Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Patrick Horvath
Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Date: 10th April 2024

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In the previous issue of this stellar “Sylvanian Families meets Dexter” IDW Publishing series, we saw creator Patrick Horvath turn his tense whodunnit into a chilling game of cat and mouse (well, technically ‘mouse and bear’), with new serial killer on the block Nigel completely and utterly blowing up Samantha Strong’s secret double life in a little under 24 hours. As a result, we start this issue with Sam on the run, seeking solace in the anonymity of the same big city that has served as her hunting ground for the last decade. And it’s here that we get our first real insight into Sam’s psyche. To this point we’ve only really seen the results of her actions and the calm, detached way she covers them up, but this time we take a peek inside the mind of the killer… and it isn’t a pretty sight.

Plagued by visions of her grotesquely dismembered victims and feeling the police closing in on all sides, Sam is certainly going through the wringer here, leaving the reader in something of an interesting conundrum. On the one hand, we are dealing with a cold-blooded serial killer who views her victims as little more than cattle to feed her dark urges, but on the other, it’s utterly fascinating the way Horvath has managed to develop something of an investment in Sam’s fate on the reader’s part. She’s not exactly likeable as such, but in comparison to the quote-unquote “bad” serial killer Nigel, it’s difficult not to find yourself rooting for her in a strange way.

As with the previous issues, Horvath’s artwork is perfectly pitched to sit right in the unsettling gray area between cutesy cartoon animals and chilling horror. And, as I mentioned above, this latest chapter takes that aesthetic to a whole new level as Sam struggles to deal with the wholesale destruction of the facsimile life she has created for herself in Woodbrook. I’m not going to delve too deeply into the full extent of her ‘journey’, except to tip my cap to one particularly memorable moment where Horvath delivers a grotesquely beautiful visual acknowledgement of the way Sam sees herself.

As we head into the final chapter next month, and what promises to be something of a reckoning for all concerned, it’s worth reiterating just how fantastic this series has been from start to finish. In blending two seemingly disparate genres, Horvath has certainly baited his hook effectively, but this high-concept premise would be wasted without a thoroughly compelling story at its heart, and in that respect Horvath has delivered in spades. Samantha Strong is an utterly compelling protagonist, and this series serves as yet another unmitigated triumph for IDW’s ‘Original’ imprint. Absolutely mesmerizing.

Rating: 5/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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