Farmhand vol. 4: The Seed

It took a while for this volume to arrive.  Long enough to make me worry that it wouldn’t be coming at all.  Which would have been very disappointing after the events of vol. 3 set up a major change to the status quo in the world of “Farmhand.”  No longer was Jedediah Jenkins overseeing the vast empire that his stem-cell-esque seed had allowed him.  Monica Thorne had usurped its power and was busy turning people in the town (and maybe even beyond…) into human/plant hybrids for her own ends.  Zeke Jenkins and his family are still determined to fight against Monica with the technology available to them, but it’s clear that they’re fighting a losing battle.  Worse still is the fact that it becomes clear they’re only alive because the Seed needs them.  Specifically, it needs Zeke because he’s been cultivated for a very special purpose for some time now.

The problem when a series takes a long break between volumes is that the burden for entertainment becomes higher on subsequent ones.  That first volume after a hiatus better wow and remind us why we liked the series, lest we start losing interest.  I can think of a few examples of both cases, if you’re interested.  In the case of “Farmhand,” however,’ it’s not just an example of how good this series has been, but easily the best volume in the series yet.

While the series didn’t quite balance horror and comedy all that well in its first volume, it’s clear with “The Seed” that it’s a horror title first with a healthy dose of family drama, and occasional jokes.  Zeke’s despair at his current situation is expertly communicated in a way that feels genuine, but at the same time the series doesn’t revel in it.  Better still is how creator Rob Guillory slowly tightens the screws with the worsening of the situation in town while also giving Monica some issues of her own to struggle with along the way.  Best of all is how we get some genuine emotional payoff to a family tragedy that shows you how well the creator had planned things out from the start.  All this is presented with Guillory’s wildly creative art that thrives on the plant-based insanity he’s unleashed and you have a volume that makes me hope we get the final two volumes – or at least one more – next year.