Does that sasquatch look familiar?
Bigfoot Bill is a graphic novel series written and illustrated by Earthworm Jim creator, Doug TenNapel, and is meant to serve as a Spiritual Successor to the Earthworm Jim franchise.
After attempting to pitch the series to various studios for years without success, TenNapel announced in 2018 an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for Bigfoot Bill: Shadow of the Mothman, which successfully its goal. In 2020, TenNapel launched a campaign for the second volume, Bigfoot Bill: Finger of Poseidon, which was also successfully funded.
The story follows the titular Bigfoot Bill, who lives in the Crypto-zone, a deep-state facility which houses and hides strange oddities from the general public. When Bill attempts to escape when he discovers he is not The Last of His Kind, he ends up being captured and meets Poseidon, who promises to help Bill escape and reunite with his family if he brings him his severed finger. Bill succeeds but ends up gaining control of the Kraken, which merges with his body and becomes something of a super suit for Bill. Posiedon escapes with the intention of taking revenge upon humanity and Bill by summoning a giant tidal wave. Will Bill be able to stop Poseidon and reunite with his family?
Watch the original crowdfunding pitch for the first volume here
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The series contains examples of the following tropes:
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General
- Aerith and Bob: The names of the Cryptos are Chupa (short for chupacabra), Judgy the Unicorn, The Jersey Devil, The Jackalope, the Slender Man, and the Mothman. Our hero is Bill.
- Area 51: The Crypto-zone, which was formally known as Casa de los Condenados, which translates to "The House of the Damned", is a deep-state facility located in the heart of Los Angeles, California that houses strange oddities, like the Sasquatch, the Kraken, the Chupacabra, Mothman, you name it, and are all kept out of public sight. It's also where the story begins.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Bill's a bigfoot who has the power to summon plants. He's led to believe he's the Last of His Kind, but discovers he was taken from his family.
- Fusion Dance: When Bill gains control over the Kraken, it fuses with Bill to become something of a super suit for him, granting him even more special abilities, and can merge with other objects such as a motorcycle.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Poseidon and the Kraken. They even lived in the same cell together for 170 years while trapped in the Crypto-Zone.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Bill is this to Earthworm Jim due to the similarities in their visual design. Their faces look identical, Bill also wears the Kraken as a super suit, which has phenomenal powers and even grants him whipping abilities similar to Snott, and both characters are said to have childish, innocent personalities. Some of the promo art on the Indiegogo page, the announcement video, and physical rewards clearly mimic the cover art for the first Earthworm Jim game (as seen above) and the "Groovy!" screen. Mind you, this was all before TenNapel announced the recent Earthworm Jim (2019) graphic novel series.
Book 1: Shadow of the Mothman
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Drew, one of the scientists of the Crypto-Zone, is attacked by Poseidon and frantically begs him to not kill him, even though he tried to shoot Poseidon in the back with a tranquilizer dart while the latter was drinking water. This is lampshaded by Poseidon before he finishes Drew off.
- Apologetic Attacker: The Mothman feeds on a bird to regain his strength, and apologizes to it before he bites off its head.
- Big Bad: Mothman, as seen in the cover art.
- Bloodless Carnage: Many examples, both played straight and subverted.
- Subverted, when Bigfoot Bill punches a guard in the face, the latter's tooth comes out along with some blood.
- More or less subverted. Poseidon grabs a human scientist by the coat, shapeshifts his head into a shark head, and straight-up chomps the scientist in half and spews out a lot of blood! Of course, the worst parts were all shown with red silhouettes in a black background, but then again, blood is red too.
- Shortly afterward, however, Poseidon is conveniently shown to have no bloodstains on him.
- Mothman bites a guard in the arm, yet no blood is shown.
- Mothman grabs a bird and eats its head off, yet, all we see is just feathers falling out of the former's mouth, and the decapitated bird body.
- A subversion: Mothman's death sequence shows him disintegrating into skeletal parts and red stuff that's either his blood, guts, or both. All of his remains gets sucked into the gates of Hades.
- The Cameo: On page 80 of the reprint, Earthworm Jim can be seen among the escaping cryptos. Though he is only seen from the back.
- On the next page, a Skullmonkey can also be seen among the cryptos.
- Clingy MacGuffin: Poseidon's Finger. Once Bill uses it, it sticks to the gauntlet he wears and the agents can't get it off.
- Deadpan Snarker: The Kraken. He's not exactly thrilled to be Bill's new servant/suit, and he doesn't hide the scorn he feels towards him.
- Death of the Old Gods: Poseidon tells Bill that Zeus is dead. Hades also granted him control of his faithful servant, the Kraken, when he died.
