Review: Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees #1

Out now from IDW Publishing

It’s a very different and dark story, and Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 is out now from IDW Publishing - check out my thoughts below.

Plus, you can check out my preview here:

Don’t. Murder. The locals. This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm décor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie…the last thing you want is to disturb the peace. So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise—and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree. Live, laugh, shed blood. “Dexter” meets Richard Scarry’s Busy Town in writer-artist Patrick Horvath’s twisted debut of BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES!

by Patrick Horvath (Author, Artist)

Wow!

That is a good word for this new mini-series. It is such a clever read, with a well-plotted beginning with some amazing twists and turns. That, combined with the clever art style, really makes this something you want to pick up to believe.

This gives off some classic small-town vibes, with the trip to the big city making a clever change to what we have already seen.

The story has a very dark underbelly, with Samantha Strong being our ‘friendly’ serial killer. She makes a pleasant way through the town with some excellent interactions with the townsfolk. It is truly a soft build, and then we get the initial twist: Samantha Strong is a long-term serial killer!

Even though this aspect is softly done, it’s almost modest with the amount of violence in this part. Soft and slow, with a lot of blood and an almost forensic method to the death and the cleaning up.

There is some interesting commentary and this links to the big cliffhanger at the end of the issue. With this combining between what we read and what we see this is an excellent story.

The art and colours are amazing, juxtaposing perfectly with the story, with soft pastel tones and brush strokes.

This issue finishes with both a mystery and a threat - I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Get Beneath Trees Where Nobody Sees #1 at Forbidden Planet:

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