‘Finger Guns’ Captures The Highs & Lows of The Teenage Experience

Writer: Justin Richards / Artist: Val Halvorson / Vault Comics Content warning: domestic violence It’s hard for me to believe it, but eight months ago I sat down to read Finger Guns #1, and I found myself endeared to Wes and Sadie after their introduction. Two teenagers who inexplicably found themselves with the power to manipulate emotions with a point of the finger, just trying to do the best they can. The magical realism premise was solid, and the story felt like it a lot of different directions it could go in. And in those intervening eight months, it kinda fell off my radar until a couple weeks ago when I saw that the series had been collected into a trade back, and lemme tell you, Richards and Halverson have apparently been doing a lot of incredible this year.

Given that it had been several months since I’ve read the first issue, I had forgotten that the first chapter ends with the reveal that Sadie’s father was abusive, and after seeing out how her story unfolds, it makes me appreciate how Richards structured the story even more. One of the memorable moments in the first chapter is Wes using his newly found powers on a stranger and its unintended consequences, and this moment acts as a brilliant moment of foreshadowing and thematic resonance. Finger Guns is a story about teenagers reckoning with their emotions, and specifically, about teenagers with difficult home situations trying to find solace during a confusing time. Wes is still reeling from the death of his moth…