'Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees' & 'Dark Souls Volume 1: The Breath Of Andolus'
A couple of comic books to round off the week; both drawn beautifully but one far more of a compelling read than the other…
‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees’ – Patrick Horvath (IDW)
Page Count: 152 Pages
‘Dark Souls - Volume 1: The Breath of Andolus’ – Mann, Quah (Titan Comics)
As her kingdom collapses into chaos and death, battle-hardened warrior Fira embarks on a perilous last-ditch quest to save it. Allies are few, campfires are burned to embers. Countless hordes of demonic and draconic foes stand in her way.
Only with the aid of a duplicitous scryer can she rekindle the flame that will return light to her world… If she doesn’t perish in the attempt!
It’s unfair to pit ‘The Breath of Andolus’ against ‘Beneath The Trees’ but I did read them both, last night, and they’re sharing a post so… It’s almost impossible not to. I’ll try and be fair though ;o)
There is a lot to recommend ‘The Breath of Andolus’ but apart from a little twist in the tale (which you may guess at if you’ve played the game, I don’t know…) it’s all a little too straightforward to really engage. That’s the peril of the quest I guess; sometimes there’s only so much you can do with it, especially if you’re constrained by the IP. It’s a fun read though.
Alan Quah’s artwork remains an absolute pleasure to get lost in though. I’ve never put my favourite fantasy artists into a list but if there was a list, you’d see Quah feature there, no doubt about it.
I’d still like to read the rest of the series, just not sure now how much of a hurry I’m in to get to the other books.
‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees’ – Patrick Horvath (IDW)
Page Count: 152 Pages
Don’t. Murder. The. Locals. This is adorable brown bear and small-town serial killer Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of 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 like Woodbrook – surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk and the aroma of cedar trees and fresh apple pies – the last thing you want to do is disturb the peace.
So you can imagine Sam’s outrage 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 body count rises and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.
I’ve mentioned before that there are many ways in which I choose a book to buy. I don’t believe that I’ve ever mentioned the ‘immediately taken by cover art featuring a bear holding a shovel and dragging a bloody bag behind her…’ approach. To be fair, this method is employed very rarely, only the once in fact, but we’re here now so lets get into it ;o)
I’ll swear at the TV pretty frequently but you won’t normally catch me swearing at a book, until I read ‘Beneath The Trees’ and said ‘fuck’ out loud, twice in the first chapter. Patrick Horvath’s deliberately adorable artwork is the perfect cover for the kind of nasty surprises that he clearly loves to spring with brutal regularity. And that’s just the artwork… The plot is intriguing and I had to keep telling myself that Samantha is actually a ‘bad guy’ as well. Or is she…? If Samantha is fighting for her town (for whatever reason) then, she’s... venturing into ‘anti-hero territory’? I’ll get back to you on that one but that’s the kind of book ‘Beneath The Trees’ is, there’s plenty to chew on here. And if all the animals of Woodbrook stop off at the butchers for their tea… Hmmm…
Part murder-mystery, part ‘slasher’ and a thoughtful piece about the law of the jungle as seen through the eyes of a serial killer, all at the same time. I reckon I’ll be hard pressed to find another comic book, this year, that’s as much fun as ‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees’.
So you can imagine Sam’s outrage 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 body count rises and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.
I’ve mentioned before that there are many ways in which I choose a book to buy. I don’t believe that I’ve ever mentioned the ‘immediately taken by cover art featuring a bear holding a shovel and dragging a bloody bag behind her…’ approach. To be fair, this method is employed very rarely, only the once in fact, but we’re here now so lets get into it ;o)
I’ll swear at the TV pretty frequently but you won’t normally catch me swearing at a book, until I read ‘Beneath The Trees’ and said ‘fuck’ out loud, twice in the first chapter. Patrick Horvath’s deliberately adorable artwork is the perfect cover for the kind of nasty surprises that he clearly loves to spring with brutal regularity. And that’s just the artwork… The plot is intriguing and I had to keep telling myself that Samantha is actually a ‘bad guy’ as well. Or is she…? If Samantha is fighting for her town (for whatever reason) then, she’s... venturing into ‘anti-hero territory’? I’ll get back to you on that one but that’s the kind of book ‘Beneath The Trees’ is, there’s plenty to chew on here. And if all the animals of Woodbrook stop off at the butchers for their tea… Hmmm…
Part murder-mystery, part ‘slasher’ and a thoughtful piece about the law of the jungle as seen through the eyes of a serial killer, all at the same time. I reckon I’ll be hard pressed to find another comic book, this year, that’s as much fun as ‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees’.
‘Dark Souls - Volume 1: The Breath of Andolus’ – Mann, Quah (Titan Comics)
Page Count: 112 Pages
Only with the aid of a duplicitous scryer can she rekindle the flame that will return light to her world… If she doesn’t perish in the attempt!
It’s unfair to pit ‘The Breath of Andolus’ against ‘Beneath The Trees’ but I did read them both, last night, and they’re sharing a post so… It’s almost impossible not to. I’ll try and be fair though ;o)
There is a lot to recommend ‘The Breath of Andolus’ but apart from a little twist in the tale (which you may guess at if you’ve played the game, I don’t know…) it’s all a little too straightforward to really engage. That’s the peril of the quest I guess; sometimes there’s only so much you can do with it, especially if you’re constrained by the IP. It’s a fun read though.
Alan Quah’s artwork remains an absolute pleasure to get lost in though. I’ve never put my favourite fantasy artists into a list but if there was a list, you’d see Quah feature there, no doubt about it.
I’d still like to read the rest of the series, just not sure now how much of a hurry I’m in to get to the other books.
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