Comic Review: After the Cape #2

After the Cape #2
Written by: Jim Valentino and Howard Wong
Art by: Marco Rudy
Cover by: Juan Ferreyra
Published by: Image Comics

*Spoilers*

Valentino and Wong’s After the Cape is an interesting take on Superhero comics. It’s a realistic take on a fantastic genre without the grit present in many “realistic” superhero comics. Ethan Falls was a superhero known as Captain Gravity until his alcoholism got the better of him. Now, unable to provide for his family, Ethan finds himself turning towards crime for a quick buck.

Now Ethan finds himself stuck. What should have been a one-time job becomes complicated as Loch, head of the Tong Triad criminal organization, blackmails Ethan into doing jobs for him. To make things worse, his former teammates learn of his criminal activities and decide it’s their responsibility to stop him.

Some may say this is just a retread of Tony Stark’s dip into alcoholism, in reality it’s a much more in depth look at a problem through a superhero lens. Ethan doesn’t have money. He’s a normal guy. He has a family. Unfortunately, he also has an addiction. But Wong doesn’t play the alcoholism for sympathy. Falls is responsible for his decisions. We feel bad for him, but we also know that he’s responsible for his predicament.

The one drawback to After the Cape is the art. Rudy’s pencils are fine, but the dark, overbearing inks against the stark, bright whites make it difficult to see what is going on in some of the wider, more complicated panels.

Ferreyra’s cover needs a special mention here. Ferreyra is a wonderful artist and the emotion he packs into this one cover in spectacular. That cover carries more characterization than many of the ongoing big two titles have in years.

Rating: 3 1/2 Worms...Good story and the art has its strengths, but the difficulty in seeing some of the action hurts.