Major Spoilers Podcast #1151: Richard Scarry Meets Dexter Beneath the Trees

This week on the Major Spoilers Podcast, we review Stranger Things Season 5 (Part 1), Doctor Strange #1, and Venom #252 before diving into one of the most surprising and effective horror books of the year: Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.

We explore tone, character empathy, anthropomorphism, the ethics of serial-killer storytelling, narrative framing, and why this deceptively cute woodland setting hides some of the most unsettling violence in comics today.

• • Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at http://patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure the Major Spoilers Podcast continues far into the future!
  • Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF)

FREE STUFF!

Major Spoilers Book Club for November 2025: The Fisherman by John Langan.

You can listen to the Book Club episode FOR FREE on our Major Spoilers Patreon Page! DID WE MENTION IT’S FREE!? 

REVIEWS

STEPHEN
DOCTOR STRANGE #1
Writer: Derek Landy
Artist: Ivan Fiorelli
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 3, 2025
STEPHEN STRANGE, STRANDED! After becoming Sorcerer Supreme of Asgard, Strange lost his chance at redemption - and revenge against Doom - when Loki murdered Thor, cutting Midgard off from the other nine realms. With no way home and few allies remaining in Asgard, Strange travels to Alfheim to investigate an emerging crisis. But in an unfamiliar land, can Strange prevent elves and angels from going to war over a mysterious coffin? Maybe with some help from Heven's own ANGELA! Derek Landy and Ivan Fiorelli join forces for a bold, new era of Doctor Strange that will take him on a true JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY…
[rating:4.5/5]

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/3XlNOwL

MATTHEW
VENOM #252
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Paco Medina
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $6.99
Release Date: December 3, 2025

Venom has a brand-new red-and-blue suit – and a brand-new name to go with it! How will the people of New York react when they find out that the city’s newest Spider-Man is the SYMBIOTE they love to loathe? Luke Cage and Otto Octavius are ready to debate the matter – with their fists! PLUS: A bonus tale of the origin of an even All-NEWER Venom!
[rating:4/5]

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/446Xi2B

RODRIGO
Stranger Things Season 5 (Part 1)
In 1980s Indiana, a group of young friends witness supernatural forces and secret government exploits. As they search for answers, the children unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries.
[rating: 4.5/5]

DISCUSSION

BENEATH THE TREES WHERE NOBODY SEES
Writer/Artist: Patrick Horvath
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $17.99
Don’t. Murder. The locals.

This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm decor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie…the last thing you want is to disturb the peace.

So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise—and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.

You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link - https://amzn.to/3KmobsK

CLOSE
Contact us at [e-mail]

A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends!