Farmhand #3
Image Comics
Created, Written and Drawn by: Rob Guillory
Colors by: Taylor Wells
Letters by: Kody Chamberlain
When I saw the title Farmhand show up in the Image comics list and then noticed that Rob Guillory was the writer and artist I had to check it out. Loved his work on the series “Chew”. I was in the midst of moving at the moment and finally had about an hour of waiting time until I could do anything further. I opened it up and was totally blindsided. Where the idea for this story came from is beyond me but I was fascinated. (I read into the notes following the comic. Now I have some insight. So awesome where the inspirations came from. Iconic Frankenstein!! Love it.) I’m excited I did because now it’s another added to my pull list.
I’m donating my body to science. To a body farm. But it’s nothing like this one. This issue goes a step further. In a direction again totally unexpected. It’s called “Pet Sins”. There seems to be a creepy doglike creature haunting Riley. It’s cute to me though. I’m still a tad confused as to how exactly he came to be attached to him but I’m waiting for the next issue. The end, which I won’t give away, shows that there is an explanation but I haven’t completely grasped it. Riley also has another run-in with the bullies. The boy who he thinks is ‘Batman’ saves him and becomes his friend but is clearly involved in a whole other story itself. I believe it has something to do with the spies from the previous issues. I wish these comics were longer. Riley and Abby begin their work at the farm and all hell breaks loose. Only after Ezekiel finds out how his dad found out about these ‘seeds’. A Woman’s dog goes feral and Riley’s new ‘pet’ saves them. I can’t even think of a better way to explain it. It’s pretty out there and I’m a little confused by how it ended.
The cover art for this issue is sick! It’s the kind of cover that grabs attention on the stands. I would pick it up purely for that reason if I wasn’t reading it already. Guillory’s signature art style pops on each page. It actually is half of what sets apart each character’s traits and personalities. You can see Riley as the excited and optimistic one. Abby always has a semi frowny or angry expression. Definitely, the angst-ridden cranky teenager. Thieves issue did confuse me at times. I did see the weird animal creature possibly haunting Riley? He was the only one who could see him. That is until the end. It seemed Jedidiah could too. There are clearly pieces of the stories of each character and how they may connect to all of this. If there’s one thing blatantly clear, this was not all the work of science. I thought this was a mini-series, But it’ll be in installments and 30-35 issues. Perfect for a story like this. So much going on and the art itself is so descriptive, the writing can match it perfectly as it has been. As I said this issue has me a little confused and left with a few questions, that’s probably the point.