Farmhand #9 // Review
With a new adversary working from the shadows, the family must band together and figure out how to help all these past patients of the farm before it is too late. Rob Guillory continues to unwrap his tale about family and even adds in some tension, outside from the home-brewed variety seen previously. Set within the cartoonist motif, this both heartwarming and heart-wrenching tale about a family trying to reconcile with themselves and their community truly comes into its own with this second season.
After nearly losing his life so an ex-patient in the previous, Jedediah Jenkins is saved from certain death by his son Zeke right at the nick of time. Simultaneously throughout the town, many of the people saved from various impairments by the farm have started to hear voices and act against their own will. As the afflicted seem to be affected in varying degrees, Jedediah lies in the hospital under intensive care as he fights for his life. As Spring draws near, the newly revealed villain has plans of her own for the family and the rest of the town.
With help from Taylor Wells on colors, the motif continues to set the mods for each scene from his saturated hues to muted dayglow. Guillory’s signature pencil style adds a unique flavor of heart and comedic relief to ease a bit on the tension as the story begins to take itself more seriously with its first actual threat being introduced. Taking on nearly every role outside of colors within the creation of this series, Guillory continues to add layers from his own life experiences and in turn drives home an organic story for readers each month.
Having put so much of himself into the series, the proof is in the pudding. Every issue tacks on more history to these characters and their complicated relationships with one another. Feeding the reader small pieces from the past allows for more to be added gradually while affinity continues to grow with each of the ensemble cast members. With the family now facing an actual threat, outside of their own mistakes, it will be the perfect opportunity for them to truly reconcile and work past these issues and grow close once again.
Guillory uses his own experiences and talents to garner attention and affinity for his creation perfectly. With the artistic aesthetic to lure readers in, lulling them into this false sense of safety before encompassing them within the complicated and heartbreaking past of the family. With each new issue, the story continues to grow at both ends as Rob Guillory simply tells his story about a family and their farm.
.
Grade: B+
