Three Fingers
"Three Fingers" is a comic book created by Rich Koslowski that presents a satirical "documentary" set in a world where cartoon characters coexist with humans, reminiscent of the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." The story revolves around the rise of the Toon actor Rickey Rat and the phenomenon of Toons having only three fingers, which is suggested to enhance their success in the film industry. The narrative explores themes of fame, identity, and the extreme measures individuals might take to achieve success, including undergoing controversial surgical procedures. The comic features a variety of characters, many of whom are parallels to iconic cartoon figures from Disney and Warner Bros. Through historical footage and interviews, the book critiques societal pressures related to appearance and fame, drawing attention to unethical practices in the pursuit of success. "Three Fingers" was well-received upon its release in 2002, winning an Ignatz Award and gaining international translations. The artistic style is characterized by a blend of black-and-white imagery, with a mix of photographic and illustrated elements, contributing to its unique storytelling approach.
Three Fingers
AUTHOR: Koslowski, Rich
ARTIST: Rich Koslowski (illustrator)
PUBLISHER: TopShelf Comics
FIRST BOOK PUBLISHED: 2002
Publication History
Rich Koslowski got his start in the early 1990’s at Animagination, where he worked on commercials, instructional videos, and children’s books. He soon began drawing and inking comic books, primarily Sonic the Hedgehog from Archie Comics. In 1997, Koslowski self-published a forty-page one-shot comic book called How to Pick Up Girls If You’re a Comic Book Geek. The name of his publishing company was 3 Finger Prints, since he was already thinking about the story that would become Three Fingers. The comic was a success, leading Koslowski to feature the three characters introduced in How to Pick Up Girls If You’re a Comic Book Geek in the ongoing, award-nominated series The 3 Geeks and Geeksville.
In 2001, he decided to create ThreeFingers. An impetus for Three Fingers was Koslowski’s work on children’s books, during which time he went to schools to talk to students and do drawing demonstrations. Often children would ask why the characters were drawn with only three fingers. He would tell them that it was easier to animate three fingers than four. The question got him thinking, and several years later, Three Fingers was born. Koslowski approached Chris Staros, publisher of Top Shelf Comics, with a proposal for the book, which Staros accepted. When Three Fingers was released in 2002, it garnered positive reviews and award nominations, winning an Ignatz Award. It has been translated and published in several different languages, including Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It was out of print for a time, but a new edition of Three Fingers was published in 2010.
Plot
Three Fingers is a “documentary” that takes place in a world similar to that of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in which cartoon characters exist alongside human beings. Most of the characters are based on well-known cartoon characters, mainly from Disney or Warner Bros. Through both “historical footage” and interviews with both humans and the aged Toons, the story begins by discussing the rise of filmmaker “Dizzy” Walters and his star, the Toon actor Rickey Rat, who gains fame in RailroadRickey, the first feature film starring a Toon. The film’s success leads to more films starring Toons (called cartoons), but at first, none of them are as successful as RailroadRickey.
A legend begins to grow around Rickey: That his film success is based on him having three fingers on each hand instead of four, which was the number of fingers that unsuccessful Toons have. Soon, more three-fingered Toons begin making successful pictures. However, there is speculation that these Toons were not born this way but, instead, had their fourth fingers surgically removed. Apparently, some Toon parents even have their children’s fourth finger removed after birth to guarantee future success. While the Toons deny the allegations, it becomes apparent that the studios not only know about this procedure but also encourage it. Several of the Toons interviewed tell of how they had to make the decision between mutilating themselves and not getting work. The studios say that they will not work with actors who have undergone the “ritual”; however, after “Warmer Brothers” has a hit with the three-fingered Portly Pig, three-fingered Toons become the norm in films.
Public outcry over the ritual leads to Senate hearings on the subject, with studio personnel and Rickey Rat called to testify. However, the main Toon to appear is the popular “Buggy” Bunny, who denies having undergone the procedure. In the present-day interviews, Portly and another Toon, Carhorn Armwhistle, take Buggy to task; Portly mentions Buggy’s role in the disfigurement of Dapper Duck. Marilyn Monroe also speaks against the ritual at the hearings and is among the humans to speak up about the mistreatment of the Toons. Others to do so include President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the documentary speculates that their deaths may have been the result of them speaking up for the Toons.
The hearings lead to a legal ban on the procedure, with strong penalties against any doctor who performs it. However, since only three-fingered Toons are getting work, four-fingered Toons try other methods, including undergoing illegal surgeries, which in the case of some, such as King Lion, ends in disfigurement. For a short time, there are rumors of a man known as “the Specialist” who would not only perform the surgery but also fake the Toon’s past records to say that they were born with three fingers. During this period, more three-fingered Toons make their debuts, and while the Specialist is never caught, some speculate that it is Walters.
