Make no mistake, the Young Animal line of comics is very weird and that’s a good thing. If you like your comics to bend reality and show you what movies can’t, this is where it’s at. We check out the second issue in the Cave Carson storyline–but is it good?
Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #2 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? For the full DC summary just read this:
Something is rotten in the subterranean state of Muldroog, the ancestral home of Cave’s wife Eileen (a.k.a. Princess Mazra P’thrall), forcing Cave to step out of adventurer retirement to solve this mystery. To do that, he must to steal a massive piece of mobile technology and recruit an old friend for this mission. Also in this issue: How Cave got that cybernetic eye. And explosions. Lots and lots of explosions.
Why does this book matter?
With the help of Michael Avon Oeming’s weird and eye catching art (pun intended) writers Gerard Way and Jon Rivera have made this character feel pertinent and special. There’s nothing else quite like it, though he still has connection to Superman which some are clearly jealous of. He represents a human side of the DCU while exploring the weird monsters that are too hidden for the main heroes to tackle.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Exploring mystery!
This issue is off the hook in a couple of ways and it starts with the first page that reveals how Carson got the cybernetic eye. Having a wife from an underground realm and an eye to match adds a flair of the weird to the character and you learn more about the origin of his power here. The rest of the issue kicks off a wild no holds barred series of events as Carson rushes to save his daughter. The writers stop at nothing to show Cave is willing to burn bridges and turn enemies into bloody pools of skulls to save those he loves. He appears to be a somewhat straight laced dude, but this issue shows he’s willing to throw everything out the window, contrary to most heroes these days.
The pace of this issue is great fun too. Oeming gets to show off a lot of action–something the first issue was lacking–with physical fighting and crazy explosions. This is one of those comics you read and can’t fathom another artist even remotely capturing the story quite as well as Oeming does here. From people’s heads getting blown off to crazy full page electro-psychedelic energy explosions, there’s so much to like. This keeps the pace up and the plot always moving forward.
Oeming once again makes this comic worth a purchase and then some. He’s using ben-day dots like a champ, for shadows, lights, and highlights in panels. It adds an extra layer that’s fun and exciting. Layouts contain borders with textures and ben-day dots too and they help lift the panels up off the page. There’s a 3D effect going on throughout the issue that enhances the pace and action. There’s also something wickedly disturbed about Oeming’s almost cartoon style being mixed with blood and gore that’s hard to not love.
It can’t be perfect can it?
I had a hard time enjoying the backup by Tom Scioli this go around. The first issue contained two stories that were fun and trippy, but this time they were slowly paced and not as electric visually. The general look and feel is cool, but it leaves you wanting more.
Gross dude!
Is It Good?
If you were on the fence about Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye this issue should assuage you. If you like your action delivered with a heavy dose of visually striking imagery and weirdness, you can’t do better than this.
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