The Kids Is a Deranged One Shot From the Twisted Mind of Garth Ennis (Review)

Garth Ennis has made a name for himself by pushing the limits of the comic book medium as a mature storytelling device. Ennis is arguably the best writer of classic superhero publications such as Marvel’s Punisher and DC’s Hellblazer. He has also crafted multiple original series that proved critical and commercial successes, like The Boys and Preacher.  Still, regardless of the setting, Ennis’ name on any cover sets expectations high for how the writer will unveil the darkest corners of humanity through his penchant for brutality, sex, and all sorts of nightmarish imagery. Unfortunately, The Kids is one of Ennis’ rare misfires, as the one-shot special published by Image Comics doesn’t know what to do about its intriguing core concept.

The Kids imagines what would happen to the world if, one fateful night, all the children younger than one year experienced a growth surge that transformed them into adults. The sudden body transformation is not accompanied by a similar increase in cognitive functioning, meaning that thousands of families in the United States must manage five-foot-tall beings who lack the coordination to keep themselves (and those around them) safe from harm. Plus, since babies are creatures of pure desire, these transmuted monsters express their need for food or comfort with actions that can be deadly.

To explore the apocalyptic scenario of a society crumbling under the weight of its children, The Kids follows a specific family who discovers an angry and violent adult male in the bedroom where their youngest son previously slept. From that moment on, the parents must wrap their heads around the odd event that just happened seemingly everywhere and decide how to deal with it. Meanwhile, the widespread transformation allows Ennis to discuss how humans are born as selfish pricks, a truth we don’t always consider due to the inherent fragility of kids. Still, there’s a reason why there’s an entire horror subgenre dedicated to creepy children, as the idea of tool-wielding primates without a refined sense of empathy is indeed scary.

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The main issue with The Kids is that it doesn’t tell a credible story. After a strong beginning where things go south fast and hard, The Kids takes some puzzling turns as the main characters decide to actively ignore the matter to the point where the whole narrative becomes increasingly implausible. The characters react to the news in the most unbelievable way, just because Ennis needs these poor parents to be somewhere else for the sake of the message.

As for the allegory, The Kids‘ heavy-hands speeches about compulsory paternity and the forced ostracism of those who chose not to have children. Unfortunately, it never finds a way to deal with these complex ideas with the depth they deserve. Maybe The Kids‘ premise is too ambitious to treat it as a one-shot. Nevertheless, it’s part of a writer’s job to know how much of a story you can fit in a limited number of pages. For The Kids, it feels like there’s too much that was supposed to happen for the whole story to make sense, but there was so much chopped down for the sake of a smaller format that what we get is barely enough.

On the art front, Stjepan Bartolic makes some inspired color choices, including using a monochromatic palette for night scenes in opposition to fully colored diurnal panels. Dalibor Talajic’s art also manages to convey the idea of fully grown adults who don’t have control over their own bodies by drawing the titular kids in bizarre and grotesque positions that feel unnervingly realistic. Maybe with more space to spare and some more time to polish the story flow, this same team could have created a more engaging story.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Published by: Image Comics

On: March 26, 2025

Written by: Garth Ennis

Art by: Dalibor Talajic

Colors by: Stjepan Bartolic

Letters by: Rob Steen

What did you think of The Kids? How would you compare it to previous works by Ennis? Join the discussion in the comments!