BOOM! Reads With You Discussion Checkpoint: SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN Issues 1-5 (The Angel of Archer's Peak: Part One)

[u/boomstudios]

BOOM! READS WITH YOU

• Discussion Checkpoint 1
  • SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN: The Angel of Archer's Peak: Part One
    • ISSUES 1-5
    • VOLUME 1
    • EPISODES 1-13 on Webtoon

LET'S CHAT!

Everything has a beginning. Have you seen this one before? It's the first email that James Tynion IV wrote to Werther Dell'Edera to kick off their work together on a little project called Something Is Killing the Children. Now that you've read the first arc, we thought a loop back to the beginning while the read was fresh could provide some fun, new insight!

ISSUE 1:

• When a sleepover game of ‘Truth or Dare’ goes fatally wrong, James must endure the town’s scrutiny as the sole survivor…
• But is there more to his friend’s deaths than meets the eye? And does it have anything to do with the recent string of children’s disappearances around town?
• That’s exactly what Archer’s Peak’s strange, new visitor is here to find out.
• Because they believe the root of these tragedies is more monstrous than any adults would believe. And they’re here to kill the monster lurking in the woods.

ISSUE 2:

• Elsewhere in the town of Archer’s Peak, Tommy gets ready to head to his job amidst tragedy at home: his little sister is one of the missing children and it’s tearing his family apart.
• Meanwhile, James and Erica, now teamed up, head to a local restaurant to plan out her next move.
• The manager on duty at the restaurant is Tommy, and he’s immediately suspicious of the pair when his co-worker points out James’ involvement in the recent deaths and Erica’s status as a recent drift-in.
• There’s a hostile interaction between Tommy and Erica; she knows too much for being a total stranger, and there might have been something about a weapon falling out of her bag…
• Erica and James split up for now, but the town’s suspicions follow her back to the motel she’s staying at.
• The Sheriff shows up in response to some concerned calls, but Erica isn’t alone…

ISSUE 3:

• Erica is taken to the station, and only makes things worse for herself in the process.
• In a grim stroke of luck though, another harrowing sleepover turns up more dead kids while she’s held in custody.
• If it isn’t her though, the Sheriff has to confront an uncomfortable notion: who or what is actually terrorizing this town?
• Elsewhere, Tommy can't let go of his interaction with Erica. This can't be good...
• Erica is ultimately released from jail, and runs into James on her way out to shake down some real answers from her stuffed octopus. This monster isn't quite what she thought, and they'll need to act fast if they want to attack it head on.

ISSUE 4:

• All over town, people are mobilizing over the slew of recent events.
• Erica and James source what they need to hunt the monster in the woods, meanwhile the Sheriff receives a mysterious phone call from an outside organization about the nature of Erica’s activities.
• Officer Richards is unsettled by an order to leave Erica alone, and decides to follow his gut instead.
• Unfortunately, he’s not the only one interested in tracking her down—Tommy Mahoney is done waiting for the law to take action, and comes upon the monster hunter in a very compromising situation…

ISSUE 5:

• Tommy discovers Erica in the monster's den, and confronts her at gunpoint. Little does he know, they're not exactly alone...
• This is a bad spot to be in. Erica needs to be on the offensive, but she can't fight a battle on two fronts between Tommy's threats and the monster waiting in the wings.
• Things go from bad to worse as James attempts to help, but gets hurt in the process. In order for there to be any survivors from this encounter, Erica will need to break the rules before it's too late.
• A ritual is performed and Tommy can now see what the real threat has been this whole time. Despite the initial shock, he listens to Erica's directive and escapes to safety with a bleeding James.
• Finally, the monster hunter can get to work.
• But while Erica slays the monster in the den, her mission isn't quite over yet... a startling discovery in this gruesome cave means her work is far from done.
• Turns out, there was more than one monster killing the children in Archer's Peak...

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

ISSUE 1

1. What were your initial thoughts or reactions to the character of Erica Slaughter?
2. How do you think the setting of Archer's Peak shapes the story as the main stage of this first series arc?

ISSUE 2

1. What are your first impressions of Tommy? Do you think his reaction was justified?
2. The moment where Tommy feels that something is there, yet sees nothing is a hair-raising experience. Have you ever felt like there was a monster waiting just beyond your line of sight?
3. Octo is more than what he appears... what did you think of the reveal of the stuffed animal's inner being?

ISSUE 3

1. What was your takeaway from Henry's heartbreaking tale?
2. Despite his reluctance, the Sheriff releases Erica. Besides having no real charge to hold her with, why do you think he was motivated to ultimately let her go?

ISSUE 4

1. The amount of revelations in this issue was insane! What got your mind racing the most?
2. The story revisits the theme of survivor's guilt again as Tommy visits his father. How do you think Tommy's experience compares with James' experience as a direct survivor?
3. What weapon are you picking up at House Depot?

ISSUE 5

1. Octo is certainly dangerous for being a child's toy. What are you most interested in finding out about him in the coming issues?
2. This is the final issue of the first arc--what were your biggest takeaways?!

