Capes #8 Review
Someone has murdered one of their own. The Capes team is not going to let that mystery go... even if it means OVERTIME—by Matthew Peterson
CAPES #8
Story: Benito Cereno/Robert Kirkman
Artist: Mark Englert/Cory Walker
Lettering: Rus Wooton
Colors: Annalisa Leoni
Editor: Alex Antone & Katii O’Brien
Publisher: Skybound Publishing/Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 24, 2026
Previously in Capes, Capes, Incorporated is the premier superhuman-for-hire service in the world of Invincible. Consisting of some of the most seasoned and powerful heroes the world has to offer, they also train younger heroes as well, all the while providing salaries and health benefits. After the murder of one of their own last issue, the entire Capes squad is about to embark on a murder mystery more personal than they ever imagined.
And Bolt isn’t about to sit on the sidelines...
Bulldog Is Dead
After a major mistake put him in the crosshairs of a vengeful mayor, the hero called Bolt has been moved to the night shift as punishment. It’s bad timing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that one of his friends, the hero called Bulldog, was found dead outside Capes Inc.’s corporate office, his murderer and the motive unknown.
The management has tasked Captain Cosmic and a new hero, The Sparrow, with finding the murderer, but Bolt feels a personal responsibility to his fallen co-worker. While the designated heroes focus on their star ratings and social media profile, Bolt figures out the one detail that he had missed, despite his boss’s admonishments. (Also, kudos on giving Claire Voyant pants and once and for all putting down the unpleasant subtext of her being accused of sleeping her way into a management position. It wouldn’t fly in 2026, though, to be honest, it probably SHOULDN’T have been part of her story in 2003, either.)
What Bolt doesn’t count on is finding the who without any answers about the why.
An Idea Ahead Of Its Time
When Capes #1 came out last year, I was super-excited to see it, as I remember the original book fondly from its run in the early 2000s. When I realized it was a reprinting of the original first issue, I sort of lost track of the book, and only recently realized that we were getting NEW stories of Capes, Incorporated, starting with last issue. These stories are, naturally, set in the past of the world of Invincible, and reading them is like slipping back into a nice warm bath. The idea of superhumans-for-hire isn’t new, but I always felt that Capes was an entertaining take that balanced some of the madness of Hero Hotline with the serious business of early Luke Cage, who worked because he had to work.
With Bolt having a wife and kids to support, his demotion feels like a genuine problem, albeit one overshadowed by the death of his colleague. We also get a couple of Kirkman fave-raves, as Magnattack appears in this issue, and next issue promises an appearance of The Elephant, both of whom are goofy, welcome sights.
The visuals are more to my liking than the original run of Capes, as well, with Englert finding a groove that feels like the mid-point of Cory Walker’s style and that of ‘90s mainstay Tom Grummet. It works for both the sillier moments (like Bolt’s new partner, Superball, who shoots rubber spheres from a “vending machine” worn on his back) and for the murder mystery at the heart of the story.
Bottom Line: More Invinci-Verse? Yes, Please!
In short, Capes #8 proves to be a return of one of the lesser-known Invincible spin-offs, with both the art and the story improving on the original miniseries, providing an exciting chapter and 4 out of 5 stars overall. If you’ve never read the original, you will still be able to step right into this world, but I’m quite certain that a TPB of the first six issues will be available soon, and I recommend it for anyone who misses Mark Grayson’s exploits.
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