FA+
Shop
Graphic Novel review
10 months ago
So there's this new graphic novel about a furry serial killer, and of course I had to read it. Beneath the Trees where Nobody Sees definitely counts as one of the more bizarre premises out there. Think: Richard Scarry does Dexter. And rather than "inspired by" those works, think more "a blatant rip-off" of those works.
This is the published summary of the book (because I'm too lazy to summarize it myself)
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 decor, 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.
Cute critters aren’t immune to crime in this original graphic novel debut by writer-artist Patrick Horvath.
This book goes way beyond just swiping the premise of Dexter. The killer in this copies the exact way Dexter subdues his victims, his ritualized killing and dismemberment, and has a unique way of hiding the remains. (Putting them in paint cans and burying them. And I think the only reason she doesn't dump them in the ocean like Dexter is because Busy town isn't Miami.) She even follows a 'code' like Dexter does.
The art is a bit more detailed than Richard Scarry's, but follows the same basic theme of soft watercolors and genderless character designs. While the lead bear is supposed to be female, it's really impossible to tell. She doesn't even have hair like some of the other female characters. To make things even more weird, in the forest she runs into 'real' bears that hunt and kill other animals and each other.
Not only is the premise of the book swiped whole-cloth from Dexter, it rips off a specific story arc: The Trinity Killer. I'm not going to go through and list all the similarities-- if you're curious, and familiar with the Trinity Killer storyline, you can read the book yourself and see what I mean. The one thing the book doesn't swipe from Dexter is Dexter's motivation for the killings. Samantha doesn't seem to have any motivation at all beyond maybe boredom.
The art is certainly competent, although I imagine most furry fans wouldn't find it appealing unless they really like the Richard Scarry style. And people who like Richard Scarry probably aren't interested in seeing the characters reenact the Trinity Killer storyline. On the same token, fans of Dexter don't really need to see it take place in Busy Town.
In other words, why bother with this if the originals are still readily available?
This is the published summary of the book (because I'm too lazy to summarize it myself)
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 decor, 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.
Cute critters aren’t immune to crime in this original graphic novel debut by writer-artist Patrick Horvath.
This book goes way beyond just swiping the premise of Dexter. The killer in this copies the exact way Dexter subdues his victims, his ritualized killing and dismemberment, and has a unique way of hiding the remains. (Putting them in paint cans and burying them. And I think the only reason she doesn't dump them in the ocean like Dexter is because Busy town isn't Miami.) She even follows a 'code' like Dexter does.
The art is a bit more detailed than Richard Scarry's, but follows the same basic theme of soft watercolors and genderless character designs. While the lead bear is supposed to be female, it's really impossible to tell. She doesn't even have hair like some of the other female characters. To make things even more weird, in the forest she runs into 'real' bears that hunt and kill other animals and each other.
Not only is the premise of the book swiped whole-cloth from Dexter, it rips off a specific story arc: The Trinity Killer. I'm not going to go through and list all the similarities-- if you're curious, and familiar with the Trinity Killer storyline, you can read the book yourself and see what I mean. The one thing the book doesn't swipe from Dexter is Dexter's motivation for the killings. Samantha doesn't seem to have any motivation at all beyond maybe boredom.
The art is certainly competent, although I imagine most furry fans wouldn't find it appealing unless they really like the Richard Scarry style. And people who like Richard Scarry probably aren't interested in seeing the characters reenact the Trinity Killer storyline. On the same token, fans of Dexter don't really need to see it take place in Busy Town.
In other words, why bother with this if the originals are still readily available?
[Verse 1]
If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise
If you go out in the woods today
You'd better go in disguise
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic
[Chorus]
Picnic time for teddy bears
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today
Watch them, catch them unawares
And see them picnic on their holiday
See them gaily gapped about
They love to play and shout
They never have any cares
At six o'clock their mommies and daddies
Will take them home to bed
Because they're tired little teddy bears
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
Every teddy bear, who's been good
Is sure of a treat today
There's lots of marvelous things to eat
And wonderful games to play
Beneath the trees, where nobody sees
They'll hide and seek as long as they please
'Cause that's the way teddy bears have their picnic
[Chorus]
Picnic time for teddy bears
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today
Watch them, catch them unawares
And see them picnic on their holiday
See them gaily gapped about
They love to play and shout
They never have any cares
At six o'clock their mommies and daddies
Will take them home to bed
Because they're tired little teddy bears
Because they’re tired little teddy bears
John Walter Bratton & Jimmy Kennedy (sung best by Anne Murray)
Plus, i love the scenes of the bear main character meeting with an actual feral bear, seeing herself and her killing reflected in its nature. Its a great usage of furry animal motifs.
It's in editing at last, tho. And I have a new beta reader: Renee Le Compte!
With the art, some of the characters (e.g the mole family and the foxes) looked quite reasonable but I thought the main character Samantha looked akward at times, especially the width and shape of her head, and the great distance between her small eyes.
I enjoyed some of the expressions, such as those of Nigel when Samantha confronts him at his mothers home in vol 4. I liked the changes in his eye shapes in the three panels where he says "Oh, you startled me! then "I love that feeling!" then "Okay I know it's a little over the top! That was a nice sequence.
All the little signs, notices, product labels etc were done with great detail and attention. Things such as the Kanga Workgear logo and painters plastic sheet packet at the end of volume 5. the fire engine door sign near the end, the "shop local" bag the butcher cat has, were very pleasing.
After I'd finished, I didn't really understand why Samantha is a serial killer (other than her thought about how it centres her and muffles the voices in her head) or what she got out of confronting herself in her little odyssey, and I'm not sure if the reader is supposed to think her better than the other killer because she is more careful about her venue and choice of victim. I would have been more suprised and satisfied if she had been caught and punished for murders she didn't commit, and the other killer got away with it.
Quirky is the word that comes to mind. I haven't seen Dexter but I know the general concepts. I'll probably regret the expense but I've made worse mistakes.