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Jessica Farm #1
Jessica Farm, Vol. 1
The creator of "House" embarks on a life-spanning epic.
Hot on the heels of his first graphic novel, "House," Josh Simmons' "Jessica Farm" fuses serialized adventure, fantasy and psychological horror and stamps it with his signature macabre sensibility in this atmospheric new graphic novel. Like a Lynchian take on "Alice in Wonderland, Jessica Farm" opens with an exterior of what could be any Midwestern farmhouse. Once inside, we track our titular heroine as she bounds out of bed on Christmas and goes about her morning routine, eventually breakfasting with her grandparents. The banality of the situation is subverted by a ratcheting sense of dread, however, as we discover that Jessica's increasingly nightmarish house is filled with creatures around every corner: some whimsical, some sexual, some despairing and some malevolent. Most terrifying of all is Jessica's father, whose promise of presents under the tree is loaded with the threat of violence. As in Simmons' debut graphic novel, "House," a large portion of the tension in this book is generated not only by the sudden acts of brutality and the fear of the unknown, but by the dynamics of Jessica's relationships.
"Jessica Farm" is an ambitious experiment in world-building as conceived by Simmons. This book is the first volume of a life-spanning comics project in which he drew one page every month for the past seven years, starting in January 2000--and will continue this project for 50 years in total, making up the story as he goes and releasing 96-page increments every 8 years until he amasses a 600-page body of work.
Hot on the heels of his first graphic novel, "House," Josh Simmons' "Jessica Farm" fuses serialized adventure, fantasy and psychological horror and stamps it with his signature macabre sensibility in this atmospheric new graphic novel. Like a Lynchian take on "Alice in Wonderland, Jessica Farm" opens with an exterior of what could be any Midwestern farmhouse. Once inside, we track our titular heroine as she bounds out of bed on Christmas and goes about her morning routine, eventually breakfasting with her grandparents. The banality of the situation is subverted by a ratcheting sense of dread, however, as we discover that Jessica's increasingly nightmarish house is filled with creatures around every corner: some whimsical, some sexual, some despairing and some malevolent. Most terrifying of all is Jessica's father, whose promise of presents under the tree is loaded with the threat of violence. As in Simmons' debut graphic novel, "House," a large portion of the tension in this book is generated not only by the sudden acts of brutality and the fear of the unknown, but by the dynamics of Jessica's relationships.
"Jessica Farm" is an ambitious experiment in world-building as conceived by Simmons. This book is the first volume of a life-spanning comics project in which he drew one page every month for the past seven years, starting in January 2000--and will continue this project for 50 years in total, making up the story as he goes and releasing 96-page increments every 8 years until he amasses a 600-page body of work.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2008
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February 1, 2016Saving my comments til after book club like a good girl, but... what the hell did I just read?
***
Okay well it's way after book club now so I feel pretty good saying this book is a piece of shit. Wait, no, jk, I hate saying that any book is a piece of shit! But I did not like this book at all.
It isn't worth going into a big thing about; this is the surreal-ish story of a girl in a house full of her relatives and also a bunch of weird-ass maybe-imaginary creatures, and much of it makes no sense. There are tiny men on her desk who take her to an attic turret and play a concert for her. There's a scary gnome in the walls who shows her a cavern full of dead children. There's her secret prince fuck-buddy who cries and cries when she says she won't be his forever. There's her grandparents who serve her soup with a side of nutsack for seasoning. I'm not even joking, and that part isn't "semi-imaginary": little wizened grandma escorts a naked man to the table so he can dip his balls into Jessica Farm's soup, because of course.
Whatever.
It's weird and it's boring because the weirdness has no boundaries and no justifications and nothing tethering it to reality. I guess the thing is that it's modeled on Freud or something, and each of those rooms are meant to have something to do with her psyche but blah blah blah I don't care, sorry.
The only other thing I want to say is this: The conceit here is that this is only book 1 of like eight, and Josh is drawing one page per month until 2050 or something and then the thing will be finished. That's weird and gimmicky in the best light, but you would think that that at least it would mean that each page would be exquisitely drawn and marvelously conceived, given that it had been meditated upon for 30 gd days, right? But nooooope, definitely not. Furthermore, early on we spend like a dozen pages with Jessica in the shower, which means... what, that Josh spent an entire year imagining this tween (?) cartoon girl naked and soapy? Ewwwww. Come onnnnn. Ewwwww.