- Dragon with an Agenda: The Mothman is introduced as a loyal servant to Poseidon, but his desire to cover the world in his shadow outweighs his loyalty.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Mothman has the ability to look into the future and foresees "a terrible gate" that will be built by friendship. However, because he does not understand the concept of friendship, he cannot see where and when it will happen. He is especially perplexed by the fact the Bigfoot Bill is friends with Agent Beckner, of all people, or species for that matter.
- Familiar: The Kraken. It was originally a loyal servant of Hades, who in his final moments placed all authority of it under the finger of Poseidon. Once Bill steals Poseidon's finger, he summons the Kraken and it's forced to follow Bill's every command, much to his shame and annoyance.
- Foreshadowing: The Mothman can see into the future, and sees that Bill is somehow connected to The Glooming. He also sees "a terrible gate". It's a case of Forseeing My Death, as the gate rips him to pieces.
- Great Escape: Bill tries to escape from the Crypto Zone when he finds out his family may still be alive. He manages to escape after taking Poseidon's finger and gaining control of the Kraken, and the other Cryptos are able to follow him out.
- Jail Bake: When Bill is put in a cell, Chupa gives Bill a taco and has to point out the nail file that's inside. Bill's not sure what to do with it.
- Jerkass: Bigfoot Bill counts as one. Despite his mostly-friendly nature, he can be at times very harsh towards the other cryptos.
- While Bigfoot Bill tries to escape the Crypto-guards, he encounters a slime creature who greets him. Bill immediately grabs the slime creature and pastes it onto one of the guard's face, blinding him.
- When a pair of walking pants walks up and asks Bill and his friends if he could join in on their game, Bill outright rejects him because... he's a pair of pants, and they're animals. The pants then runs away crying, and Bill's friends call him out for his bigotry.
- Jerkass Gods: Poseidon tries using Bill for his own purposes, kills several agents, and aims to destroy Los Angeles.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When Bill escapes from the Crypto-Zone, General Skinner blames Beckner for not going through with wiping Bill's brain, which allowed him to break out of the Crypto-Zone along with everyone else in it, unleashing Poseidon and the Mothman. He's not wrong.
- The Jersey Devil: One of the Cryptos is the actual Jersey Devil.
- Love Interest: Agent Sharon is this for Agent Beckner, and he's even gone so far as to ask Bill for dating advice.
- Luxury Prison Suite: The Crypto-Zone is actually a prison for all of the creatures of the night, although they're told they're being kept safe from the public. They're all treated very well, have their own lounge where no humans are allowed, and Beckner tries his best to keep the occupants happy. But that doesn't mean they want to stay, though.
- The Mole: At the end, it is revealed that the Chupacabra secretly works for Poseidon. This was foreshadowed a few times when Chupa cheered for Poseidon for helping all the cryptos escape the Crypto-zone, and not to mention that Poseidon somehow knows Chupa's name.
- Monster Clown: Discussed. When the Mothman goes on his rampage to absorb the fear of civilians and become more powerful, Bill suggests hiring clowns to keep people from being afraid. Beckner points out that clowns are terrifying.
- The Mothman: One of the cryptos and the antagonist of the first volume.
- Nice Guy: Agent Beckner genuinely cares about Bill and the other Cryptos, and refuses to wipe Bill's brain when he's ordered to. And not just because he gets dating advice from the bigfoot.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Beckner refuses to follow orders to wipe Bill's mind, which not only allows for Bill's escape, but the rest of the Cryptos, including Poseidon and the Mothman.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Beckner has Bill pull this to convince the agents his mind has been wiped when it hasn't.
- Odd Friendship: Agent Beckner and Bigfoot Bill. Beckner tries his best to keep the Cryptos happy, but goes to Bill for dating advice.
- One-Winged Angel:
- A non-villainous example. Bigfoot Bill, along with the Kraken, invoke the power of Hades by simultaneously saying "Shemok Hemagog". and turn into a larger, a much more terrifying monster known as Kraken Bill
- Reality Warper: The Kraken's true power is sealed behind the Gates of Hades, and during the fight against the Mothman, Bill uses the gate to absorb the Mothman's shadow powers and then some. When it's over, it's pure daytime... at 10 at night.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Mothman has large red eyes and thrives on fear, and is determined to cover the world in its shadow. Eye contact allows him to see into people's memories and their fear, the latter of which he feeds upon.
- She's Not My Girlfriend: When Sharon asks Beckner if he wants to go for coffee, Bill thinks it means that they're dating. Beckner points out they're not at that stage yet, unfortunately.
- Shipper on Deck: Bill is one for Beckner and Sharon.
- Shock and Awe: The Electric Moat is a deadly high-voltage security trap designed to keep the Cryptos from escaping. It prevents Bill from escaping the first time, and becomes the barrier when the others try to escape later on. After taking Poseidon's finger, he's able to absorb electrical energy through his gauntlet and use it.
