House of Slaughter #11
Seth A. Romo
Recap
The comic Something is Killing the Children introduced readers to monster hunter Erica Slaughter and House of Slaughter further expanded the universe created by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’edera.
In this series, monsters are real and can only be seen by children and members of a secret society known as the Order of St. George. Members are part of different houses and don different color bandanas to signal which faction they are in.
House of Slaughter Vol 1 (issues 1 - 5) is the first arc and introduction of Jace Butcher, a white mask hunter originally from the House of Boucher. After transferring to the House of Slaughter, Jace orchestrated a plan to get revenge after his family was killed.
Exiled and on the run, Aaron Slaughter convinced Jace to cut off his hand to turn it in to fake his death. Now, Jace protects a small group of orphans who survived monster attacks at a camp in the woods.
Review
House of Slaughter #11 cements Jace Butcher as a critical member to the Something is Killing the Children universe and gives a much-needed sense of humanity to the series.
This issue begins with Sunny telling the other children how he was trapped in a broken-down school bus, seconds away from being eaten by a swamp-like monster, when Jace saved him. Breaking the rules of “no scary stories,” Jace becomes frustrated because monsters feed off of fear. Its apparent fear cannot be tolerated as Jace has taken responsibility for a whole camp of orphan children from the monsters he has taken down.
The sense of responsibility is a theme of this issue. Jace is fueled by his mission to keep the kids safe and readers are given insight as to how the House of Boucher took in children who needed to be saved. It’s a subtle jab at the House of Slaughter, a sect of the Order of St. George that is comfortable with doing whatever necessary to keep the organization secret. In my opinion, this is an empathetic tone that is a welcomed addition to the series. Other arcs and characters are stoic and calculated, whereas Jace was raised to care and protect the innocent.
When the issue ends, it is evident Jace’s goodwill has expanded further than he may have realized. Tate Brombal’s writing is refreshing and has set a kinder tone to this horror series–giving a reason to invest in the series without it feeling repetitive. Issue #11 has Antonio Fuso as the artist and the style does a good job at matching the tone of the series while being its own at the same time.
This is balanced well with Miquel Muerto’s colors that assist with the thematic style.
Final Thoughts
What I have appreciated about House of Slaughter is the way this series has expanded the Something is Killing the Children universe. The different themes and character designs are welcomed and issue #11 continues this trend in such a positive way.
House of Slaughter #11: The Burden of Responsibility
- Writing - 8.5/108.5/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10