As his reality crumbles faster, unwilling murderer Johannes Vale attempts to get answers from the previous One Hand Killer Odell Watts. Johannes pieces the previous events together, and artist Ada Avanax discovers his secret and trails his activities. But the two realize how much deeper the hole goes and how much more complicated it is than simply losing one’s memory. The Six Fingers #3 by Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar demonstrates that truth does not exist within a linear or binary concept. Still, it can only be comprehended by looking past reality.
Watters expertly knocks the down dominos he has laid since the beginning to hint at what lies beneath the surface of Johannes and Neo Novena. Much like an iceberg, a much deeper and darker side hides from ordinary eyes. The reveal challenges what the readers assumed about the metropolis and presents a more horrific version. With his job as an archeologist, he has to travel back to the past to discover the truth mentally. He is figuratively digging into his subconscious and the hollow skeleton of the city in front of him this entire time. Despite revealing some truth to Johannes and the reader, the mystery gets more complicated and cannot be easily solved.
The revelation of a “right hand” and a “left hand” portrays Johannes’s and Ari’s relationship and roles in a different light. Instead of existing as opposing forces, they worked together unwillingly towards some unknown goal. The reveal also reframes the cat-and-mouse hunts of the previous One Hand Killers as a cyclical force that moves onto a new person. Each is an investigator of different mysteries. With his dad’s gift as a guide, he must use it to decipher the past and figure out what happened between the gaps. Existing as a vessel for whatever force guides him, he needs to embrace being the right hand to unravel the blank spots in his mind.
I am still impressed with Kumar’s stunning art as he portrays the various psychological horrors within the book. All the events still feel like a nightmare you cannot wake up from. Matched with Lee Loughridge’s haunting colors and Aditya Bidikar’s stylish lettering, all of their artistic talent works in perfect unison. With all of the action and plot being dreamlike, The Six Fingers #3 artwork taps into the subconscious nature of the work and embraces it.
As the hidden underbelly of Neo Novena opens itself to Johannes, his understanding of his role as the right hand starts to become clearer to him and the reader. Watters and Kumar in The Six Fingers #3 do not give straight answers but masterfully start putting the pieces from the previous issues together while having the readers draw their conclusions on what has happened. The mystery of Johannes and his role as the right hand has gotten much more complicated and existentially interesting in the best ways possible.
Story: Dan Watters Art: Sumit Kumar
Color: Lee Loughridge Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.9 Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Read
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