- Shout-Out: As the Kraken merges his body with Bigfoot Bill's, the latter says that he feels "lovecrafty" all over. Though the Kraken points out that Bill never even read Lovecraft.
- The Starscream: The Mothman is loyal to Poseidon, but when he's ordered not to absorb the fears of others and use his shadow powers, he believes it's because Poseidon fears him. Not only does he defy his orders, but he turns against Poseidon and tries to feed on his fear to become more powerful than him.
- Take That!: One of the panels takes a direct swipe at Nancy Pelosi.
- There Is Another: Bigfoot Bill was told all his life that there are no other sasquatches like him. But then when he sneaks into General Skinner's office to peek through his files, he finds a photo of him with his parents as a child. Realizing that he was lied to, he intends to escape the Crypto-Zone and find his family.Bigfoot Bill: You said I was the only one! You lied to me! THEY ALL LIED TO ME!!
- Toilet Humor: Bill poops himself when he's wearing the Kraken, but the Kraken tells him that his innards are an inter-dimensional supernatural construct, which flushes very, very far away from there. We see where the poop lands. More than once.
- Took a Level in Badass: Bill was already powerful enough as a bigfoot, but once he gets the power of Poseidon's finger and the Kraken merges with him, he becomes even more powerful.
- Updated Re-release: A reprint of Shadow of the Mothman was introduced with the second volume's crowdfunding campaign. The original book had 96 pages, and the reprint has 160 pages.
- Winged Humanoid: The Mothman. Even his face has more human features.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- One example is played for laughs. When Bigfoot Bill sees a kid nearby, the Kraken attached to his chest politely asks, "Can I eat it?"
- The next example is played more seriously. Mothman scours the city looking to absorb fear from one person, and he swoops in and kidnaps Georgia Lee, that same aforementioned kid that Bigfoot Bill befriended not too long ago.
- You Have Failed Me: Downplayed. The general who runs the Crypto-zone berates Beckner for not using the brain scrambler on Bigfoot Bill when he had the chance, which inadvertently caused all the cryptos to break free from the Crypto-zone and wreak havoc in Los Angeles. The general then immediately fires Beckner as a result.
The Story of Poseidon
- Downer Ending: Poseidon, who finally found the woman he loves after nearly dying of thirst, was shocked to learn that the woman actually faked love with him and was really trying to lure him out of the ocean. She calls his fiancee to cut off Poseidon's finger because she somehow knew they contain both the powers of Hades and Zeus. Afterward, Poseidon and the Kraken are both hauled off to Los Angeles to be imprisoned for 170 years, while being given nothing to drink. OUCH.
- Epigraph: The story begins with a poem written by an archaeologist named, Dr. Phillip Andelman."Fallen art thou, once mighty sovereign of the sea. Who is she that struck thee? Did she side in and make thy smile widen? What maiden can sink and break the heart of Poseidon? Do not look for thy brothers, for they shall not enter the halls of Olympus again. Do fear parting with thy finger, for therein lies the power of the Kraken, and we all are bound to his coils."
- Et Tu, Brute?: Happens when it's revealed that the woman never really loved Poseidon and orders her fiancee to cut his finger off.
- Evil All Along: The woman that Poseidon loves. What may seem like she's stranded at sea on a rowboat is actually part of a convoluted scheme to lure Poseidon out of the ocean, and then capture him. She somehow knows that Poseidon holds the powers of Zeus and Hades through his finger, and sees him as a "threat to the land". When she finally has Poseidon at her mercy, she calls her fiance to cut off his finger. Then Poseidon, along with the Kraken, were taken to Los Angeles where they would spend the rest of their lives locked away in the Crypto-zone until the events of "Shadow of the Mothman".
- Femme Fatale: The woman that Poseidon has feelings for.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: A major theme. The existance of the greek gods' depend on the belief of men. But then in 1859, when Charles Darwin published a book titled, "The Origin of Species", man's belief in the gods have dwindled to the point where even Hades and Zeus, both finding no reason to live on, have perished. Poseidon, however, lives on the belief of animals, therefore possibly making him the last living greek god.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: Poseidon pulls this off towards the woman he loves shortly after hearing that she's engaged. He caused the oceans to shake, a twister to appear, caused multiple sea creatures to appear with him standing on the tallest one. The setup was so glorious that the kraken thought for sure it would work.Poseidon: And wherefore do not you consider this day an invitation to rule the ocean? And leave forever the earth's decay to take the hand that put it in motion?
- Lightning Can Do Anything: Right after Zeus dies and transfers his powers over to Poseidon, a great bolt of lighting appears out of nowhere and strikes Poseidon, giving him the elemental power of electricity.
