Love and Capes (Vol 1) Graphic Novel Review

Love & Capes, the first volume, called Do You Want to Know a Secret? follows the progression of Abby and Mark’s relationship. And I love stories that show how two people fall in love because you kind of fall in love with them.

Oh, and this is my other comic book reviewer Winston. He’s a bit of a guest star. You’ll probably see him more than once. Say “Hi.”

He also really enjoyed falling in love with Abby and Mark as they go from dating to more serious. One thing I really appreciated is in the very first issue that Mark tells Abby that he’s the Crusader. Of course, there’s the jokes. He wears glasses exactly like Clark Kent and all those superhero tropes that you expect to see. But Zahler does them in a very refreshing way and, you know, takes what could be a ‘oh, you’ve seen this before’ and freshens it up and livens it up.

Abby and Mark are adorable. And sometimes they’re so adorable, as Charlotte, Abby’s sister would say, they just make you really sick.

Love and Capes also explores other really great relationship. Abby and her relationship with her sister is very refreshing. They definitely have that sisterly bond and that love, but sometimes, hate relationship.

Mark’s relationship with his best friend Paul, also known as Darkblade, who’s supposed to be Batman, is also really endearing. It harks back to the 1970s version of Superman and Batman when they were best friends and helping each other solve crimes.

Some of my favorite parts of Love and Capes were all the jokes. I’m a sucker for a pun and a corny superhero joke. I love when they went to Atlantis and Major Might (or was it, Mighty Major?) who is the Captain Marvel-like figure is dating Amazonia, who is based on Wonder Woman and Mark’s ex-girlfriend. And Abby discovers his secret: that he’s a kid. That’s something that’s… I don’t know if Captain Marvel dates anyone in the comics. Of course, Abby, who’s a little jealous of Mark’s past relationship with Amazonia, she is like ‘you need to tell Amazonia that you’re a little kid and make sure you do it while I’m in sight.’ Things like that add little touches to the book that are really great.

There was a Slings & Arrows reference in it, which just made my little fangirl heart jump with joy.

I have to say that my favorite part was the part about Amazonia and her book deal. I kind of love this ex-girlfriend is really snarky to new girlfriend, but they all have to get along because Amazonia and the Crusader are superheroes and they have to fight together on the Liberty League. But there’s that very real tension that can happen when your ex and current girlfriend are in the room. It’s kind of clear that Amazonia’s still interested in Mark and doesn’t really understand why he’s dating Abby and not her, or, at least, not another superhero.

So Amazonia’s writes this book and Abby owns a bookstore. So she tells Abby, why don’t I come, I’ll sign my book, I’m really famous, people know who I am, it’ll be great for your store’s profits. And Abby can’t turn that down, even though she doesn’t like Amazonia at all.

During the whole thing, she hasn’t read Amazonia’s book yet, and Charlotte does. She’s like, oh my gosh, you have to read this book. And Abby reads it during Amazonia’s signing during her store. And it’s this tell-all about Amazonia and Mark’s relationship, which makes Abby madder than mad. And is like, Amazonia totally planned this and all this stuff.

At the end, she finds out that Amazonia had her heart broken by Mark. So she, I think, gets to see a little bit of different side of the relationship and why Amazonia isn’t really nice to Abby. It’s a very human element.

So I finished the book, and I can’t wait to read the next one. I’m really excited about Love and Capes. You should definitely check it out. Zahler is a great writer. He’s really witty, funny, and cute. He’s a little corny, but there’s a lot of heart in it.