BOOM! Studios has launched BOOM! Reads With You, a series of reading challenges. The first challenge is to reread the entirety of James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera‘s Something is Killing the Children (2019-present), in the run-up to issue #50‘s release on October 7, and the first five issues in particular this week.
The official page reads, “Catch up, read for the first time, or lurk to your heart’s content as we provide guided milestones to keep you on pace, week-to-week recaps, and much more!” It encourages readers to read it via single-issue copies from their local comic shop; Vol. 1 of the trades from a bookstore, comic shop or library; Episodes 1-13 on Webtoon; or comiXology (“They’re back!”) It concludes telling readers to “then join us for discussions, hot takes, and monsterous [sic] surprises!”
Something is Killing the Children revolves around the monster slayer Erica Slaughter, a member of the Order of St. George, and kicked off with the Archer’s Peak arc, in which Erica pursued an invisible monster preying on the children of the titular town. The book has spawned multiple spin-offs, including the recently concluded series House of Slaughter, and a film and animated series are in the works from Blumhouse.
Issue #50 will pick up in the present day after a run of flashback stories, with Erica “on the run from the Order. In her escape, she turns to a formative place for her: the Valmont Mountain Lodge. But beyond memories of her past, what and who will Erica find there now awaiting her?”
The series will also mark its 50th issue with the DC crossover Swamp Thing is Killing the Children. The meta 64-page one-shot, by the same creative team as the main series, will retail for $8.99 on December 2, and see Erica face off against Swamp Thing after “terrifying visions from the pages of the comics start to come to life.”
In the meantime, stay tuned to the official page and BOOM!’s social media for updates.
