Located in Massachusetts on the southwestern corner of Cape Cod, Cobalt City is a city like no others. A small metropolitan center on the coast of New England, the world’s heroes—and villains—have been drawn there for centuries to prove themselves. With a rich tradition stretching back to the Revolutionary War (if not sooner), the city continues to be a host to psychics, madmen, technological savants, immortals, mutants, the avatars of old gods, and the occasional robot.

The city draws its name from early ceramic manufacturing at the time, for which cobalt was a primary ingredient in the coloration. Many examples of colonial-era ceramics can be found at the Museum of Ceramic Arts in the Karlsburg neighborhood. Legends say that the name is also partly derived from Kobolds, a sprite or pixie common to Germanic mythology and brought to the city by the early German immigrants who settled the hills in what is now the Karlsburg.

There have been odd incidents in Cobalt City since before its foundation, from unusual stone formations in what is now Lafayette Park to ghostly horsemen and visitations and apparitions that might now be explained as displaced time-travelers or alien expeditions. Cobalt City historians recognize the Huntsman as the first actual superhero, having appeared to help the people of the city in 1775. There has continued to be a Huntsman for most of Cobalt City’s history, contributing to the archer symbol incorporated into the city’s official seal in 1867. During WWII, there were even reported to be two Huntsmen, one in Cobalt City and one fighting behind the lines in Europe.

Cobalt City and superheroes are inseparable. Their presence has shaped the history of out city and continue to shape our future. Though their exploits have been chronicled in various other publications over the years, Cape and Cowl Magazine was founded in 1916 for the sole purpose of telling their stories.