Anyway, here's what we ate, there was apple cake and artichoke dip and this weird Kosher cheese that someone (okay, it was me) brought, and it was all delish and this is still the best book club, even when we read terrible books.
***
Okay well it's way after book club now so I feel pretty good saying this book is a piece of shit. Wait, no, jk, I hate saying that any book is a piece of shit! But I did not like this book at all.
It isn't worth going into a big thing about; this is the surreal-ish story of a girl in a house full of her relatives and also a bunch of weird-ass maybe-imaginary creatures, and much of it makes no sense. There are tiny men on her desk who take her to an attic turret and play a concert for her. There's a scary gnome in the walls who shows her a cavern full of dead children. There's her secret prince fuck-buddy who cries and cries when she says she won't be his forever. There's her grandparents who serve her soup with a side of nutsack for seasoning. I'm not even joking, and that part isn't "semi-imaginary": little wizened grandma escorts a naked man to the table so he can dip his balls into Jessica Farm's soup, because of course.
Whatever.
It's weird and it's boring because the weirdness has no boundaries and no justifications and nothing tethering it to reality. I guess the thing is that it's modeled on Freud or something, and each of those rooms are meant to have something to do with her psyche but blah blah blah I don't care, sorry.
The only other thing I want to say is this: The conceit here is that this is only book 1 of like eight, and Josh is drawing one page per month until 2050 or something and then the thing will be finished. That's weird and gimmicky in the best light, but you would think that that at least it would mean that each page would be exquisitely drawn and marvelously conceived, given that it had been meditated upon for 30 gd days, right? But nooooope, definitely not. Furthermore, early on we spend like a dozen pages with Jessica in the shower, which means... what, that Josh spent an entire year imagining this tween (?) cartoon girl naked and soapy? Ewwwww. Come onnnnn. Ewwwww.
Anyway, here's what we ate, there was apple cake and artichoke dip and this weird Kosher cheese that someone (okay, it was me) brought, and it was all delish and this is still the best book club, even when we read terrible books.
May 5, 2016
Despite the very lofty nature of this artistic undertaking (Simmons swears on only one page a month until he reaches the finish line at 600, meaning that this book which he began drawing in 2000 will take fifty years to complete), this breezy slice of surrealism à la Alice in Wonderland does not really deliver the disturbing thrills the blurb back of the book boasts. Sure, there's bad language, some ingénue nudity, possible pedophilia and just a few grotesque creatures and burps of violence, but all of it feels more "hip" than unsettling. But maybe the second volume, which was just released, will pick up the slack. And then it will be only a mere wait of 8 more years before I find out what happens next. Talk about a slow burner!
December 31, 2024
This was fucking weeeeeeeird.
In an effort to reach this year's reading goal, Katy and I went to the library this morning and bought Jessica Farm for 25 cents. It's about a girl finding a way to deal with an abusive father, but her mind is a twisted and perverse place that creates twisted and perverse things.
I love reading the acknowledgements at the end of books. Usually, authors thank their friends, publishing house and family in that order. This, however, included a "what it is" section before the acknowledgements, which was a relief to see because as soon as I finished it I said, "what the fuck was that".
Simmons started creating Jessica Farm in 2000 and wrote/drew/created one page a month for eight years. Simmons plans to create a page every month until 2049; releasing a new Jessica Farm volume once every eight years. How fun and lengthy.
In an effort to reach this year's reading goal, Katy and I went to the library this morning and bought Jessica Farm for 25 cents. It's about a girl finding a way to deal with an abusive father, but her mind is a twisted and perverse place that creates twisted and perverse things.
I love reading the acknowledgements at the end of books. Usually, authors thank their friends, publishing house and family in that order. This, however, included a "what it is" section before the acknowledgements, which was a relief to see because as soon as I finished it I said, "what the fuck was that".
Simmons started creating Jessica Farm in 2000 and wrote/drew/created one page a month for eight years. Simmons plans to create a page every month until 2049; releasing a new Jessica Farm volume once every eight years. How fun and lengthy.
January 16, 2020
Oh man I'm just so grateful this book exists because you never get to see frail female bodies stripped threatened and abused really so excited for a PAGE A MONTH FOR FIFTY YEARS on this stinker.
