The Cape: Fallen #2
Writer: Joe Hill, Jason Ciaramella
Artist: Zack Howard
Colourist: Nelson Daniel
Letterer: Robbie Robbins
Publisher: IDW
A review by Stephanie Pouliotte
The Cape: Fallen #2 continues the story of Eric’s first time donning the notorious cape, as he prepares to join a group of LARPers he found occupying his father’s cabin in the last issue. While things didn’t get bloody when he discovered the young adventurers squatting in his childhood memories, not that he didn’t consider it, in this issue shit certainly hit the fan… or should I say tree.
We start on a flashback of Eric’s childhood camping trip with his father and brother at the cabin. Hill continues to break down Eric’s psyche, giving us insight into his dissent towards infamy. The first pages are disarming. Despite knowing what he’s capable of and that this foray into the woods won’t change the events of the original series, you can’t help but feel a little empathy as Eric awkwardly tries to fit in with the group. He genuinely seems to want to join in the nerdy fun and forget his troubles. There’s also an element of redemption and forgiveness at play, as one of the crew is his former bully who’s trying to make amends. Perhaps there’s hope that Eric can also turn the page on his past. He’s gotten good at burring his bad feelings deep as he nervously grins with his new companions, but sometimes the harder you push things down, the harder they push back.
The creative team from the original series is back for this short run, and they haven’t missed a step. Howard’s heavy linework and gritty detailing suits this gruesome comic perfectly, and he switches things up in the LARPing sequences to a cleaner artstyle that mimics the pages of the superhero comics Eric’s father gave him to read as a child. You can particularly see the difference in the shading, which is a key element of The Cape’s singular, grim look.
Verdict
Check it out! If you’ve read The Cape, then you should definitely be reading The Cape: Fallen, you’ll feel like you never left its pages. If you’re new to the series, I’d probably go back and read it before diving into this story. You’ll get the gist of who Eric is from the first issue, but you’ll lose a bit of his inner journey if you don’t know the full context for his actions.
