Review by Frank Plowright
The Jenkins farm was just an ordinary agricultural concern until Jedidiah Jenkins was possessed by a bright light and scribbled down a formula. Now the farm grows replacement organs compatible with human bodies. However, the cost of a vastly successful business was Jed alienating his son. Farmhand opens with Zeke and his family returning to the farm for the first time in seven years, with Zeke planning on reconciliation.
Before Farmhand Rob Guillory was best known for applying his expressive cartooning to the strange delights of Chew, and he’s in similar territory with the comedy horror of farming replacement body parts. It all seems safe. What could go wrong? As you may anticipate, one hell of a lot.
Guillory takes the path of the TV drama, introducing the subject via the outsider’s eyes, supplying a varied supporting cast, and letting situations develop from them. A primary problem is all kinds of shady organisations keen to learn the technology sustaining the Jenkins business, and hardly subtle in going about their business, ensuring that high security is needed with all that accompanies it. With a fair sized cast introduced early, Guillory is able to take his time revealing aspects of their personalities and just what’s troubling them. In most cases a fair bit.
Whereas Chew could lapse into absurdity, keeping the suspense on the boil means Guillory needs to have a less reactive cast, and they can’t be gurning, which he’s good at. Compensating is that almost everything about the area is strange, and that enables the creation of some really out there creatures. He’s also good at the horror. This can be a form of in your face shock, or the decidedly creepy idea of a tree growing arms from its branches.
Zeke returning after so long means that everyone knows him, and presuming we can trust Zeke as fundamentally decent, although not without troubles of his own, his reactions to them are clues as to what they might be like. This is a really good introduction setting up a lot of possible plots, and the worst case scenario looks to be the case heading into Thorne in the Flesh.
