Capes, an early superhero comic by Robert Kirkman and Mark Englert, will get a makeover by the creators as it returns in November.
The story revolves around a superhero business, Capes Inc., that’s set in the same universe as Invincible (and has been seen in the animated series). It employs characters like Kid Thor, Knockout, Captain Cosmic and more, who protect New York when they’re on the clock.
Capes originally debuted in 2003, a month before another Kirkman-written series, The Walking Dead, and many years before Kirkman would form Skybound and become an Image partner. At the time, the young up-and-coming writer had already kicked off Invincible and Tech Jacket at Image Comics, so he was turning into a force for the publisher.
Kirkman and Englert’s original Capes stories will be remastered with new art and dialogue by the original creative team and released as single issues. And then with issue #7, the title will continue with new stories drawn by Englert and written by Blood & Thunder writer Benito Cereno.
“With so much excitement surrounding all things Invincible-related, I knew we had to get Capes back in print!” Kirkman said. “Revisiting the original issues was so much fun, we knew we couldn’t stop there. I love these characters and it was a thrill to get to introduce the world to Bolt, Kid Thor and Knockout in Invincible season 3. If the world wants more Capes how can we not give it to them?”
Here’s the description from Skybound:
BOLT! KID THOR! KNOCK OUT! CAPTAIN COSMIC! CLAIRE VOYANT! BIG BRAIN! COMMANDER CAPITALISM! Welcome to Capes Inc, employers of your favorite superheroes that protect New York City – well, at least when they’re on the clock – from threats like MACHINE HEAD, TITAN…and now are in the crosshairs of an enemy they never expected!
And here’s a look at a couple fo the original pages next to the remastered versions:
“When Robert contacted me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to recolor Capes, I was super excited,” said Englert. “I wasn’t expecting going over the old pages to feel so therapeutic, almost mentoring my younger self to bring the art up to par with rest of the amazing books in the Skybound library. When we made the decision to go all in, really remaster the art beyond the colors, adding backgrounds, fixing up faces or figures, my passion for drawing sequential pages was rekindled and I wanted to keep going. Creating brand new Capes stories with Robert and Benito has been a dream come true!”
Here are some additional preview pages featuring Englert’s new artwork:
Capes #1 features covers by both Invincible series artists, contributing creator Ryan Ottley and co-creator Cory Walker. The variant cover lineup includes Englert, Walker, Jahnoy Lindsay, a black-and-white variant by Ryan Ottley and a blank sketch cover.
Capes #1 will arrive in stores Nov. 19.