Under the Net # 24

Farmhouse

From Asylum Press

Written by Elizabeth J. Musgrave

Illustrated by Szymon Kudranski

Letter by Frank Forte

Welcome to the 24th edition of Under the Net.  

Hopefully everyone is doing well, this fine day. The Publishers of the title are Asylum Press, they have a string of interesting titles. The book in question is called Farmhouse, I found it over on Drivethrucomics.com and here goes the review.
 I will be rating the elements of the book on a scale of one through five.

One is poor, two is mediocre, three is fair, four is good, and five is excellent.

The story is about a drifter called Sam Corneile, that comes back home after his mother passes away due to cancer. 

The Art

The art is done by the talented Szymon Kudranski, the art has this sense of dynamic that makes you keep reading. To some it maybe crude but it is very nice as it flows, and it keeps you reading to see where it goes next. The colors have this sense that it is almost this stark going water colored comic. I liked it and if felt that the lettering by Frank Forte was nice as well, and it gelled very nicely with Szymon Kudranski’s art. Good job in allowing the readers feel the mood of the environment.

ART: 4 (Good)

The Writing

Okay we were given a introduction to the world of Farmhouse, we were shown the lead characters, how they interact with the lead character and we are given a taste of where he is going to be working, and told how it is a secret place for the rich and famous to hide out, that they like their privacy and such. I think that was cool, and I liked how the mood was set I just wish I would have been able to learn more about the world these characters reside in. You know it felt like a nice dramatic piece about a son and father dealing with the lose of their mother and some mysterious events with the main lead about his former job and his savy ways with the ladies. Yet we needed that extra punch to take us over that line to have that desire to read the next issue. While this issue wasn’t bad, I just don’t know if I see where the story is heading or if it was meant to be a horror story, or a drama or some sort of romance story at all. It kind of draws a blank in that department. Maybe I would learn more with the second issue?

WRITING: 3(Fair)

Originality

The themes here I can’t say are very original. The art is nice and beautiful and set the stage for some moody scenes, but other than that I am not quite sure if I was reading a neo-noir story, a romance story or a plan horror story. I can’t say it compelled me to go any further. The story itself wasn’t very bad, as the drama centered on the father and son dynamic some, and the characters in the setting, but the story is basically almost forgettable because it didn’t give that extra punch to define what the title was about. It left us with a cliffhanger that wasn’t very compelling nor interesting as a punch to bring me back for a second helping, without someone telling me to check out the second issue. I may look into it down the line, but I am not quite sure if I would because I may forget about it. I hate saying that because I did thoroughly enjoy the artwork, and the drama like I said wasn’t bad but as a whole it didn’t provide the desire factor.

ORIGINALITY: 3 (Fair)

The Pros

The art by artist Szymon Kudranski who has worked on Spawn and a few other titles out there, has a nice style knows his pacing and gives you some really beautiful and stark illustrations to take you into this world, and set the mood nicely.

The Cons

The comic didn’t define its voice, didn’t tell the reader what it was, and where it was heading. You are left to make assumptions and just doesn’t give the reader that final twisting punch to get us over that hump.

My Final Word

If you like stark moody artwork then check out this beautifully drawn comic book.

For more information about this comic and related titles you can check out the links below at:

www.asyluympress.com

www.farmhousecomic.com

Enjoy folks!

Jake Estrada

Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for any suggestions or questions.

Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth.

He is the author and artist of his latest project the Human Virus at:

http://www.facebook.com/TheHumanVirus or http://www.facebook.com/BridgetonNights

You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-media and at other fine online sites. You can also purchase his print titles at http://www.facebook.com/RBCDistribution