Six of Us #1 – “The Thing About Me Dying”

The comic Six of Us kicks off by throwing us right into a grave. After a few laughs along the way, this dark comedy left me gasping, oohing, and then leaving me shocked.

This comic book review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s LAUREN

Creative Team:

Script by: Tom King;

Art by: Gabriel Hernandez Walta;

Colors by: Jordie Bellaire;

Letters by: Clayton Cowles;

Cover A by: Gabriel Hernandez Walta;

Cover B by: Fabio Moon;

Cover C by: Elsa Charretier;

Cover D: Jorge Fornes;

Cover E by: Raul Allen;

Cover F by: Tula Lotay;

Local Comic Shop Variant by: Gabriel Hernandez Walta.

Six of Us created by: Tom King & Gabriel Hernandez Walta.

The Story for ‘Six of Us’

We kick right off with a coffin being lowered into the ground, and our narrator is the corpse inside. We go back and forth from past to present as we meet the cast of ‘Six of Us.’ It stars six young actors in the mid 90s, that are launched into stardom when their sitcom takes off. Sound familiar? However, it’s not all Hollywood fame and fortune, big coffee mugs, and laugh tracks. The peeks behind the curtain into the lives of these six are nothing like their TV counterparts. There are dark secrets that are being hidden, and a new mystery to solve. While one of them has already taken their secrets to the grave, there are still five left, and the secrets don’t seem to be in short supply.

The Art

While The Six of Us has some humor in it, the story overall leans more toward a dark tone, and the art helped to perfectly capture that. The setting may be sunny Southern California; the mood is anything but. The sun and palm trees may shine in the background, but the characters carry a heavy feeling that is beautifully conveyed in both the expressions of the characters and the colors. The pops of color throughout feel very intentional in all the good ways. A moment of happiness, or a moment of naivety, gets a glimpse of color, while the true feelings and tones behind the sparkle are still there, reminding us that this is a dark story.

Going from past to present, and having the corpse narrate the story could create a confusing storyline to follow, but it doesn’t. The lettering is done in a way that the reader is always aware of when we are and what’s going on.

Final Thoughts for ‘Six of Us’

I’m going to be brutally honest, I judged this comic book by the cover, and I have zero regrets. The main cover instantly made me think of my favorite show growing up: FRIENDS. After seeing that Tom King was involved, I was sold. However, I did not expect the parallels to this 90s hit to cut so close in both fiction and reality. As well as personally (as a fan)!

Whether or not you know all the lyrics to I’ll Be There For You or why Joey better not do any lunges, being a fan of possibly the most famous sitcom ever, is NOT required to enjoy this comic. You just need to enjoy some dark humor and mystery. This comic is so much more than meets the eye, and we’re only on issue 1.

Overall Grade: 9.5/10

Check out more reviews from Lauren, including another comic review for a Dark Horse Comic: Witness Point.

Have you checked out this comic? Let us know your thoughts in the comics.