The Butcher Shop lets Jolie plan the hunt for Jace Boucher and set up an ambush. When all the blood has been shed, who will remain standing? Find out in House of Slaughter #22 from BOOM! Studios.

HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER #22

Writer: Tate Brombal
Artist: Antonio Fuso
Colorist: Miquel Muerto
Letterer: Andworld Design
Editor: Ramiro Portnoy and Eric Harburn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 10, 2024

Previously in House of Slaughter: The Old Dragon makes his way from Chicago to New Orleans with a couple Silver Masks. He is there to meet with the Butcher Shop, led by Cassius, although Vionette speaks for him, as he is mute. There is long enmity between the two houses, but the Great House wants Jace Boucher to be taken care of. The Old Dragon is joining forces with the Butcher Shop to get this done, but clearly the alliance is tenuous. Vionette announces that the Butcher Shop will lead the mission. When the Old Dragon leaves, though, he informs his Silvers that Slaughter needs the win. Meanwhile, Maven’s crows keep watch and bring word to her, and she tells Jace.

THE AMBUSH

House of Slaughter #22 opens in an abandoned amusement park where Sunny stands by the decrepit remains of a carousel holding a red balloon. His thoughts flash back to earlier when Jolie talked to him about Jace, and about Slaughter. Jolie tells him that he is not the only person Jace hurt; he has hurt a lot of people, and they want to stop him. She asks him if he hates Jace, and he agrees. Then she asks him what he would do if Jace were there. Sunny looks at her and declares he would stab him in the eye. Jolie praises him, envelops him in a hug, and invites him to the hunt. He just needs to leave a message for Jace and stand where she places him as bait in their hunt.

Vionette explains the plan to the Old Dragon, who is doubtful. He finds there to be too many variables, especially including Sunny’s being such a young child, and the whole plan reeking of being a trap. Jolie insists she knows Jace better than anyone else, and his weakness is the children he has saved. Vionette vouches for Jolie and her skills.

Jolie sets up the ambush at the amusement park. This is a place she remembers from her childhood. It is a place she hates and loves. It is the one place her abusive father took her, when she was a child, when he was at his best and she was able to relax and have a fun day. The park has long since fallen into ruin, as is her father. She relates this story over her radio. The Old Dragon wonders if she is sound.

Jolie is stationed in a passenger car high on a Ferris wheel. She has people stationed all across the park – a scout, someone with a crossbow, people armed with knives, and the hunters from Slaughter. Sunny is in place, and she reminds him that the balloon is his way to warn them if anything seems fishy.

Meanwhile, the Old Dragon has sent his Silver Masks into the fight on their own. He shares the plans with them, but tells them he needs them to be closer, faster, paying more attention than the others.

Someone spots Jace entering the park. Jolie calls down to her scout for visual confirmation. There is a pause and a bit of static, but he confirms the sighting. Jolie reminds everyone that Jace is one of the best hunters there has ever been, and he is more than capable of taking out packs. They must hold until the last possible second. Jace approaches Sunny and at the last second, Sunny releases the balloon. Jolie orders her troops to stop. The Silvers from Slaughter attack.

But the man they killed was not Jace. It was the scout. A hunter from Slaughter declares sabotage against them, everyone they had in the field was dead. The crossbowman kills him. The Silver Masks confirm the deaths. Vionette turns on the Old Dragon – his Silver Masks botched the attack. Jolie does not understand what could have gone wrong.

THE HUNTERS

House of Slaughter #22 is brimming with atmosphere. An abandoned and decaying amusement park is a terrific setting. The park is overgrown. The broken buildings still have hints of brightly colored paint, of posters, of smiling clowns. We can still see the bone structure of a park that was once lively, but now what skin remains hangs from those bones in shreds. Graffiti overlays the signs. Paper trash flutters around in the wind. The color palette leans toward sepia, and Sunny’s red balloon is the lone splash of brilliant color.

The art also captures Jolie’s intensity. Her words to Sunny are carefully crafted to appeal to a young child, to make him feel like she cares for him, to explain to him that what they plan is only right. And it isn’t just right on a personal level. She squats down to be at or below his eye level to convince him that to kill Jace is the greater good. Her eyes narrow momentarily, but she is careful to keep a smile on her face. And when Sunny tells her he would stab Jace, she responds with an even bigger smile, her whole body emanating positive reinforcement for his giving her the correct answer. The Old Dragon is right to wonder about her.

BOTTOM LINE: THE ART OF THE COUNTER AMBUSH

House of Slaughter #22 is full of dramatic tension wonderfully crafted to keep us guessing until the very end and wondering whether this mission will widen the rift between Slaughter and Butcher.

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