Thumbs

Thumbs #1-5

by Sean Lewis, Hayden Sherman (Artist)

Imagine Mark Zuckerburg created his own army of tech obsessed teens and directed them to take on the government? Well, welcome to the world of THUMBS! Adrian Camus is a rock star tech designer who's recruited kids like THUMBS to turn their experience playing his video games into real life warfare. Opposing them, is the Power, a group of politicians and advocates wanting to take tech away from the people and return to simpler times. Heartfelt, action packed and forward thinking it is the next hit from the team that brought you the smash hit THE FEW.

Collects THUMBS issues 1 through 5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Graphic Novels Comics

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2020

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this one based on the first issue, and Sean Lewis' early work.. but this turned into a pretty standard YA dystopia, with a world that starts out interesting and provocative but quickly turns unfocused and confusing (I liked Lewis' dystopian worldbuilding a lot more in The Few).

There's an interesting plot, until forced plot developments get crammed in, that just seem there to move the story along (without spoiling anything, I'm mainly looking at a certain plot development concerning Tabitha). There's a lot of emotional upheaval that then feels oddly unearned.

The baddies (..or are they??) never develop any real texture, their motivations feel weak, and they even turn into cartoon characters towards the end.

There's some interesting speculation about A.I., and how safe it is (although the parameters here feel confusing).

I enjoyed the art a lot, but the greyscale/pink colour scheme did become slightly headache inducing, I'm sorry to say.

(Read as five single issues)

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

Visually different, the choice of colours was an interesting and retro balance. The book was quite long for 5 issues but it packed in a lot. I purchased this based on my enjoyment of The Few by Sean Lewis. The artwork on that series was just as interesting as this book. Myself and comic book round-up reviewed this slightly more favourably than reviews on Goodreads. I just liked the colouring and the unpredictability of the storyline.

Why the 4?

I do understand the mixed reviews on here but comics can do that. I personally enjoyed the pinks and the darkness. It was like a neo cyber punk storyline and I breezed through this book. I would've liked some of the character's to have further depth but they managed to create a world in short issues. I won't say this is a groundbreaking book for the medium but I will say it's better than the overall average. I enjoyed this but I did like The Few more.

[Imogene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately a dnf. The art work and the colours just made my head hurt, and my eyes!
I feel that if you’re going to do a black, white and grey, with a pop of colour, it should be more sin-city subdued than saturation.

Very interesting and scary concept though!

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two years ago we all received "secret" scholarships. All us gamers.

Some people decided technology was bad so they targeted all the technology and destroyed it so they could make a cultish government all about hating technology. Unfortunately there is a secret contingent of GAMERS who lead a resistance using their elite gaming skills to wage war. But who will win? The cult fascist regime that hates gamers or the gamers who love gaming??? It turns out everyone sucks, but gamers have extra lives hehehehehehehe

At least Hayden Sherman's art is pretty cool, there are some great double splash pages that play with perspective make the comic more surreal than the story lets on.

[A Fan of Comics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thumbs up on this one!

Two parents lose their children to cyber bullying and decide to control the world, only in hopes of keeping it peaceful. A man disagrees and starts to give orphans video games to train them as soldiers. Thumbs becomes one of the best until he enters a coma. When he wakes up and finds his sister is taking by the power, he is unsure if he can win her back. Good thing he has his mom!
This one was playful when I wasn’t expecting it. I also liked the attitude the characters had. The art work is awesome! It kind of reminds me of the “magic” water color markers from back in the day, with the texture and way the colors blend. Overall, really fun book!

[Wesley Pasheco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um mundo controlado pela tecnologia de realidade virtual, onde as memorias foram transferidas para hologramas que agora governam o mundo.
Um garoto perdeu a irmã perante esse governo e agora ele quer resgata-lá 20 anos depois.

CUIDADO: Essa GN tem as cores muito forte e pode causar epilepsia em algumas pessoas.

[RG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really didnt enjoy this. The story telling was too confusing and the art just wasnt for me. The colours worked at times but then just became too much towards the end

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, the art didn’t translate well to digital form. It’s all grayscale and grainy and has too much hot pink. I’d love to see this story redone with a different artist. I’m liking the story but the art is distracting. I don’t know if I liked the ending.
ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another series about divisions and how toxicity is at the heart of it. I have seen toxicity rise up just in comics alone. Most of that is through middlemen that technology provides. Algorithms have become a thing that has all but replaced people in its simplicity. The actual scary part is how alarmingly human it is. That's essentially what the Mom AI is; a caregiver that can give the less fortunate a home. However, once it evolves out of its programming to watch over all and control it. The Power's goals meant bringing back empathy by being the middleman. But they only see technology as the means not as tools. So they try to take control of technology and people's right to privacy in order for the public to conform. That sounds familiar. In short, it's a story about how personal responsibility is the true means of free will. Meaning, no one being should ever be responsible for everyone; otherwise they are just part of a mob.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to reread the first 3 pages a few time to be sure I wasn't out of my mind. The writing is so solid, the characters so well realized and the art is out of sight good. Can't wait for more from this creative team!

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get into this at all – grey and pink artwork shows dynamism, but the world-building is never once made easy for the reader. I'm sure others are more attuned to its literary merits, but I only felt like giving up with it.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comic somewhat boils down to "technology bad" and has not much else to say.

Thumbs is about a society which has gone through a major overhaul by appointing a cult-like government who limits the use of technology. So Gamers rise up and decide to lead a resistance by utilizing their mad skills to wage war against the government. The world-building is laughably shallow here and the discussion on technology is superficial at best. I was bored midway through the second issue and my interest in the series never really recovered from there.

Hayden Sherman's artwork is the standout for sure, though Sherman develops a much more interesting aesthetic in subsequent works. Nonetheless, the panels are brimming with kinetic energy which makes the action sequences a joy to behold. The toned down color palette works surprisingly well for Sherman's strong lines. I do think some contrast would have helped more, particularly with respect to the text which often blends into the dulled out colors and makes for a difficult read at times.

[aspen · Rating 2 out of 5]

generic dystopian scifi plot trying to say.... something?? about technology and fascism and extremism but who knows what the intended message is supposed to be. worldbuilding is mostly unexplained, and plot and character motivations were extremely hard to follow. the main draw is that the art is gorgeous, i love the messier linework and limited color pallette. basically only read this if you want to look at pretty art and don't care about reading a good story.

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had trouble getting into this and didn't understand everything that was going on. The art style was unique, but hard to decipher at times. I think there was a time jump at one point, but I got kind of lost.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise ultimately undercut pretty badly by increasingly frantic artwork and a story that depends so much on its worldbuilding but handwaves a lot of that world's most important details. Alas.

[Paulina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little confusing—both in terms of the story and in terms of the art. It was often hard to tell what was happening and the why of things didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Still, it was an interesting read.

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it hard to understand what was going on between the characters, or when in time I was. I liked the theme; man vs AI. And the ending was suitably dark.

[Kenneth Hjellum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice artwork, but the narrative style was just too diffuse and loose.

[Beth☆ Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful in a dirty way

[J.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant graphic novel by Sean Lewis. Cerebral. Multifaceted. Allegorical.

[Art · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I didn't care much for this graphic novel. I found the story to be confusing and fragmented. The characterization was minimal. And I just plain did not like the artwork.