Proof #16

Issue #16 was incredible. As much as I love the stories in Proof and the meaty arcs of great drama and action I am starting to appreciate these between story stories. The characters day off type of stories. This is an amazingly underutilized portion of story telling that most comic book writers miss and Alex Grecian nails with a two ton hammer. The story is always mindful to tie up loose ends when needed and leave others out there when there is more story to tell. The drama with Noel and his dad Wayne was a great moment and a real life issue that you do not see most people willing to address let alone tackle in a comic. Belinda joining The Lodge was an interesting twist and I would love to see her and Elvis in action. There is a lot of potential with them as partners. Proof and Bella was a nice moment, especially seeing how her husband died. The character development continues to push forward and build upon the greatness that has already been established. I am excited to see that Marc is now a player and staying in the game.

Riley knocked it out of the park again with the art.. though there was a weird shadowing on Elvis in one panel after he talked to Dover Demon… yes that is picky when you talk about a single panel but that is Riley’s art – perfect each and every time so it is odd when anything is a little off. I loved the return of Autumn and how that was played out in the end. I am not sure if that was Alex’s idea of Riley’s idea but you nailed it. For all of the challenges you had with this issue (drawing 9 real fans into different pages) you killed it. Loved the tributes you paid on the various pages that were used for inspiration from the originals. You just have an incredible style and I cannot get enough of your art.

Great back-up story by Alex and Paul. You crammed even more greatness into a already great book. I also appreciate and enjoyed all of the letters in the back of the book, not just because they were all about me dying, but because they were fun and Alex appreciated them enough to put them in the book. Very rarely does a creator listen to their audience but Alex not only listens but he is part of the fun. Riley and Alex put out the best book month-in and month-out… it is just a bonus that they are two of the coolest guys on this planet.

Not to be forgotten is THE LIAR back-up story by our man Kelly. I am looking forward to going back and reading the whole story in one sitting. Archie Snow seems like a fun character that you can do a lot of things with and I hope we get more of his adventures.

A Plus to Team Proof for knocking it out of the park 12 different ways. There are so many people complaining about crap books right now that should be checking this title out. Brilliant each and every time.

Until next time…. I believe in Monsters