FINGER GUNS #1 – Writer: Justin Richards, Artist: Val Halvorson, Colorist: RebeccaR Nalty, Letterer: Taylor Esposito, Designer: Tim Daniel
Thanks to Vault Comics for providing a review copy!
Synopsis: Two troubled teenagers discover they can manipulate emotions by firing Finger Guns. There will be laughs. There will be tears. There will be uncomfortable teen feelings and angst. Oh yeah… and chaos. So much chaos.
Review
Most people can relate to the experience of running around a playground or backyard with friends “shooting” finger guns at each other. The effect of those gestures was always imaginary, but what if it wasn’t? In FINGER GUNS, 2 teens wage emotional warfare on their neighborhood with a mysterious power they hold in their hands.
Wes isn’t having the best day when he discovers he can cause people around him to feel extreme rage. He walks around town inciting anger in strangers until he meets Sadie, a girl with the power to force calm on others. It’s unclear how long Sadie has known about these powers, but it is clear that she and Wes aren’t going to stop anytime soon.
The premise of FINGER GUNS makes you want to know more. Aside from a curiosity about what comes next for Wes & Sadie, I find myself wanting to see how far this emotional manipulation will escalate. Forcibly modifying the emotions of others rarely ends well, and I have no doubt that will also be the case here.
Choosing two teenagers as the focus of this story seems like an important choice. Wes has a difficult home life. His father is absent and he is otherwise alone at home. All of that silence causes him to foster anger internally, and soon it becomes an emotional contagion. Sadie’s home is full of anger from both of her parents and she needs calm.
Even in this first installment, the potential dangers of using these “guns” are apparent. A quick test leads to Wes feeling controlled and manipulated. Aside from the emotional turmoil of their lives, I’m not completely sure where the story is going from here. Hopefully, Wes & Sadie can find a way to use their newfound powers for good.
The artwork and the color in this book are especially important to the storytelling. Red and blue are used to represent anger and calm respectively. These colors are used to show beams of magic power, and also as color filters over some panels. Shades of purple come into play more as Wes and Sadie get to know each other.
Society is plagued by people who can’t process emotions and wind up lashing out with physical violence. This story pulls me in because I want to see what happens when those pent up emotions become more tangible.
Finger Guns #1 hit shelves on February 26th 2020.
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