Woodbrook’s Killer Bear is Back and Deadlier Than Ever in Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1 (Review)

Eight years ago, the delightful town of Woodbrook was changed forever as two serial killers dueled for supremacy, and Samantha walked away the victor. That said, a lot has changed in 8 years, and with the era of the internet having fully arrived, Samantha now has to navigate a whole set of new challenges to keep her trail of death a secret. That’s the premise of Patrick Horvath and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s much-anticipated sequel series, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring, and the IDW Publishing series is off to an absolutely killer start.

In the wake of what happened in the first series, it would be easy to just jump in time and kick off a new story with some of the same main characters, but that’s not the case with Rite of Spring #1. Instead, it pulls directly from the first series and highlights the changes that time and technology can have on just about anything, regardless of how well covered those old tracks may be.

We are introduced relatively quickly to a duck named Monica, who has spent the last eight years searching for her missing brother. The lengths she has gone to in looking for any sign of her brother Danny after he suddenly vanished are extreme to some, but you can’t help but envision yourself in that situation as she attempts to live her life almost solely for closure. The success of that is a credit to Horvath’s commitment to showing all sides of the toll this has taken on Monica, exploring the mental, physical, and even financial sides of essentially pausing your life.

It goes a long way to drawing you into Monica’s world as she navigates unhelpful police, a quickly degrading city populace, and the dark web in hopes of finding any light at the end of the tunnel. While Danny is the mission, Monica is the heart of this story, and it doesn’t take long to become incredibly invested in her sarcasm and cigarette-filled journey. That’s also due to the vibrant artwork and big pops of color that populate each page, and seeing some of the brutal violence paired with crazy pops of greens, reds, and yellows makes for an interesting contrast.

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Sam actually doesn’t have a huge role in the first issue, but obviously her actions are the cause of every domino that continues to fall, and when she does show up, it turns what you thought was the direction on its head. Her role is going to be much different than expected, and you can already get a sense of the tension that will be in play as we move forward in the story.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1 might have jumped forward in time, but it effortlessly picks up where the last series left off in terms of storytelling, intrigue, tension, and stakes, and it without a doubt deserves a spot on your pull list.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published By: Image Comics
Written, Illustrated, and Colored By: Patrick Horvath
Lettered By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

What did you think of the original series, and are you excited for the sequel? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on bluesky @knightofoa!