Created, Written and Drawn by Rob Guillory. Colors by Taylor Wells. Letters by Kody Chamberlain. Graphic Design by Burton Durand. Published by Image Comics.

This collection includes issues 1-5.

This graphic novel came through the library, and just look at that cover! I was blind and dumb to anything inside of the comic but my curiosity is peaked. There wasn’t a plan to read horror comics this October and yet here we are.

Many many years ago Jeddiah Jenkins, a simple farmer, had a vision. That vision allowed him to grow an entirely new kind of crop. Human organs. That’s right. Teeth plants, eye plants, noses, arms, fingers. You name it. If something happened in your life and you feel a part of you is missing here is an all natural way to feel whole again.

Of course, there are those who have issues with this. Competing companies want access to his science and try to infiltrate. The town is split over everything about the farm. Even his son Zeke felt it was best to leave the farm. This story starts with Zeke, now married with kids, returning to the farm to maybe get a fresh start. Zeke finds you can’t go home again. That time apart is filled with secrets and agendas. As Zeke discovers the truth behind his father’s organization and all of the other players in town, the reader also discovers layer after layer of dirt.

The story is incredible. Every page bounces between a cool idea then a shocking turn. Spies, monsters, secrets, politicians, thugs. One man – Ezekiel – discovers secrets of his father, the farm, and the town and through him the readers learn without overly heavy forced exposition. It’s scary, it’s intriguing, and provides many opportunities to debate who or what is the real evil.

I’m also debating how best to describe the art. Not super realistic, not cartoony, it is a style all its own and perfect for everything the book can throw at the reader. The farm looks comforting and familiar but also grotesque. The kids look like kids with equal amounts of boredom, wonder, and terror. The town is bright but with shadows. The “harvest” is familiar as our own bodies but also horribly perverted.

Confession, I have not read a page of Chew, also by Rob Guillory, but clearly that is a mistake I need to rectify soon.

I already have the next volumes of Farmhand in my to read pile. I’m intrigued to find out what happens next and expecting shocking twists and turns that will leave everyone unrecognizable by the end. I wouldn’t call this a slow build, because volume one is full of excitement, but I think we’re going to jump from county route fast to freeway speed soon.