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The Cape
The Cape: Fallen
If power corrupts, then surely with great power comes even greater corruption. Writer Jason Ciaramella and artist Zach Howard uncover new folds in Hill’s cautionary anti-superhero tale with a story that takes place between the scenes of the original series. Eric’s already killed his ex-girlfriend and (spoiler alert) soon he’ll go after his mom and brother. But first he’ll go missing for three torturous days. What other atrocities will Eric commit? What violent secrets does the Cape still hide? There’s no telling, but the answers to those questions will further underline The Cape’s central theme—that no amount of power will make a bad person good.
103 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 22, 2019
About the author
Joe Hill
479 books31.5k followersJoe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 5, 2019
Clearly, this is a bit of a cash grab. Set in the three days when Eric disappears after murdering his girlfriend, Eric heads to a family cabin only to find some LARPers squatting there over the weekend. Eric decides to play along with their campaign until things so invariably wrong. I like Zach Howard's art. It's got some Doug Mahnke influences to it which is never a bad thing.
June 7, 2023
Another fun and well-presented instalment in The Cape series.
This edition doesn't quite reach the heights of the previous two instalments. Mainly due to the story being rather limited in its scope.
In this edition, we fill in some gaps in the timeline from the original The Cape graphic novel. The story is based around Eric visiting a remote cabin where he and his father visited for a vacation before his father was deployed to Vietnam. Here he encounters an old acquaintance from school which then opens up some old wounds and then leads to Eric going on a rampage.
As with all the other editions, this is beautifully illustrated and is packed to the brim with action and violence.
Not the best but it's still a fun read.
This edition doesn't quite reach the heights of the previous two instalments. Mainly due to the story being rather limited in its scope.
In this edition, we fill in some gaps in the timeline from the original The Cape graphic novel. The story is based around Eric visiting a remote cabin where he and his father visited for a vacation before his father was deployed to Vietnam. Here he encounters an old acquaintance from school which then opens up some old wounds and then leads to Eric going on a rampage.
As with all the other editions, this is beautifully illustrated and is packed to the brim with action and violence.
Not the best but it's still a fun read.
August 5, 2019
Joe Hill has a soft spot for malevolent characters in his "horrors" and after 1969 he obviously wanted to go more brutality. More reasonless brutality. There is no much of a real story. This 4-issue cover the time of Eric's disappearance in original series between the murder of his girlfriend and his comeback for more carnage on his family. In this period, he came back to connect with his childhood memories in an old cabin in the forest, where he and his brother have one last weekend off with their father before he went to Vietnam (and never came back). Eric expects contemplation and solitude, but the cabin is occupied by a band of LARP players. So the story is simple - Eric meet the occupants of the cabin, he tries to join them, he enjoys it but with the slightest pretext, Eric immediately jumps to a violent end.
The art is nice, I like it, the interesting story is, well, absent.
The art is nice, I like it, the interesting story is, well, absent.
March 18, 2025
Excellent trilogy!
Super fun dark superhero trilogy by Joe Hill! All three books were well written with great artwork! 4.5 stars rounded up to five!
Super fun dark superhero trilogy by Joe Hill! All three books were well written with great artwork! 4.5 stars rounded up to five!
January 2, 2020
Why does this exist? It wasn’t key to the original. Can’t tell if Joe Hill was involved.
Glad I checked it out of my the library, rather than buying it.
Glad I checked it out of my the library, rather than buying it.
October 2, 2020
Vengeance porn that adds nothing to the original tale.
January 18, 2025
Horror novelist Joe Hill is best known in the comics world for LOCKE & KEY as well as spear-heading the Hill House line of horror mini-series for DC/Vertigo. He also wrote a cautionary anti-superhero short story, “The Cape” from his 2005 collection 20th Century Ghosts, which was adapted into a comic mini-series.
Writer Ciaramella and artist Howard return to the character of Eric and script a new story that occurs in-between his first killing and the murder of his mother and brother. (Yeah, THE CAPE is rather dark).
The main thrust of the first series and FALLEN is that not everyone who obtains super-powers will necessarily use them for the good of all mankind. It’s a spin on the famous Spider-Man axiom that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Hill’s spin is that “if power corrupts, then surely with great power comes even greater corruption.” A central theme in both series is that no amount of power will make a bad person good. (That’s going to be tested in the real world over the next four years).
So, in FALLEN, Eric takes a break after that first kill and returns to the forest cabin, where his father use to take Eric and his brother, to clear his head. Except, the cabin is occupied by a group of fantasy role-players (who want to use the woods as their stage/playing ground), including a member who used to bully him in high school. They invite Eric to stay and join the festivities. Except, Eric doesn’t understand the rules of role-playing and when he goes too far, it gets even darker.
