From writer James Tynion IV, illustrated by Werther Dell’edera, colored by Miquel Muerto, lettered by Andworld Design, published by Boom Studios.

I’ve reviewed the first two volumes on the site before and finally sat down to read the third book. Even better, I should get my hands on the fourth collection shortly as well. Following the twists and turns of this story has been so much fun. Who and what I thought Erica Slaughter is, what I thought this entire story is, and then where we all are at the end of this volume.

As if the story isn’t bad enough – monsters becoming real and running murderously roughshod over this entire town – now the House of Slaughter has arrived. Monsters are horrible, but the type of person willing to fight and confine (cover up too) monsters has to be screwed up as well. The solution is almost worse than the problem. Erica has shown herself to be a flawed hero but also a beloved one in a short amount of time. She’s not perfect but she will sacrifice every bit of herself to try to make things safe and right again. She carries the weight of her pain, and takes on the pain of others. Her burden means maybe the freedom for another.

Yet here comes the House of Slaughter with a solution that will tear a town apart much like the monsters tore kids apart. Then a solution arrives out of no where. Well, not out of no where because it makes an incredible amount of sense within the larger story of the book. However, I never saw it coming. The story reaches a point where I feel all is lost for the good guys and something horrible is about to happen to everyone. Then one incredible sacrifice comes out of no where and it’s one of the most captivating and incredible plot twists I’ve ever read. Rumor is this series is already optioned for TV or a movie. The culmination to this part of the story will blow away the audience. So painful but also heroic. When was the last time you stopped, paused while reading a comic? Had to put it down and walk away because of the gravity in the story? I was left breathless by this twist and it’s been awhile since any bit of media has done that to me.

The story is getting bigger, and now includes a House of Slaughter spin off series. I think there’s an end game in here. The stakes are becoming too high. The fractures are obvious. The sides are being set. This series has a finale in mind now, and if that end point is anything like what I felt within this volume it will go down as one of comics’ best series.