- Love Makes You Crazy: The stranded woman whom Poseidon had feelings for was already engaged to another man. He was heartbroken when the woman's fiancee returned to her three days later. After all that, Poseidon tries to forget about her and move on but was too unsatisfied with ruling the ocean alone. So he leaves the ocean and travels on dry land to find his lady. But having been out of the water for so long with nothing to drink did him absolutely no favors; he loses his tail, some of his scales, and nearly died of thirst. He was still determined to find the love of his life, even at the cost of his own life. What makes this worse is that the woman never really loved Poseidon and was actually trying to lure him out of the ocean, capture him, and imprison him in Los Angeles. This renders all of Poseidon's efforts to find love absolutely meaningless.
- Rejected Marriage Proposal: When Poseidon kneels and declares his love for the stranded woman, she tells him that she's already engaged. Poseidon decides to double down on his proposal.
- Satan Is Good: Hades, the god of the underworld, is implied to be this. On the very first page, he is seen fatally ill and laying on his bed, because man's belief in the gods is quickly fading away. Finding no more reason to live on, he gives everything he owns (and the Kraken) to Poseidon. The fact that the Kraken is heartbroken that his former master died also implies this trope.
- Thirsty Desert: While both Poseidon and the Kraken look for the woman, they travel on dry land where is no water to be found. Being out of the ocean for so long has not done them any favors at all, with Poseidon losing his scales and his tail. After a long while, with nothing to drink, they both collapse somewhere at Death Valley, CA. But they were luckily rescued ...OR WERE THEY???
- This Cannot Be!: Uttered by Poseidon when he sees that the woman he loves was just trying to lure him to a trap.
- Wham Line:Woman: I'm not your lady, idiot! ...But we had to get you out of the water somehow!
Book 2: Finger of Poseidon
- Big Good: Diana, the woman whom Poseidon had feelings for, is this.
- Big "NEVER!": Uttered by Skunk Ape after Bounty Mantis tells him to submit, then a fight begins.
- Catchphrase: Bounty Mantis' "You will submit".
- Cool Bike: After Bill steals a motorcycle, the Kraken merges with it and changes its appearance so they can chase Poseidon.
- Death of Personality: Agent Sharon is actually Diana the Fairy Queen, but had her memories taken away until she was needed. Once her memories are returned to her, Diana doesn't remember anything about her time as Sharon or her feelings towards Agent Beckner. He leaves frustrated that the woman he fell for never existed, but a part of her still feels safe being around him.
- Distant Prologue: While the book takes place precisely after the events of "Shadow of the Mothman", the story begins with a flashback that dates all the way back to 750 B.C. and takes place at the shores of Greece.
- Dramatic Unmask: Agent Beckner unmasks Bounty Mantis while the latter begged him not to. Mantis is immediately revealed to be Polyphemus, the same child from the prologue who got his face mutated by Poseidon.
- I Have No Son!: The book starts with a maiden Thoosa summoning Poseidon so he can meet their son Polyphemus, but Poseidon rejects him and leaves him disfigured, and departs by quoting the trope name.
- The Mole: Judgy betrays Bill and gives Poseidon his finger back in exchange for the location of his remaining family.
- Pokémon Speak: GOLAAAAG speaks his name when he roars. This trope gets lampshaded when Bill asks who the giant monster is, only for the Kraken to say, "Didn't you hear? It's GOLAAAAG!"
- The Reveal:
- It's revealed that Bigfoot Bill was taken from his family at the request of his own mother, since the remaining bigfoots ended up being cursed by their use of plant magic, but did so willingly to prevent Poseidon's army from freeing him. Because of this, Bill is the last remaining bigfoot who is free from the curse.
- The Bounty Mantis is actually Polyphemus, the same greek child from over 2000 years ago who was cursed with an ugly face by Poseidon. He always wears a mask to conceal his ruined face.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: An interesting subversion. The Kraken catches the Chupacabra trying to kill Bill and devours him entirely. The Chupacabra ends up in another dimension with other lost beings, which turns out to be his family.
- Ruder and Cruder: While Book 1 relatively didn't have swearing at all, Book 2 has several profane uses of "hell" and one "bastard child".
- Shut Up, Kirk!: After Judgy betrays Bill and gives the finger to Poseidon, Poseidon gives Judgy directions to his family as promised. But Bill yells at Judgy that if Poseidon floods the world, his family will drown. Judgy ignores Bill and tells him that none of this would have happened if Bill hadn't stolen the finger and left the Crypto-zone to search for his family.
- That Man Is Dead: When Agent Beckner approaches Agent Sharon, whose memories have been returned to her, she says that her name is Diana and Agent Sharon is no more.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Poseidon. After being locked away for nearly two centuries after being betrayed by Diana, it makes sense why he seeks revenge on humanity by wanting to flood the whole Earth.
- Villainous Breakdown: Poseidon as he and the Kraken are being forcibly pulled into Hades by Tartarus.Poseidon: I HAAATE EVERYONE!!!
Kraken: That attitude will get you far.
