By Svetlana Fedotov
Magicians are pretty freaking sweet. With their billowing capes and sultry assistants, you know the next hour of your life is going to be filled with illusory brain teasers and child-like wonder as cascades of doves flutter from every corner of the stage. From children’s birthday parties to Vegas stage shows to making entire buildings disappear, magicians (or perhaps more properly: illusionists) are a legitimate entertainment trade. But behind their grinning smiles, one must never forget that they could just as well use their quick hands for theft, easily able to slip out your wallet as they are handing you your card. Cloaks follows the story of the latter scenario, where a modern day Robin Hood pick-pockets the rich under the guise of stage magic. Harking back to old vaudeville shows while introducing a modern setting and sharp action scenes, the comic zips through from the dirty streets to the high rises of New York City all the while stealing everything in sight.
Cloaks starts with your average, inner city slum kid named Adam. Bopped around from foster home to foster home, he learns a very specific set of skills and as he ages out of the system, turning to a life a street magic. Covering his face in a blank mask, he only gives his fans an hour warning via Twitter before he’s about to do a show at which he robs only the rich patrons while making giant statues disappear. After each successful appearance, he donates the money he makes to the local orphanage run by a single nun (the saddest type of orphanage), and continues on his merry way. This evening though, Adam quickly stumbles onto another gig, this time a party hosted by some corporate bigwigs, and after attempting to break into a wall safe, is caught by his hosts. Though he attempts his most elaborate of parkour down the side of the building, he is still apprehended, and quickly learns that someone has been looking for him. A group of people who ALL share a certain set of skills and are looking to enroll him in their secret organization, one that runs way deeper than ever imagined.
While Cloaks is not by definition “brutal” or “hellish,” I wanted to review this as something bit more down to earth when it comes to magic comics. I’ve done plenty of coverage on the “witches and wizards,” high fantasy stuff – hell, there seems to be a new magical comic coming out every month – so when I saw something in the same vein, but more grounded in reality, I really wanted to take a look. Cloaks is a great read despite the lack mystical elements to it, and yet it still maintains that sense of wonder found in its sister genre without solely relying on a Vertigo formula. With the whole Robin Hood vibe attached, you get yourself almost a folk tale type feel with a very clear message of rebellion against the status quo. Even the scenes with Adam hopping down a thirty storey building and Kung Fu mastery easily fits into the over-all theme, a reminder that a magician is only as good as his body. Essentially, it can be boiled down to a male Catwoman; if you dig her swag, you’ll dig this book.
The writers, David Henrie and Caleb Monroe, collaborate well together, not afraid to use their very different but specific set of skills for the comic. Henrie, a TV actor and first time comic writer, and Monroe, a relatively new but not unknown author, write a no-frills, catchy story that cuts quick to the action and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. There’s some very smooth dialogue between characters, no doubt in part to Henrie’s years of acting, and is almost tailor made to be adapted to the silver screen. The art by Moriano Navarro is spot on, which is surprising as he is a pretty new as well. He seems to have already figured out his artistic voice and has no trouble adapting to the story. While it’s not exactly unique, his art solid and works well with the comic medium, taking no short cuts when it comes to the details.
Fast paced and sleight of hand, Cloaks hits the shelves this month from BOOM! Studios.