Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, a limited comic book series written and drawn by Patrick Horvath, proved to that cuddly furry animals and serial murderers could go together like fava beans and a fine chianti.
A surprise sales hit for publisher IDW when it was released in 2024, it was a bright spot in a tough sales year for the industry. The comic, with its Richard Scary meets Dexter vibes, also generated critical acclaim, earning two Eisner Award nominations.
“Having that nostalgic aesthetic of children’s books collide with a very dark story felt like something I probably shouldn’t do, but that just made it even more appealing to me, and apparently to a lot of other people as well,” Horvath tells The Hollywood Reporter via email regarding the book’s success.
This summer, IDW will unleash more furry fun with Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring, with writer and artist Horvath once again returning to the bucolic suburban town of Woodbrook and brown bear Samantha Strong, who happens to be a stealthy serial killer.
And while the first story had the hardware store owner defending against a competing killer who had learned her secret, the new story jumps eight years into the future to what resembles in the 1990s, with the Internet and suburban sprawl shrinking down the world of the cuddly serial killer. But as the promotional copy teases, “Samantha will soon discover there are no secrets in the age of the internet… and those who lost loved ones to her dark temptations are still searching for justice.” Plus, Horvath promises a look at Strong’s very first kill.
IDW editor Jake Williams calls the first Beneath the Trees “the sort of shot in the arm that the industry prays for. A reminder of how good the medium can be.” The comics industry gave it Eisner noms for for best new series and best lettering. THR named it one of the top comics of 2024.
Williams adds, “Here’s a secret: we always knew we were doing more. Patrick introduced you to his world in part one, now it’s time to plunge deeper into the darkness, expand out to the edges, and ultimately smash it all up. This one is darker, scarier, gorier, and maybe even a little bit cuter.”
Horvath didn’t exactly plan on having a sequel — the concept was rather risky and who knew if the book would sell? But when he was finishing up the first issue and fleshing out the world of the story, he began to realize the potential for more.
“I really didn’t want to just leave everything hanging in case I never had the chance to do anymore with it, so I brought the story to a close but left it wide open on purpose just in case,” he says. “Once the first couple issues started picking up steam, IDW asked if I’d be interested in doing more, and I let them know that I actually already had quite a few ideas for where it could go next.”
Maybe even beyond this sequel, if the new book’s reception is similar to the first series.
The first installment of the six-issue limited series will go on sale July 9. And in addition to being very 2020s by having a really long title, it will also hit shelves by having several variants, including a movie homage variant. The first issue will pay tribute to American Psycho (with a cover by Stray Dogs co-creator Tony Fleecs), the second one to Natural Born Killers, with others on the way.
Check out a preview of the covers and a selection of pages from the first issue below.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Courtesy of IDW
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Courtesy of IDW
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Courtesy of IDW
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Courtesy of IDW
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Courtesy of IDW
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Courtesy of IDW
