Broken Frontier

The Lodge puts Elvis in the field for the first time. He and Proof are on assignment to South West Africa where the villagers say dinosaurs still walk the Earth and apparently this is big time game for the poachers.

Proof was one of the biggest surprises last year. Rossmo and Grecian have created a world that mixes the feel of BPRD with The X-Files and throws in a touch of the old Leonard Nimoy series In Search Of… The first story which focused on Proof getting a new partner and hunting down a chupacabra was some of the best in comics of 2007. Between making the characters real no matter how fantastic, references to Chronicles of Narnia and a non linear plot that would have been welcome in an episode of Twin Peaks , there was nothing on the market like it. The fact that Proof is Bigfoot is just the cherry on top.

This issue Grecian takes a more traditional comic book approach to the story. Everything is told in sequential order of time. While this is a little disappointing for this reader, I am sure that it will make the book much more approachable by the mainstream comic fan. This and a story that is not only new reader friendly, but provides a recap and a Who’s Who page, makes it better than 80% of the stuff on the rack.

Not to say that the story is light. Much to the contrary actually, we are introduced to what is promised to be one of three major villains of the series. One Colonel Werner Dachsund is a poacher of the highest order. Instead of hunting elephants for ivory and skinning rare breeds of tigers, this sportsman is after cryptids. Evidentally, the Lodge (the multinational organization that Proof and his cohorts work for) has a history with this baddie. Proof for one seems to have an especially foul word or two to say about him. This time Werner is in Africa hunting dinosaurs. When the reader is clued into why, it is a shocking moment, almost as much as the reveal of the chupacabra in the first arc.

Along the way, Grecian doesn’t forget that he is writing a character driven comic. He spends ample time exploring the nature of Ginger, Proof, and Elvis. He has also not forgotten the details that made the first story so much fun to read. The cryptoids are still in place making the comic look like a VH1 pop up special. I jest, the crytoids are an efficient means of conveying information in a small space. It gives the book a depth that most comics miss out on.

Rossmo has been an acquired taste for this reader. At first, I thought his chunky lines were the work of an amateur not quite ready for the prime time. However, over the course of six issues, I have learned that there is a strong consistency to his style. In fact the waviness of his art works to the book\\'s favor, allowing more emotion to be on display and for nuances in the details of the art. It has definitely grown on me.

The nature of Rossmo’s art also allows Staples room to play. She can use shading and shadows to her favor, making Rossmo’s art stand out even more then the chunky style would do on its own. It is a perfect pairing and despite things I said intitially, I could not ask for a more perfect art team for the book.

Proof is a smart and entertaining book that should even have a little bit of mainstream crossover appeal. It is only one of the reasons that I have loved Image’s direction as of late. I hope that trade sales give this book the kind of life that it deserves.