Review by Ian Keogh
In 1969 Cory Chase is serving with the American forces in Vietnam, and to do so has volunteered to leave his wife and two young children Eric and Nicky back home. Readers of The Cape have already seen how their adult life played out, and in 1969 things aren’t going well for their father after his helicopter is shot down by the Viet Cong.
Joe Hill deals in horror, and yet this supplies a very different mood from its excellent predecessor, although still involves a strange element. Jason Ciaramella again adapts the short story, and again very sympathetically. Much of it is a straightforward war story drawing on the sorts of sadistic techniques the Viet Cong used to break the spirits of captured American soldiers, and artist Nelson Dániel doesn’t hold back in showing the bloody events. It’s not for the fainthearted, but then horror as a genre never is.
This doesn’t take the obvious route. Cory isn’t around any more during the original story, yet it’s not long into 1969 that there’s a flash forward showing he survives to be reunited with his family. It would seem to remove any tension about his survival, yet magic is also involved. Imprisoned alongside Cory is an unhinged small bald man the Viet Cong have also been searching for, as he’s believed to be a witch. While there’s nothing magical about another anomaly, neither is it what Cory expected to encounter deep in the Vietnamese jungle. If you’re wondering, yes, there is a reason for titling this The Cape beyond featuring the Chase family.
1969 is designed to generate stunning visual moments that Dániel duly delivers, and works its way to a strong emotional showdown, but never manages to push the same buttons as its predecessor. A major reason is a tease aimed at readers of the first book that turns out to be a cheap shot, but the visual spectacle also comes at the cost of a possibly stronger ending.
This is also available as part of Joe Hill: The Graphic Novel Collection, but there’s a further sequel that isn’t. The Fallen has to be picked up individually.
