Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Patrick Horvath
Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Date: 18th October 2023
“Beneath the trees where nobody seesThey’ll hide and seek as long as they please‘Cause that’s the way the teddy bears have their picnic”
Taking a line from beloved children’s song “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” and using it as the title for a pitch-black serial killer drama feels, initially, like a bit of an unusual choice. However, after devouring the first issue of this brand new IDW Originals series, which introduces us to Samantha Strong – an anthropomorphic brown bear living in a idyllic town filled with regular animal folks doing regular animal things – I don’t think creator Patrick Horvath could have come up with a more perfect one.
Horvath does a shockingly impressive job of balancing the cutesy aspects of the story with the dark and disturbing moments as we get to know Samantha over the course of this first issue. A normal, unassuming resident of Woodbrook, she is popular and well liked by the town’s inhabitants, and runs her local hardware store in a fairly low-key, businesslike fashion. However, as you may have guessed by this point in the review, Samantha has a terrifying secret. You see, every so often she makes a trip into the city, singles out an unwitting victim and, well… the preview below should give you a rough idea of what her endgame is (although the actual issue goes one or two shocking steps further.)
That balancing act doesn’t just extend to the writing, with Horvath’s artwork also managing to span the divide between adorable and unsettling with consummate ease. While the actual ‘kill’ sequence is undeniably horrifying, the standout moment of the issue for me is the subtle but utterly chilling change that comes over Samantha as she drives out of town. I’ve always been drawn to tales of ‘hiding in plain sight’ serial killers, and the way Horvath illustrates and demonstrates Samantha’s happy-go-lucky mask completely and utterly disappearing is absolutely mesmerising.
The final pages throw an unexpected wrinkle into the proceedings that I’m not going to spoil here, but suffice to say that Samantha’s “routine” is about to be well and truly disrupted as the series continues.
For a company perhaps best known for their licensed content, IDW are doing some absolutely stellar work with their ‘Originals’ creator-owned line, and this new series deserves a place near the very top of that list. Feeling like Sylvanian Families meets Dexter, this is a beautifully disturbing concept executed to absolute perfection. Highest possible recommendation.
Rating: 5/5.
[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]
The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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