Proof (comics)
Encyclopedia
Proof is an American comic book
series
, published by Image Comics
and created by writer Alex Grecian and artist Riley Rossmo
. The story concerns John "Proof" Prufrock, a sasquatch, who works for a secret government organization. He hunts cryptids with his partner, Ginger Brown, and seeks clues to his past. The book was influenced by The X-Files
and Tarzan
.
The first issue was released on October 24, 2007
. Besides individual issues and trade paperbacks, Proof is also available on the iPhone
and iPod Touch
.
#7 (December 2006
). The black-and-white story, also created by Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo, shows Proof's battle with a skinwalker.
Besides his own title, Proof appeared in 2008's Image Monster Pile-Up, a one-shot anthology comic that also featured The Astounding Wolf-Man
, The Perhapanauts
, and Firebreather
.
that appears to be the work of a Bigfoot-like creature. The plot also details the transfer of Ginger Brown, a young female agent, from the F.B.I
to a secret organization called The Lodge. Once employed, Brown discovers that her partner is John "Proof" Prufrock, a Bigfoot
who works in secret for the U.S. government. Brown's first case with The Lodge concerns El Chupacabra
, a monster who masquerades as human by wearing the skin of its victims. Ginger and Proof also encounter a number of cryptozoological
fauna, including jackalopes
, a golem
, and the Cottingley Fairies
.
The second arc, "The Company of Men", follows Proof as he attempts to save a juvenile dinosaur
from poachers in the Congo
. The third arc is called "Thunderbirds Are Go!" and features dual main plots: Ginger and Elvis journey to New York City
to find Joe the golem, while Proof investigates sightings of condor-like thunderbirds
in rural Illinois
. "Thunderbirds Are Go!" guest-stars The Savage Dragon, another Image Comics character. The fourth arc, "Julia," is set in the mid-19th century. The story delves into Proof's past with his so-called "brother" Mi-Chen Po, and the plot is loosely based on the history of Julia Pastrana
. The fifth and final collection of the series entitled "Blue Fairies" gives readers a look at the maturation of male fairies, provides a brief look at the future of The Lodge, and concludes with the story "Who Killed the Dover Demon?" The final arc of the series sets the stage for the return of the character in a series of mini-series, the first of which is called Proof: Endangered.
:
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
, published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and created by writer Alex Grecian and artist Riley Rossmo
Riley Rossmo
Riley Rossmo is a Canadian comic book artist and illustrator from Saskatoon, SK known for his work on Image Comics titles.-Biography:Rossmo is a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design...
. The story concerns John "Proof" Prufrock, a sasquatch, who works for a secret government organization. He hunts cryptids with his partner, Ginger Brown, and seeks clues to his past. The book was influenced by The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
and Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
.
The first issue was released on October 24, 2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
. Besides individual issues and trade paperbacks, Proof is also available on the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
.
Publication history
The character of Proof first appeared in "Berserker", a short story published in Negative BurnNegative Burn
Negative Burn is a black-and-white anthology comic book published beginning in 1993 by Caliber Press, and subsequently by Image Comics and Desperado Publishing...
#7 (December 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
). The black-and-white story, also created by Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo, shows Proof's battle with a skinwalker.
Besides his own title, Proof appeared in 2008's Image Monster Pile-Up, a one-shot anthology comic that also featured The Astounding Wolf-Man
The Astounding Wolf-Man
The Astounding Wolf-Man is a comic book series launched by Image Comics on May 5, 2007. It ran until its final 25th issue in 2010. The series was created and written by Robert Kirkman with art by Jason Howard. The first issue of The Astounding Wolf-Man was given away for free as part of Free...
, The Perhapanauts
The Perhapanauts
The Perhapanauts is an American comic book series created by writer Todd Dezago and artist Craig Rousseau in 2005.The first two mini-series, "First Blood" and "Second Chances," were published by Dark Horse Comics, although it was announced on October 31, 2007, that forthcoming Perhapanauts comics...
, and Firebreather
Firebreather
Firebreather is a comic book created by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn and published by Image Comics. The series focuses on the life of a teenage half-dragon. The story has been told in a mini-series and a one-shot...
.
Plot
The first arc, "Goatsucker", concerns a cryptid attack in MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
that appears to be the work of a Bigfoot-like creature. The plot also details the transfer of Ginger Brown, a young female agent, from the F.B.I
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
to a secret organization called The Lodge. Once employed, Brown discovers that her partner is John "Proof" Prufrock, a Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
who works in secret for the U.S. government. Brown's first case with The Lodge concerns El Chupacabra
Chupacabra
The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
, a monster who masquerades as human by wearing the skin of its victims. Ginger and Proof also encounter a number of cryptozoological
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
fauna, including jackalopes
Jackalope
The jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail . The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope". It is also known as Lepus...
, a golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
, and the Cottingley Fairies
Cottingley Fairies
The Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10...
.
