The Six Fingers #1
Kevin Rossi
Recap
Neo Novena archaeology student, Johannes Vale, has always been so very in control of his life. But when he commits a brutal murder, using the M.O. of an historic and notorious serial killer, everything begins to spiral out of control… primarily as Johannes doesn’t remember doing it.
What follows is a deadly cat-and-mouse game as Johannes seeks refuge in the rain-soaked streets of Neo Novena. He will stop at nothing to unravel the secrets and ciphers of what he did and why he did it; but each revelation only leads further into the dark heart of his future-metropolis and Johannes’ own heartbroken soul.
Review
Earlier this month, Image Comics released The One Hand #1 and introduced readers to Detective Nasser of Neo Novena, who delayed his retirement to find The One Hand Killer for the third time in his long career. The first issue sets up an intriguing mystery as Nasser sets out to find the killer, however, The Six Fingers #1 reveals the killer’s identity to readers but adds another layer to the mystery; This version of The One Hand Killer, Johannes Vale, can’t remember doing it. The Six Fingers is written by Dan Watters, art by Sumit Kumar, with Lee Loughridge, Aditya Bidikar, and Tom Muller carrying over from The One Hand on colors, letters, and design respectively.
Simply put, The One Hand follows the detective and The Six Fingers follows the killer, but it is already apparent that it isn’t that simple. The two series work as companions to each other, so It is tough to judge how these two series hold up independently. With just one issue from each series, there are obvious connections and crossovers, but Dan Watters does a great job establishing a certain tone that feels distinct from Ram V’s. Sumit Kumar also does an excellent job establishing and giving readers a different side of Neo Novena. Retaining the rest of the creative team on both books is also a brilliant touch because it tethers the two series visually together, especially because of Muller’s excellent design contributions. One question readers might have now is whether both series will read as one complete story or if they can read one over the other. While that isn’t clear at the moment, The Six Fingers doesn’t feel like the other side of the coin that The One Hand is on. Both books follow the same mystery but very may well find different results.
Final Thoughts
Now that readers have had the chance to read both The Six Fingers #1 and The One Hand #1 which was released earlier this month, they have a better idea of just what the creative teams are doing here. The Six Fingers #1 gives readers a different look at Neo Novena and of course a different look at The One Hand Killer. Overall, both series give readers a fascinating mystery and an interesting world worth checking out.
The Six Fingers #1: Another Side of Neo Novena
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10