Project Cryptid #8: What is Society?

Urban legends straddle a line between horror and absurdity. They capture the imagination even when they’re easily dismissed. Project Cryptid delivers multiple stories in each issue tracking these strange creatures. In Project Cryptid #8, two of them try to interact with everyday human society–to mixed results.

Project Cryptid #8 delivers two comic stories and two prose pieces. This issue features the New Jersey Devil and Florida’s Skunk Ape. “Devil’s Advocate” follows the New Jersey Devil as he tries to reclaim his name from sports teams, such as the hockey team the New Jersey Devils, who he feels disrespects him. Friends at the coffee shop where he hangs out suggest that he sue the team. “Florida Man: Passion of the Skunk Ape” follows the titular character as he makes himself presentable in an attempt to join society. Unfortunately he has no concept of what society is, and mishaps with the likes of an airboat driver and gas station attendant only serve to reinforce his confusion while simultaneously putting him on the wrong side of the law. The two prose pieces have very different tones with the first detailing how animals have overrun an office in very specific ways, and the second examining crows going through an existential crisis.

Tongue-in-cheek humor sits at the center of both comic stories in Project Cryptid #8. “Devil’s Advocate” leans on it the most, forming the entire backbone of the story. The plot’s central joke isn’t a particularly clever one, and it definitely reads as though the story is lampooning the current renaming trend.

Despite that, the New Jersey Devil (or JD) has a definite personality. His sensibilities resemble characters from old Saturday morning cartoons. This actually leans into the story’s ending which is the part of the plot’s underlying humor that works the best. There is an amusing reversal of the type visited upon hard luck main characters and put upon sidekicks. A classic example would be almost every cartoon starring Daffy Duck (though the trope certainly isn’t limited to older cartoons).

Perhaps the story’s most amusing joke is when a lawyer hands JD his business card with “attorney” having been handwritten beneath the equally handwritten “plumber” and the originally printed “electrician.” It’s a common joke (The Simpsons’ Lionel Hutz comes to mind as a repeat offender), but it’s a classic for a reason.

Ellis’ art further reflects this cartoon aesthetic. Human characters’ expressions are exaggerated and JD himself is an over the top, larger than life character even taking into account his monstrous appearance. The coloring contributes to this as well with the art being rich and vibrant.

The second story in Project Cryptid #8, on the other hand, takes its odd humor and weaves it into a story that is strangely abstract and even thought provoking. Whether “Florida Man: Passion of the Skunk Ape” intends to go in that direction with the Skunk Ape’s constant confusion over what society is or it’s just a happy accident, the thoughtfulness balances with the story’s ridiculousness to create a kind of tension that makes it compelling to the end.

One of the story’s final jokes mentions Florida’s governor (though not by name). More so than anything else in this story, how it lands might be a product of how much the reader is paying attention to current events and whether they have strong opinions on them. But it is vague enough that it won’t date the story.

The Skunk Ape’s quest to join society and his curiosity over what that is at each step along the way is what makes this story land. The quest feels almost abstract and society itself comes off as a joke in and of itself.

Characters in this story are more subtly expressive. Yeowell’s more detailed line work creates contrast from panel to panel that reflects change in emotion without things like exaggerated mouth shapes or overly large eyes. This works particularly well with Skunk Ape who frequently displays sad confusion. Troy’s softer coloring plays into this same aesthetic, helping to provide a measure of seriousness to the absurd moments.

Lettering in both stories generally stays out of the way. There are a few sound effects, but neither letterer plays them up to the detriment of the art. Dialogue text is also restrained.