The Cape: 1969 #3
Written by Jason Ciaramella
Art by Nelson Daniel
Lettering by Shawn Lee
Editorial Assist by Christopher Schraff
Edited by Chris Ryall
Creative Consultant Joe Hill
Inspired by the Short Story “The Cape” by Joe Hill
IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 12, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

And so here we are at The Cape: 1969 #3, the power is in Captain Chase’s hands, and with two issues to go, the only question remaining is: how will he use it and how far will he go? For anyone not reading The Cape: 1969, it follows a medevac pilot in Vietnam who just so happens to be the father of Eric and Nicky, the brothers from The Cape. He finds himself in a bad situation, against a sadistic Vietcong troop commander, and then some Weird War Tales stuff happens.

Writer Jason Ciaramella is committed to making this a rather believable war story with superpowers instead of a story about superpowers that just so happen to take place in a historical setting; or at least a good war script with superpowers. Artist Nelson Daniel is a great companion to this project. His drawings aren’t ‘gritty’, but certainly show enough ability to make a war story, and are actually quite refreshing in contrast. Meanwhile, his use of colors remains top notch. His palette of ruddy browns, greens, and oranges complement the dark tone of the story; he also has a special knack for making grotesque violence distinct with blazing reds saturating the backdrops enough to bleed through the page. The use of screen tones is a little obtrusive here, without giving the book the vintage charm I think he’s going for, but it’s not a big deal.

Each and every week “Batman Incorporated Is The Only Thing That Matters” MK2Fac3 and “Dirty Hench” Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible”¦ theoretically. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull lists, grab some comics, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of May 23, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Guys, seriously, I love Florence + The Machine, I’m listening to their MTV Unplugged album right now, and it’s just so good. Right now is a really good time for a fan of female vocalists. Anyway, I know that has nothing to do with what we’re supposed to be talking about right now, and that’s fine, but you should know that Daniel Bryan was robbed on Sunday and he should have taken home the championship! What are we talking about again? Oh right, comics. Sure, there are comics coming out this week, but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything that I’d rather read more than Batman Incorporated, so that’s what I’ll be talking about at length, while Chris talks about some new comics, some new old comics, and some that are in between! So, strap in to your seat belts because I’m about to take you on a nice long ride where I talk a whole lot about Batman. No backseat drivers! Only The GoD List!

IDW Publishing announced on Tuesday that they would be publishing a prequel to the hit mini-series The Cape from Joe Hill, Jason Ciaramella, and Nelson Daniel to provide the origins of the story with The Cape: 1969.

The Cape: 1969 is a look at the dark origins of the mystical piece of cloth that was featured within the pages of The Cape. The story centers around a group of American soldiers fighting through the Vietcong during The Vietnam War. In this we will see where the powers of The Cape originated.

Continue reading for more and to see the covers for The Cape: 1969.

The Cape #2 (of 4)
Written by Jason Ciaramella
Inspired by a Short Story by Joe Hill
Art by Zach Howard
Colors by Nelson Daniel
Letters by Shawn Lee
IDW Publishing
Released October 12th, 2011
Price: $3.99

There are a lot of comics out right now that deal with fantastic people with amazing powers who are, well, kind of jerks. The Cape #2 (of 4) for IDW Publishing is another one of these books, and it is also one seriously messed up comic. I mean, there is some really freaky stuff going on in this book. And you know what? I don’t have a problem with that because it is one well done comic. How The Cape sets itself apart from books like Irredeemable is that while it has some superhero elements, it is more of a grounded story with normal characters and a situation that many can identify with.

The Event returns tonight at 8/7c replacing The Cape in NBC’s struggling Monday night lineup.

The series stumbled a bit in the first couple of episodes but it recovered solidly by episode four and shifted to a fast-paced LOST-meets-X-Files (not as good as either, though) type of series that’s worth a look.

The Event doesn’t hold back the answers, instead it gives up the goods and makes the adventure the real mystery. The story has an epic feel that’s still missing in V with the huge story sitting on the shoulders of a single couple and a little girl. It’s complex and it could collapse under the weight of that complexity but if it doesn’t and if it stays alive it could be appointment television. Sure that’s a lot of ifs, but hey, coming off the mess that was The Cape we have nowhere to go but up.

Continue on below to get acquainted or re-acquainted with The Event with a synopsis, recap video, and preview of what’s in the future of the show. You can also join me tonight on Twitter to live chat about the show as it airs; follow @culturesmash.