Blood & Gourd #2
Publisher: Dead Peasant
Writer(s): Jenz K. Lund & D. H. Shultis
Artist: Juan Antonio Ramirez
Colorist: Fran Gamboa
Cover: Juan Antonio Ramirez
It’s been quite some time but the great people at Dead Peasant have returned with Blood & Gourd and a blood sacrifice wasn’t even necessary!
The first issue threw you face first into pumpkin killing mayhem at a breakneck pace. Well the latest issue slows down just a bit to add a little more context to the madness taking place. Opening up many decades earlier to reveal a desperate farmer making a deal that had some dire consequences. The sequence is one of the darker moments in the issue and is executed well by Lund and Shultis as they set the tone. Everything about the ceramony is creepy and just gives the entire story more weight than just killer pumpkins ripping people apart. Let’s also remember that if your goal can only be achieved by some dark and bloody ritual that it’s probably not a good idea.
Soon after this reveal it’s right back to chaos, death, and plenty of dark humor. The writing team keeps the momentum going for the rest of the issue and though certain parts are quite familiar they keep it entertaining. Making sure that their story doesn’t solely rely on killer pumpkins but a villain that is seriously twisted with plenty of mystery about the true endgame here. They also increase the threat here by the end of the issue and we see that things will probably only get much worse soon. We also get better pacing here from start to finish with a nice balance of dark humor and serious moments (or as serious as you get with killer pumpkins) that don’t stumble all over each other. Unfortunately with the amount of time between issues we could have benefitted from a recap page.
The art this time around is handled by Juan Antonio Ramirez who does a fantastic job with this story. Fran Gamboa is still on colors and brings it all together. The opening sequence works so well because of these two reinforcing the overall tone. It’s not only a darker written part but it’s visually different from the rest of the book in a good way. Ramirez also maintains and in certain areas excels past the art in the first issue which is saying a lot since that one looked great as well.
Blood & Gourd is pure twisted comic horror fun that you should pick up if you’re into this genre. The entire creative team continues to make sure you get quality in both written and visual storytelling and I can’t wait to see what the villianous Mr. Pleasant has in store!
To get your copy check out the Blood & Gourd site!
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