Review by Ian Keogh

Diego Busqueda guides folk across the Arizona border from Mexico, but unlike others in his trade, retains his humanity. It’s a job he’s been forced into after a corporation invaded the local area, displaced people and ring-fenced a large area of farmland, and while he’s away we see a local gangster taking liberties with his wife Bea, his daughter attacked and his son being led astray by his brother in law. All that’s revealed before we see there are unnatural beings wandering the desert.

Feeding Ground is a title with multiple meanings exploited between the covers of a simple story told well. Swfity Lang introduces the characters and keeps their motives clear, while there’s no fuss to Michael Lapinski’s art. We see what’s necessary, the steaming conditions are established and we can easily distinguish one person from the next. The limited use of colour further adds to the atmosphere, and rather than going with the usual version Lapinski comes up with a more individual design for werewolves.

The result is a story of desperation, where choices have become reduced to almost zero. Once the parameters and the players are established there’s little concealing the murky events, nor the authorities being complicit in turning a blind eye. The puzzle initially is the purpose of the Busqueda family after the opening pages, but Lang has that covered as the horror is escalated.

There’s a very cinematic feel and a clarity of intent. We know who to root for and Lang restricts the dialogue to the essentials, while letting readers join a few dots via matters referenced in the illustration. Feeding Ground is at its best as it’s building tension, which to be fair is most of the book, but the ending can’t match what’s been set up. It won’t conform to all expectations, but neither does it greatly surprise. Enjoy the journey, though.