The second issue of Rob Guillory’s Farmhand deepens the mystery that the first issue laid, while establishing new characters, new relationships, and new hints of plot that help to continue to establish a remarkably fast-moving and well-developed plot and world.
Farmhand continues to hold Guillory’s trademarks while still making it a distinct book on its own; there are background gags aplenty, a few small gaffs of humorous text sprawled on a poster or two, and exaggerated expressions galore. But what makes this book stand out the way that it does is a sense of creeping terror – a sinister, unseen sensation of something terrible about to happen. This isn’t a book that shies away from showing terrible things either, but what we see is only made more effective and unnerving by the implications of what’s going on in the background.
As beautiful as the book is and as enthralling as it is to read for the twisting path of the plot itself, the broken relationship between Ezekiel and Jedidiah Jenkins is both the emotional core of the book and the core of its mystery. While we learn a few more details about the demons that Ezekiel has fought and recovered from, much of Jedidiah’s past is still shrouded in darkness, including a few hints that he may not be as responsible for some actions as we were first brought to believe.
Guillory thrives in offering a cast of both varied lifestyles and backgrounds, introducing new allies from old places in some of the most unexpected predicaments. Ezekiel is a man who really wants to be better, to support his family, and to understand his place, but he’s faced with odds that threaten to reveal horrors he never wanted to know, both about himself and beyond even that.
Farmhand continues to be an intense, packed story for any fans of horror, madcap aesthetics, or the works of Rob Guillory – an absolute must-read.
Creative Team: Rob Guillory (Creator, Writer, Primary Artist), Taylor Wells (Colors), Kody Chamberlain (Lettering and Logo), Burt Durand (Calendar Design)
Publisher: Image Comics
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