Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Love & Capes #7 Free Comic Book Day Edition

Another FCBD item that found it's way into the stack of random unread comics.

Title: Love and Capes
Issue: 7
Date: 2008
Publisher: Maerkle Press
Writer: Thomas F. Zahler
Artist: Thomas F Zahler

This was billed as a superhero sitcom. The main character is Mark, secretly the super-powered Crusader, and his girlfriend Abby. Abby is in on Mark's secret, and Mark is planning to ask Abby to marry him. Unfortunately, bad timing, unsolicited advice, and superhero business (not to mention Mark's own set of nerves) keep getting in the way.

The characters are a straight-up parody of the Justice League, with Mark as Superman. We also meet this story's answers to Flash, Wonder Woman, Batman, Atom (or Shrinking Violet!) and a Cyborg/Steel/Ironman type.

Really, though, this is more of a romance with some comedic moments than a spoof, and in that way, it does better than many attempts at superhero humor I've seen. The characters are very likeable (okay, Bluestreak is annoying, but that is kinda his thing), and the dialogue actually makes a lot of sense. The romantic elements of the story are great, especially the climactic bit.

This was a feel-good story with fun characters that felt real. The superheroics are kept in the background for the most part, and the comedy is character-based rather than a lot of outrageous sight gags, but I thought it really worked well.

Rating: 8/10

No comments:

Post a Comment