Comic book review: Blood & Gourd issue #2
Dead Peasant Publishing have just released the second issue in their Blood & Gourd comic series. For those not familiar with Blood & Gourd, think “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” but with demonic pumpkins seeking revenge for centuries of being carved and smashed by humans.
The second book, subtitled “Escape from Henderson Farms,” features non-stop action for twenty-seven intense pages. It starts out giving a little more backstory, showing a lowly pumpkin farmer who, in order to get his crops to grow, makes a sacrifice to a strange, one-eyed, skeleton-handed stranger named Alabaster. In return, the farmer must “feed” the ground during every blood moon or else… Or else what, you ask? Well that’s where the rest of the issue comes in.
From there the book continues the story told in issue one, with fast and furious action on every page. There’s a shootout, pumpkins eating people, and guys with suns and moons for heads. There’s also a talking unicorn. Each page features plenty of blood and (pumpkin) guts and the body count rises as the twenty story tall Gourdfather stalks through a hedge maze and turns people into human jack-o-lanterns.
Kitty, along with her pitchfork, and Calvin return from issue one and lead the charge to “squash” their foes (get it?). Also returning is Mr. Pleasant, the mysterious John Lennon looking man who appears to be behind it all. We still don’t know his motive as the issue ends on another cliffhanger, leaving us to question just how big this pumpkin infestation is and will get. Thus far, the Blood & Gourd series has featured just as much mystery as it has action, leaving at least this fan wanting more.
The issue, like the first, was written by former Grave Plot Podcast guests David Shultis and Jenz Lund. Art is by Juan Antonio Ramirez, who did the cover the first time around, as well as color by Fran Gamboa.
Blood & Gourd issue two, as well as the massive fifty-two page first issue, are available at bloodandgourd.bigcartel.com.
