I missed the first issue of Feeding Ground #1 and caught up yesterday, and I’m a bit mixed.  Along with the first issue I read the second and so far together they’re better than separate, the second issue is much stronger of the two.

Written by Swifty Lang with art with Michael Lapinski the story seems to be a werewolf story but in the first issue I’m not quite clear on it.  It’s not necessarily the start that’d get me excited to read it.  Here’s the solicit text for the second issue:

FEEDING GROUND, a horror tale set on the Mexico-Arizona border, launches an entirely new werewolf mythology! A local enforcer, Don Oso, terrorizes the Busqueda family as their father Diego makes a solitary trek home through the horrors of the Devil’s Highway. Meanwhile, US Border Patrol agents unearth a shocking discovery that threatens to reveal a secret buried in the desert for generations. Also included as bonus content on the flip side of the book is the story in Spanish!

The first issue, I’ll admit, had me scratching my head a bit.  I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, other than a bunch of folks sneaking across the U.S./Mexican border.  I loved the art though, there’s a very cool feel to it, but I can’t say that alone won me over.

This is a weird one, the second issue (reviewed later today!) did what the first issue didn’t, set up a mystery I’m interested in.

Plot: Lang with the first issue misses to target for me.  I should get hooked enough to want to read the second issue and find out what happens.  But instead there’s a lot of set up and the mystery isn’t teased enough.  The second issue really does what the first issue should of.  Rating: 6.75

Art: Lapinski’s art is really good.  It’s hard to describe it with a very solid color palette that stays consistent and adds to the atmosphere.  Rating: 7.75

Overall: To me the most interesting thing about this first issue is it’s also in Spanish.  Having take Spanish for god knows how many years, to be able to read both was actually pretty fun.  This first issue just falls a little flat for me, and is so different than the much more solid second issue.  Overall rating: 6.75

Recommendation: Pass

Page count: 64 pages    Price: $3.95     Release: Out Now

Archaia provided Graphic Policy with an advance copy of this issue for FREE for review.