IDW continues to have critical success under the trees this summer where no one has drawn a new arc underneath the trees that no one sees. If you’re under a tree fan, prepare yourself for a big summer. Can’t wait to see more after IDW’s free comic book day preview!
Beat emailed Horvath to discuss new characters under the trees no one sees: Spring rituals, What Changes in the sleepy town of Woodbrook, collaborations with variant cover artists.
This interview has been edited for Comcision and Clarity.
Javier Perez: Hello Patrick, thank you for your time. How do you feel about the fans’ reaction to the first arc? Congratulations on your nomination for Eisner.
Patrick Horvas: Thank you. I’m still wrapped up my head in just how amazing the response to the first arc is. I had a modest expectation for readers to dig into the story beyond its novelty, and I am blown away by how much it resonates with them.
Perez: Have you learned anything from this new arc, the first arc you filmed at the Spring Ritual?
Horvath: The biggest lesson I learned was to trust my own tendency to incorporate stories into strange and dark places that seem necessary. Honestly, I thought I would lose readers with the stranger element I put in the first arc, but I didn’t want to give them anything that might be my only chance to put them in the book being published, so I added them. When it turns out that many readers responded to it, I realized it would be stupid not to tilt it more.
Perez: Fans are enjoying under trees that no one sees: Prarudium. I remember being on the floor at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 and it was jumping out of the IDW booth. How is Präludium connected to the ritual of Spring?
Horvath: Sometimes it’s just a little while without getting into spoiler territory. While moving forward in time for this next article, we visit the past and link Sam’s self-discovery trip in Pradium to the way she came to reestablish herself in Woodbrook.
Perez: FCBD 2025 preview not only saw Samantha but also the sisters of their previous victims. What can you tell me about her?
Horvath: Monica Brewer is troubled by the disappearance of her brother, and for years afterwards, she has been shaped into this arrogant man whose sole purpose is bent to find out what happened to him. It is an unhealthy obsession, both mentally and physically, to the point of self-destruction. The trauma and sadness of Samantha’s actions made the character move, and seeing such sacrifice felt like a natural extension of the previous book.
Perez: Will other characters be shown from the first arc?
Horvath: Certainly! If they survived the first arc, we will see them again at Woodbrook. They’re older now (and, in some cases, grown into teenagers and adults), and like Samantha, they deal with the changing world of the 1990s. Like Monica Brewer, it all continues under the shadow of what happened before.
Perez: Are there any characters killed?
Horvath: I wish I could have understood another storyline for Cherry Gherkins as soon as I finished publishing 2 of the first arc. That would have been a big change, but I had so much fun writing her and she would have been a great set up of character arcs with great transformations. But she still had a huge impact on the story. It’s bittersweet.
Perez: There’s an eight-year jump. Do you wonder how that will affect the setting of the town and the story?
Horvath: As mentioned above, in addition to the psychological effects that those years have on all the characters who lived through the first arc, they will all face a changing world. Thanks to the acceleration of technology and commerce, the world is beginning to shrink, making it increasingly difficult for Woodbrook to ignore.
Perez: There seemed to be tension between Woodbrook and what was going on in town, so I wonder how the eight-year gap in time will affect that tension.
Horvath: Much of that contrast remains largely intact, but as mentioned above, the undeniable innocent erosion in Woodbrook began to move in the first arc. I think there is an evolved understanding of it, as the world is becoming more connected, by the people of this sheltered town, especially the children who have grown up.
Perez: Are you writing and drawing the entire second arc? Is there an artist who is excited to bring you for a variant cover?
Horvath: I draw this second arc, ink and paint on paper. I couldn’t imagine doing that in any other way.
With variant covers, it’s a rich embarrassment. Riley Rosmo is back with an alternative cover of a good picture book, with Tony Frieck creating a homage cover for a poster for a particular horror movie where he’s always knocked out of the park. I also just received an excellent #1 variant from Skottie Young and was blown away by his consent to boarding.
Under the Tree No One Sees: Spring Ritual #1 (6) is on sale at the pre-order deadline of July 9, 2025 and June 2, 2025.
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