By Dustin Cabeal

One of the best comics from 2016 returns with its fourth issue, and I have to say; I’m back to loving this series. I will fully admit that I was a little let down by the third issue of The Fist, but the fourth issue is a return to form.

The hilarity and the brilliance of the story set up is really what makes this series stand out to me. Jordan Kroeger has moved past homage and now found his own path for the story. The Fist aka the Right Hand must fight the Left Hand. This is just after escaping his creators and creating a thruster glove for him to punch into and give the ship/his wife more power. The sequence is quick, but there is the perfect amount of back story information on the Left Hand. Frankly, it doesn’t look as if the Fist can beat him, but then that’s why this is the hero’s journey, he must fall to rise again. All we can do is hope that his wife makes it out with him.

He’s still married to a space ship in case you were wondering, and yes, that is still funny to me.

There is just the right amount of dialogue throughout the issue. It’s never overkill; there’s never an exposition dump. It’s all over the top and dramatic and yet perfectly paced for the story. Kroeger continues to grow as a writer on this series which makes this issue the most impressive thus far on the title.

His artwork also continues to improve. The characters are more consistent which plays into the humor more. The coloring is psychedelic at times, and usually, I hate that shit, but it’s a lot of fun and fitting for the content in The Fist #4. Kroeger’s coloring is unique; there’s nothing else like it in comics. It works for the story and honestly feels ahead of its time. I have the feeling we’ll see this coloring style a lot more in the future.

There’s not much more I can say about this issue. It’s entertaining as shit and a series I look forward to every time it releases. It’s on Kroeger’s GumRoad page so you can pay what you want. I hope that you’ll pay something to help continue this fantastic series which looks poised to take another spot on my best of list two years running. The Fist is so fucking fun that I can’t get enough.

Score: 5/5

The Fist #4
Creator: Jordan Kroeger
Self-Published -- Website