Farmhand (comics)

Farmhand is an American comic book created, written, and illustrated by Rob Guillory with help from letterer Kody Chamberlain and colorist Taylor Wells. It has been published in monthly installments and paperback collections by Image Comics since July 2018.

Farmhand
Ezekiel and his wife on a variant cover of the first issue.
Publication information
PublisherImage Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
Publication dateJuly 2018
No. of issues15
Creative team
Created byRob Guillory
Written byRob Guillory
Artist(s)Rob Guillory
Letterer(s)Kody Chamberlain
Colorist(s)Taylor Wells
Collected editions
Reap What Was SownISBN 978-1534309852

In the story, a Louisiana farmer named Jedidiah receives a vision and creates a plant which can grow replacement limbs and organs for human beings. The plot begins several years later when his estranged adult son, Ezekiel, returns home to join the family business. Many outside agents, including foreign and domestic government operatives, are after the secret of Jedidiah's seed. Meanwhile, Jedidiah's former partner, Thorn, has been covertly introducing the seed into the wild and is elected mayor.

Farmhand debuted to mostly positive reviews.[1] Critics were divided on the effectiveness of the story's pacing but praised the combination of humor and horror elements. The story is told with a cartoon-like art style and often features visual gags.

Publication history

Development

Guillory began working on Farmhand in December 2016, about a month after the conclusion of Chew, a comic he illustrated for writer John Layman.[2] At the time, Guillory was best known for his artwork on Chew, but prior to starting comic book he had written his own material.[3] He asked many writer/artist professionals what their routines were like so he could refine his own process.[4] While he fine-tuned the project, only a few close friends knew about it.[4] When he first mentioned the concept to Layman, Layman cautioned against doing it so soon to avoid being typecast as "the guy who does really weird stories".[3] He did not let anyone at Image Comics know about it until mid 2017.[4]

Guillory had been following Biological engineering for years and was generally skeptical about it.[5] He wanted to explore the dark side of scientific exploration in a manner similar to Frankenstein and Jurassic Park, but designed the story to suit his artistic strengths.[6][7] Although he researched biological engineering and cloning, he admits to "a good bit of extrapolation and imagination" in Farmhand.[5] The initial idea, a tree growing human limbs, had occurred to Guillory in January 2016.[8] He began writing script for the first five issues in a full screenplay format in late 2016 and early 2017.[3][4][9] He tried to keep Farmhand slow paced and grounded, with straightforward and linear storytelling. Instead of an official editor, Guillory uses friends as sounding boards.[9] He did not begin drawing until 2018. The large gap in time allowed him to distance himself from the work and approach it as though it were written by someone else.[4] Guillory can pencil and ink at a rate close to one page per day.[4] He works with his coloring assistant from Chew, Taylor Wells, to help maintain a regular schedule.[3]

The series was formally announced in February 2018 at the Image Expo with an expected length of 20 issues.[10][11] By the time the series went on sale, the estimated length was revised to 24 or 30 issues over a period of three to four years.[5][12]

Publication

Prior to wide release, a full-color, 16-page ashcan edition was available at the April 2018 C2E2 convention in Chicago, Illinois.[13] The first issue was promoted on the cover of the May 2018 Previews catalog from Diamond Distribution,[14] then released on July 11, 2018.[3] Comic specialty stores ordered around 27,000 copies of the first issue.[15] Initial sales were strong, and the second issue received a second printing.[16]

After the fifth issue was released in November 2018, the series went on a scheduled hiatus. In the letter column, Guillory wrote that the series would be released in segments, with a set of monthly issues followed by a gap of a few months. During the gaps, which will occur at appropriate breaks in the narrative, a square-bound collection reprinting the previous segment will be released.[17] The first collection, "Reap What Was Sown", was released January 16, 2019.[18] The series returned to a monthly schedule in March 2019.[17]

Characters and setting

The names of the main character, Ezekiel (Zeke), and his father, Jedidiah, were chosen partly for being old fashioned names still common in rural parts of the United States, but also for the biblical connotations which are intentional and significant for both characters.[3][19] Zeke's career as a writer is integral to his role in the story.[3] The main focus of Farmhand is an effort at reconciliation between them.[20] Zeke's sister, Andrea, is Guillory's favorite character.[6] At the start of the story, every character is broken physically or spirit in some way.[5]

The story is set in Freetown, Louisiana, which is a real place near Guillory's home in Lafayette.[6] Guillory chose to use a black farmer in a Southern setting to subvert the connotations of slavery associated with the imagery.[19]

Reception

The series debuted to mostly positive reviews. The first issue averaged 8.6 out of 10 according to review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, and the series overall averaged 8.5 after five issues.[21] Guillory said the initial response he received from readers was surprise; they had expected the story to be pure humor and were shocked to discover the characters had real depth.[8] Adventures in Poor Taste called Farmhand "one of the most unique comics" of its time.[22] That sentiment was echoed by Newsarama, who said the story would evoke a strong opinion from every reader, but that not all of those opinions would be positive.[7]

Critics were divided on early story developments. Multiversity Comics felt using the opening five pages of the first issue for a dream sequence was effective but inefficient.[23] The narrative pace was praised by Comic Watch for its creative exposition, but criticized by Comics Bulletin and Bleeding Cool.[24][25] [26] Characterization was also a point of contention, with Bleeding Cool feeling the characters were not advancing while Comic Bastards said Guillory had done "a wonderful job of establishing" them.[26][27]