After Walters dies, the new people in charge of the studio produce The Rainforest Story, whose Toon star, Chow-Mow Glee, has four fingers. The film is a success and proves that a four-fingered Toon can be successful. This leads to other successful films starring four-fingered Toons, and soon both three- and four-fingered Toons are doing well. In the end, “Teen Toon Star” M. C. Wak-O hints that the ritual is still practiced, but among the younger generation of Toons it is known as “The Rickey.”
Characters
•Reginald Desmond “Dizzy” Walters is a filmmaker analogous to Walt Disney. He is the only one of the main characters who is not interviewed, because he died years before the documentary.
•Rickey Rat is the main character of the story and resembles Mickey Mouse. His fame is what leads to the ritual.
•Beatrice Clarke is a human being and a Toon historian.
•Carhorn Armwhistle is a roosterlike cartoon character.
•Portly Pig is a stuttering pig who worked for Warmer Brothers Studios.
•Beatrice Clarke is a film historian interviewed for the documentary.
•Chester Chimp is a Toon who was Rickey’s childhood friend.
•Freidrich Von Katze is a German-born cat Toon who eventually has to work in pornographic films.
•Rapid Rodriguez is a Spanish-accented Toon who uses his size and speed to take pictures of the ritual. While interviewed, he appears in shadow as an “unidentified former Toon actor.”
•Ned Kerney is a dog Toon who plays the role of Rickey’s pet dog “Jupiter.”
•Sly Vester, Jr.,is a Toon cat who was a child actor who worked with his father; he is one of the interviewees.
•Bartholomew Baxter “Buggy” Bunny III is a famous rabbit Toon who denies undergoing the ritual.
•Dapper Duck is a Toon who was Buggy’s friend and who underwent the ritual.
•King Lion is a former Toon actor who had illegal surgery on his hand, which ended in his disfigurement.
•Hans Wurstmacher is a human cinematographer who is interviewed for the documentary.
•Regis P. Redbreast, Ph.D.is a Toon bird who is a professor of toonistics.
•The Specialist is a rumored individual who performed the ritual on Toons after the procedure was made illegal. Some say that he and Walters are the same.
Artistic Style
With its documentary style, Three Fingers is done in black and white but in two styles. The historical parts are presented as photographs and film stills with text written on the side of and, occasionally, over the images. In most cases, there are three pictures per page. The majority of the interviews are drawn in six-panel format, with three panels on top of three. Some pages have only three panels centered in the middle of the page, and a few have less. The Toons are anthropomorphic animals, and they are shown as being elderly in the interviews. Some, such as Portly Pig and Dapper Duck, are shown to be in ill health. Whenever Rickey is shown, he is in shadow and holding a cigarette. The humans are drawn realistically both in the past photographs and in the modern-day interviews.
Themes
Parody is a major theme of Three Fingers;most characters in the book are obviously based on characters from cartoons, mainly those from Warner Bros. and Walt Disney studios. However, while the book is a parody, the characters are not shown in a humorous way.
Another theme concerns the lengths to which people will go to become famous. In Three Fingers, characters mutilate themselves in order to get work and achieve success in the motion-picture industry. In real life, actors undergo various procedures—such as plastic surgery, liposuction, and breast augmentation—in order to begin, advance, or continue their careers. In Three Fingers, parents perform the ritual on their children to help them to achieve fame. This is an equivalent to the phenomenon of “stage parents,” who put their children through psychologically damaging and dubious activities to win pageants and get into show business. The willingness of those in power to encourage such activities, or, at least, to turn a blind eye toward them, is also an issue covered in the book.
Impact
Three Fingers has had a positive effect on Koslowski’s career. It garnered positive reviews and won Koslowski an Ignatz Award (along with nominations for a Harvey Award and an Ursa Major Award). The title also had a good deal of positive word-of-mouth feedback among comic book readers. Since Three Fingers was published, Koslowski has continued his comics works. As a writer, he has produced additional stories with the 3 Geeks, told the adventures of Omega Flight for Marvel Comics, and created the Elvis-themed original graphic novel The King (2005) for Top Shelf Comics. As an artist, he penciled and inked the original graphic novel B. B. Wolf and the Three LPs (2010)and inked the adventures of various Archie Comics characters, including Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica. He is also the author of the 2007 illustrated, Christmas-themed novel The List.
Further Reading
Arnold, J. D., and Rich Koslowski. B. B. Wolf and the Three LPs (2010).
Koslowski, Rich. The King (2005).
Bibliography
Koslowski, Rich. “Rich Koslowski Counts Down to Three Fingers: 3 Geeks Creator Tackles an Animation Icon.” Interview by Beau Yarbrough. Comic Book Resources, May 6, 2002. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=1114.
Lyga, Allyson A. W., and Barry Lyga. Graphic Novels in Your Media Center: A Definitive Guide. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
Serchay, David S. The Librarian’s Guide to Graphic Novels for Adults. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2010.