A tightly told tale with some great art, this is grim, disturbing, and ends brutally. More of a THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS rating.
Writer Ciaramella and artist Howard return to the character of Eric and script a new story that occurs in-between his first killing and the murder of his mother and brother. (Yeah, THE CAPE is rather dark).
The main thrust of the first series and FALLEN is that not everyone who obtains super-powers will necessarily use them for the good of all mankind. It’s a spin on the famous Spider-Man axiom that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Hill’s spin is that “if power corrupts, then surely with great power comes even greater corruption.” A central theme in both series is that no amount of power will make a bad person good. (That’s going to be tested in the real world over the next four years).
So, in FALLEN, Eric takes a break after that first kill and returns to the forest cabin, where his father use to take Eric and his brother, to clear his head. Except, the cabin is occupied by a group of fantasy role-players (who want to use the woods as their stage/playing ground), including a member who used to bully him in high school. They invite Eric to stay and join the festivities. Except, Eric doesn’t understand the rules of role-playing and when he goes too far, it gets even darker.
A tightly told tale with some great art, this is grim, disturbing, and ends brutally. More of a THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS rating.
May 7, 2022
İki buçuktan üç yıldız.
Hafif ekşi bir deneyim. İlk cildin (ki onda dahi eksik yönler vardı ama) ilüzyonuna kapılıp devam ettiğim bir seri oldu. Toplam üç ciltte tamamlandı. Üstelik ilkinin “tpb” halini sevince, ciltli limitli baskısını aldım sonrasında. İlk kitaptan ciltli alınca, içimdeki zaman zaman durmayı bilmesi gereken koleksiyoner yüzünden iki ve üçüncü kitapları da ciltli ve limitli versiyonlarla tamamladım.
Dediğim gibi çapaklarına rağmen ilk kitabın bir orijinalliği, şok ettiren yanları vardı. İkinci kitapta başka konseptte ortalama bir orijin okuduk. Üçüncü kitap ise hiçbir yenilik, orijinallik, açılım sunmayan, uzatma bir kitap olmuş.
Hikayeye katkısı olacak bir nedensellik yok. Karakterin aksiyonlarında bir sürpriz yok. Akış gayet tahmin edilebilir. Artık sert ve şiddetli içerik de alışılageldik bir hale geliyor. Final Destination serisinin bilmem kaçıncı filmi televizyonda oynuyor gibi.
Karanlık, sert, bol kanlı çizimlerden de bu sefer çok hoşlanmadığımı söylemeliyim. Seri öyle “aman pişmanlık, berbat” diyeceğim bir noktada değil. Ama bu yorumu okuyacaklar için, bütçesi ve zamanı kısıtlı olanlar için ilk kitabı okumak kafi olacaktır. Çok mu merak ettin? Normal kapaklarla devam etmek kafi olacaktır. Yok ben koleksiyoncuyum illa sert kapak derseniz de, ben zaten o tuzağa düşmüşüm. Size bir şey diyemem :)
Hafif ekşi bir deneyim. İlk cildin (ki onda dahi eksik yönler vardı ama) ilüzyonuna kapılıp devam ettiğim bir seri oldu. Toplam üç ciltte tamamlandı. Üstelik ilkinin “tpb” halini sevince, ciltli limitli baskısını aldım sonrasında. İlk kitaptan ciltli alınca, içimdeki zaman zaman durmayı bilmesi gereken koleksiyoner yüzünden iki ve üçüncü kitapları da ciltli ve limitli versiyonlarla tamamladım.
Dediğim gibi çapaklarına rağmen ilk kitabın bir orijinalliği, şok ettiren yanları vardı. İkinci kitapta başka konseptte ortalama bir orijin okuduk. Üçüncü kitap ise hiçbir yenilik, orijinallik, açılım sunmayan, uzatma bir kitap olmuş.
Hikayeye katkısı olacak bir nedensellik yok. Karakterin aksiyonlarında bir sürpriz yok. Akış gayet tahmin edilebilir. Artık sert ve şiddetli içerik de alışılageldik bir hale geliyor. Final Destination serisinin bilmem kaçıncı filmi televizyonda oynuyor gibi.
Karanlık, sert, bol kanlı çizimlerden de bu sefer çok hoşlanmadığımı söylemeliyim. Seri öyle “aman pişmanlık, berbat” diyeceğim bir noktada değil. Ama bu yorumu okuyacaklar için, bütçesi ve zamanı kısıtlı olanlar için ilk kitabı okumak kafi olacaktır. Çok mu merak ettin? Normal kapaklarla devam etmek kafi olacaktır. Yok ben koleksiyoncuyum illa sert kapak derseniz de, ben zaten o tuzağa düşmüşüm. Size bir şey diyemem :)
January 19, 2021
I'm in the minority on this one, but I really enjoyed this. A very straightforward revenge story, told from the perspective of the bad guy, with some great visual storytelling. The art is excellent.
