It hadn’t been a very good day for Johannes, but if he could manage to remember, he’d realize that last night was even worse.  Your Major Spoilers review of Six Fingers from Image Comics, awaits!

SIX FINGERS #1

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Sumit Kumar
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Editor: Will Dennis
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 21st, 2024

Previously in Six Fingers: Taking place in the futuristic world of Neo Novena and following archeology student Johannes Vale, this is the companion series to The One Hand, which shows those events from the perspective of the murderer.

IN CONTROL

Six Fingers #1 begins with scenes from a grisly murder before quickly transitioning to Johannes Vale as he presents his proposal for an archeology expedition to a panel of professors.  He believes that there is an undiscovered ancient culture that would have a major impact on the world if discovered.  But he discovers that his notes and documents for the proposal have disappeared, which causes him to have an angry outburst.  He then goes to work, with hopes of getting out early to meet his girlfriend at an art show.  When he arrives, he discovers that there’s a big accident that will prevent him from leaving early.  He takes it upon himself to try and fix the problem, exposing him to toxic fluids.  He’s interrogated by his work’s safety commission afterwards and it’s revealed he’s done this before and has begun to mutate, by growing a sixth finger.  He makes it to the art show late and realizes that he’s been asked there so his girlfriend could break up with him.  Mid-breakup he begins to remember the things he did last night and storms out to discover the truth.

COMPELLING, BUT A LITTLE TOO FRONT LOADED

The very premise behind Six Fingers is a fascinating one.  Getting an actual narrative showing the life of a presumed murderer, not just some throwaway scenes featuring them, is an interesting twist on the typical noir story.  When it comes to showing that life, Six Fingers #1 does a solid job in giving us a look into Johannes’ life.  There’s a commendable amount of restraint in this department as well, Johannes’ doesn’t have a great life, but it’s not like this is someone that society has just beaten down, nor is he a pitiful character.  The creators seemed to have put in decent effort in showing us a person who has fairly normal troubles, but who also has something darker going on that can’t be explained as a reaction to these things.  The only problem with this though, is that a majority of this issue is devoted to showing this particularly rough day in Johannes’ life and it feels like this is going to be the extent of his development as a character, like we’ve already learned the important aspects of him.  Much like the other series that takes place in this world, The One Hand, this title doesn’t beat you over the head with its futuristic setting.  There is some high-tech stuff going on, but it isn’t a major focus, it’s almost mundane in its presence, which gives Neo Novena a unique feel, which doesn’t appear to be trying very hard to be unique.

UNEXPECTEDLY BRIGHT AND CLEAR

For a series with a possible perpetrator of a horrific murder as its focal point, the art in Six Fingers #1 is surprisingly colorful and bright.   The use of color is especially well done here, as each scene is given a dominating hue that makes it look like those particular pages are being looked at through a film of that color.  It’s a cool effect.  What makes the art here really interesting though is when it’s looked at in comparison to the art in The One Hand, which is very dark with characters that are literally obscured by shadows.  This could very well just be a case of different artists having different styles, but the impact on the overall narrative of this murder and the main players within it, is undeniable.

BOTTOM LINE:  REFRESHING TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

Six Fingers #1 could’ve easily been an exercise in seeing how messed up a character could be created, but thankfully there’s been some thought put into making the main character here not a collection of clichés.  The plot is essentially a day in the life of the main character, and it might have been nice to get a little more insight into the mystery here, but what is here is well done.  3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Six Fingers #1

70%

70%

A Good Addition to A Strong Premise

The idea of having two titles showing two sides of the same murder but being mostly character driven is a cool idea and Six Fingers #1 shows that this particular side of the story is going in a good direction.

• Writing

  6
• Art

  7
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
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