Indie Spotlight – Carmen Costa & Riccardo Cecchi’s PROCTOR

There is no telling what kind of story you’re going to get once you begin diving into your local comics scene. Growing up in South Jersey, I’ve been blessed by the presence of creatives who’ve found new storytelling angles within the well-worn territory that is pulp horror. Joining the likes of Jersey Devil and Vampires of New Jersey with industry-level art and writing, Carmen Costa’s Proctor has cut through the never-ending noise of new comic releases for me in a way that blew my expectations out of the water.

Samantha Hale’s journey through the supernatural world her parents dumped upon her strikes a precise balance between the genre fun of contemporary horror and globe-trotting adventure by never straying from its character-driven focus. For all of its well-paced action and exhilarating twists, the heart of this story comes down to one person trying to maintain the poisoned relationships she has with her mother, her friends, and herself. Sam is, just like so many of us are, struggling with the weight of their elders’ world on their shoulders, her vices a useless escape from the problems shoved upon youth by the nefarious motivations of those who promise to protect them.

This is a contemporary world run by the hands of secret covens, vampire gangs, and worldwide magicka that are constantly hunting for permission to dogmatically control whatever they can. This is all established in the blink of an eye, as the reader is thrown into this world as though it is no different than the one outside their window. There’s no need for lengthy explanations of the evils that occur at the hands of the silent elite, the book instead spending most of its effort ensuring that you come to love Sam just as much as she wishes to be. Her boozing and predilection for the thrill of thankless sex are all side effects of a gaping hole inside her, established by her upbringing in a way that errs more on the side of her emotions and autonomy struggling against parental manipulation, and less on straight-cut, shock-value abuse.

Establishing that should come at the cost of pace, something that the book refuses to let up on. Instead of slowing the book down, Costa included two short stories derived from the original novel he penned that would later become this comic. Both explore Sam and her relationship with her mother from one of the messiest points in her life, and although the quality of prose pales in comparison to the actual comic pages, its simple etiquette really helped envelop me further within Sam’s mind, leaving more room for the main story to have its cake and eat it too. This doesn’t work with every comic, but the choice to frame these stories almost like diary entries from Sam helps them fit nicely into the overall fabric of this first volume.

Her side cast is also allowed more time to shine due to this. Costa makes the best of his panel space in fleshing out dynamics between Sam, her mother, and friends both new and old through snappy dialogue that paints a million memories with only a few panels. There is such deep love and consideration for every named individual in this series, thus far, that it helps elevate the world in this book into something grander than the narrative’s intent.

A huge part of Proctor is its dark twist on the adventure story format, as Sam moves from place to place to protect an artifact of incredible supernatural value. This takes her from the aforementioned stillness of Maine to the low-light-ridden glow of Italy, all without ever forgetting the character’s distinctly “New Jersey” heritage. While the art team immaculately captures the thrill of each and every cryptid encounter in this first volume, I was more impressed with their ability to capture each and every setting we visit in a distinct, atmospheric manner. Even when we dive into more fictitious territory, it’s all woven with the same approach and tone. In reading this, you’d believe that there are dragons sleeping in the catacombs of Rome, and vampire crime families stalking the streets of Philadelphia.