Blood & Gourd Issue #1
Authors: Jenz Lund, D.H. Shultis
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Publisher: Dead Peasant, LLC
Source: Dead Peasant, LLC at Cherry City Comic Con
Genre(s): Horror
Spoilers: Mild
Rating: ★★★★★
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Just when you thought the scariest thing at a pumpkin patch would be the haunted hay maze, Jenz Lund and D.H. Shultis propose a completely new kind of horror at a Pacific Northwest favorite fall activity. Things definitely don’t go as planned at Henderson Farms when a lovely afternoon with the family turns into a horror tantamount to the indie epic Thankskilling. Blood & Gourd issue #1 is definitely not for the faint of heart as the creative team behind it take demented to a new, wonderfully terrifying level.
Really, though, if you’re not into horror then you shouldn’t pick up this comic. You probably shouldn’t even be reading this review. If you’ve stuck with me this far, though, I’m going to assume you love watching terrifying things. If this is the case then you should stop right now and go pick up a copy of Blood & Gourd issue #1 because it is probably the most hilariously terrifying comic I’ve read in ages. Perhaps its greatest asset is not the writing, though that is spot on, but the bloody illustrations donning every single page.
Readers won’t just be passive observers of the strange atrocities happening at Henderson Farms. They will be drawn in and become a part of a story that borders so closely on realistic they’ll probably never want to go to a pumpkin patch again. The art is akin to classic 80’s horror and stays true to its outrageous ancestors. The artistic team spared no details, from the pencils to final colors, and brought this disturbing story to life on the page.
As with any good comic however, the writing compliments the art perfectly. While readers are drawn into the visual world, the writers present likable, engaging characters. Though I may be a bit biased considering I’m a sucker for bad-ass female leads. The guys are great, too, but I can tell Kitty Henderson is going to become a legend. Or at least that’s what I hope, because I like her. Seriously. Please don’t killer her. Thanks to the superb writing, Blood & Gourd is easy to read, which made it the perfect companion on my latest flight. Though I’m pretty sure the lady sitting next to me wasn’t a fan.
Blood & Gourd issue #1 is disturbingly fun from beginning to end, and it is only the first issue! I’d recommend it to just about anyone who can stomach some blood and viciously killer pumpkins. I would not recommend it to people who would like to enjoy pumpkin patches ever again (I’m kidding – sort of). Altogether, Blood & Gourd is worth its weight in pumpkin guts and deserves to be on your shelf. You can claim your copy on FACEBOOK, through the publisher’s WEBSITE, or keep an eye out for the various conventions the Blood & Gourd crew are planning to attend.
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