#IReadsYou Review: FARMHAND #15

 

FARMHAND #15
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rob Guillory
ART: Rob Guillory
COLORS: Rico Renzi
LETTERS: Kody Chamberlain
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Burt Durand
COVER: Rob Guillory
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(April 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Farmhand created by Rob Guillory

Chapter 15: “The Knowledge of Good and Evil”

Farmhand is a 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; lettered by Kody Chamberlain (who also designed the Farmhand logo); and currently colored by Rico Renzi.

Farmhand's central character is 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.  Zeke's father, Jedidiah “Jed” Jenkins, and sister, Andrea (“Andy”), own and operate “Jenkins Family Farmaceutical Institute.”  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, since he returned, Zeke has discovered that the great miracle hides a great evil.

Early in Farmhand #14, Zeke gets a call from Randall Lafayette, summoning Zeke to “Uncle Randy's” house for some information exchange.  While there, Zeke has some kind of seizure and collapses to the floor unconscious.

Farmhand #15 (“The Knowledge of Good and Evil”) opens to find Zeke in some kind of dream state or some place between life and death.  And he sees it all – everything that happened that fateful day between his father, Jed; his late mother, Anna; and his father's partner, Monica Thorne.

When he regains consciousness, Zeke joins Randy, and the two head to the church of longtime family friends, Pastor John “Tree” Moore and his wife, Nancy.  Also, gathered at the church are Jed and eventually, Mae and Andrea... and of course, Monica.  Ms. Thorne wants to show herself – all her power and her army.  And nothing will be the same again.

THE LOWDOWN:  Farmhand #15 concludes Farmhand's third story arc, “Roots of All Evil” (a.k.a. Season Three), which began with issue #11.  Like plant life, Farmhand is ever-growing and evolving with a cycle of life and death that brings about change.  [Season One is Farmhand #1-5, “Reap What Was Sown” and Season Two is Farmhand #6-10, “Thorne in the Flesh.”]

“Roots of All Evil” is about revelation, however, more than it is about change.  Yes, there are new characters, but some of the most crucial moments of Farmhand's back story explode out of the ground, the way those amazing mutant crawfish explode out of the pond in Farmhand #12.  Farmhand's origin story seems to be about its own take on the Biblical bite of the apple, but there is more to the knowledge in “the knowledge of good and evil” than any one chapter can tell.  So I would not be surprised to see a future issue of Farmhand return to the events of the flashback depicted in issue #15

I have thought of Rob Guillory's storytelling as brilliant since the day I first got a preview of Farmhand #1, but it turns out that I had no idea of what was really coming.  It is hard to believe, but I must believe it since I have read it with my own eyes.  Every issue of Farmhand is fresh from the garden of Guillory's imagination, and each one offers something new or some new things.  While I await the next bumper crop, dear readers, you must go back to the beginning and discover Farmhand.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of dark fantasy fiction will want to be a Farmhand.

[This comic book also includes the one-page comic, “Freetown Funnies,” by Burt Durand.]

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://robguillory.com/
https://twitter.com/Rob_guillory
https://www.instagram.com/rob_guillory/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE DRACONIS PROJECT #1

THE DRACONIS PROJECT No. 1
MIDCITY COMICS

[This review was originally published on Patreon.]

WRITER/CREATOR: Michael Phillips
PENCILS: Verlei Batista
INKS: Somjade Chuntbavorn
LETTERS: Michael Phillips
EDITOR: Ryan Carter
COVER: Fred Benes with Dijjo and Teo

Book 1: “Abducted”

The Draconis Project is a comic book series created and written by New Orleans native, Michael Phillips.  A black and white comic book, The Draconis Project is published through MidCity Comics LLC.  The series is set in a near-future scenario of environmental degradation.  It focuses on a retired anti-terrorism agent searching for a missing scientist who may have discovered the means to save mankind from a solar catastrophe.

The Draconis Project #1 opens in the year 2044.  Earth suffers from global warming caused by the deterioration of the outer layers of the atmosphere due to four decades of powerful solar flares and outbursts.  Mankind is endangered from an upcoming catastrophic solar event called the “Solaris Effect,” but the scientists of an organization known as N.A.S.R. are working to protect humanity.

Dr. Johann Svensen is one scientist who has created an important serum to protect mankind from the Solaris Effect.  After he is kidnapped, the G.T.U. (Global Antiterrorism Unit) tasks one of its retired agents, Aiden McCoy, to find Svensen.  McCoy's first stop in his search is his the city where he lives, New Orleans, Louisiana.

At the recent Louisiana Comic Con (October 17-18, 2015), I came upon Michael Phillips at his vendor's table, where I bought a copy of The Draconis Project #1.  I think my friend and fellow comic book reviewer, Albert Avilla, may have bought all the issues of the series published to date.  I wish I had bought more than the first issue, as I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Yeah, I think the adversaries and villians' dialogue to be a bit stiff and on the cliched side, but I like the bad guys because they are so thoroughly ruthless, vicious, and self-interested.  The hero, Aiden McCoy, seems like a guy who takes his mission seriously, but will make it fun when he can.  During the 1990s, Bruce Willis would have played McCoy in a movie based on The Draconis Project.

The art:  well, it looks like a combination of Jim Lee and the early art of Jim Lee/Art Adams clones such as Joe Madureira and J. Scott Campbell, with a dash of Michael Turner.  The pencil art by Verlei Batista (of the Ed Benes Studios) features crowded compositions and awkward technique, but has a strangely attractive quality.  The inking by Somjade Chuntbavorn makes the pencils look heavily crowded, which results in storytelling filled with static.

