By
Thomas F. Zahler
I
have declared my high regard for the work of Thom Zahler a number of
times now, have the pleasure of owning several commissioned pieces of
art from him, and have had the privilege of meeting him in person two
years running at Houston's Comicpalooza. My love for his work goes
back several years now, to my discovery of the series with which he
is most identified, Love
and Capes: The Heroically Super Situation Comedy, as
a web comic strip. At the time it was also being published as a
small-press independent comic book, and was on the verge of the first
collected edition being published by IDW, who have since continued
publication of the comic book as a succession of short series each of
which have subsequently garnered collections. This is the latest.
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| 2013 tee-shirt illustration |
I
previously reviewed the first three volumes as a single post after reading
the third upon its publication, and would refer you there for
my overall thoughts regarding the series, its charming premise and
characters (link).
In more succinct form, it's the story of the growing relationship
between Mark and Abby, a typical young couple except that Mark is
also the super-hero known as the Crusader. Abby? – well, I would
not
call her an “ordinary” girl.... Anyway, volume one tells of
their courtship, two of their engagement, three of their early
marriage, and this fourth volume recounts Abby's pregnancy and the
birth of their child. I'll give no more spoiler than that other than
that there are the usual side plots and character development that
Zahler handles with such finesse. Sometimes pages go without
colorful costumes making an appearance, and even when they do, the
fundamental heart of this series is built on the situations of
everyday life, albeit often with the unique twist that the
super-heroic life affords. I use the term “charming” above, and
this is probably the only other super-hero series other than the
original Captain Marvel
as published in the Golden Age to which I would apply that
description. I don't think it's happenstance that Zahler has
expressed a wish to work with those wonderful characters, and that
his art and story-telling style would fit them perfectly. My most
recent commission from him is indeed of the real “Marvel Family”
(see it here, link).
He and I have similar views on those characters and what made them
magical, and I would much rather see them under his care than that of
their current custodians at DC Comics. Which is all rambling quite
far from my topic. This is a truly great addition to a truly great
series.
Overall,
I find Love and Capes
to be structured much like a British television show. It comprises
multiple fairly short series that all go together to make a whole
that is greater than its parts. Combined with Zahler's signature
eight-panel pages with two story beats each, it makes for a
refreshingly punchy, undrawnout story that keeps things moving. I've
sometimes wondered if that television structure, as frustrating as it
can be during the long waits between series, is why British
television is often so much better than American, in that there is
less of a tendency to dither on nonessentials with extraneous filler
material. I'm not sure I'd want American comic books as a whole to follow
the same model – I like the prevailing “neverending battle”
mode of non-stop narrative, but here it definitely works. I can even
see a danger for American creators trying to duplicate that “series
of series” model ending up going too
intense, trying to cram too much into the current story because there
is no real assurance that present sales will warrant a future
continuation. In fact, I think that's a common pitfall of summer
blockbuster movies. But Thom Zahler brilliantly strikes the right
balance, series after series. I have no knowledge of how far he
intends to carry the story of Mark and Abby's growing family, but
with quality like we've gotten thus far it could go on and on until
Mark and Abby are old and grey with super-powered grandchildren and
that next generation is carrying on their father's super-heroics, and
I would still look forward to each new series.
Do
yourself a favor and join the ride! (I don't normally link to
sources for what I read and review, but I'm really
wanting to push this, so go
here
– link.)
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