Comic Review: Finger Guns #1

Finger Guns #1

Vault Comics

Writer: Justin Richards

Art: Val Halvorson & Rebecca Nalty

Oh, the times of teenage-hood everyone remembers fondly upon yet dread to the very fiber of their being. If only there was a way to keep our emotions in check during that time, in order to live a better and less stressful life. Well, the protagonists of Vault Comics’ Finger Guns are just like regular teenagers, they can’t really control what they feel. But controlling what others feel should be of some help.

The first issue opens with Wes, one of two protagonists in this story, going about his normal high schooler life. Right away the reader notices that Wes lives a very lonely life. No real friends and his father is never home due to work. Wes then playfully shoots a finger gun at a father dismissing his son’s claims, when he realizes the dad goes berserk and just throws his bags at the ground. After testing a bit, Wes discovers he can anger people with a finger gun. While fooling around with his newly discovered power, Wes meets Sadie, our other protagonist, who’s capable of cooling people off with a finger gun. She and Wes then gather to discuss their powers.

Honestly, I don’t feel very comfortable reviewing Richards’ writing after only reading this first chapter. Mainly because there’s still barely any conflict, but also because it was all very standard for a first issue without losing the “teen discovers superpower” charm of it all, of course. That being said, the writer manages to get Wes’ solitary life across quite clearly while setting ground for character development since we can see Wes is not really in touch with his own emotions like most teenagers. Sadie, on the other hand, is charismatic since the very first moment she’s presented and seems to be way more mature than Wes on most accounts.

Halvorson’s line art is charming to say the least. Going for a more cartoonish approach, the artist manages to make the most of minimalist panels. Face expressions don’t present much variety, although, to be fair, this whole issue was mostly people getting suddenly angry. I very much enjoyed how movement is portrayed, especially how sudden movements are obviously different from the gentler ones. However likable the line art is, what caught my attention was Nalty’s coloring. It inputs personality and atmosphere in a lot of panels who just lack a background altogether. That happens firstly in a “power test montage” at the city mall with a variety of colored backgrounds reflecting different emotions the character in the panel is showing. That helps contrast with the beginning of the comic, showing Wes’ boring little life, which just has basic and interesting elements in the background.

Finger Guns #1, despite being quite standard for the first issue presents a promising start to a series with an interesting premise and great potential to hit top sales this year. The artwork is what did most for it, for now, but I’m sure the writing will bring itself up a notch in the next issues. This issue presents gorgeous art and is worth picking up for getting to know the characters.