'Meera and Mark's search for a new home turns into a chilling descent into the unknown when and accident leaves them stranded in a forest that twists time and defies logic... where they are watched, hunted, and manipulated by a presence deep within the trees. As ancient forces stirs and fractures reality, the couple must escape the forest's grip before they're lost forever.'
Norm Konyu has very quickly become a name that I instantly trust when I see on a graphic novel. So far I've read three of their books, and each one has been one of the more enjoyable and better crafted horror reads I've seen in comic form. All too often horror comics rely on monsters leaping out at characters, or gore splashed around the page to sell it as a 'scary adult' book. Norm Konyu's work, on the other hand, not only tells its horror in subtly, in atmosphere and slowly unfolding storytelling, but the books are accessible to most age groups.
The Space Between the Trees opens in 1902, deep in winter as two woodsmen search for a pair of missing loggers after a heavy storm. They discover a huge, ancient tree that one of the loggers had started to cut into, leaving a long gash in its side, but no sign of the two missing brothers. Their packs and equipment have been left in the snow, raising further concerns about their safety. As the two men investigate the area one of them vanishes, his dropped rifle the only sign that he was there. As his companion tries to figure out what's happened, he disappears too.
Jumping forward in time to the summer of 2022 we meet Meera and Mark, a young couple who are looking for a home together. They're trying to find a place right for them in the old forest area where Mark grew up, but find boring, simple homes that all look the same. The beautiful old forest is being cut down, and the wonder of nature turned into housing complexes. Disappointed with the houses on offer, the two of them leave, driving along the forest roads where they can see more and more of the lush trees being cut down. Mark laments the changes, but also talks about the old stories his great aunt would tell him of the woods being dangerous, and how something terrible happened to her when she was just a girl; something so bad that she would never walk out amongst the trees.
As they're driving, the road in front of them seems to vanish, and their car goes off the side of a hill, crashing down into the forest beneath them. Coming too in the remains of their car, Mark and Meera gather their wits and try to find their way back to the road. However, the forest seems to shift and change around them, leading them in circles, and to impossible places. Then they discover an ancient tree, massive in size, and with a scar running across it. Then things start to get truly frightening for them.
The Space Between the Trees is a relatively short read, and the story moves at a very brisk pace that actually serves the narrative really well. Apart from an opening and closing scene, the majority of the book is all one long sequence as we stay with Meera and Mark through their ordeal in the woods, following them on their journey and watching as they try to find a way back to safety and civilisation. I found that reading it in a single sitting to not only be really easy, but it also kept you in the narrative, allowing you to feel the mounting tension, to understand their fears and their panic, and in some ways put you in the characters shoes.
Because everything was told from the point of view of the lead characters there were few answers given as to what was going on, or what was behind things. There was some information, because Mark and Meera figured some stuff out, but there was no grand reveal. And I really liked this. The book leaves you trying to figure out the answers for yourself, and the lingering mystery is a big part of the horror too. I don't know if this will be to everyone's tastes, but as a short horror story this really satisfied me.
Konyu's art style lends itself well to the horror genre, despite it at first not seeming to be the kind of art you'd expect to see used for the genre. Konyu has a pretty simple style, using very easy to understand shapes. The characters aren't packed with detail, the forest is pretty easy to understand as most of the trees are straight blocks of brown rising up out of the ground. Where Knoyu's work really stands out is in the colouring. Colour plays a huge part in giving the art life and flavour, and something as simple as a colour change lets you know that something spooky is coming, or when the characters are safe. Konyu doesn't use flat colours though, and multi layered colours and splashes of motion that are are conveyed as various colours mix give the work a vibrancy that works brilliantly with the more simplified art. It's hard for me to really describe Konyu's art style in a way that doesn't sound like I'm stumbling over my words or not doing it justice enough, but trust me, it just works.
Whilst The Space Between the Trees might not be the longest read, it more than makes up for its brevity by being a wonderfully fun cosmic horror story. There are just enough answers to leave you feeling like you understand things, without knowing too much, and thanks to the structure of the book you'll find yourself wanting to go back and re-read it again once you understand one of the main conceits, just to see if Konyu managed to make it all work (spoilers, it does!). A perfect spooky read for the Halloween season; just maybe not one to read in the woods.
The Space Between the Trees is available from 21st October 2025 from Titan Comics.