Customer Reviews

Jessica Farm

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jessica Farm is a very unique and entertaining book. It reads like a lucid dream from the moment the title character, Jessica, awakens on Christmas morning. We get to see many bizarre and disturbing things, though none are more disturbing than the fear and dread Jessica feels of her father, a shadowy figure who's only visible feature are white Mickey Mouse like gloves.

Readers should note that Jessica Farm does have some adult language and nudity, both male and female, but it should be manageable by anyone living in the 21st century.

The first installment of Simmons's proclaimed "life's work", "Jessica Farm" is a surreal journey into the life of an extraordinary young girl. With her talking toys, labyrinthine house and hidden worlds, there will no doubt be comparisons drawn with "Alice in Wonderland", but this is a much darker, adult tale.

Beautifully rendered in Simmons's obsessive etching, it is a narrative that throws us into a childhood dominated by a menacing father figure, making us wonder whether Jessica's adventures are actually the product of psychological dissociation. The comic is never a light, easy experience, but is definitely rewarding.

To the detractors who will say this is a rambling, incoherent mess - the book does demand work on the reader's part to dissect what happens between the lines and panels. I have recently read Simmons's ideas for a self-contained "Jessica Farm" film and, believe me, this story is headed towards a very satisfying resolution.

we have to wait 40 years before this epic is finished?
it is what the author says.
what is the point of buying the volume one that is only a tiny part and leads nowhere?
dont make the same mistake!

I got a publisher's preview copy of this from work. Josh Simmons drew 1 page every month for 8 years and will continue to do so as he creates other volumes. The problem with this is that he seems to have lost all concepts of what the story would be. This graphic novel make absolutely NO sense! It is full of characters who are there for one or two pages and never properly introduced. It is full of violence, sex and nudity that has NOTHING to do with the story. I have yet to figure out who the heck Jessica is and whether these things are happening in her imagination or in her real life. Maybe in 42 years when the whole series is finished it will make sense, but I seriously doubt it. All I know is that in 2016 I will NOT be reading volume 2.