Cloak and Dagger: 1983 Limited Series [Comics]

The interesting super hero duo of Cloak and Dagger, originally introduced in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man in 1982, received their first solo appearances in a 1983 limited series. It's solid stuff, with appropriately gritty artwork that perfectly fits a story set in a New York that, at least in popular conception, was very different than it is today. The series introduces two supporting characters that would reappear in several future stories: Father Delgado, a Catholic priest who would provide a temporary home and father-figure for Cloak and Dagger; and Brigid O'Reilly, a cop who would be hot on their trail before becoming more sympathetic over time. Although each issue leads into the next, there's not a single over-arching plot. In issue # 1, Cloak and Dagger try to help out runaways who have recently come to New York. In # 2, some creep is putting poisoned aspirin on store shelves. # 3 sees Cloak stop the robbery of a church, and the first real disagreement between Cloak and Dagger over whether they should effectively kill criminals by exiling them to Cloak's limbo-like dimension forever. The fourth issue, probably the most important of the bunch, sees an extended origin for the characters that would be summarized frequently in later comics. By introducing their stomping grounds, generating persistent supporting characters, and providing an origin, the limited series succeeds in giving Cloak and Dagger the groundwork necessary to be successful in an on-going series (necessary, but not sufficient, as their future series never lasted long . . .).