Artist Larry Johnson has occupied several imaginative genres. In the case of his 138-page, black-and-white graphic novel, The Hand (composed of eight chapters, which originally appeared in the publication, Tales of Fantasy), he devotes his talents to the superhero arena, and man, does he ever succeed in delivering a noble, moral-based adventure.
The Hand is, in actuality, a nebbish, Java Junction employee named Freddy Brown, who comes upon an amazing glove that grants him the power to fly about the city of Brookston and thwart crazed criminals by an energy blast that emanates from his palm.
Brown creates an eye-catching costume to go along with his garment, which grants the once beleaguered gent pop-cultural attention and more than a little curiosity from Freddy's brother, Lew, as well as the mysterious Mr. Morphote.
Though Brown generally makes ideal use of his weapon, there's a setback, in that he comes to rely perhaps too much on its addicting, pulsating power, which underscores the fact that he was once a drug addict. The allegory is quite brilliant and allows the character further vulnerability beyond his coffee-shop relegation, so that one has all the more cause to cheer him on.
While modern Marvel and DC tend to blur the lines between good and evil, Johnson gets it right, in a straight-forward but moving account of how virtue, even if weighed by a daunting draw, can win the day, as long as the heroism is handled in honorable moderation and never taken to the manic extreme.
Indeed, those who give The Hand a fair shake will find Johnson's saga a most thought-provoking diversion.
Order Larry Johnson's The Hand at
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZFRQYHB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
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