Cage! #1

Cage! is a four-issue limited series launched by Marvel in 2016, written and drawn by the renowned animator Genndy Tartakovsky (known for Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania, and other works), with Stephen DeStefano on inks. The series deliberately turns the camera back to 1977 New York: wide-collared shirts, bell-bottoms, and platform shoes are in fashion on the streets of Harlem, street crime is rampant, and the mercenary hero Luke Cage—also known as Power Man—makes his living taking jobs here, continuing what he does best: standing up for those who cannot protect themselves and charging a fair fee. This volume is #1 of the series, i.e., the contents of Cage! #1: the story begins with Cage intervening in a case involving roller-skating robbers, after which he and street allies such as Misty Knight and Iron Fist are drawn into a string of mysteries surrounding missing superpowered people; familiar faces keep disappearing, and the investigation quickly plunges him into more trouble. Unlike the serious storytelling of the main universe, this work is a highly stylized "retro spoof," with character designs, dialogue cadence, and fight rhythm all imitating early 1970s Marvel street-hero comics, while everywhere carrying an animated exaggeration. Specific plot details are subject to the actual published single issue.