Bait’s handlers give him a deadline, and he discovers the other children know what is happening. Working together, can they overcome all of the monsters? Find out in House of Slaughter #19 from BOOM! Studios.

HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #19

Writer: Sam Johns
Artist: Letizia Cadonici
Colorist: Francesco Sagala
Letterer: Andworld Design’s Justin Birch
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 8, 2023

Previously in House of Slaughter: Bait is undercover at a foster home to find the source of the monsters that keep showing up. Night after night, he goes out and kills monsters. Paris and Tybalt check in with him. He does not seem to be living up to his reputation, and he does not seem to be making any progress. It might be less subtle, but they could take care of everything with a fire. His totem, his sister Ashley, tells him he should give them something to hold them off. She has also caught on to his affection for Nan. He does not want to kill her even if she may be the source of the monsters. Returning from his meeting with Paris and Tybalt, he walks into the house and surprises Nan, who is awake early and washing eggs. And then he realizes that she cannot see monsters.

THE DEADLINE LOOMS

House of Slaughter #19 opens as Bait receives his ultimatum in a note. Tonight, he must take care of all manifestation potentials. The adults will be away. The Azures have an exit planned for him. Ashley reminds him that it will be difficult to protect Nan through this. If she lives, she will eventually forget all this, and she will forget him. But she is the source of the monsters. Even if she cannot see them, her stories help spark them into existence. It is like she is the carrier of a disease. Bait keeps reading the note. If he succeeds, he could be allowed to undergo the final Rites of Slaughter. If he fails, his failure could be equally huge.

Geordi comes up to him and says simply that they know. They know monsters are real, and somehow keep appearing when they screw something up. They know about Ashley. Sienna saw him fight. All of them have. Even Booker, the toddler, makes drawings like the monsters they have seen. But Geordi is pretty sure that Nan cannot see them. Nan has always been a little different, and she is the one who warned them about monsters in the first place and told them that they were real. This makes sense. These are kids who are likely hypervigilant, and aware of what is happening around them. They have dealt with a lot in their lives. Monsters are just one more terrible thing for them.

Their foster parents drive past and tell them to get back to the house. They need to go out of town overnight. Geordi and Bait walk back. Ashley tells the waiting kids that she can talk. Bait makes a decision. He opens his cache of weapons. Geordi is not sure about this. Ashley tells him it is important that they try. Bait will do most of the work, but Booker has to believe that monsters can be killed. Nan may be the force that generates the potential for monsters, but it takes someone else believing in them to bring them into existence.

Derek shows Bait where Dick’s gun cabinet is. They don’t have the key, but Bait kicks it open. Some of the children take guns. Even Siena knows how to load a pistol. Derek talks to Bait alone. He has made the connection between the missing kids they knew. He remembers making up a story about monsters, and he understands that without knowing it, they were responsible for the deaths.

There are a lot of monsters to kill. Ashley is not entirely certain about Bait’s plan but is happy that the monsters will probably kill a bunch of the kids, thus reducing future manifestations. But collectively, there is a monster for every little misstep, everything they think they have done wrong. Growing up is hard, and it is full of mistakes. In this world, those mistakes can become monsters.

And, Ashley tells him, it is even worse with Nan. She has not talked to anyone about her trauma. Telling her these monsters are real cannot be enough. That cannot save her from the monsters that exist in her own life.

Bait sees a monster go into the house where Nan is with Booker. Bait runs in. He sees the monster. Nan does not. He tells Nan she needs to run, and he starts fighting. This makes no sense to her. He tells her that the monsters from her stories are real. Ashley suddenly realizes the root of her monsters – they represent the secrets she is hiding. Bait continues fighting the monster she cannot see, and it wounds him. She grabs Booker and runs outside to where the other children are.

FACING THEIR FEARS

Finally, in House of Slaughter #19, we see the vulnerability that Bait hides behind his silent façade. When he receives his orders, he has a moment where he knows he is alone. He is faced with the necessity of making a decision he is not yet ready to make. For a moment, we see that he is still a young boy despite his proficiency in monster killing. Even so, he does not give in to expressing himself. Instead, he holds himself even more still, letting his concerns cross his face while trying to collect himself. Like all the kids at the foster home, he is in a situation where he must grow up too fast.

I love the way the other kids are depicted in this issue. It comes as a surprise that they know and understand what was happening, yet it also makes sense. They are independent for their ages, but they understand they have connections. They do not take the prospect of a fight lightly, yet they are willing to do what they can. Their fight is not just that against monsters. It is also the struggle of growing up and of doing so far too early, of finding their place in the world, of stepping up and trying to help themselves when there is no one else who can help them. The underpinnings of this story are incredibly powerful.

BOTTOM LINE: GROWING UP IS LONELY AND DIFFICULT

House of Slaughter #19 brings new allies to Bait’s fight, but it does not make it any easier for him to decide how to accomplish his mission.

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