Title: Footprints #4
Publisher: 215 Ink
Writer: Joey Esposito
Artist: Jonathan Moore
Cover: Jonathan Moore
“Iced: Conclusion“: It’s been nearly a year since Footprints hit the scenes back in March, and now the story arc finally reaches its end.
If you’ve been reading the series from the start, then you know what will come along. And for the rest, you have to read the previous issues before getting to this one. As this one is a finale and not in any way an entry point into the series.
As with any ending to a multi-issue story arc, some of you will be satisfied and others will be disappointed. If you’re solely looking for a major twist ending, I can promise you that you’ll be in the disappointment camp. I’m not going to spoil it for you, but if you’ve read the past three issues, then I can guarantee that you’ll know who the perpetrator is. If you’re simply looking for a decent conclusion to the series, then you’ll probably wind up satisfied.
Although Footprints #4 plays the noir role down to the tee, there is one difference. The issue doesn’t spend the entire time with Bigfoot giving a lengthy explanation of how he solved the case. Rather, it offers perhaps the most action out of all of the issues. Plenty of punches, kicks, and shark infested pools. Making it all feel very fast paced and action packed.
However, it does play the noir ending in almost every other aspect. Some panels of Bigfoot walking away whilst putting his fedora on felt like a scene directly from a Bogart film. Just put on your favorite jazz soundtrack and you’ll have a noirish narrator in your head while reading Footprints #4.
More important than the plot, though, is the talent behind it. As I say with all beginning indie talents, it’s a pleasure to watch them develop their chops with each issue. Joey Esposito finds his own complete voice, while making the characters feel even more like their own rather than nods to various hard boiled archetypes. Adam O. Pruett’s lettering hasn’t once gotten in the way or felt too hard to read in this issue. And Jonathan Moore’s drawing has been sharper, more defined, and makes sure no two panels are the same.
All in all, I felt that Footprints was a satisfying read. It gave me my hard boiled fix, albeit with mythological creatures and waffles. Still, the ending of Footprints #4 leaves a lot of avenues the series could go down. Perhaps avenues I haven’t even seen before in a noir tale. But regardless of whether the team decides to give Bigfoot another case to solve or move on to other projects, I look forward to seeing what they have in store next.
Andrew Hudson
ahudson@comicattack.net
@Hudsonian
