My review of Capes and Crooks#1:
A warning in advance: I’m a big fan of Mancerbear, one of the primary contributors to Capes and Crooks#1. I’ve followed (and thoroughly enjoyed, I might add) just about all of his works artistic since page 3 of “The New Watch” his long-running Story Hour. I tell you this so you can be aware of the fact that this might naturally incline me to be rather biased in favour of his newest offering.
This is my opinion, so you will want to decide for yourself whether or not you want to buy this product.
This being said, BUY THIS PRODUCT.
From the very first page – a sinister image of a malicious-looking pumpkin-headed sprite offering sweeties – this product exudes class and has plenty of substance to back up it’s beauty;
An old city district that has more than it’s fair share of dark supernatural activity in the shadows of a former Hanging Gaol turned Goth Club.(No, I wouldn’t want to visit either, except perhaps with the Ghostbusters at my back.)
Vampire Martians (Yes, you did just read that) come to assuage their unnatural thirst with the blood of Earth and the help of their tripods. . .
A betrayed former Horror Icon turned masked master of mayhem. . .
A gruff, tough guardian of the streets powered by a magical badge and the father of all betrayals. . .
A ghoulish graveyard where all is not as it screams – I mean seems. . .
. . .and the adventure hinted at by the cover, featuring the terrifying tricksters attempts to turn all the city’s children into hideous goblins. (The other two characters introduced in this product appear as well, which is a nice touch.)
In fact the entire book is full of such splendid little touches (including the odd loving homage) not to mention excellent writing and magnificent artwork by Mancerbear (aka Darren Bulmer) and Jennifer Baughman – who also acts as editor.
The only complaints I can levy against them are my habitual back-seat editing (I can’t help but quibble with the occasional choice of words or something equally petty) and the fact that this product includes a reviews section.
How am I supposed to compete with competent reviewers?!?
In conclusion I can only say that I love this product and can hardly wait to see the next offering from Protocol Zero Productions and Ninja Cow Studios.










