It's always a sunny day when Patrick Horvath wanders into our Love Nest. Two years after his first appearance on the podcast, he's back with another first issue, and this time, it's the sequel to the comic that made him a sensation. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring takes us back to Woodbrook, years after the events of the original series, where Sam the Bear nearly lost control and many furry citizens lost their lives.

Sequels are scary. We crave them desperately, but too often, they leave us full of regret and not satisfaction. With our hands on our bellies, we grumble, frustrated at how we fooled ourselves into a second taste, knowing it could never be as delicious as the first. Patrick Horvath wickedly understands sour sequelitis and subverts its toxicity through revelation.

Danny the Duck, the first victim we saw Sam take in Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, haunts every panel of Rite of Spring #1. His sister, Monica, takes center stage, as does her tremendous grief, which threatens to annihilate the person she was and the person she could have been. We didn't know it at the time, but Danny's death would slowly drill Monica toward Sam, and we both fear and delight at their eventual confrontation.

In this episode, we ask Patrick Horvath why he couldn't stay away from Woodbrook. We discuss the function of the time jump between the first series and its new sequel, Monica's prominence in Rite of Spring #1, Danny the Duck's vengeance, and the beauty of childhood cliches.

Final Order Cutoff (FOC) for Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1 is Monday, June 2nd. The first issue will arrive in shops from IDW Publishing on July 9th. Continue this conversation with Patrick Horvath by following him on Bluesky, Instagram, and his Website.

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Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode:

The Ultimate Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Spoiler-Filled Episode

Our First Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees Episode

CBCC's Comic Shop Road Trip

Patreon Exclusive: Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Club

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