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Proof, Book 1: Goatsucker (2008)

by Alex Grecian(Favorite Author)

3.88 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1582409447 (ISBN13: 9781582409443)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Image Comics

series

Proof

review 1: I saw an ad for Proof in the back of another Image title and found myself vaguely intrigued. I flipped back a page and saw an image of a sasquatch wearing a suit on the cover of the current issue and immediately went down to my local comic shop and ordered the first trade.Simply put, Proof rules. It tugs away at a few nostalgic elements for me--first, in its obvious reference to the X-Files, an old favorite of mine when I was a kid (and yes, I wore an X-Files baseball cap when in high school, and yes, I got made fun of for it,) and second, it took me even further back to elementary school, where I read and re-read every book my school library had on cryptozoology and monsters (most of which were written by a guy named Daniel Cohen, whose hand I would like to shake, espec... moreially since it turns out he is (or at least was) a true skeptic and a card-carrying member of CSICOP.) I couldn't get enough of the likes of Nessie, Champie, Bigfoot, Mothman, Spring-Heeled Jack and even the Dover Demon. As an overly-imaginative only child some of those guys became playmates for me, and I would occasionally swear I saw evidence for them in the half-acre of woods behind my friend Billy's house across the street.While I'm old enough now to know better, I'm still caught in the grip of a child-like fascination with monsters. Proof delivers on this in all counts. John "Proof" Prufrock, a sasquatch special agent, is a great, Hellboy-esque character: an outsider who, underneath it all, is still just a guy, a fella just trying to figure out where he came from and what he should do with that knowledge. His interactions with Ginger Brown, his new partner, are amusing and written well-enough to avoid the worst of the whole "new partner" cliche, and the supporting cast are rich, interesting and incredibly entertaining in their own right. The very well-placed "cryptoids," little nuggets of information ranging from the irrelevant to story-altering, and quite amusing and keep things moving along nicely. And the art--wow. A friend described Riley Rossmo's work as a mix between Paul Pope and Guy Davis and that makes a lot of sense, but his style is really all his own, especially his use of colors and washes.Oh, and the Dover Demon is a regular character.To sum it up, the first trade made me run out and pick up the next few single issues, and I'm definitely adding this one to my pulls list. Great stuff!
review 2: So great is my love of Bigfoot that I've watched more horrible Lance Henriksen movies than anyone should have to endure. I've also read a lot of crap (especially lately) where he is a bloodthirsty forest monster or a comedic straight man teaming up with the Loch Ness Monster and having adventures. What these all have in common, besides sucking, is that none of them "get" Bigfoot. The appeal of the big mythical galoot is in the legend. The mystery. The triumph of nature over man's constant attempts to best it."Proof" uses these angles better than most. The writing is sometimes cumbersome and the art takes some getting used to, but the original idea piqued my interest and the first few issues have been entertaining enough to keep me coming back. Proof himself is a compelling character I'm curious to learn more about and his partner Ginger is level-headed and realistically proportioned, which makes her a stand out female character. This book has room to grow, but I'm on board for the time being. less

Download links for: Proof, Book 1: Goatsucker

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