Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye #3 – Jon Rivera, Writer; Michael Avon Oeming, Paul Maybury, Artists; Nick Filardi, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8/10
Corrina: Acid Trip
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: As we now know, the Young Animal line will be coming to an end with issue #6 of the three miniseries. Overall, all three have played pretty close to the original twelve-issue runs, but Cave Carson Has An Interstellar Eye, more than any other has leaned into a more bizarre vibe for this run. The first issue, it worked to the story’s advantage, but as time goes on I’m not so sure. Cave and Chloe are caught in the middle of an interstellar war, and Cave’s eye may have its own agenda. The story feels almost bizarrely impenetrable at points, but it’s also a brilliant showcase for Michael Avon Oeming’s psychedelic art. However, a significant segment of the story is devoted to the drama between the various members of the resistance, and their past interaction with the mysterious progenitor. This actually leaves Cave and company feeling like they’re on the back burner for a while.
As the issue moves on, the story moves into the truly bizarre territory, as Cave and his allies wind up being sucked into a psychic scape that reveals the true motivation behind the conflict and pits them up against a massive skeleton, before they finally rejoin the real world. There’s a lot of monsters, surreal visuals, and a surprising amount of gross-out scenes involving a strange gelatinous monster. By the end of the issue, Cave seems to have come to terms with some of his own issues, and a few of the beings he encountered along the way have found their own happy ending. It’s an entertaining if a truly bizarre issue that sort of loses the focus on the characters. The backup is a dark, disturbing take on Cave’s earlier adventures, that shows that he’s haunted by a particular loss from his past. With three issues to go, I’m hoping the story comes full circle and resolves everyone’s plots.
Corrina: I’ve never had an acid trip but, if I did, I like to imagine it would look like Oeming painted the weirdness in this issue.
I’m not altogether sure the story makes sense, as it’s nominally about two sides in a war and it turns out they’re being manipulated by energy beings who feed on their pain or desires. (Or both.) So far, so good, as that’s a classic SF trope. But here’s a bit about how one of them is free from the influence because of the death of Cave’s friend, the literal (rock) Star, and somethingsomething and the hostility is gone and the two leaders of opposing sides..get married?
I almost think it’s more fun to reading this issue without any of the dialogue or narration and just make up your own tale.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
