When missions become complicated, sometimes the White Masks bring in Bait. Who is this young boy and how did he become a White Mask? Find out in House of Slaughter #16 from BOOM! Studios.

HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #16

Writer: Sam Johns
Artist: Letizia Cadonici
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Andworld Design’s Justin Birch
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 9, 2023

Previously in House of Slaughter: We have seen that the world of The Order is larger than only Slaughter. For example, Jace came from House Boucher in New Orleans. The Order has chapters all around the world, each dedicated to hunting monsters. We have also learned more about the structure of the various houses and what the different masks stand for. Now we are taking a closer look at the White Masks, the pack hunters of the Order.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH…

House of Slaughter #16 opens with the White Masks from Slaughter hunting an Obscuratype. It does not go as expected. Instead of the next they expected to find, the creatures are generating faster than the hunters can kill them. The plans change even further when one of them is grabbed by the monster.

Back at the House of Slaughter, the White Masks relax in their dormitory. Cecilia walks in to announce that they are adding one more to their Erie mission. She calls for the Bait. A young boy who is missing both arms follows her. He gets to wear a White Mask embellished with dragon fangs.

This causes some chatter among the other young White Masks. Why does he get to go on missions? No one has ever heard him speak. Supposedly he can fight well, but someone comments on his disability, saying that obviously, he cannot dodge. Another Mask tells him that Bait lost his arms before he arrived. He can fight and he is not afraid to face death. He looks for situations that challenge him. Everyone on the team has a role, and his role is as bait for monsters. Who is this young man who would willingly take this on?

Bait is briefed. In a very small town, twelve people have been killed in the last fourteen years. The locals suspect a serial killer. The sole connection is the school district, and, notably, there is a foster home that has not been touched, which seems suspicious to the Order. Bait is going to be placed in said foster home.

He leaves, and we see a discussion between a Red Mask and an Azure Mask, a discussion that ties back to the history of the White Masks. White Masks are specific to the United States; in Europe, houses rally under the Alabaster Banner. Back when New Amsterdam was being settled, Cutter sent emissaries from each House of Masks. Except that Brother Alabaster, head of his House, wanted to travel to New Amsterdam himself. His reasoning is full of symbolism. Alabaster is veined with all the other colors of the order, as a reminder of how all the Houses are welded together. But alabaster is also fragile. He wants to go to America and start the White Masks.

Tybalt, as one of Bait’s handlers, brings him to the foster home at night. Jeannie and Dick are the parents, and they seem friendly enough. They are a little surprised at Bait’s lack of arms, but no more than a little. They have some kit for him already. He does not let them touch his pack, threatening to kick them. Tybalt leaves them a bag of clothes and they take Bait up to the boys’ bedroom, because it is night and everyone else is asleep.

Bait’s totem is a paper cutout. It drifts around the room and comments on the other residents, speculating about them. What are their names? Which ones are bullies? Which one is the one they have come for?

FIERCELY INDEPENDENT

I like how the art of House of Slaughter #16 works to show us what the White Masks are like, helping to share the load of establishing this new arc. Like them or not, the White Masks have interactions that are familiar to us. They are a social group in that they live together and spend time together. They must know each other in order to hunt as they do. Still, put any group of people together for a long period of time, and all sorts of small conflicts emerge. Bait is in the common room with the others, but he plays solitaire while others talk or play their variant of pool. When he is taken from the room, some of the others start talking about him and we see some threads of jealousy which feels odd because Bait has what looks like a disadvantage compared to the others.

The young boy does not speak, so we get our impression of him from his body language and facial expressions. Missing both his arms is a complication for him, but we also start to see how he compensates. He is flexible and can use his feet for some activities. He uses his mouth when it is handy. He has an incredible fierceness that speaks to his wanting to do things on his own. It feels like this independence is important to him.

BOTTOM LINE: DISADVANTAGE AND DETERMINATION

House of Slaughter #16 launches us into a new monster hunt and prepares to give us a closer look into the operations of the White Masks. How do these pack hunters work together and maintain their ferocity without turning on themselves?

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