Riqui and Gabi have decided to go along with Erica’s plan. That should attract the monster, but how will Cutter handle things now that Dolly has been taken from her? Find out in Something is Killing the Children #31 from BOOM! Studios.

SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #31

Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Werther Dell’Edera
Colorist: Miquel Muerto
Letterer: Andworld Design
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 19, 2023

Previously in Something is Killing the Children: As the police station is being cleaned up after Cutter’s attack, she apologizes for “not being able to stop Erica.” Bill Ramirez, the deputy, watches her quietly and the Sheriff wonders why Gabi would still be so trusting of Erica. Erica has Cutter’s Dolly, who talks to Gabi and tells her that Cutter will kill them all. They stop to get Riqui’s guns, and Riqui quizzes Erica about her plan. She knows Gabi will be the bait, but she wants the young girl to survive. They head for Riqui’s ranch. Erica tells them about her plan and about the monster, as well as why she left the Order. Meanwhile, in the hot springs, a few more children become victims of the duplicitype.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER LOSES CONTROL

Something is Killing the Children #31 opens with the Sheriff interviewing Owen, the surviving kid. He was terrified and ran away, but he remembers the screams and he remembers a woman with large eyes, a woman in a mask. Bill shows the artist’s sketch to Carter. Charlotte Cutter leans over his shoulder and tells him that Erica transforms into a monster. Her speech becomes distracted and disjointed, and for a moment she almost sounds like she is talking about herself. Then she grabs the Sheriff and yells into his face that she wants him to put out an A.P.B. on Erica before storming off. Ramirez quietly asks if Carter ever had a chance to call into her office. The Sheriff simply has not had the time.

Cutter goes to the ladies’ room, and we see how big an effect Dolly’s disappearance is having on her. She is furious that anyone else might touch her. After all, there are rules. She smashes her fist into the mirror, shattering it, pounding it until her fists bleed. She talks about having to become the monster to fight the monster, and how everyone must die. Cutter has always been terrifying, but when she becomes unhinged, she is doubly so. She pulls out her bandana and ties it on over her face, over her eyes.

Gabi and Riqui are at the hot springs talking to Erica over a walkie-talkie. Gabi does not want to get in the water. Erica keeps up the honesty and tells her that the monster likes blood warmer than normal body temperature. This is to help it find her. Then Riqui’s job is to make Gabi afraid, to make her go through everything she experienced.

Bill Ramirez returns to the coffee shop and asks the barista if he can borrow their phone. The deputy may seem slow, but he is still alive, and he is observant. He wants to call about Cutter from a phone she cannot possibly suspect or have tampered with. He steps outside, makes the call, and is put on hold. Then Cutter shows up.

Meanwhile, Erica has to put up with listening to Dolly’s chatter about Cutter. She lets slip that Cutter’s specialty is not killing monsters, although she is very good at that. Cutter kills people, and she enjoys doing it. Erica picks Dolly up to put her outside. And finds Cecilia there.

TRUST IS A PRECIOUS THING

The art of Something is Killing the Children #31 is emotionally raw, capturing characters at their most vulnerable or at least highly stressed. This is where we finally see a crack emerging in the steel-hard shell of Cutter. She starts out by snapping at Carter, which makes him notice and catches the eye of Ramirez. When she talks about monsters and references herself, it draws the Sheriff’s attention again. He just seems concerned, but the last thing Cutter wants is to be treated as anyone who needs help. We already know she can kill people easily and with a controlled sort of focus but seeing her lose that control over her fierce energy is terrifying. Her reflection in the cracked mirror illustrates the shattering of her self-control.

Riqui and Gabi have reached a new level in their relationship. Riqui is still blunt. Gabi continues to talk back. But they have united in their decision to trust Erica and to help her out. Underneath their tough talk, there are some moments of vulnerability, eloquently drawn, that show us that they have become closer even while each of them maintains her independence and her sense of identity.

BOTTOM LINE: A NEW ROUND OF CAT AND MOUSE

The suspense only continues to grow in Something is Killing the Children #31. Cutter no longer appears to be inexorably cold and calculating, and Erica has people who will work with her despite knowing the danger.

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