Deamentia
pozzyfreak
Ray Hilario
tonyrak
rsg8101
paladinking
DS Arsenault
joelopez101
SoldierHawk
dfstell
jtmazz
Roman ColomboBy Alex Grecian (story), Riley Rossmo (art), Adam Guzowski (colors)
John “Proof” Prufrock and his partner, Ginger Brown, are agents for the Lodge, a secret government organization that is tasked with the cryptozoological investigations of the creatures of myth and legend that exist in the world today. By the way, Proof is a sasquatch.
In this issue, part five of what is obviously a graphic novel tailored story, Proof and Savage Dragon (whose presence in this issue felt contrived and unnecessary) are in Illinois investigating the existence of thunderbirds, while his partner Ginger is searching for a missing golem named Joe, who has ventured off with a mysterious yeti named Mi-Chen Po.
In Grecian’s hands, Proof and Ginger are likable characters; there’s a sense of a Mulder and Scully dynamic to their relationship that has probably been enjoyable to longtime readers. However, I was disappointed to see how little they actually appeared in this issue. I was also irritated with Grecian’s “Cryptoids” caption boxes of irrelevant trivia that stick out like sore thumbs. Furthermore, Rossmo’s art is very out of place here. His characters appear scratchy and unfinished, as they have no sense of life and look like little more than mannequins positioned on the page; leaving it to Grecian to convey the emotional arc through the dialogue alone. I could picture Rossmo’s style on a title like Warren Ellis’s Fell, but here it’s simply painful to look at.
Proof seems to fall somewhere between comparable titles like The Perhapanauts and B.P.R.D, yet the latter two are so much more fun to read. If Image is going to charge me a whopping $3.50 an issue for this, I need a more satisfying reading experience, and they did not deliver that here.
Grade: C-
-Tony Rakittke
Filed under: Image Comics, Reviews | Tagged: Adam Guzowski, Alex Grecian, Ginger, golem, Image Comics, Proof, Proof #14, Riley Rossmo, Savage Dragon, The Lodge, thunderbirds, yeti
a couple of things I have to say….
1/ a whopping $3.50 an issue?
There is not one single ad in the comic, at Marvel it seems there are alot of books where you have to pay $3.99 for 24 pages plus ad. This is all Proof. (and Archie Snow)
2/ Yes its part 5 of a story but IMO the “catch-up’s” in the inside cover of Proof are more than enough to get people up to Speed.
3/ Perhapanauts is fun to read as it’s got a quirky comedy tone. Proof is more in the vein of a mystery thriller than anything else.
4/ I know art is a personal thing, but Rossmo has been rocking his socks off on every issue. It’s quirky and original though I accept, not neccessarily to everybody’s taste.
If you haven’t read Proof before, check out the first trade, (it’s only $9.99) get to know the characters (Proof and Ginger aren’t Mulder and Scully by any means) and enjoy the rollercoaster ride that is Proof.
and it’s worth noting…. Proof has 14 issues out, and every single one has been released on it’s solicitation date.
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the comments.
1. That’s a great point you make about Proof being ad-free, but my problem wasn’t with the ads (because I agree with you there) it was that, for $3.50, it simply wasn’t an *entertaining* comic.
2. Yes, the recaps on the inside covers help, that was the only way I could follow what was going on, but based on that same recap, I didn’t feel like this was enough plot to justify a 5 part story that could have been probably been done in 3. There’s a point with all comics (and anything else for that matter) where the story gets stretched just a bit too far, and I think Proof has done that with this story arc.
3. I guess I wanted to see *more* of the mystery thriller angle in this issue…that it didn’t come through enough just convinces me that Grecian’s stretching the arc out and letting important elements like that slip away.
4. I don’t know, I wouldn’t say I dislike Rossmo’s art, and I also agree that it is quirky and original, but I felt like it was an awkward fit for this title, and it doesn’t express emotion well enough. Like I said, I could easily see his style on a darker story like Fell.
I may take your suggestion and check out the first trade….maybe this is one of those titles you need to be with from the beginning in order to fully appreciate.
But then again, I would also argue that monthly comics *should* be able to succeed as individual pieces of work, and not just as one chapter in a graphic novel story. I should have been able to pick up this issue and, without any prior experience, been able to have fun and enjoy it, and even tell you whether or not I wanted to begin collecting it.
But I couldn’t, because as a first time reader with a choice to make, I didn’t feel like he was writing this story for me. I felt like he was writing it for you, the longtime reader. Which is, of course, good for you, but it doesn’t exactly encourage me to go out and start buying it.
For a long time reader (and I’ve been reading Proof to start) its impossible to tell how a new reader will feel about the book.
looking over issue #14 again, I can see how the pure volume of characters could obstruct someone new.
Though issue 14 is part 5 of the “Thunderbirds are Go” arc, issues 10-12 definitely reads as a separate act to what has happened so far in 13-14.
As for the Dragon appearance (while it may be contrived, it will hopefully sell more issues), I believe that hallucinations that Proof has been having caused by the “Avian Flu” may be causing him to see the fin head. But thats yet to be shown either way.
As a long time reader of Proof, I will say that this is both an original, well thought out story, with a long time plan.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you read the Goatsucker trade. about the book.
looking over the issue again, I can see how the pure volume of characters could obstruct someone new.
But I believe it is the first issue like this.
Though issue 14 is part 5 of the “Thunderbirds are Go” arc, issues 10-12 definitely reads as a separate act to what has happened so far in 13-14.
As for the Dragon appearance (while it may be contrived, it will hopefully sell more issues), I believe that hallucinations that Proof has been having caused by the “Avian Flu” may be causing him to see the fin head. But thats yet to be prooven either way.
As a long time reader of Proof, I will say that this is both an original, well thought out story, with a long time plan.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you read the Goatsucker trade.
Hi Paul,
I’m hoping Dragon’s appearence isn’t an effect of the avian flu, only because that would be tacky on a St. Elsewhere level lol. No, it makes sense that Dragon could be there, only because that part of the plot is taking place in Illinois, and yeah, frankly, anything they can do to sell more issues is always a good thing, so I can respect that.
The interesting thing is that I actually completely agree with you that Proof is an original, well though-out story, and I sincerely wish we could see more original content in the market today. As a critic though, one of the things I’m primarily interested in, and of those the areas I consider when grading comics, is how well an individual issue succeeds in attracting new readers.
I think that’s an immensely important thing to consider, both from the perspective of a critic as well as a creator. If a reader can come in to an issue with no past experience, enjoy it, and want to buy more of it, then I say the creator has done his job delivering an entertaining product and drawing in new readership.
If he can’t do that though, he will of course still entertain loyal readers, but fail to draw in *new* readers, and at the end of the day that is the most important thing: to bring new readers on to titles with great potential like this.
So that was the crux of my review. I said to myself, based on *this* issue, would I want to go on buying this title. The answer was no, but at the same time, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to going back to the beginning and seeing how this story started.
If I can find a copy of the trade at my local shop, I’ll pick it up and come back to this conversation to let you know my thoughts.
[...] the back pages of Proof #14, this bit of fan art isn’t part of any ongoing story-line, bit it is [...]
I congratulate you for writing this, I was looking for this.