Early Review – The Cape (Volume 1, Book 1) by Joe Hill, Jason Ciaramella, and Zach Howard (3/5 stars)
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Horror
Size: 132 pages
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 29, 2012
ISBN: 978-1613771969
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Cape series
Source: eARC from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars
I got the first chapter of The Cape volume 1 to review through netgalley(dot)com. This looks to be a rather dark and disturbing comic, not surprising given that Joe Hill also writes Locke and Key (which I love). The first chapter was interesting and well done but didn’t completely sell me on the comic yet.
Eric suffered a horrible accident as a child and as a result he uses the Blue Cape that gives him superpowers for evil. This initial chapter shows the reader Eric’s past and then shows a quick story about how he used the Cape for evil. Definitely an adults only comic. In the first chapter there is nudity, gore, and language.
The flashback to Eric’s past was a little confusing. The only reason I knew what was going on is because I read the synopsis for The Cape. It took me a bit to realize that the kid in the hospital bed was Eric as a kid. The illustration is very detailed and well done, muted colors match the dark theme of the story.
Although the concept of a Cape used by a superhero gone evil is interesting I wasn’t totally drawn into the story. The first chapter greats us with a gory description of a woman who has thrown herself off of a building, a somewhat gratuitous scene of a naked woman having sex with Eric’s brother, and a scene in which police are mauled to death by a bear. The Locke and Key series drew me in and was really interesting and mysterious from the get-go. I think The Cape has potential but in this chapter all I see is a lot of violence and gore and I can’t see what larger plot the story is hinting at.
This is one of those things where I think I am going to need to hold my judgement until I get to read more of the book. Everything is decently done, but I am not sure if the story will be intriguing enough to stick with given how incredibly dark it is. I am not really a horror fan; and if I am going to do horror I need a heavy fantasy element to hold my attention.
Overall I am not sure about this one. It seems well done, but the first chapter didn’t provide enough story to draw me in. I would personally recommend waiting to see what initial reviews of the whole book end up saying. Unless you are a bit fan of horror graphic novels, this might appeal more to horror fans.
