FINGERBANG #1 – An Honest Review

In FINGERBANG #1, available now from Mokes Studio, pothead slacker Joby Jones rubs a magic bong and releases a powerful genie who grants Joby three wishes. Of course, Joby wishes to shoot stuff from his fingers, and thus, a new superhero is born.

The Details

• Created By: Ben Parone, Jer Gordon
• Cover Price: $9.99 (physical), Free for the digital copy
• Release Date: 2019

Was It Good?

Well…

This is not a comic you buy for sumptuous art or thought-provoking writing. This is a comic made by friends who thought it would be cool, funny, and fun.

In that regard, there’s an earnestness to this book where you could at least tell the creators are enjoying what they’re doing.

Will this comic win any awards or have even the slightest bit of mass appeal? No.

However, if you like projects your friends complete because it’s about supporting your friends and not the project, even if you think their project is terrible, you may get a kick out of this comic. Plus, the digital copy is free, so you can’t beat the price.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Joby Jones is a slacker with a dead-end job, a small apartment, and no ambition in life. One evening, Joby roots around in his kitchen cabinet looking for some topping for his microwave popcorn and he finds a magical bong.

Right from the beginning, this is clearly satire. Nothing makes logical, reasonable sense from the absurdist news reports blaring on Joby’s TV to the inciting incident. Again, this a fun project that exists for its own sake and it’s best not to analyze any of it too deeply.

Joby rubs the bong as he lights up and a parody of the Aladdin genie pops out to grant Joby three wishes. The first wish? More weed. The second wish? Joby wants to shoot whatever he can imagine from his fingertips. Why? Simply because he wants to.

The next day, Joby is fired for being late for work (again). In his anger, Joby tries to shoot his boss with his fingers but nothing happens. When he gets home, Joby summons the genie and learns the secret to his power.

The finger guns only work when Joby is high. Joby is ecstatic over this revelation, and since he no longer has a job taking up his time, he decides to become a superhero.

Meanwhile, the leader of the local chapter of the KKK arrives at a clan meeting with (literal) barrowfuls of money after winning the lottery. After some quirky and absurd banter about what to do with the money, they decide to buy weapons and take over the town.

On this point, the story goes from biting satire to an absurdist fantasy that feels played out. Using white supremacists and nazis in modern comics is overdone to the Nth degree. It would have served better to come up with an equally absurd villain as an antithesis to the hero. For example, The Weed Killer. The best villains are the ones whose strength plays on the hero’s weakness. Going after a super-wealthy KKK group, frankly, lacks imagination.

Joby, now dressed as FingerBang, goes out to foil his first crime. He successfully stops a bizarre sexual assault, and his confidence gets a boost.

The KKK group, now armed with tanks and military-grade weapons, takes over a downtown building that’s also the headquarters of the local news station. Joby sees the takeover taking place on TV and heads to the building for a rescue.

We conclude the issue with Joby fighting his way through the gauntlet of each floor to get to the top and face the KKK leader in a wacky showdown.

How Does It End?

Joby has to remember he has a right AND left hand. Bees are apparently a weakness for the KKK. Joby holds on to his last wish for a very sweet reason.

Final Thoughts

FINGERBANG #1, available now from Mokes Studio, is a passion project in its purest form. The art and writing are not professional in any way, but props to the creators for pursuing what they love. Also, the score will be higher than you might suspect because this is a double-sized comic and therefore commendable in its ambition.

Score: 4.5/10