‘Beneath The Trees, Where Nobody Sees: Halloween Special’ & ‘It Killed Everyone But Me’…

Another ‘I blinked and missed it’ kind of weekend… I’m not sure if it was something I ate, or my medication getting the better of me, but I felt pretty rough for most of Saturday (when I was awake, that is). Sunday… Sunday was mostly about my spending time with my kids but I did find some time, here and there, to have a little moan about the continued lack of a comfy chair in my living room. I really need to do something about that.

Anyway… I did manage to get a little reading under my belt as well; not much but enough to feel like I hadn’t slacked off too much ;o) Let me tell you about some of that. Just a couple of comics for today but they’re both worth a look and definitely added to the ‘scary vibe’ that I’m aiming for this month…

‘Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Halloween Special’ – Various (ID Dark)

Before I go any further… If you haven’t read the ‘Rites of Spring’ mini-series (collected or otherwise), you should definitely do that before reading this ‘One-Shot’ Halloween Special. I didn’t realise that ‘Rites of Spring’ was a thing, at all, so when I read this comic, I was not only left a little bewildered but also totally spoiled the ending of that preceding mini-series. Oh well, you live and learn etc…

That leaves me in a bit of a spot here as even though I’ve spoiled it for myself, I wouldn’t want to do that for you. What I can say is this collection of ‘campfire tales’ not only kept me guessing, as to their veracity, but were all the more chilling, given that the cast are a bunch of adorably drawn animals. I’m not going to go into ‘who wrote and illustrated which story’ because I’ve got a long ol’ day coming up. Lets just say that they all brought their ‘A-Game’ to the table and all came up with tales that really captured the spirit of this world. Okay… My favourite was ‘Fiona’s Story’ by James Tynion IV :o) Without giving away too much about the story, the meeting between Fiona and Samantha is just haunting, given how much is said where the meaning isn’t grasped (and that’s the whole point).

And the ending… It’s straight out of most ‘slasher movies’ but leaves things hanging on a pretty big question that isn’t answered. And that’s the way I like it; a vague and unsettling ending that will stay in my head until I can get my hands on a copy of ‘Rites of Spring’.

‘It Killed Everyone But Me’ – Parrott, Cadonici (Mad Cave)

Page Count: 120 Pages

In the summer of 1996, Sutton Reed had it all. A popular teenage girl with amazing friends, a loving family, and a bright future. But it all came crashing down over one mysterious weekend that saw her friends brutally murdered and left Sutton as the sole survivor of the legendary Riverton Massacre. Now, three decades later, the death and disappearance of two local teens strike the Riverton community again, forcing Sutton, now a divorced single mother, to face the truth she tried so desperately to hide. Because to catch one killer, she'll have to dig up the real monster she buried away all those years ago.

I saw this book in Forbidden Planet, a little while ago, and had to have it. Absolute proof then that I am a sucker for a title that sounds cool. Old habits don’t die at all, let alone ‘die hard’… ;o)

Anyway… There are no surprises here but that’s besides the point as far as this story goes. ‘Surprises’ weren’t what I came for; I turned up for a ‘slasher movie in comic book form’ and that’s exactly what I got. Teenagers dying horribly and a final girl trying to make sense of it all, and survive the night. As far as that went then, ‘It Killed Everyone But Me’ was a big hit from where I was sat, mixing frantic slasher business with a mythology/lore that would be interesting to follow if the storyline goes past the five issues that this edition collects. And that’s one of the things that I really appreciated about the plot; there is scope for it to expand but it works just fine on its own as well.

The only thing I wasn’t a hundred percent sure about was Cadonici’s artwork. It was great for the most part but every now and then, it skirted the ‘manga line’, a little too closely, and I wasn’t keen on that. That’s a minor quibble though. ‘It Killed Everyone But Me’ was an impulse buy but I’m glad I went for it.

What about you folks? Any recommendations for ‘scary reading’ over Halloween (books or comics)? Leave a comment and let me know :o)