In this review of Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite Of Spring #4, Sam’s little game progresses, as Monica finds the biggest clue yet about what happened to her brother.
Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite Of Spring #4
Writer: Patrick Horvath
Art and Main Cover: Patrick Horvath
Variant Covers: Tony Fleecs, Elizabeth Beals, Patrick Horvath
Page Count: 36 Pages
Release Date: November 12, 2025
There’s a new family living in what used to be Nigel’s home, when we start the issue this time around. Monica, in the guise of a home inspector, claims that the house hasn’t been assessed in a while and asks to look around. Outside, Sam is watching the whole situation. When a neighbor stumbles upon her doing so, she claims to be bird-watching.
Meanwhile, Bertie’s free WebLynx trial runs out, and he takes Anchovy for a walk. The idea comes up to get another WebLynx trial disc from the nursing home, since those would be otherwise unused. He ends up helping a resident of the understaffed home back into his wheelchair, and there’s a bit of commentary about enjoying one’s life before they end up in a place like that.
Back with Monica, she checks upstairs for what Sam told her to look for, as Sam keeps watching.
The story catches up with Lewis, who is worried about his mom. So is one of his mom’s coworkers, since she may be addicted to her meds.
Monica finds the box in question in the baby’s room, and gets into a brief altercation over it with the homeonwers. As she and Michael wrestle for the box, she manages to knock him down the stairs and make a break for it (possibly having killed him). She gets back to Sam’s vehicle, and the two drive off.
Looking in the box, Monica finds a bunch of newspaper clippings about the murders..and a map to where the bodies are buried. She’s managed to get her hands on an old metal detector, and has apparently not seen Nigel’s label on the back that cited Sam as the killer. Either way, the plan is to scope out the area on the map.
For the past few issues, I’d been curious as to what Sam’s whole plan was. But this one makes it very clear how she’s stringing her along, toying with her, ready to derive some sick pleasure from watching her reaction to finding out what happened with her brother (particularly after getting her trust).
During Sam’s stakeout, there’s a moment where she’s doing a crossword puzzle. And the panels showing this zero in quite specifically on clue 42 (“Theatre on strings; a dummy to some”) and its answer (“Marionette”). The beginning of the issue has a full monologue about winding up a toy and letting it loose to see what happens. Much like what Sam’s doing by sending Monica into an occupied house to locate the box. The fact that the first image happens to be a toy duck fits in with that, feeling very intentional to the way the story’s being told.
Also, appreciate that of all alibis Sam could use when asked what she was up to, she went with “bird watching”. It’s not technically a lie at all. Not until she mentions the robins, specifically.
Not sure if Sam had expected the possibility of Monica inadvertantly killing one of the homeowners…but not knowing what to expect adds to her experiment, as well. And it all serves to make her all the more chilling of a person.
The transitions between scenes are beautifully done, as well. When Bertie is in the nursing home, his chat with one of the residents (about appreciating life when you’re young and still able to enjoy it) segues right into the next scene with the family of koalas and brings in a slight foreboding vibe.
I still wonder just how much Monica knows about the murders (and suspects about Sam). Had she and the family checked over the contents of the box on the way out, would they have noticed the writing on the map about Samantha burying the bodies? It’s possible, but desperation easily won that battle, and the reveal of Sam’s true nature is probably going to be an issue 5 thing, what with them heading for the burial grounds.
Final Thoughts
Samantha Strong keeps proving that she’s one of the most chilling murderers in comics, toying with a former victim’s family just for her own curiosity, all with that same serene smile.
