The Living Finger gives off a blase impression.
Creative Staff:
Story: Garth Matthams
Art: Armin Odzic
What They Say:
“When well-meaning Jason discovers a disembodied finger that appears to be alive, it quickly becomes the sole focus of his life. He names the digit “”Wendy,”” learns to communicate with it via “”tap code,”” and discovers that the one thing Wendy wants more than anything else is a living human body to attach to. Just how far will Jason go to satisfy his ambulatory appendage?”
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Horror as a genre is more diverse than given. Many know horror for it’s scares, but it can set up other areas such as comedy, and action. In this case of The Living Finger, it looks to set up a macabre love story that could be interesting if it’s not held back.
The visuals from The Living Finger sets itself apart many of its contemporaries. From the get-go, this comic gives off and eighties feel. The colors are a little bit more washed out and dated then compared to current Comics. The artistic style has more men built in a blocky texture as compared to a more slender outlook with women with the cars to match the aesthetics of what eighties comics would be. This position surprising works with the juxtaposition of newer items such as cell phones to make it feel visually appealing. It builds an environment that seems ready for exploring with the story involved. What does not aid in the world building is the main character.
One cannot help that the story falters to make Jason appealing. His demeanor through the story fails to make him interesting, whether it is the posture or the dialogue. Throughout the first issue, Jason gives off as nonchalant about the events involved that antagonize the events. For instance, in page 5 the posture and movements do not display horror and arguably displays acceptance. Instead, it feels more like a huge shoulder shrug with him trying to do what he has to progress the story. This feeling doesn’t help the fact that the story is a mixed bag with execution.
The story playing out in the first issue of The Living Finger feels middling as a plot line. The plotline for the first issue is straightforward and comes off as such. The travel to get there, however, feels bumpier than it should. The introduction narratively fails to hook, but the ending does its job. The visuals at times easily show the storyline potential with pages 21-23 creating a great horror and painful scene. However, pages 6 and 7 show the opposite where the characters seem so passive as to what is going on that it almost comes off as they not caring. The dialogue to push the story seems to nail the action aspects, but makes the lull even more boring than it needs to. It’s disheartening because it hampers the potential of The Living Finger.
In Summary:
The Living Finger shows promise. The aesthetics make the series a treat to see, the story seems promising. The fact still remains that we’re wanting more, more buildup with more context than just what is there. More importantly, we want a connectable main character, and Jason so far half-attempts this effort. There’s no doubt that we will see more as the story develops, but it feels that the first issue missed certain opportunities to do so within the first issue. The Living Finger is going to be series to keep an eye out on as the story rolls out but it will not surprise many if people fail to show up.
Grade: C
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Darby Pop Publishing
Release Date:April 27th, 2016
MSRP: $1.99
