Fox has recently brought back a series long known for its deep conspiracies, its unusual tag team dynamic duo and a deep, deep series mythology. But enough about Bones, I want to recommend a comics series if you like the television show X-Files. The comic I’m talking about is Proof by writer Alex Grecian and artist Riley Rossmo.
What is the comic Proof about?
The elevator pitch for Proof is that it a series that follows a buddy cop duo that works in researching all things cryptozoological where one of the partners is a several hundred year old Sasquatch. Let that sink in for a few minutes. Bigfoot investigating all things cryptozoological, only Bigfoot is more intelligent and “human” than anyone thinks.
John “Proof” Prufrock was discovered by Lewis and Clark in their journey west for Thomas Jefferson and he was cultured and trained and has been working at the Lodge since then. The Lodge is essentially the force that takes on and contains cryptids of all kinds in refuge area in the Pacific Northwest. And a deep part of his story is that he is the only Sasquatch he knows; he is a man without a species, looking for acceptance among humanity,
The other partner of the duo is Ginger, an erstwhile New York City cop that serves as our introduction to the Lodge and Proof, when she is recruited to join the Lodge after having an encounter with a Golem. Having noted her skills and care in dealing with the situation, the Lodge decides to recruit her. It is a well done origin story for the series, setting the stage for many stories to come.
From there, over the course of 28 episodes, these two investigate all kinds of cryptids, unique creatures that are challenging and deadly to most people. In that way, it definitely echoes some of the episodes of the X-Files, where they step back from the aliens and conspiracies and just tell a good horror story. And, like the X-Files, there is an interesting surrounding cast, like Elvis, an interesting sheriff that is introduced early on. And, of course, there are a couple recurring villains, mainly a poacher that they have to save cryptids from and, in a strange but beautiful twist, a yeti.
And it would be a mistake to not talk more about the art of Riley Rossmo. It is such a unique style, an exaggerated cartoon style that still is marked with a sense of realism. It looks both unfinished and fully developed. It is an amazing style and I find it fits so well with the anachronistic story of Proof, an old soul living out his story in a very modern world. It is such a great match for the story in a way that sometimes comics miss nowadays; not every style works for every character and story, but Rossmo works wonderfully for Proof.
The series has 5 main arcs and all the trades are available on Amazon and the whole series is on Comixology as individual issues and a final arc that is its own series called Proof: Endangered, which you shouldn’t read about without wanting a major part of the series spoiled.
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