I knew this would be a read as soon as I saw the concept: Swamp Thing crossing over with Something Is Killing the Children? Yes please.
SIKTC is an ongoing series that’s been running since 2019 written by James Tynion IV. The story follows a monster hunter whose task is to destroy shadowy creatures that are – you guessed it – killing the children. These creatures are only seen by those who believe in them, and made stronger by that belief and the fear which accompanies it. They appear to children but most often not to adults.
There’s more to it, but that’s the gist. It’s probably not hard to imagine how this concept works with fictional characters that a child might believe in.
In this issue, the main character from the series has another hunt. Enter: Swamp Thing.
// Swamp Thang
Swamp Thing is the perfect pick for a crossover with this particular series. Swampy rides the line of anti-hero quite well, going from actual monster to friend-of-Superman depending on the comic.
He’s also just a super cool monster. A design which lends itself very well to the frantic and raw art style SIKTC is known for.
But to go back to the previous point, the book addresses on a meta level how swamp thing, superheroes, and comic books in general can influence your real life. It talks about keeping that believe and imagination alive from childhood to adulthood. It discusses the merit of a book that has real, bad consequences vs an always-happy-ending style book.
A character who rides the line from scary to good is a perfect way to guide the story of a children’s beliefs in something changing.
// Comic Talk
The Superman publisher gets a lot of bang for their buck in this one issue. They want you to know that Swamp Thing is a DC comic property, as well as Superman, Batman, John Constantine, and the other references.
DC comics is dropped by name in a way that felt too meta but not in a nice way. But what can you do, I suppose this is the cost of doing business if you’re BOOM! (the publishers of SIKTC). Just don’t get these heroes confused with those scoundrels over at Marvel!!
Aside from a couple of ham-fisted moments, the book does a great job of portraying a comic-book-loving family. The story follows two children who like different comics because their dad got them into it before he passed away.
The younger of which is afraid of a poster of Swamp Thing hung in the older one’s room. This is the catalyst of the story, as you might gather from the title.
You can tell that Tynion loves comic books because of the way he makes the characters talk about them. It’s very meta – especially the discussions of multiverses – but it mostly works for me given the nature of the book.
// Someone is Reading the Comics
“Wow that sounds great 2R, but can I read this? I haven’t read the past 8-ish years of books in this series?” I can hear you asking.
This is a self contained story. You don’t need to know anything about the world at large to understand it.
If you’re already a reader, it adds a depth to the lore which I think would be interesting if explored further in the main series.
If you’re looking for a fun horror crossover that wears it’s love for the medium on it’s sleeve, then you should give it a shot. It gives you a great taste of the style and vibes of the series, so maybe it will be the push you need to get into it.
Swamp Thing Is Killing the Children releases December 2.
I’ll leave you with these wise words from the book:
