While the concept of a Sasquatch working with a secret agency might seem like old leftovers in the terms of comics -- "Alpha Flight" and "Perhapanauts" ring a bell? -- this title continues to be anything but old hat. I picked up the first few issues when this series started, but somehow lost track of issues betwixt and between with anything resembling regularity. That said, I decided to give this one a go and I got my money's worth.
While "Proof" is eighteen issues old (hooray, "Proof," you can vote, buy lottery tickets and smokes now!) this series provides a number of points that are moderately to excessively "new reader friendly." This issue is one of those points. Set in the mid-1800s with an interlude in today, this issue is completely accessible. Grecian provides enough info in the recap page to allow new readers to comprehend what's going on and provides a significantly intriguing final page to have me looking forward to the next issue.
Rossmo's art is perfectly matched to the adventures of a Sasquatch. Think about the grainy old Bigfoot pictures you've seen. That's Rossmo's art to a tee. The storytelling is deft and the renderings kinetic. Page composition is well considered and developed and Rossmo indicates quite a significant amount of design planning in the final pages. This is a title that greatly benefits from a sketchier pen. Casey's colors hit the right notes throughout –- garish reds when the action spikes and settled tones in the more relaxed moments.
This is a book with a great deal of heft to it. Cover to cover, this book packs in a great read and good art -– even a two-page head scratcher in the Archie Snow mystery -– plus letters pages, pin-ups, an essay, and mocked newspaper pages. It feels more like a journal of all things cryptoid than an issue of an under-appreciated comic book. This is one title that I'm glad I reconnected with. Now I plan to stick around for a good long while.
SIMILAR REVIEWS
Proof #25
Posted Thu, January 7th