I have only recently returned to the world of comics, which means I have missed so much. In my state of burnout, I have missed so many beautiful and terrifying books, one of which is Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. The trade has sat on my desk since release day, staring at me, begging to be read because it screams that I will love it. It’s a beautifully drawn horror book by Patrick Horvath with animorphic animals. Then I saw my inbox light up with the opportunity to read and write about the sequel, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring. That felt like the perfect angle. Was this book readable even if you had never opened the first? The answer is an outstanding yes. I will go so far as to say that it made the ending even more shocking because the world was brand new to me. Patrick Horvath has crafted a noir-drenched suspenseful thriller that had me rereading this issue a few times before I could write this review to admire even how he drew the lighting of a cigarette. Every panel is a masterpiece and every page turn is a heart tremor for what comes next. It’s a masterpiece.
Patrick Horvath’s Eisner-nominated cozy horror hit is back! Samantha Strong, the serial killer brown bear living in the idealistic suburb of Woodbrook, got away with her crimes in the first tale. But now it’s eight years later, and Samantha will quickly learn that there are no secrets in the age of the internet… and some of her victims’ loved ones want justice. Plus, her sinister origin is revealed as the story explores what happened after her very first kill…
With the book coming out in July, I will avoid any spoilers for how I talk about it because I want everything to stay intact for when you can pick it up. The main character, Monica, is looking for someone slain by Samantha in the first book. There is a level of determination in the writing and illustration of this character that makes her so captivating from the moment you meet her. Animorphic stories always have this way of grasping an audience because we seem to care more when it’s a cute animal in these horrible situations. Empathy lights up more for some when you see a dog or duck in a problem than for other humans. But this isn’t one of those infantilizing styles of storytelling; every part of Monica is fleshed out to the fullest extent of someone struggling with loss.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring doesn’t ever make a character feel lesser because they are an animal. Monica is dealing with real feelings of wanting to find the person she lost. She is struggling and pushing people away. It’s such a fascinating character study of someone struggling, which is illustrated in a beautiful way. There is one moment where she is on the computer, where the rest of the room falls away. The only thing that connects her to the world is the wire from the keyboard. It’s such a symbolic panel that it just pulled me in fully to be there with the character in her pain, struggling to find anything to go on with living. She is trying to find meaning after she lost something that meant so much to her.
There are so many quiet moments in this issue that revolve around her descent over the 8 years since she lost this person. She has been in a major city longer than she has anywhere else to try and find them. She is no longer herself and you can see it. There is so many panels of her smoking which for me is the only thing she can control, how she dies. Smoke and noir as a genre go very hand in hand, you are facing death while still actively choosing it for yourself. Without digging into it, there is a panel where Monica is lighting a cigarette and she says to herself that really struck me.
You can’t deny what the city has turned you into.
That quote is where I took a moment to look at Hasan Ostmane-Elhaou’s lettering for this issue. I have been looking a lot at Hasan’s lettering recently as I review books. There is such a craft to every book he works on, with his lettering synchronizing with the style of the book itself. This is no exception. The lettering choices made flow seamlessly with Horvath’s art style, creating a natural, flowing blend. Each speech bubble is textured and crafted to work with this book which shows Ostmane-Elhaou’s talent on display on every page.
I am now ready to open the first trade, but this sequel can be jumped into without ever having touched the first. With the amount of craft, suspense, horror, and beauty on display in Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring, I think you owe it to yourself to pick up the first trade and preorder this one by June 2nd from IDW as well while you’re at the store.