January Marvel Previews |
Proof #1
“Skin and Bones”
Written by Alexander Grecian
Art by Riley Rossmo
Review by Rich Davenport
Every once in a while, a book comes along that redefines a generation of comic book writers. One that shakes the foundations of comic book publishing to its very core.
Proof is not that book.
What Proof is, however, is a very enjoyable read, and probably one of the most original concepts to come down the pike in many years. The book posits the question “what if Bigfoot were real?” Moreover, “what if Bigfoot were real and worked for a US and Canadian government funded program helping other supernatural phenomena co-exist with humans and occasionally playing paintball while trying to keep from smelling like a wet dog?”
It’s that kind of humor that oozes from the pages of issue #1 of Grecian and Rossmo’s Proof. Proof is John Prufrock. John Prufrock is Bigfoot. John apparently has a knack for getting his partners promoted, and he’s due a new partner as the opening “Goatsucker” arc gets underway. Ginger Brown, his new partner, doesn’t quite know what to make of being partnered with a living, breathing myth, which is fair because who would know how to take that?
At the Lodge—headquarters to the Proof crew--Proof and Ginger are briefed on their first assignment, locating the Chupacabra—also known as the Mexican Bigfoot. Chupacabra is known for attacking livestock, but apparently it has decided to hunt a more elusive game—humans—and several missing persons cases in northern Minnesota draw the attention of the Lodge crew.
But one of the missing seems to have pulled themselves together and returned to society…
The last page of the main story is chilling, with Riley Rossmo’s art leading the reader like the lens of a camera the big reveal. It’s a great cliffhanger that makes the reader want to plunk down another $2.99 next month to see what the heck is going on.
One would ask why the Mexican Bigfoot would be hunting in northern Minnesota. One would find the answers in one of the many, strategically placed Cryptoids throughout the book, which flesh out concepts and provide information in a way not dissimilar to the old “Pop-Up Video” show on VH1. Some readers might be inclined to pass over these blurbs, but they would be robbing themselves of the full effect of this book.
Following the main story, there is a backup tale recounting how Ginger Brown was found and recruited into the Lodge. There are also several newspaper clippings of past Bigfoot sightings.
Readers who enjoy films like Men In Black, The Mothman Prophecies or The Last Broadcast will definitely enjoy the offbeat, quirky world that Grecian and Rossmo have created here.
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