Plastic Farm #11

Another issue of Plastic Farm, part of the haul from the SPACE convention.

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #11
Date: September 2005
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Rafer Roberts, Dave Morgan, Danielle Corsetto
Copy Editor: Nan Roberts

Five in-continuity short stories here, plus a Rafer Roberts backup story that's outside of the Plastic Farm universe.

Lots of cannibalism this issue. Plus some connections established between previous chapters, and some new characters and situations introduced.

Artist Danielle Corsetto's work on the love-gone-wrong story "The Flavor of My Love" was a perfect fit for this disturbing bit of black comedy.

I thought the other segments fell short of providing the kind of connections that I was hoping for this issue, although Roberts did manage to tie in one of the most obvious unconnected threads from a previous issue, and he revisited another.

I also really enjoyed the bit of poetry that is read by one of the characters in the opening scene. It's a nice bit of character development, and holds its own pretty well as a poem.

The final backup story was a a pretty amusing piece, mostly for its use of language, and the protagonist gets some firsthand experience in becoming "wooby".

Finally, worth noting in this issue is a two-page letter from Dave Sim with advice on distribution and marketing of independent comics. It's a bit dated at this point, but still worth a look as Mr. Sim goes into considerable detail on his perceptions of the challenges of distributing to the retail market and the question of when to move to a trade paperback offering.

Rating: 7/10

Plastic Farm #6

And back we go to the comics brought home from SPACE 2011. Hoping to finish up this stack soon, since I'll be heading to Anime Boston in about two weeks.

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #6
Date: July 2004
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Rafer Roberts
Cover: Laura Socks, Dave Morgan

If you've been following the reviews, you know that I've been enjoying Rafer Roberts' Plastic Farm. My wife brought home the entire series from the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) in Columbus OH a few weeks back.

The individual issues have been great, but there has not been a lot of cohesion to the ongoing plot. At times it was difficult to tell if there was an ongoing plot. Well, Plastic Farm #6 goes a long way toward providing that cohesion. We even get a convenient timeline of major events from previous issues. And we get some significant crossover of characters from past issues.

And zombies.

Among many other things. We open with Chester snowed in at the airport bar telling his tale to the bartender and a baggage handler. The story covers Chester's high school years following his attempted suicide, and it introduces some additional supernatural elements.

Roberts does a nice job of tweaking the cliches, so as to keep familiar patterns like the high school outcast and the bullying victim pushed over the edge from becoming too familiar. His minor characters are especially strong in this issue, and they provide much of the flavor that makes this story work so well.

Rating: 7.5/10

Plastic Farm #3

Continuing to make my way through the pile of purchases from SPACE.

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #3
Date: September, 2003
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Dave Morgan, Jake Warrenfeltz
Backup Story By: Sean Frost, Wendi Strang-Frost

Plastic Farm has some of the most unusual and creative covers in comics, and this issue's photo cover is one of the most fun in the series.

This issue also represents a departure as writer/artist Rafer Roberts turns over the art chores to Dave Morgan and Jake Warrenfeltz, who each take a story. First up is the story of a country couple whose dinner is interrupted by a call for help. This is one of those quick/nasty/ironic pieces, and it works pretty well. I particularly liked the space given to the art and the very sparing use of dialogue.

The second story is a much more straightforward tale, a hardboiled cop story about an undercover operation that doesn't end well. It's got good dialogue and action and a nice buildup of suspense.

Nothing in this issue's stories appear to have any connection to the first two issues. It will be interesting to see how the series develops over the long term, but readers looking for immediate continuity will find themselves at a loss.

Backup story, Johnny Public: Queen of Hearts Preview, was a better fit for Plastic Farm than the previous two backup stories have been. In fact, this bizarre tale of a woman visiting her father's grave fits pretty well flavor-wise. It featured some nice artwork (and a cat!), with some surreal character depictions.

Rating: 7/10