November 23, 2019
The latest installment of “The Cape” series…. This graphic novel was published in 2019 by IDW, written by Jason Ciaramella, and illustrated by Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel. It takes place during the time lapse between Eric’s girlfriend’s death and his family in the first book. During his disappearance, Eric came back to the cabin that he, his brother, and his dad vacationed in before the dad went off to fight in Vietnam. Eric, while reminiscing and exploring the woody area, enters the cabin only to find a group of geeks playing some kind of fantasy role playing game. He is asked by one of the characters in the group to join their game. Eric obliges, but soon finds out he doesn’t play well with others….
Although I did enjoy “The Cape: Fallen”, it was not as good as the previous two releases…. The action and the power of unpredictability is up to par, but the story itself was lacking in my opinion and I don’t think fit well with the story. Eric seemed to have purpose in the first book because Eric took on a revenge course of action. In this one, it’s clear he’s an insane maniac. With this installment, the series just dramatically shifted gears to the dark side and it will be impossible to come back from it.
Like its predecessors, the artwork in this book is very detailed and disturbing. The artists did an awesome and creative job of capturing the action sequences. Especially the graphic detail during the sun death scene…. My favorite about this book is it leaves it open ended for another “Cape” volume down the road.
I purchased the hardcover edition, printed by IDW Publishing in 2019….. The boards are nice and thick, the spine is tight and sturdy, the pages are crisp with a smooth texture, and the inlays on the cover really pop next to the dark colored matte finish. Like all of IDW’s Joe Hill graphic novels, the hardcover version is solid and impressive looking.
FINAL VERDICT: I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. This one was definitely the weakest in the series but it was still pretty entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Joe Hill’s “The Cape” series and serial homicide….
Although I did enjoy “The Cape: Fallen”, it was not as good as the previous two releases…. The action and the power of unpredictability is up to par, but the story itself was lacking in my opinion and I don’t think fit well with the story. Eric seemed to have purpose in the first book because Eric took on a revenge course of action. In this one, it’s clear he’s an insane maniac. With this installment, the series just dramatically shifted gears to the dark side and it will be impossible to come back from it.
Like its predecessors, the artwork in this book is very detailed and disturbing. The artists did an awesome and creative job of capturing the action sequences. Especially the graphic detail during the sun death scene…. My favorite about this book is it leaves it open ended for another “Cape” volume down the road.
I purchased the hardcover edition, printed by IDW Publishing in 2019….. The boards are nice and thick, the spine is tight and sturdy, the pages are crisp with a smooth texture, and the inlays on the cover really pop next to the dark colored matte finish. Like all of IDW’s Joe Hill graphic novels, the hardcover version is solid and impressive looking.
FINAL VERDICT: I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. This one was definitely the weakest in the series but it was still pretty entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Joe Hill’s “The Cape” series and serial homicide….
March 18, 2021
The Cape: Fallen is frosting.
June 1, 2020
Just as sad and bleak at the first one.
July 6, 2021
So, this happened. I guess the most important thing here is the art by Zach Howard. His artwork is spectacular. Sadly, he didn't have much to work with. This story serves no purpose. The Cape, by Joe Hill, has its faults to be sure, but at least it had purpose. Here, Eric kills some people because...Yeah, not sure. Villains can be made to look sympathetic but not here. Just some violence for the sake of violence. Overall, a beautifully drawn book that no one should read.
March 10, 2020
Violence for violence's sake is just not my bag anymore.
January 16, 2021
There was nothing that I liked about this: not the story, not the artwork, and the story didn’t contribute anything to the original The Cape either.
February 24, 2024
(Zero spoiler review) 1.5/5
What on earth did I just read? How on earth is this the same guy who wrote Locke and Key. Even the people who wrote the unforgivably bad Netflix adaptation of said show wouldn't write something this bad. Apparently this is part of a wider series, so if there is additional detail filled in in the other books then that may go a short way to mitigating some of my criticisms, but it's still absolutely awful and there is zero chance I'm going to pick up any other books in this series if this is my first (and last) impression of it.
The art by Zach Howard is the only thing keeping this thing from being handed a shameful (and rather deserved) one star, though the six or so pages where he changed the art style during their larping escapades. How such a deterioration in the otherwise strong artwork was accepted and printed is beyond me. But hey, I also know what larping is now. The more you know. I also know to scour this book from my brain as quickly as possible. 1.5/5
OmniBen.
