Being the girlfriend continues to mean, many challenges for Abby.
What They Say:
Abby and Mark are a typical couple. At least, that’s what Abby thinks. Unknown to her, her boyfriend is not just an accountant, but also the super-powered crime-fighter, the Crusader! See Mark tell Abby he’s The Crusader. Find out how Abby deals with some of his super-ex-girlfriends. And learn the difference between a weakness and an allergy. Experience their first Christmas and beyond!
The Review:
With the fifth issue of Love & Capes slows things down a bit, a fair bit, as the story takes a more personal approach. For the most part, it’s balanced things well over the first four issues when it comes to the superhero side and the relationship side so it hasn’t been a problem. And it’s not really a problem here, but it starts to put a little bit of a drag on things as Abby is starting to feel the weight of being a girlfriend to the Crusader even while fully realizing and understanding what it means to be so with all the weight that’s on his shoulders. Mark’s at least pretty good about it and does the best he can, apologizing when he can as well and trying to show her that he gets it, but it still does its damage to things in small ways, as much as Abby hates that.
They do hit on a few fun things here in general though and the book is just that, fun, such as the opening where we get a new cop that has transferred in and hasn’t realized how different life in this city is from Houston. It does a bit of fleshing out how the superheroes work with the police, including the paperwork side, and again provides for a nice moment with Darkblade who never really seems all that dark with his personality since we generally only see him with Mark. Poor Mark though since the opening caper has him missing the first few minutes of her play, which is nice to see continued with here, as he spends some time afterward using his super hearing to see how people felt about it. The discovery of just how into his girlfriend people could be certainly makes him blush.
This issue does have a bit of an overall storyline to it that comes into play in regards to a prophecy that comes into play but it’s a very small part to try and tie things together. We get a good bit of time throughout that shows just how busy Mark is these days as the Crusader with all the things going on and how it impacts their relationship, but the biggest challenge that has to be faced for Abby is that of Mark’s parents coming to visit. It may play out traditionally when you get down to it with how his mother deals and thinks of Abby, but it’s handled in such a relaxed and straightforward way that you have to appreciate the honesty of it all rather than making it into something bigger. And having Charlotte point out that Mark’s mother may be Abby’s arch-nemsis just adds the right kind of color to it all.
Release Notes:
This comiXology edition of Love & Capes comes with the main cover as released with the print edition and no other extras.
In Summary:
While past issues had some larger themes to it that could tie it all together, this one is a bit less defined and that’s not bad, it just keeps it from really feeling like a cohesive piece. It does have its theme but it resonates less. Abby and Mark are definitely entering their rough patch after the way their relationship has been pretty strong and fun so far, with its problems to be sure, and it’s good to have Abby voicing to her sister at least what she’s feeling. And to admit that she knows she shouldn’t feel that way since he does protect the whole world and sometimes it’s going to take precedence. I’m not surprised to see the series going this direction a bit more since it’s an effective thing to do, but I also hope it keeps its sense of fun and adventure in the relationship itself. Mark’s work can be a good foil, but if it’s used too much it can turn into a bludgeon.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]