July 11, 2025
3.75
October 23, 2008
Both Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud acknowledged the symbolism of houses in dreams and ascribed the rooms and floors to coincide with different aspects of the psyche. Both psychologists would have a field day with Josh Simmons’ graphic novel Jessica Farm, which navigates a plot with dream logic that darts between dread and joy. Jessica wanders from room to room, meeting different “house friends” at every turn. Some are happy, welcoming creatures, while others are nightmarish, but all fit in perfectly with the strange geography of the whimsically shifting house.
Much has been said about Simmons’ unique process. Beginning in January 2000, he drew a page a month until he had created 96 pages. He plans to continue until 2050, releasing a volume every eight years. As intriguing as his approach is, the art and story line stand up to the curiosity they draw. Simmons combines simple lines and cross hatching to convey a wealth of information in each deceptively simple drawing. Panels range from nearly solid black squares, as when Jessica passes through a dark hallway, to intricate scenes that reveal new details with every look, as when she awakens to a phenomenal sunrise and utters “Zowie.” The images are carefully arranged to fluidly glide between tension, suspense, humor and relief as Jessica moves through various situations. By the end of the book, I was shaken, amused and enchanted, and counting down the days until the next volume comes out in 2016.
Much has been said about Simmons’ unique process. Beginning in January 2000, he drew a page a month until he had created 96 pages. He plans to continue until 2050, releasing a volume every eight years. As intriguing as his approach is, the art and story line stand up to the curiosity they draw. Simmons combines simple lines and cross hatching to convey a wealth of information in each deceptively simple drawing. Panels range from nearly solid black squares, as when Jessica passes through a dark hallway, to intricate scenes that reveal new details with every look, as when she awakens to a phenomenal sunrise and utters “Zowie.” The images are carefully arranged to fluidly glide between tension, suspense, humor and relief as Jessica moves through various situations. By the end of the book, I was shaken, amused and enchanted, and counting down the days until the next volume comes out in 2016.
November 17, 2016
I love Josh Simmons's comics. Jessica Farm is a creepy, funny, thoroughly bizarre stream-of-consciousness narrative that he's been drawing at the rate of one page per month since January 2000—and is still in-progress to this day (he plans on finishing it in 2050)! It's a fascinating exercise in world building and I'm really enjoying all the odd twists and turns in the narrative, and the fact that Jessica continually falls down one strange rabbit hole after another. I do have to laugh though, at the reviews below from so many folks who are just *completely baffled* by this, even though Simmons' overall schema for the project is clearly stated in/on the book itself. Sometimes I think people should take courses in how to read comics that don't fit into standard or expected modes of storytelling. Anyway, I have Volume 2 of Jessica Farm already started and I'm looking forward to volume 3—in 8 years! (god willing)
August 6, 2011
Josh Simmons picked an interesting way to write a graphic novel, not to get it over with but to stretch it out. Over a long time.
Jessica’s Farm is 96 pages long and each page, we’re told, was drawn over the course of a month in the eight year span between January 2000 and December 2007. Josh plans to continue on until 2050 when the entire 600 page book can be published. But he has published Jessica Farm 1 now and will publish part 2 in 2016.
Jessica seems to be a child in an abusive situation but either she’s found how to stay sane within her own imaginary world with a host of friends or she’s found a way to fight back. I’m not sure if her courage is a shield or a weapon.
An interesting life project and I think, well worth a read. Even though it only takes an hour or so to get through 8 year’s worth.
Jessica’s Farm is 96 pages long and each page, we’re told, was drawn over the course of a month in the eight year span between January 2000 and December 2007. Josh plans to continue on until 2050 when the entire 600 page book can be published. But he has published Jessica Farm 1 now and will publish part 2 in 2016.
Jessica seems to be a child in an abusive situation but either she’s found how to stay sane within her own imaginary world with a host of friends or she’s found a way to fight back. I’m not sure if her courage is a shield or a weapon.
An interesting life project and I think, well worth a read. Even though it only takes an hour or so to get through 8 year’s worth.
January 4, 2017
This first volume has some intriguing ideas, and the overall 50 year plan is audacious, with the potential to be good, terrible, or, most likely, a mix of both. The metaphorical(?) dark creatures and magical(?) beings in young Jessica's house, and her journey through an underworld of that house/her traumas was well done, effectively building the suspense and mystery of her world. It wasn't great, but interesting enough and better than I expected, based on the ugly mediocrity of Black River, that I decided to continue on.