Critics were united in regards to the book's tone, however. When discussing the way Farmhand moves from comedy to horror, the tonal shifts were described as "impressive" by ComicBook.com and Multiversity.[28][29] Adventures in Poor Taste called Guillory a "master of tone".[30] Most of the reviewers credited the cartoon-like art style for the flexibility because it facilitated elements of comedy, horror, and family drama.[24][31]

Guillory's art is highly stylized and described as an acquired taste by Comic Bastards.[27] He incorporates visual gags and background jokes, which is not a common trait in comic books.[22][32] Bleeding Cool credits colorist Taylor Wells with giving the art personality and cites Guillory's style as a weakness when he attempts subtlety.[26] Multiversity Comics noted how Farmhand is an ugly world filled with filthy-looking people with the exception of Ezekiel, who "looks like a sexy version of Rob Guillory"[23] Other reviewers also commented on the similarity between the artist and the lead character, prompting Guillory to deny the resemblance. He attributes the perception to the lack of diverse character types in comic books.[19]

Television adaptation

Other parties have been interested in the media rights since the project was announced. In 2018, plans for a live-action television show were in motion and Guillory was hoping to co-write the pilot episode.[4]

Collected editions
# Title Release date Page count Collected issues Cover price ISBN Ref
1 Farmhand, Volume 1: Reap What Was Sown January 2019 152 Farmhand #1–5 $12.99 ISBN 978-1534309852 [18]

References
  1. "Farmhand". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  2. Boudreaux, Dan (May 31, 2018). "Lafayette comic-book artist Rob Guillory 'leaps into the unknown' with new series 'Farmhand'". The Advocate. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  3. O'Keefe, Matt (May 15, 2018). "Matt Chats: Rob Guillory on the Growth of FARMHAND". Comics Beat. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  4. Midura, Tim (August 2, 2018). "Romanticizing Farming: A SDCC Interview with Rob Guillory". The Outhousers. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  5. Magnett, Chase (June 12, 2018). "'Chew' Artist Rob Guillory Dishes Dirt on His New Image Comics Series 'Farmhand'". ComicBook.com. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  6. Angel, E (June 13, 2018). "BGN Pull List: Farmhand You Can Go Home Again – But Why?". Black Girl Nerds. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  7. Gray, Richard (July 10, 2018). "Best Shots Advance Reviews: FARMHAND #1, THE SEEDS #1, DOCTOR WHO: ROAD TO THE 13TH DOCTOR #1". Newsarama. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  8. Brewer, Byron (2018). "DF Interview: Rob Guillory brings us a bumper crop of human organs in Farmhand". Dynamic Forces. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  9. Norby, Ela (May 9, 2018). "Greenthumb it is with Farmhand: An Interview with Rob Guillory". Flip Geeks. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  10. Wickline, Dan (February 21, 2018). "Image Comics Expo 2018: Rob Guillory to Write and Draw 'Farmhand'". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  11. Suriel, Jhoan (July 11, 2018). "Welcome to the Jenkins Family Farm In FARMHAND #1". Comicsverse. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  12. Braudrick, Nathan (June 15, 2018). "Interview: Digging Into FARMHAND With Rob Guillory". Bounding into Comics. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  13. Johnston, Rich (April 4, 2018). "C2E2 Debut: Rob Guillory's Farmhand". Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  14. Johnston, Rich (April 18, 2018). "Next Week's Diamond Previews Puts Captain America and Farmhand on the Cover". Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  15. Miller, John Jackson. "Comichron: July 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". The Comic Chronology. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  16. Johnston, Rich (August 24, 2018). "Farmhand #2 Goes to Second Print, Infinity Prime #1 Goes to Third". Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  17. Guillory, Rob (w, a). Farmhand 5 (November 2018), Portland, Oregon: Image Comics
  18. "Farmhand, Vol 1 TPB". imagecomics.com. Image Comics. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  19. Johnson, Leo (June 26, 2018). "Rob Guillory Grows A New Story With "Farmhand"". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  20. Pitts, Lan (July 3, 2018). "Rob Guillory Grows Horror With A Heart (Literally) in Image's Farmhand". Newsarama. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  21. "Farmhand". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  22. McDonald, Alex (September 11, 2018). "Farmhand #3 Review". Adventures in Poor Taste. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  23. Jacob Hill June 12, 2018 http://www.multiversitycomics.com/reviews/farmhand-1/ Farmhand #1 Multiversity Comics January 11, 2019
  24. Lagua, Patrick (November 14, 2018). "Farmhand #5: Farm Fresh, Juicy, Comic Book Goodness". Comic Watch. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  25. Daniel Gehen July 11, 2018 http://comicsbulletin.com/singles-going-steady-7-11-2018-bye-felicia/ Singles Going Steady 7/11/2018 – Bye Felicia Comics Bulletin January 11, 2019
  26. Davidson, Joshua (August 10, 2018). "Farmhand #2 Review: Meanders and Doesn't Advance Very Far". Bleeding Cool. Avatar Press. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  27. Traeger, Dan (June 27, 2018). "Review: Farmhand #1". Comic Bastards. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  28. Chase Magnett October 10, 2018 https://comicbook.com/comics/2018/10/10/marvel-dc-image-comic-reviews/#5 Comic Book Reviews for This Week: 10/10/2018. ComicBook.com January 11, 2019
  29. Richardson, Walter (December 17, 2018). "2018 in Review: Best New Series=". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  30. McDonald, Alex (October 9, 2018). "Farmhand #4 Review". Adventures in Poor Taste. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  31. James, Tito W (August 20, 2018). "FanExpo Boston 2018: Rob Guillory Talks Farmhand". Comicon.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  32. Fulton, James (July 16, 2018). "The Weekly Round-Up #449 With Farmhand #1". Inside Pulse. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
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