Image Comics 2018
By Rob Guillory
Coloured by Taylor Wells
Lettered by Kody Chamberlain
Jedidiah Jenkins is a farmer—but his cash crop isn’t corn or soy. Jed grows fast-healing, plug-and-play human organs. Lose a finger? Need a new liver? He’s got you covered. Unfortunately, strange produce isn’t the only thing Jed’s got buried. Deep in the soil of the Jenkins Family Farm, something dark has taken root, and it’s beginning to bloom.
Alright so I had no idea what to really expect here and while it’s true that Rob’s art style isn’t what I normally go for but there was something here that piqued my curiosity. In this case it really was the opening because it was slightly odd to look at it really grabs your attention and pulls you in and like watching that scantily clad big breasted woman in the horror film your screaming at not to go into the basemen yeah it has that kind of pull on you. I can’t remember the last time an opening did more than succeed in grabbing the readers attention and surpassing expectations.
I like the way that Rob has structured the book. How he ties the opening into the main story so quickly and easily is the sign of someone who understands how to create that ebb & flow the story needs. Also I love the introduction of the family and that whole 12 panel demonstration of a family getting ready in the morning is utterly fantastic. The sense of time passing is established beautifully with just that one moment. Zeke and his family are one of the most accurate example of a middle western middle class family. It really is extremely well done to get that in as quickly as Rob does so kudos on that.
So once Zeke gets “home” we start learning a few things about the family. Aunt Andy and Jed or Grandpa are interesting folks. The family business as we get to see it is much more vast and intriguing than I would have ever expected it to be. Also a hell of a lot creepier than I would have thought as well and that’s saying something because I have seen a lot things in all my years as a horror buff but this, this takes the cake. The concept is wonderfully altruistic but then after the surface is seen Rob pulls you in even further as he makes you wonder all sorts of things. If I were a laptop I might have crashed by how much information is missing and needs to be filled in. That however is for another day this is just the introduction.
The interior artwork is fun. Sure it’s not the detailed stuff I am used to but it has this emotion it gives off and it’s fantastic. From that 12 panel page the ride through the tour of the facility and onto the last page the utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off such a magnificent eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination on display is amazing to see and it pushes the reader to their limits and beyond in what we see visually. Shudders and goosebumps are delightful experiences when reading this.
The fact that Rob created this, writes it and illustrates it means every last thing on the pages are exactly what he wanted them to be for the reader to get the maximum impact. So when we learn about Jed and see what his farm has grown into well I have to admit the mind at work here is pretty damn extraordinary. The story weaves itself in a fashion that almost gives you this false sense of hope that turns into this unrequited desire to find out the truth. This is an exceptionally well written and illustrated book that introduces us to a world of pure imagination.