So, I read volume vol. 2 . . . . . (go to vol. 2 page)
So, I read volume vol. 2 . . . . . (go to vol. 2 page)
February 2, 2010
It held my interest, but I'm still not sure what I think of it. The story is both bizarre and disturbing, yet whimsical at times. The fact that it was written a page a month over 8 years was pretty evident as the story progressed and then just abruptly cut off. Its an interesting endeavor, but I don't have any interest in reading the next installment...in 2016.
June 7, 2016
Finally read the first volume of Jessica Farm, and this in preparation of my reading of the recent second volume. I very much enjoy this fantastical narrative, and I am intrigued by the production plans for this 50-year project. I interviewed Josh for The Comics Alternative podcast: http://comicsalternative.com/comics-a....
December 17, 2021
Saw Simmons on the book tour for JF2 and finally got around to reading this first volume. Cool stuff here, just wish it was more than the first 90-some pages.
July 18, 2018
Josh Simmons draws one comic page a day until 2050, culminating in a 600-page nothing.
Disturbing and inventive, Jessica Farm is--if nothing else--a fascinating experiment in fairly impromptu storytelling. The pace is quicker, the action is punchier. Jauntier, more angular, at times it could use some space to breathe. But for what it is, I like it.
As I've mentioned before, Josh Simmons goes to some extreme places, touches nerves. At times, it feels a little much, but at the same time, it's an extremity that's uniquely his. I go back and forth on it.
Nevertheless. I'm excited to check out subsequent volumes, and keep track until 2050. Whether you stick with it or not, check this first volume out.
Disturbing and inventive, Jessica Farm is--if nothing else--a fascinating experiment in fairly impromptu storytelling. The pace is quicker, the action is punchier. Jauntier, more angular, at times it could use some space to breathe. But for what it is, I like it.
As I've mentioned before, Josh Simmons goes to some extreme places, touches nerves. At times, it feels a little much, but at the same time, it's an extremity that's uniquely his. I go back and forth on it.
Nevertheless. I'm excited to check out subsequent volumes, and keep track until 2050. Whether you stick with it or not, check this first volume out.
April 9, 2023
Basically a darker, edgier take on "Alice in Wonderland". Simmons' cartooning is appealing throughout and despite the evolution over seven years of cartooning, the book does read easy. Simmons tends to go for the shock factor a lot from the other books I've read from him, but I found this surprisingly more tame than I had expected. Perhaps earlier Simmons had more restraint, though I don't usually go into a Simmons comic expecting much restraint. Nonetheless, this was an interesting enough read and I'll give the second volume a try.
June 15, 2020
The first thing you should know about this book is that it’s part of an experiment for creator Josh Simmons to create a page a month for 50 years. Volume One consists of the first 8 years.
Beyond that, I didn’t really know what to expect. It is very much like a bizarre Alice in Wonderland on a midwestern farm. A house of mirrors, or chutes and ladders, with a cast of eccentric inhabitants... big and small.
Beyond that, I didn’t really know what to expect. It is very much like a bizarre Alice in Wonderland on a midwestern farm. A house of mirrors, or chutes and ladders, with a cast of eccentric inhabitants... big and small.
January 28, 2021
10/10- really up my alley! I was taken aback after the first read over just how eerie, nostalgic, and grotesque this comic is. The illustration is a style that I wasn’t sure I’d like, but I totally fell into it once the story was established. I have since gone back for two more reads and can’t wait for the next issue to be released!
June 5, 2017
Not sure I understod what I've just read, so my conslusion is to read the next one as well.
August 1, 2017
This made no sense.
June 18, 2019
To vague- it may have helped if he released the first two volumes at the same time but there may not be many specifics involved in this abstract suspense thriller.
October 29, 2019
dark, funny, surreal.
June 6, 2020
dudes suck
June 27, 2021
Wait. Was this the fever dream?
February 2, 2024
You’d think only drawing one page a month would allow for the artist to explore his imagination to come up with more than gratuitous torture and sexualization of a young girl and some dick jokes.
April 16, 2024
This is the sort of drek the edgelord kid in 5th grade before he got called into the office and sat in his hot topic pants and said how cool the guys from Columbine were.
January 3, 2025
What the hell did I just read???
