At first glance, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees may seem like a lighthearted children’s story, but scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll discover the twisted tale of a serial killer in a small town setting chalked full of anthropomorphic animal characters.

The small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule is to not kill the locals.

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.

Written and illustrated by Patrick Horvath, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees is by far the most unique comic book of recent times, something we haven’t seen since Stray Dogs from Tony Fleecs and Trish Forstner. A twisted tale of horror and murder behind the vail of a Richard Scarry-style children’s story.

While not an original story, something similar to the hit tv series Dexter, this IDW Original is unique in the way it is presented. Horvath uses a tone that is reminiscent of a children’s storybook, complete with rhyming phrases and whimsical illustrations. However, as the story progresses, the tone changes, and the darker side of the story begins to reveal itself.

Patrick has a great style of artwork paired with the unlikely serial killer story that makes for a standout comic series. This book is dark and twisted, yet still has elements of light-heartedness and humor that make it an enjoyable read. If IDW Originals continue to be anything even remotely similar to Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees we have extreme hope for the publisher.

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees is by-far one of the best comic series of the past year. It is a perfect blend of unique horror and cuddly animals, what a weird combination to even say. All we can hope for is more from Patrick Horvath in the world of Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees.

The collected edition of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees hits bookstores everywhere on September 17, 2024 from IDW Publishing.