BOOM! Studios has announced an upcoming miniseries by GLAAD Award-winning comic book writer James Tynion IV. The new comic series is titled Something is Killing the Children, a dark and mystical horror series set in the middle of the United States.
Tynion is known for his work on Batman-centric graphic novels such as Detective Comics and Batman Eternal. The series will be illustrated by Werther Dell’Edera, known for graphic novels such as Spider-Man: Family Business and Vertigo's Loveless.
The series will revolve around Erica Slaughter, who arrives in an American town plagued by a series of seemingly supernatural child murders. The official description reads:
"In a sleepy town in the heart of America, children have started to die in horrific ways. The local police are mystified by the brutal murders, and frantic to catch the killer. But they refuse to believe reports of impossible creatures that lurk in the shadows snatching children and tearing them to pieces, especially since the only people who claim to have seen these so-called monsters are other children. Enter Erica Slaughter, a mysterious stranger who rides into town and claims she can solve their 'monster' problem. But can the townspeople trust this dangerous outsider with their children’s lives? And more importantly, can the children trust this strange adult with their secrets?"
This is a story that Tynion has wanted to tell for a while.
"Something is Killing the Children is a project that has been living in my head for a long, long time," said Tynion.
He also alluded to the general themes that are sure to be present throughout the series: "There are horrifying things in the world that are only really visible to the young -- unique societal pressures and terrors, monsters, unshaped creatures of fear and horror that prey on children -- and much as we try to protect them, we fail, over and over again," which is why, despite the supernatural horror elements, Tynion maintains, "this is a very grounded human story about very grounded human fears that take a more literal, horrifying shape."
The five-issue miniseries published by BOOM! Studios will be available for purchase, beginning with Something is Killing the Children #1 on Sept. 4.