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Project Cryptid #6: Big Shoes to Fill

The cover of Project Cryptid #6 from AHOY comics. Two Polaroid photos lay on a manila folder, each one contains an image from one of the featured stories and their creator credits. On the left, a side profile shot of a dopey bigfoot character. Title: Big Shoes to Fill. By Mattie Lubchansky and Maki Naro. On the right, a small, scared, green creature with big yellow eyes and a mouth covered in blood. Title: Cabron. By Matt Bors and Daniel Irizarri.
A manicured hand with long red nails holds a smartphone. On the screen the interface of an app called TapTap plays a video of a woman with pink hair in a green tank top and black tights dancing with a large brown furred bigfoot creature. The bigfoot is very handsome, with a square jaw, parted hair, and a vague resemblance to JFK. The woman introduces herself: Hey guys, It's your girl, Izzy_Zizzy and the rumors are totally true: The Brand new social cryptid, Hefty Jake? He's got the moves! She whirls around in an inset panel, her face red with bulging veins, shouting: HEY, MOTHERFUCKER! A cameraman in an elaborate steadycam rig stands in the background.
A brown skinned man with floppy green hair and septum piercing who has a vague Shaggy from Scooby Doo look about him is looking over his shoulder as he takes a selfie. In the smartphone camera view is the red angry face of Izzy_Zizzy. From off panel she yells "Wait your turn and get out of my shot!" Behind the green haired guy, Kev, is a line of influencers with selfie sticks, multiple phones, waiting for their turn with Hefty Jake. Everybody is slightly grumpy, including Kev. He and Izzy_Zizzy argue because she is taking too long and Hefty Jake has limited time because of an upcoming movie deal. Kev leaves in a huff, saying "Fuck Hefty Jake! Enjoy your fake clout, phonies!"
2 days later, Kev records a livestream from a dense PNW forest. The shot looks up at him with the sunlight peeking through the dense canopy. He explains: "Hey Y'All, Kevlyn_Videos here in the woods of Oregon. Today I wanted to find the original mythical ape of legend: Bigfoot!" At the bottom of the panel, a peanut gallery of chat members with names like "Cryptych" and "Swampapppe" comment on the video. As Kev talks, the scene grows more perilous, first he's in a forest, then he's climbing a sheer cliff with a raging river below. He falls with a shriek and the camera view goes spinning in a blur of the trees. Then the view is half submerged in the river. Kev can be seen in the background flailing while in the foreground a surprised trout looks at the camera. The scene goes black and and swampapppe comments: He's dead I think. Might unfollow.
Kev is lying on soft brown fur, drooling. His eyes open and he picks up his head and says "my phone!" The horizontal trees behind him and the way the string of drool falls gives away that he is being carried by bigfoot. In contrast to Hefty Jake, this bigfoot is dumpy and doughy with flat thinning hair and a dull look on his face. He picks Kev off his shoulder who asks "So uh, who does your vids?"
Two comic books lie on a coffee table. The floppy issue of Project Cryptid #6 and Volume 1 of the Project Cryptid trade paperback.

Description

An excerpt from Issue #6 of Project Cryptid, published by AHOY Comics.

Mattie graciously asked me to illustrate their submission to AHOY!'s anthology series. While we had worked together during Mattie's tenure as an editor at The Nib, this was our first comic collaboration. It was so much fun getting to bring one of their stories to life.

Additional Credits