The second arc, "The Company of Men", follows Proof as he attempts to save a juvenile dinosaur
Mokèlé-mbèmbé
Mokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers" in the Lingala language, is the name given to a large water-dwelling cryptid found in legends and folklore of the Congo River basin. It is sometimes described as a living creature and sometimes as a spirit. It could be considered loosely...
from poachers in the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
. The third arc is called "Thunderbirds Are Go!" and features dual main plots: Ginger and Elvis journey to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to find Joe the golem, while Proof investigates sightings of condor-like thunderbirds
Thunderbird (cryptozoology)
Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures, generally identified with the Thunderbird of Native American tradition. Similar cryptids reported in the Old World are often called Rocs. Thunderbirds are regarded by a small number of researchers as having lizard...
in rural Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. "Thunderbirds Are Go!" guest-stars The Savage Dragon, another Image Comics character. The fourth arc, "Julia," is set in the mid-19th century. The story delves into Proof's past with his so-called "brother" Mi-Chen Po, and the plot is loosely based on the history of Julia Pastrana
Julia Pastrana
Julia Pastrana was a woman born with hypertrichosis who took part in 19th-century exhibition tours in Europe. Pastrana, an indigenous woman from Mexico, was born in 1834, somewhere in the Sierra of Sinaloa State. She had hypertrichosis terminalis; that is, her face and body were covered with...
. The fifth and final collection of the series entitled "Blue Fairies" gives readers a look at the maturation of male fairies, provides a brief look at the future of The Lodge, and concludes with the story "Who Killed the Dover Demon?" The final arc of the series sets the stage for the return of the character in a series of mini-series, the first of which is called Proof: Endangered.
Characters
- Proof: John Prufrock is a Bigfoot who works for The Lodge, a secret organization located in Washington. As a Bigfoot, he is vastly larger and more powerful than a human being. Proof is exceptionally cultured for a feral beast; he is often seen wearing expensive suits and custom-made shoes.
- Ginger Brown: A young FBI agent, Brown is transferred to The Lodge after a fateful encounter with a golemGolemIn Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She is young and brash, and does not know what to make of Proof, who is her new partner. - Leander Wight: The aged and wise manager of The Lodge. He is kindly, but mysterious.
- Elvis Aaron ChesnutElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
: A small-town sheriff who ends up joining The Lodge during the "Goatsucker" arc. - Wayne Russet: The gameskeeper of The Lodge. Wayne is Proof's best friend, and a surrogate 'mother' to many of the cryptids of The Lodge.
- Autumn Song: The hard-hearted assistant to Wayne.
- Mi-Chen Po: A mysterious yetiYetiThe Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
who has plans for Proof and Ginger. - Colonel Werner Dachshund: A villainous poacher who kills and devours cryptids.
Cryptids
Many fanciful creatures inhabit the world of Proof. While most harmlessly occupy the free-range habitat of The Lodge, several hostile cryptids run free in the wild and must be captured. These captures drive Proofs main plot.- JoeGolemIn Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
: An apparent golem living in New York City, Joe defends the city's Jewish population. - The Dover DemonDover DemonThe Dover Demon is an alleged cryptozoological creature sighted on three separate occasions during a 25-hour period in the town of Dover, Massachusetts on April 21 and April 22, 1977. It has remained a subject of interest for cryptozoologists ever since then...
: An enigmatic and gangly creature, the Demon can foretell the future. - Nadine: Also known as El ChupacabraChupacabraThe chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
or The Mexican Bigfoot, Nadine skins humans and wears their skins as a disguise. - Passenger pigeons: Birds, long thought extinct, which live in seclusion in The Lodge's habitat.
- dodosDodoThe dodo was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about , living on fruit, and nesting on the ground....
: The last of their species, the friendly dodos live in The Lodge. - JackalopesJackalopeThe jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail . The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope". It is also known as Lepus...
: These horned rabbits are kept with the dodos. - The Cottingley FairiesCottingley FairiesThe Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10...
: Vicious beasts that resemble small winged women, they are kept behind glass for the safety of the staff. Three male fairies (gigantic in size) are kept in seclusion. - GnomesGnomeA gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
: Tiny, meat-eating creatures that resemble senior citizens. - Brownies: Hairy little creatures with hostile intent.
- Mokele-mbembeMokèlé-mbèmbéMokèlé-mbèmbé, meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers" in the Lingala language, is the name given to a large water-dwelling cryptid found in legends and folklore of the Congo River basin. It is sometimes described as a living creature and sometimes as a spirit. It could be considered loosely...
: ApatosaurusApatosaurusApatosaurus , also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period . It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of and a...
-like dinosaurs that live harmlessly in The CongoRepublic of the CongoThe Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
. - ThunderbirdsThunderbird (cryptozoology)Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures, generally identified with the Thunderbird of Native American tradition. Similar cryptids reported in the Old World are often called Rocs. Thunderbirds are regarded by a small number of researchers as having lizard...
: Gigantic, vulture-like birds that are capable of snatching children.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Goatsucker (collects Proof #1-5, 128 pages, June 20082008 in comics-January:*January 9: Teen Titans: The Lost Annual, delayed since 2003, is published.*January 23: Hellblazer #240, marking the 20th anniversary of the series, is released.-February:...
, ISBN 1582409943) - The Company Of Men (collects Proof #6-9, 128 pages, December 2008, ISBN 1607060175)
- Thunderbirds Are Go! (collects Proof #10-16, 144 pages, July 2009, ISBN 1607061341)
- Julia (collects Proof #18-23, 128 pages, July 2010, ISBN 1607062852)
- Blue Fairies (collects "Proof" #24-28, 128 pages, December 28, 2010, ISBN 1607063484)
External links
- The first issue of Proof online at NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
- Grecian & Rossmo Establish "Proof", Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, October 16, 2008 - Interview with Alex Grecian about Proof, Comic Book Outsiders podcast
- Interview with Alex Grecian, Teenage Wasteland Podcast