The discovery of these creatures captured my imagination, going as far as my declaration to my teachers in middle school that I was going to become a Cryptozoologist when I grew up. I’ve since moved on to greater pastures, but anything in the world that deals with cryptids is still a hindrance on my productivity.
I’ve always wondered why there was a lack of these creatures in comic books. They have an infinite well of myths and stories behind them, the possibilities would be endless. Then I heard about this comic book Footprints and I was beyond intrigued. Cryptids thrown into the mix of a noir underworld? I am there with bells on.
This unlikely, but engaging, concoction is brought to us by Joey Esposito and Jonathan Moore. The pair have created a a gritty world inhabited by our favorite Not-yet-proven-to-exist characters, Bigfoot, Nessie, La Chupacabra, and the Jersey Devil.
I think what makes this book really work is the way Esposito has crafted the voices of these characters. Not only in terms of their actual written dialogue, but the way he writes them. It’s not hard to read the Jersey Devil in a New Jersey accent, but his style of speaking and characteristics make him stand out as his own character when compared to the others in the cast. The same goes for Nessie and the others, but the most important being Bigfoot. Esposito has nailed the noir sensibilities and channeled them through Bigfoot. At no point in the story does it feel like we’re being talked to by the writer, Esposito is immersed in these characters and he’s made them come alive in that regard.
Of course, the earmark of any great comic is not only that the words give the characters life but that the art does the same. Jonathan Moore has taken the best visual approach possible to a noir themed monster book. While all of the monsters look great, the one that really sticks out is the Jersey Devil. Easily the most peculiar looking of the cryptids and Moore’s design for him fits well into the mythos but still retains a flair of the character’s personality from the story.
I must also compliment the way he creates the mood for the comic. If it weren’t for the way he sets the tone for the entire story it might not play as well as it does. Not only within the pages but the covers for the individual issues capture the essence of that arc of the story and are also very beautiful. There’s really only a handful of panels that I had trouble distinguishing what the action was or who the character was, but those few do not outweigh the creativity that fuels the rest of the pages.
Not only is this just an all around good noir comic but it has a lot for cryptid lovers and enthusiasts. The attention put into the detail of the myths surrounding each character and the subtle ways it is inserted into the story feels like a love letter to those of us that already knew these beasts before we read the comic.
Footprints is a great start to what I hope will be a long lasting series. There are so many different creatures and legends in the world about these kinds of monsters, as well as noir genre tropes that this shouldn’t be the ending. Though their first adventure was a good read and a nice foray into the universe, I think the best is yet to come for this band of misfits.
Got an interest in reading Footprints? Well you’re in luck, you can read the entire first issue FOR FREE by clicking here.
