Another FCBD Review

Tony Isabella, comics pundit and my friend, is reviewing all of this year's Free Comic Book Day books in a five part series. He's gotten to my Love and Capes #13 and has some nice things to say. Yeah, he's a friend of mine, but as I've said before, my friends usually have no problem letting me know when I drop out of line. Among other things he wrote about it:

Anyone who wouldn't want to buy this comic book after reading this free issue is to be pitied and maybe feared.

Read the full review here.

Hey Crew, It's a New Review!

Comics Worth Reading has a nice review of Love and Capes #11-12 up now. Among other things that made my shriveled heart grow three sizes:

Thom Zahler takes the cliches of both the superhero and romance genres, plays jokes with them, and then dives into them to make them something more. It all stays very funny, but with meaningful emotions underneath the jokes.

Read the full review here.

Pop Candy Validation!

Whitney Matheson said some awfully nice things about Love and Capes over on her USA Today blog. Check it out here.

The FCBD Love Continues

Karaoke Fanboy at A Comic a Day has reviewed the FCBD issue of Love and Capes…

Love and Capes caters to both the diehard superhero fan and the woman in his life looking for a way into that rather exclusive world -- and most importantly, it's entertaining.…I feel Zahler's strength is in his storytelling and dialogue, his illustrations are equally capable. Betraying shades of Bill Finger and Bruce Timm, his art is cartoony without being cartoonish, since so much of the story concentrates on legitimate adult concerns.

Wow, Bruce Timm and Bill Finger. That's pretty impressive. Check out the full review here.

Capsule Reviews

It's been a week, so I thought I'll pull together some of the reviews of the Free Comic Book Day issue of Love and Capes. Please click on the review to read them in full.

Johanna at Comics Worth Reading…

Abby takes on Mark’s Crusader powers for a short time, just to better understand that part of his life. It’s very clever reasoning to set up a classic comic girlfriend plot, and as usual, Thom Zahler handles it with a great deal of humor, depth, and emotion.

And my favorite part…

If I could find people to make up a group with me, I’d love to go to a convention as Charlotte, Abby’s snarky sister.

Blake Petit at Comixtreme…

Although this is just as sharp and funny as any issue of this remarkable series, there’s some true drama here that pulls you in and makes you feel for Abby in a way that’s somehow perfectly relatable, even for those of us who haven’t gotten around to being superheroes yet.

Comic Pants…

This is another one of those books that I utterly look forward to every Free Comic Book Day, as writer/artist Thom Zahler has an uncanny knack for coming up with stories that make you laugh and contain gallon upon gallon of heart…its the overall heartfelt message that he delivers and the way that he does it that makes Love and Capes such a riotous good time.

Dave Van Domelen…

…plenty of relationship stuff and examination of the genre tropes (without trying to deconstruct those tropes or make them seem laughable)…Strongly recommended, even if you have to pay regular price for it.

Brad Curran, CBR…

It’s a well done, pleasant slice of life/superhero book…They used to make a lot more of these at the beginning of the decade, didn’t they? Nice to see someone still at it and making an organic story out of it instead of a thinly veiled attempt at appealing to the superhero and indie crowds.

Postmodernbarney…

Nicely stylized art and cute super-hero/relationship comedy. The actual story here is one we’ve seen numerous times in various super-hero melodramas, but Thomas Zahler gives it a unique spin this time around that’s appealing. Get it.

Shannon Smith…

The Love and Capes book was pretty impressive. A great looking book from cover to cover.

Review of LNC#10-Free Comic Book Day

Here's a link to another review of Love and Capes #10, this one by Blake Petit over at Comixtreme.com. With Free Comic Book Day being tomorrow, I expect more than a few of these to show up in the next couple of days.

What? You want a snippet? Okay, here goes:

When you march down to your comic shop on this Free Comic Book Day, there are going to be a lot of books to choose from. Love and Capes #10 should be at the top of your pile.

And, the full review is here.

First Mention of Love and Capes #10 in the Wild

JK Parkin over at Robot 6 gave some online love to the Free Comic Book Day issue of Love and Capes.

Thom Zahler sent me an advanced copy of Love and Capes #10…Page eight is hilarious, and pages 22 and 23 kind of choked me up. You’ll be able to get this for free on May 2, so definitely check it out.

Read the full article here. Heck, if you haven't bookmarked Robot 6 in your RSS-o-tron, you're missing out on comics reviewing the way Shakespeare intended it.

Also in the same article was this from Tim O'Shea:

I am jealous that you got a sneak peak of Love and Capes #10. Zahler deserves all the praise he gets for his work and much more.

I'm sorry, Tim! I thought you were on my mailing list.

While that mistake is being in the process of being rectified, if there's anyone else out there in the comics reviewing world, be sure to send me your information and I'll make sure to add you to my reviewers list. Just e-mail tz (swirly at sign) thomz.com.

I Love the Smell of Praise in the Morning

I love firing up my Apple Mail program and finding a Google Alert telling me about a nice Love and Capes review. Well, the Google Alert doesn't just search for good reviews, but the precis version in the e-mail usually gives a little hint. This one was titled Love and Capes Rocks the House.

Here's a peek at the review.

This is neither “Chick-Lit” superheroics, or a watered-down superhero comic that is spiced up with romance for the gals. this is an honest-to-goodness adult comic written for adults who have grown past the need for busty babes in spandex and over-testosteroned guys in spandex that solve things by hitting them.

Whoa, heady stuff. You can read the full review here.

New Review for You, Crew!

Johanna Draper Carlson at Comics Worth Reading gave Love and Capes #9 another great review. Here's a smackerel of her review.

I am running out of ways to say how much I enjoy reading this superhero sitcom.

You can read the full review here.

New Review

There's a really nice review of the Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? collection on Blake Petit's "Evertime Realms" site:

Reading this book, it’s very clear that Zahler both has a true love for superhero stories and a genuine understanding of the human heart. Mark and Abby as as realistic and well-developed a couple as I have ever read in a comic book. The Crusader and his pals — Darkblade, Arachnerd, Amazonia — all perfectly fit different superhero archetypes while still managing to have an individuality to make them Zahler’s own. It’s a nearly flawless story.

You can read the whole review here. Thanks, Blake!