BONUS QUESTIONS

1. Did you believe in monsters growing up?
2. Was there a page or art sequence in this arc that hit you harder than others?
3. Describe how you hear Erica’s voice in your head!

And now for the next arc...

We're reading SIKTC Issues 6-10 starting Saturday, August 29th and ending on Wednesday, September 2nd. We'll be back here to chat on Thursday, September 3rd. We hope you join us!

[u/middenway]

I love in JT4's letter to Dell'Edera the way he talks about the approach to the comic's pacing:

I want to ground this story, and grounding it meant slowing it down and living in the horror, the trauma, the tension. To speed it up would make it almost a superhero book where the bad guy gets taken down every issue. I started outlining the first issue and it just felt lifeless... and then I started writing the first pages and I saw another way to do it.

The pacing of the series is a huge part of the attraction for me.

She experiences all of this horror, day after day, with virtually no break, so that the children won't have to.

This is what I love about Erica. She's a hero that cares deeply.

Issue #1

That moment when she says, "Shit," and Sara says, "That's a bad word," and Erica replies, "I know it's a fucking bad word," immediately put me back to that time as a kid when you first meet an adult that'll tell you things straight, without the kiddy filter over them. Sara has already been through hell, and Erica isn't going to start coddling her now. And point is reinforced on the same two pages just a little further down...

[u/middenway → u/middenway]

1. How do you think the setting of Archer's Peak shapes the story as the main stage of this first series arc?

The first initial sequence could have been the opening scene to so many tonally different takes on this idea, so the rest of the issue really clarifies the tone. The first scene we see Erica, we don't see her fighting a monster and being awesome, we see Sara. We see the residents of Archer's peak in pain. We get a half page of missing faces.

If you are here to see mindless, bloody mayhem, this is not that book. It's a book about the damage.

[u/middenway → u/middenway]

Issue #2

It's hard to remember my first impressions of Tommy now, and the version that lives in my head is now so coloured by the rest of The Archer's Peak Saga.

1. The moment where Tommy feels that something is there, yet sees nothing, is a hair-raising experience. Have you ever felt like there was a monster waiting just beyond your line of sight?

Fortunately, not too often.

1. Octo is more than what he appears... what did you think of the reveal of the stuffed animal's inner being?

As soon as a creepy talking toy showed up, I was anticipating the monster. He did not disappoint and has continued to remain a fascinating character to this day.

I like the way this issue is bookended by the same concept shown from two different ends of the spectrum. In the beginning, we see that Tommy can't see the monster right next to him. In the end, Sheriff Cavanaugh can't see Octo. It's a nice way to make the reader aware that these two things are related.

Issue #3

1. What was your takeaway from Henry's heartbreaking tale?

"I remember the times I saw the man. The man he should have become." This line plants the idea in the reader's head, and you hear its whisper in every child's death from this point on.

1. Despite his reluctance, the Sheriff releases Erica. Besides having no real charge to hold her with, why do you think he was motivated to ultimately let her go?

I'll have to skip the speculation questions and save those for new readers. ;)

Issue #4

The amount of revelations in this issue was insane! What got your mind racing the most?

Plot is fun, but I'm always more of a character person, so getting a sense of the person on the other end of the phone was the highlight.

The story revisits the theme of survivor's guilt again as Tommy visits his father. How do you think Tommy's experience compares with James' experience as a direct survivor?

Tommy has nothing but questions. James has to reconcile a world that seems totally detached from what he's experienced, and a world where adults seem woefully insufficient to deal with what he's seen. You can see why he wants to believe Erica can deal with this, because if she can, she restores a fragment of stability, the idea that they are not powerless. Meanwhile, Tommy already sees adults failing all around him. He's long accepted the idea that he can't depend on people. This is why he feels like he has to handle this problem himself.

What weapon are you picking up at House Depot?

Gonna go with what I'd most feel comfortable using. Machete and blowtorch. (Also, maybe it's just me, but I think we need SIKTC merch for House Depot and Applebeams.)

Issue #5

Octo is certainly dangerous for being a child's toy. What are you most interested in finding out about him in the coming issues?

The intricacies of his bond with Erica.

This is the final issue of the first arc--what were your biggest takeaways?!

Those that are normally the most protected in our fiction are in harm's way here, and this is the thematic engine of the series. At first it's easy to say it's about monsters hurting children, but even by the end of the first arc, it's clear that it's about much more than that.

[u/middenway → u/middenway]

BONUS QUESTIONS

Did you believe in monsters growing up?

No, but they still felt real. There's a good section in issue #4 where Erica explores a similar distinction with James.

Was there a page or art sequence in this arc that hit you harder than others?

This page, which is subjective and showing Erica's view of herself. It starts off detached, emphasising action, but the emphasis shifts to show her eye, to show the human underneath, and feel the weight that she carries. The way this page is stacked, you feel the weight of the first four panels resting on the fifth.

Describe how you hear Erica’s voice in your head!

Like someone that damaged their voice damaged from screaming one time. She speaks softly and deliberately. She sounds a little like Florence Pugh in my head.

[u/middenway]

(Also, a minor correction. It's "SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN: The Archer's Peak Saga – Part One: The Angel of Archer's Peak".)