Welcome to an all new edition of Parlay Points, the complementary comic book blog to the ODPH podcast! For this edition, we’re continuing to tag along the latest adventure of Erica Slaughter in the pages of one of Boom Studios’s best comics! Something Is Killing The Children #23 by James Tynion, Werther Dell’edera, Miquel Muerto & Andworld Design continues its’ slow burn approach to its’ most recent story. Not one thing wrong with that so let’s take a deep dive into this latest chapter, shall we?

Something Is Killing The Children #23 - On Sale May 25th
Creative: James Tynion, Werther Dell’edera, Miquel Muerto & Andworld Design
Credit: Boom Studios

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

Last we saw Erica Slaughter, she was arrested for trespassing on a crime scene she was investigating in New Mexico. A young girl’s family was killed and this case is way above the local sheriff’s head. Erica is the only one who can help but being behind bars isn’t exactly working out in her favor. Erica makes a call to a old friend, Big Gary, who works some magic to get her out of her current situation. He knows that any move she makes, The Order of St. George will be shortly following up on.

Meanwhile, Gabi, the lone witness to the killings has been moved into the bartender’s apartment to stay safe. The question now becomes: with Erica off the board, who will save her if the killer tracks her down? Erica can’t answer that because she’s too busy pleading her “case” of why she was at the crime scene to the sheriff. Reluctantly, the sheriff lets Erica go but not without giving her a clue to follow up on. All the while some new arrivals have made a dramatic appearance stateside with a hunt all their own. Readers will be very locked in for this issue.

Tynion continues to make something special happen within these pages. Erica’s conversation with Big Gary was a nice interaction to show some emotion behind Erica. Life after the Order is not exactly a runaway smash, yet the writing here keeps you locked in seeing Erica’s struggles first hand. Erica “working” with Sheriff Thomas as a solid compliment as well. The issue caps off with a closing section involving the House of Cutter. Within those few moments (matched up with last issue) and readers can’t help but be excited to see what happens when this House eventually finds Erica.

Dell’edera & Muerto continue to impress with the art duties here. From showing off the frustration in Erica to Gabi’s strong front of being calm with a monster on the loose, the art team does some fantastic work with the emotions being told. Readers can easily see how both characters are feeling the weight of the stories they’re in. This factors in heavily when you see the talk between both houses looking for Erica. There’s always a unqiue feel to this book and keeps readers on edge of what’s coming.

Overall, the latest chapter of Erica Slaughter continues to gain some steam while keeping readers guessing at what’s next. The book is known for its wonderful storytelling and art and for good reason. The story doesn’t pack a lot (if any) action in it but readers will definitely feel the emotions of the scenes they’re reading within these pages. Make sure to snag a copy next time you hit the LCS up!

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what you thought of Something Is Killing The Children #23.

Thanks for reading!

SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #23 (BOOM STUDIOS)

Ken M