What on earth did I just read? How on earth is this the same guy who wrote Locke and Key. Even the people who wrote the unforgivably bad Netflix adaptation of said show wouldn't write something this bad. Apparently this is part of a wider series, so if there is additional detail filled in in the other books then that may go a short way to mitigating some of my criticisms, but it's still absolutely awful and there is zero chance I'm going to pick up any other books in this series if this is my first (and last) impression of it.
The art by Zach Howard is the only thing keeping this thing from being handed a shameful (and rather deserved) one star, though the six or so pages where he changed the art style during their larping escapades. How such a deterioration in the otherwise strong artwork was accepted and printed is beyond me. But hey, I also know what larping is now. The more you know. I also know to scour this book from my brain as quickly as possible. 1.5/5
OmniBen.
June 17, 2025
This was an interesting read. I was surprised when this book came out to fill in the missing 3 days from the original story.
I was even more surprised that he stumbled upon a LARP troupe in the woods. The action in the book and watching his mind unravel in real time was a fun thing to be a part of.
It brought the book full circle having that cabin be one of the last memories of his family when he was a kid. ... spoilers?
I was even more surprised that he stumbled upon a LARP troupe in the woods. The action in the book and watching his mind unravel in real time was a fun thing to be a part of.
It brought the book full circle having that cabin be one of the last memories of his family when he was a kid. ... spoilers?
February 16, 2026
Uppföljaren. Som jag tycker är bättre än första. Denna historia lyfts in i en klassisk ungdomsskräckis som utspelar sig i skogen där ingen kan höra dig skrika. Det jag gillar är att den är enkelt berättat och det passar just denna historia.
Eric, vår superhjält… skurk. Är en lat, egoistisk duchbag. Man har inga sympatier för honom. Jag tänker att han är en typisk kränkt man i kvadrat som tyvärr fått krafter han inte förtjänar. Frustrerad att läsa om men ser gärna en del tre.
Eric, vår superhjält… skurk. Är en lat, egoistisk duchbag. Man har inga sympatier för honom. Jag tänker att han är en typisk kränkt man i kvadrat som tyvärr fått krafter han inte förtjänar. Frustrerad att läsa om men ser gärna en del tre.
December 24, 2025
After Eric kills his girlfriend he runs to his family's old cabin, only to find some LARPers there. We get flashbacks to his father taking the boys the before going back to Vietnam. Eric's brother does come off like a dick when they were kids
Doesn't add much to the overall story like 1969 did, but does give some insight into the depraved mind of Eric. The art is very gruesome and grisly.
Doesn't add much to the overall story like 1969 did, but does give some insight into the depraved mind of Eric. The art is very gruesome and grisly.
October 19, 2024
Joe Hill horror comics have been on my radar, and I randomly found this one. Wasn't sure what to expect and didn't realize this was a series until afterward. At the end of this book, I was intrigued to find out more about Eric's past and what happens next.
March 7, 2020
Great art, story is OK.
August 28, 2022
Bendeki sert Kapak 150 Limitli Şömizli Özel Edisyon değil, yeni versiyon eklemeye üşendim :)
July 28, 2023
Wow. This was bad.
December 27, 2023
Kind of an unnecessary tangent to the overall story arc.
April 22, 2024
Disappointing.
Gory and funny in parts but it’s been done and done better several times in anything from watchmen to the boys, invincible to brightburn.
Gory and funny in parts but it’s been done and done better several times in anything from watchmen to the boys, invincible to brightburn.
July 27, 2025
Didnt know there were three others!? I really enjoyed that haha.
November 2, 2025
So cool.
Very cool little extra to a great comic. Who doesn't love some of the ol' ultraviolence action?! Very good. Give it a read. I can't wait to share this with my kids!
Very cool little extra to a great comic. Who doesn't love some of the ol' ultraviolence action?! Very good. Give it a read. I can't wait to share this with my kids!
May 1, 2026
what an edge lord yikes
June 14, 2026
This side story is better than the main story.
January 12, 2026
İlk ciltteki olayların arasında gerçekleşmiş bir hikayeyi anlatıyor. Bence ilk iki ciltten daha iyi. Özellikle Dungeons & Dragons oynayan bir ekibe dahil olmasını okumak keyifliydi; fakat ilk iki ciltte olduğu gibi birden herkesi ölüyor ve hikaye çok 'oldu bittiye' geliyor. Ekibin kaçması ve onları tek tek avlaması hiç iyi yazılmamış. Sanki cildi uzatmamak için yapılmış gibi ama adamakıllı bir kaçış veya saklanma kısmı yazılmalıydı.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews