IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Rob Guillory – @Rob_guillory
ART: Rob Guillory
COLORS: Taylor Wells
LETTERS: Kody Chamberlain
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Burt Durand
COVER: Rob Guillory with Taylor Wells
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(November 2019)
Rated “M/ Mature”
Farmhand created by Rob Guillory
Chapter 11: “Rootwork”
Farmhand is the (incredible) dark fantasy comic book series from comic book creator, Rob Guillory. Guillory is also known for his award-winning tenure on the long-running comic book, Chew (Image Comics), with writer John Layman. Farmhand is written and illustrated by Guillory; colored by Taylor Wells; and lettered by Kody Chamberlain (who also designed the Farmhand logo).
Farmhand's central character would appear to be Ezekiel “Zeke” Jenkins, a husband, father, and graphic designer and illustrator. He returns to his hometown of Freetown, Louisiana with his wife, Mae, and their children, Abigail and Riley. The old family business was “Jenkins Family Farm.” The new family business is “Jenkins Family Farmaceutical Institute,” operated by Zeke's father, Jedidiah “Jed” Jenkins (who could be the lead character), and Zeke's sister, Andrea. The “farm” grows plant-based replacement human organs and tissue, and once upon a time, people, especially transplant recipients, saw this as a miracle. But, now...
Farmhand #11 (“Rootwork”) opens many many years before the present day. Jedidiah and his wife, Anna, with baby Andrea in tow, are hosting a crawfish boil. Their guests are Randall and Dolly Lafayette, Nancy and John “Tree” Moore, and Monica Thorne. Monica is the biomedical engineer and botanist who would help Jed design the seed of a possible apocalypse, and even back then, the blood was trying to tell...
In the present day, Randall Lafayette's useless son, Tiberius, helps Jed so that he can visit the former Hoodoo woman and prophetess, “Grandmomma” a.k.a. “Auntie Janice.” Once upon a time she foretold Jed's future, which turns out to be... rooted in the past.
Farmhand #11 launches Farmhand's “Season Three,” so to speak – the series' third story arc. Farmhand is set in Freetown in the state of Louisiana. Louisiana is a state established by multiple “racial,” ethnic, religious, and cultural groups – indigenous, immigrant, invader, and enslaved – long before it became part of the then still new United States. Instead of being a bunch of ingredients or a selection of “tapas,” Louisiana is an elaborate gumbo, one in an evolving state of neo-cuisine
Some people say they “don't believe” in “interracial relationships,” with many emphasizing that this is the command of their favorite holy book. Yet a Black person and White person can still come together and conceive a child, despite anyone's belief to the contrary. It is sort of like the purity of your rose garden being an illusion; other plants will come a knockin' regardless of your beliefs. Barriers and purity standards are labels and enclosures that are more man-made than they are natural.
Farmhand's dark fantasy is made of blood magic and green magic, of bloodlines and roots that break on through the barriers and borders, erasing any kind of red-lining. In this comic book, people foolish enough to believe that they can control and divide get caught up in Farmhand's version of “The Twilight Zone.” In the “Farmhand Zone,” humanity is the common denominator. All are vulnerable, aggressive, and damned.
I think Rob Guillory's storytelling is brilliant. He defies conventions and labels. In every issue, he shows his characters in a different light. He seems to be moving beyond heroes and villains and beyond the just and the unjust. Everyone is trouble and in trouble.
And I can't stop reading. I never know what to expect from Farmhand, the best ongoing comic book series in America.
[This comic book also includes the one-page comic, “Freetown Funnies” by Burt Durand.]
https://robguillory.com/
https://twitter.com/Rob_guillory
https://www.instagram.com/rob_guillory/
10 of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
--------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment