about her background than the precocious children we often see in these stories. We didn't get much about her in this volume, so hopefully there is more to come.

This comic was definitely super creepy. I loved how the main kid was also dealing with the whole town blaming him and thinking he was weird on top of grieving his friends. Overall, the character designs were amazing. The plot was pretty unique, too. I liked how only kids could see the monster. Definitely caught that helpless feeling of being young. I do wish that we maybe started a little before the murder so that the reader could feel more connected to the kids that died and to the main character.

The title was not misleading. The story starts out with James and hes remember or visualizing what happened when he and his friends were attacked. He tells the police he didnt see anything because he was afraid. Then this other girl shows up and she handles the situation and befriends James. This was a great horror novel! I really enjoyed it!

This is not "Stranger Things," but the small rural town setting where children mysteriously go missing, secret organizations, and flesh devouring monsters are elements sure to lure those that have enjoyed the show. The plot is not necessarily unique, playing on the 'only children can see monsters' trope, but what this first volume initially lacks in plot it makes up for in beautiful artwork that incorporates sketchy/ frantic line work and color to express terror and confusion. When combined with the narrative, this has the potential of developing into a great horror graphic novel. I am intrigued to see what the next several volumes will entail in order to give the plot its opportunity to mature and define itself.

This sick and twisted graphic novel is a great added addition to the horror genre. I can't wait to read more about this strange but intriguing mystery.

Really interesting story! I definitely would read the next volumes when they come out. I think the pacing was slightly sporadic at the beginning but it's also a graphic novel and you kind of expect those things. And the art style, while it matched the tone of the story really well, made it a little hard to tell exactly what was happening during heavy action scenes. But overall a highly enjoyable story

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for giving me access.

This graphic novel is everything that I am looking for. We have blood and monsters and missing children - oh my! I really enjoyed the story line and the art work that was used.

There were times that I was confused about what was going on, but that wasn't anything to do with the book. It was more or less how the digital copy was laid out. Some of the story spans over 2 pages, meaning you start at the top of the first page and move to the top of the second, middle-middle, bottom-bottom. The digital copy only allowed me to see one page at a time so I had to do a lot of back and forth.

I can't wait for more issues to find out what happens next!

Reminded me a little of Stranger Things in a good way! I really did enjoy the art style. While filled with gore (not surprising given the title) I felt the art style really suited the content and was well done. I really enjoyed the badass main character and the mysteries involved in the story including the talking plushy made me want to read more to find out what exactly was going on.

What I Liked:

The art is lovely. I looooved all the scenes when Erica Slaughter pulls her mask on and proceeds with some ass-kicking.

The way the grief and how it makes different people react differently is depicted was also done well.

Survivor's guilt and teenage are SO not a good combo. How one of the MCs deals with it reminded me of some of Stephen King's stories.

What I Didn't Like:

We get no backstory at all about Erica or the monsters' appearance or the reason behind them. I get that the future volumes may visit that but since this is a volume of 5 issues, I was expecting more meat.

That said, I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

I requested this book on Netgalley and I'm glad I did!

A big thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “Something is Killing the Children“. This is such an amazing book. If you mixed Stranger Things with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you have “Something is Killing the Children”. The story hooked me from the first page and had me glued till the end.

Firstly, I loved Erica as the main character. She comes off as the perfect action heroine filled with rage and anger, but also has empathy towards her friends. James was okay as the sidekick, but seemed to be quite weak and annoying at times. I also liked how Tommy gets involved in the plot of fighting the monsters. Moreover, the octopus was an intriguing character, and I still don’t know whether it is good or evil. The mysterious gang that Tommy sees when he gets his powers are strange as well. As you can see, I was completely engrossed and cannot wait to read what happens next.

The authors of this book have done a terrific job in the story-line and illustrations. The pacing is gradual but eerie and you keep wondering how it is going to turn out. This book is gory, but the gore adds well to the theme of the story. There are quite a lot of sub-plots left open ended, so I can see this series being released in more than 2 or 3 more volumes. I also loved the various variant cover gallery mentioned in the end, especially the one where Erica is jumping on top of the monster. The book also gives a snippet of “The Woods” by the same author, and I am interesting in reading this as well.

Overall, “Something is Killing the Children“ is completely entertaining to read if you are a fan of the genre!

I really loved the premise of this graphic novel and the general plot but I found the art style and sequencing of events to be a bit meandering. I would recommend more character development.

I'd give this 4 or 4.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 5 for this. I really like the art (event the textured backgrounds, which I don’t normally like). The art style was not something I see often in graphic novels. There was a rough art school feel to it, which I love. Honestly, the art was my favorite thing about it, but the story was really great too. Occasionally, the word balloons didn’t fit though. They were too cartoony/stark white/happy looking, as weird as that sounds. I don’t know a better way to describe it, but when it was all jagged and cartoony looking, I just wanted a different style that went better with the art.

Really loved Erica, “the girl with the eyes.”

The cliché gum popping, obnoxiously blasé coroner kind of pissed me off. I like the Sheriff, but just had to roll my eyes at the coroner.

Nice ending, definitely left me wanting more with that cliffhanger. And that cover gallery! Gorgeous. I’d hang some of that art on my walls.

I’ve been reading some disappointing comics lately, and this one restored my faith in them. I'll be picking up the next volume for sure.