By J. Paul Schiek — I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the sort of classic-but-wholly-unintelligible books, like Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Apart from the appealing premise of an aged and tired Bruce Wayne returning from retirement, the book is probably better known for its (at the time, at least, if not now) envelope-pushing visuals. Bearing that in mind, I had had an itch in the back of my head each and every time I picked up an issue of the Sean Lewis-penned Thumbs, with art by the incomparable Hayden Sherman. Or, indeed, when I picked up a previously read issue for a second glance or full immersion. While comprised of its own characters and settings, and festooned with its own directions and ideas, Thumbs, to eschew any undue comparisons, is not the logical successor to DKR…it is actually a usurper that steals its throne entirely.