Proof #22

story ALEX GRECIAN art & cover RILEY ROSSMO

As the "Julia" arc continues we see what happens after the events leading up to Julia and Lent leaving the circus in the wake of the Springheel Jack reveal.The story begins with Proof and Ginger traveling back to the lodge. As the story unfolds we get a chance to see the depths of Lent's depravity in dealing with his wife and newborn child. While I don't want to give anything away here, I will say that this episode left me with an emotional feeling toward a character that few if any comics have ever elicited. It ends on a cliffhanger that doesn't look good for the future of Thomas Lent, and could further the developments that become the rift between Proof (Gulliver) and Mi-Chen-Po (Gilgamesh).

The art throughout this arc has been really good, and Riley continues that trend in this issue. You can feel the emotions of the characters as you read the story, and empathize with what is going on in the story.

Dave Casey again does a fabulous job on colors and has been a major contribution to the story since he joined the team. There has never been a bad colorist on Proof, but Dave is probably the best so far.

Alex Grecian's writing continues to impress 22 issues in to this book. He writes stories that draw you in to the book, and makes you care about the characters.

This issue features two back-up stories; one featuring Nadine (Chupacabra) and reveals that her intentions might not have been what readers thought when she was offering aid to the Colonel, the second is the finale of the current Archie Snow story that has been running the last few issues. Both are really well done and it's nice to see some resolution of previous events, and Archie Snow is always a fun and intriguing read.

Overall, Grecian, Rossmo, Casey and everyone else involved in this book continue to deliver the goods month after month.

If you believe in monsters...you need PROOF.

Proof #20, Julia part three

I am totally loving this arc. The time period designs are great. The family feel of the carny is amazing. It's nice to see Proof and Mi-Chen-Po growing in to the characters we know. Alex has put a ton of emotion in to this arc, and it's really coming through in the story. Riley's art and designs are fantastic. He has really grown since the series began and continues to put out top of the line art. The coloring for this issue, and this entire arc is such a huge part of what's going on for me. The colors are conveying as much of the story as the writing and the art. This series continues to get better, and more people need to be reading it.

This issue opens up with a surprising reveal about Springheel Jack and his father. As we find him working on a twin. Then it moves right in to Gilgamesh's response to the attack on the carnival and his "fathers" collapse. You can already see him becoming the character we know. Proof has his emotional moment with Julia in this issue, and you can feel the emotion in the scene.

This issue also featured a back-up that followed one of my favorite characters in the book, Autumn Song. It showed her quest to meet up the Mi-Chen-Po (Gilgamesh) in Tibet, and it was exciting to see her in action again.

Kelly Tindall also continued his Archie Snow story. I've been reading Archie since Kelly was kind enough to hook me up with his first mini comic, and I really enjoy seeing the adventure unfold. We are revealed a little more of Archie's connecting to the mysterious sword he is holding and a little bit more about his past.

All total three great stories in this issue, and this continues to impress me month in and month out.

Proof #19

I was finally able to buy mine today and sit down and read it. And read it again. And once more. Now I'm just looking through it again. But wanted to get some stuff down about the issue.

Red! Man the coloring on this issue is fantastic!! The dark, earthen tones of the first few pages where the action isn't going on, followed with the red heavy pages really bring out the energy of the scenes with Jack and Julia. And the brief fight in Julia's (what do you call those?) trailer were amazing. I hope Dave did that on purpose, because it really meshed well with what Riley was drawing for those pages. Even in the aftermath of Jack being there, it carried through. Red highlighting the main points of the story in each panel. That's good stuff right there.

"One of mine....not a man." That statement has had me pouring over every instance that we have seen Jack so far. Not a man? If not for the hair do I would say maybe some type of ape. But the hair is throwing me off. Of course that could be part of his mask. I have faith that if we get to see Jack it'll be something we aren't expecting. Albert Einstein? That's what Jack's "Father" made me think of. And the name on the boat? Any significance there? The ona that we can see made me think of Fiona Staples that colored some issues.

Then the color shift at about the midway point. Going back to "normal" coloring for the parts of the book not involving Jack. I liked the shift, definitely the night and day feel, and it worked great. Gave me a chance to catch my breath and ingest what was going on. Then the page with Proof smacking Lent the red comes out again. You can feel the anger in Proof action. Really looking forward to part 3 of this arc. I know I talked about the coloring alot this time, but it was so good with Riley's art, and Alex's story pacing.

I enjoyed the first back up, and seeing the little demon. Avoid Tibet? Hmmm...was that the snippet we saw in the Foreshadowing back-up? Or is that a seperate event?

And Kelly again bringing the goods with Archie Snow. I like his stories, and they are getting better each little bit we get to see. Plus seeing (oh man I forgot her name, it's late and I'm tired) the medusa again after what happened in the Archie Snow mini comic (yeah you can all be jealous) from a couple years ago was really cool, and it really made me more excited for the next installment. Keep it up Kelly.

And as soon as I learn how I'll start throwing some pics in my blog.