That said, The Draconis Project #1 shows that this series has potential.  I am certainly recommending it to comic book readers that support micro-press and self-published comic books.  I plan to be on the lookout for Michael Phillips at future local comic book conventions.

https://www.facebook.com/DraconisProject1972

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE KINGDOM #1

THE KINGDOM #1 (OF 6) - Reviewed by Amos Semien

IC GEEKS PUBLISHING – @comixtribe
CARTOONIST: Jason Bienvenu – @jasonwelcome
EDITOR: Natalie Bienvenu
24pp, Color, No cover price

Jason Bienvenu is an illustrator and designer based in Lafayette, Louisiana.  He is also a new comic book creator.  The Kingdom is a six-issue miniseries written and drawn by Bienvenu.

The series is set in a place called “The Kingdom,” where mankind never existed.  In man’s absence, animals thrived and evolved, but some of them came to share mankind’s darker nature.  For instance, there is a civil war between ape-kind that threatens all of animal kind.

The Kingdom #1 opens in the aftermath of a grand battle.  Victory was claimed by the forces of a vicious mandrill named Baron Kah Lee, who wages constant war throughout the Ape Empire.  Two apes, Mala and Thane, escape from the Baron, and during their flight, they find an infant they name “Pale.”  They will discover that their past, however, still pursues them, even into the future...

The Kingdom is like the Planet of the Apes film franchise, but without human characters.  For a novice comics creator, Jason Bienvenu is good at introducing the concept, characters, and setting.  He introduces the plot in a way that does not give up too much, but does drop enough knowledge to intrigue the reader into deciding to try the second issue.  Bienvenu is, at least, credible at storytelling in comics form, which helps his cause and his comic book series.  The Kingdom is not great, but it is interesting.  I have decided to try the second issue.

B

thekingdomcomic.com
jasonbienvenu.blogspot.com


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SWEETS: A New Orleans Crime Story

"Murder, my sweet?"

SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY
IMAGE COMICS

CARTOONIST: Kody Chamberlain
INTRODUCTION: Duncan Fegredo
ISBN: 978-1-60706-413-8; paperback
120pp, Color, $14.99 U.S.

Kody Chamberlain is a Lafayette, Louisiana-based graphic designer turned comic book artist. He drew a backup feature for IDW’s 30 Days of Night and was the artist on two issues of BOOM Studio’s three-issue horror miniseries, Tag. He also received critical acclaim for his creator-owned comic, Punks (with writer Joshua Hale Fialkov).

Sweets was a five-issue comic book miniseries written and drawn by Kody Chamberlain and published by Image Comics beginning in 2010. The series was recently collected in the trade paperback, Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story. Set in the days before the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, Sweets follows a grieving detective as he tries to uncover the identity of a spree killer terrorizing New Orleans.

In the story there is a killer on the loose in New Orleans, one who sometimes leaves pecan pralines at the crime scene, so he is called “Sweets.” The investigation is dropped in the lap of New Orleans Police Detective Curt Delatte, who is still grieving the loss of his daughter, Katie (Kaitlin M. Delatte) in a car crash. His boss, Lt. Palmer is not really sympathetic; he just wants Sweets found, especially with the mayor becoming exceedingly insistent that the police catch Sweets after he kills one of the mayor’s pals.

Delatte and his partner Jeff Matthews, who protects Delatte’s job and acts as a sort of filter between Delatte and Palmer, navigate the exotic streets and neighborhoods of the Big Easy. Along the way, they meet an eccentric cast of characters and discover that Sweets may act as spree killer or even a serial killer, but there is more to his game than anyone realizes.

I have to say that Sweets’ basic story will be recognizable to anyone familiar with detective fiction, films, television, or even comic books. The troubled detective, his ass of a police superior, the destined-for-tragedy partner, the absolutely nuts and/or ruthless mass killer, and the gritty setting: this all has a very loud ring of familiarity. Also, I am not as enamored with the dialogue in this series as Duncan Fegredo, who provides an introduction to this volume, is. Then, there is that crazy ending that recalls Polanski’s Chinatown and Antonioni’s Blowup.

Because the detective story is so common and well worn, a storyteller must find a unique angle upon which to execute the story, and Kody Chamberlain does. This unique angle is New Orleans. Sweets is not just another Film-Noir pretense. Chamberlain presents a fictional New Orleans that is colorful and exotic even while it is gritty. It is a city of striking eccentricities, but in places it resembles both cookie-cutter bland and decaying urban landscape. This New Orleans’ sweetness can be candy or poison.

Chamberlain also offers interesting juxtapositions of characters and of character relationships. For instance, Curt Delatte works kind of a razor’s edge. On one side is a city bureaucracy that demands justice after a favored son gets snuffed, and on the other side is an aspect of the city that doesn’t really index death by social status. Death comes for all.

Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story is truly unique in crime fiction. New Orleans, however, has been done to death. I would like to see Kody do more crime comics, and I’m sure that between Thibodaux and Lafayette, he can find characters and settings to set the world of crime comics on fire.

A-

Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story also reprints an interview of Kody conducted by the comic book website, Newsarama and a sketchbook section of preliminary art and thumbnails, among other things. There is also a script-to-art section, showing how the comic book went from script to breakdowns to pencil art to finished art.

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