The adventures of Cave, his daughter, and the mysterious world underneath us all continues. Can Cave save his in-laws, and is it good?
Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #5 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The summary reads:
After agreeing to help defeat the mysterious being known as the Whisperer, Cave imbibes “Night Pudding” (a concoction reserved for only the strongest warriors and the truly metal) with King P’Thrall, while Chloe experiences the local scene with a group of subterranean teenagers. What could possibly go wrong? And if something did go wrong, it’s all good-because Cave knows some big league heroes who are just a phone call away, so… Plus: a new “Super Powers” tale by Tom Scioli!
Why does this book matter?
You gotta hand it to Rivera, Oeming, and Way, they’re pumping out one of the trippiest comics on the stands today. From the vivid colors and strangeness of this world it’s hard to not fall in love.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
And now for a little history.
Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #5 opens with major reveals of what is going on with the underground people, which helps flesh out the bigger picture of the story. Meanwhile, Cave learns some new details from his father in law and key character development in regards to his daughter. This is a bit of a calm before the story issue for sure, though there is some impending action that raises the pace a bit. That’s because the villain is doing some wacked out stuff with his mushroom powers. Seriously, oozing green mushrooms are now officially the grossest thing I can think of. There’s also a fantastic moment where Cave shows off who he knows in the hero business and the results are less than favorable.
Oeming has done it again. I simply love how he blends Ben-Day dot textures with interesting panels and pages. Take for instance a scene with the hockey masked hero: much of the page shows his masked face and in three images overlaid we see how he’s become the maniac killer he is today. Below that is a panel of him in distress and finally a panel shaped like an arrow which draws your eye to the next page. It’s proof art can tell more than words every time. In another gorgeous page Cave’s daughter swims naked with some locals in a panel that shows a bit of them under the water. The water rendered in red on orange dots which allows you to see some of their nakedness though the rest is tastefully covered up.
Nick Filardi should win some kind of award for the work he’s doing on this book. The colors are gorgeous and jive well with Oeming’s lines. Without the color the way it is I imagine some of these pages would become confusing or downright boring even.
The backup by Tom Scioli is great fun too. There are three stories, one page each, that give an old school feel with a touch of adult themes to Batman, Brainiac and the Wonder Twins. The art is drawn on what appears to be weathered old paper and the panel work is great fun. It’s a highlight of the week for sure.
It can’t be perfect can it?
While much of this issue is focused on characters getting their bearings it makes for an exposition heavy sort of issue. It opens with a lot of captions reducing the pace to a crawl. It’s unclear why we need the details or why we should care, which hinders the overall experience.
This is what tripping is like…
Is It Good?
A visual feast that never lets up, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye is the tripped out story that keeps getting better and weirder as it goes on. This issue slows its pace down with a lot of exposition, but it’s still good times in the cave world underneath our feet.
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