January 11, 2025
Ugh… Just…ugh
April 20, 2025
Creepy horror adventure with a dark sense of humor and worldview. I'd give a big trigger warning before reading, but it's kinda hard to look away from it as well.
December 28, 2008
Jessica wakes up on Christmas morning and interacts with a number of objects in her room and bathroom, which are either strangely alive, or just animated in her imagination. There’s a scary encounter with her father, whom we learn can be very abusive. Jessica seems to be avoiding the inevitable – going downstairs to check out her presents. She’s learned from past experience that the nicer her Christmas is, the higher the probability is that her father will beat her. There’s some other really strange stuff going on inside the walls of her house, which are like some other plane of reality. Her grandparents are in there, and she fights off some kind of creature that attacks her. There’s also lots of nudity and a conversation with a well-hung Captain who has an emotional breakdown about only being an object of desire.
Josh Simmons, author and artist of Jessica Farm, started drawing a page a month in January of 2000. The art is excellent – dark, thick lines, lots of textures in the darker panels. It’s got a bit of a spooky, otherworldly look/feel. Simmons’ intention is to keep this up until December of 2049 (at which point it will be finished). That’s 600 pages in 50 years. Neat idea, but… This first collection of Jessica Farm doesn’t really go anywhere. When we leave Jessica she’s trapped in a barn with a naked man and they’re on some kind of quest. But, everything has been so disjointed and unconnected and confusing up to this point that you don’t really know (or, possibly care) what’s going on. The next installment is due out in 2016, and I can’t say that I’m waiting for it with baited breath.
Josh Simmons, author and artist of Jessica Farm, started drawing a page a month in January of 2000. The art is excellent – dark, thick lines, lots of textures in the darker panels. It’s got a bit of a spooky, otherworldly look/feel. Simmons’ intention is to keep this up until December of 2049 (at which point it will be finished). That’s 600 pages in 50 years. Neat idea, but… This first collection of Jessica Farm doesn’t really go anywhere. When we leave Jessica she’s trapped in a barn with a naked man and they’re on some kind of quest. But, everything has been so disjointed and unconnected and confusing up to this point that you don’t really know (or, possibly care) what’s going on. The next installment is due out in 2016, and I can’t say that I’m waiting for it with baited breath.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2011
"Jessica Farm" is Josh Simmons' life project where he draws a page a month for the rest of his life, periodically releasing a book when he reaches the 96 page mark. This is Volume 1 with the next scheduled for Spring 2016.
An interesting idea and I did like "House", Simmons' other graphic novel, but "Jessica Farm" is a long way from the structured vision of his first book. The problem with drawing a page a month without knowing where the story is going is that you wind up with a lot of strange tangents.
Jessica wakes up on Christmas morning where her toy monkey talks and her father is a brutal unkind man who beats her. She then explores the various areas of her seemingly endless farmhouse. She attends a toy concert, gets accosted by evil spirits, flirts with a well hung knight, escapes the clutches of a house demon, has dinner with her eccentric grandparents - all fine but due to the shortness of the book and the quickness which Simmons has Jessica pinball from one scenario to another, no characters are really developed.
There doesn't seem to be a storyline either with the author not knowing what's going to happen next. I wish I could say this is a good thing but it just reads like a sloppy first attempt by an inexperienced writer throwing everything in enthusiastically but poorly. A very weak and strangely dull book from a gifted artist. Hopefully his more thought out work will be published next.
An interesting idea and I did like "House", Simmons' other graphic novel, but "Jessica Farm" is a long way from the structured vision of his first book. The problem with drawing a page a month without knowing where the story is going is that you wind up with a lot of strange tangents.
Jessica wakes up on Christmas morning where her toy monkey talks and her father is a brutal unkind man who beats her. She then explores the various areas of her seemingly endless farmhouse. She attends a toy concert, gets accosted by evil spirits, flirts with a well hung knight, escapes the clutches of a house demon, has dinner with her eccentric grandparents - all fine but due to the shortness of the book and the quickness which Simmons has Jessica pinball from one scenario to another, no characters are really developed.
There doesn't seem to be a storyline either with the author not knowing what's going to happen next. I wish I could say this is a good thing but it just reads like a sloppy first attempt by an inexperienced writer throwing everything in enthusiastically but poorly. A very weak and strangely dull book from a gifted artist. Hopefully his more thought out work will be published next.
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