Writer Kyle Higgins likes his big concepts. The Dead Hand has a big concept, though that concept isn’t entirely clear yet. In fact, Higgins does some slight of hand to distract from things–though he forecasts the twist just before revealing it, a little too much of the hand showing. Most of the issue is some “rah rah” nonsense with an American CIA agent.

He’s a super spy, but he wears a star mask–like a bandana over his face with a star on it–presumably because he thinks it makes him cool. Or there are other costumed super spies and Higgins really needs to reveal it, because otherwise the super spy seems like a little bit of a tool.

Is the guy a tool? Maybe?

It’s not important yet. What’s important is there’s some big mystery involving a Soviet weapons project and a small mountain town pretending it’s in the United States but it’s really in Russia. Only not Soviet Russia, modern Russia.

Stephen Mooney’s art is all right. His figures get stumpy at times and he’s a little too ambitious with his angles for his depth, but it’s definitely all right.

The Starro mask is real dumb though. Like, I’m not sure it’ll ever live the Starro mask down.