First published back in October of 2014 ‘Slaughterhouse Farm: Issue 2’ was written by Matt Warner and AJ Ballard, with artwork by Arfon Jones. The second issue was subtitled ‘House Of Pigfucker’.
DLS Synopsis:
After going off on his own, Stevie comes across an isolated and seemingly abandoned farmhouse situated out on the rugged Welsh hillside. With the weather taking a turn for the worse, and nightfall creeping in, Stevie decides to take a look about the farmhouse and its various outbuildings.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, Frankie has gotten tired of waiting for Julian’s return. Leaving Vicky and Jamie to squabble amongst themselves, Frankie decides to climb one of the nearby hillsides in the hope of getting a signal on her phone.
But of course there’s no way that either of the annoying teenager’s will stay put, and within minutes of Frankie going off, the two squabbling youths have wandered down the rural pathway in search of somewhere to hole up in.
However, they’re far from alone on the isolated Welsh hillside. Pigfucker is out on the prowl. And he’s after more than just pig meat…
DLS Review:
To be fair, issue one of the Slaughterhouse comics packed in the backwoods yokel horror like its wonderfully‘70s grindhouse style cover promised. Barely a page went by without some outrageously over-the-top violence being reaped on one of the hapless teenagers. Either that or some fat piggy was getting its shit-caked ass raped. Yeah, issue one delivered all that lowbrow grindhouse goodness with a certain flair for pushing the boundaries.
Sadly issue two is almost completely bereft of any such gruesome or decidedly deplorable delights. You’d think with the youths now all stranded in the vicinity of good ole Pigfucker’s isolated abode, it would be time to crank up the terror factor even more. Alas it was not to be.
Instead what we have is very much an ‘interval offering’ – whereby issue two simply follows on from where the first instalment left off, only to separate out the characters a tad more so that they’re undoubtedly ripe for Pigfucker’s pickings in the next edition.
Other than a dog getting sliced in half and a mountain rescue warden getting his spinal cord cut out, there’s really little else in this second instalment to warrant its “extreme perversion beyond belief lies in wait for those foolish enough to enter his home…” tagline. To be honest (and quite blunt) the outrageous ‘70s grindhouse gore was the one thing going for these comics. It’s what the entire goddamn thing’s model around. Without the violence, bestiality and bloodspill, to be frank, there’s very little of merit in the comics.
Arfon Jones’ artwork also seems to have taken a slight turn for the worse – with less detail and care being given to the features of the characters, and his bold lined approach edging more towards sketchy and clumsy than it is confidentially defined.
Nevertheless this reviewer hasn’t given up on the series quite yet – but after the fun and entertainment had from ‘Slaughterhouse Farm: Issue 1’ (2013), it has to be said that issue two is one hell of a disappointment. Here’s hoping the three Hellbound Media gorehounds behind the comic get their eye back on the blood-spattered ball for the final two issues.
The comic runs for a total of 21 pages.
© DLS Reviews
Other ‘Slaughterhouse Farm’ instalments:
- ‘Slaughterhouse Farm: Issue 1’ (2013)
- ‘Slaughterhouse Farm: Issue 3’ (2015)
- ‘Slaughterhouse Farm: Issue 4’ (2017)
