Eternity Girl #5 – Magdalene Visaggio, Writer; Sonny Liew, Artist; Chris Chuckry, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of the Young Animal miniseries, Eternity Girl #5 doubles down on the concept of an unreliable narrator, letting us spend most of the issue guessing what’s actually happening to Caroline Sharp, and what’s taking place in her fragmented consciousness. Coming off an issue that showed us myriad different realities taken from pop culture, this issue dials it back down to two – one, where Caroline (in her human guise) confronts her former ally and friend Rick, trying to find out what he knows about the shadowy government agency that she used to work for. As he tries to get her to seek help and dodges her questions, she starts to believe that the one person she thought she could still trust from her old life may be plotting against her as well. At the same time, Caroline is in a Kirby-esque world, trying to get the ability to destroy the universe and herself with it. She’s caught between the corrupting influence of her old nemesis Madame Atom (who may or may not be all in her head) and the influence of Crash, the elemental who seems to have bigger plans for her.
If this all sounds confusing…that’s because it is! All the Young Animal books are mindbending in their own way, but Eternity Girl is the only one that makes you question your perception as you read it. As the book goes on, it becomes clear that Caroline’s mind is fragmenting, and she begins acting more and more erratic with Rick. She eventually attacks him, leading to her capture by the government, who has plans for her that are far worse than death. While her employers haven’t been portrayed as overtly evil so far, it’s clear that she’s seen as a nuisance to them – one they’ve been planning to get rid of for a long time if need be. However, at the same time, Caroline’s adventures in the far reaches of the cosmos continue, as she faces tests for access to what essentially amounts to the self-destruction of the universe. Does this plot entirely work? I’m not sure. We’ve got one issue to go and I have no idea how we’re getting a satisfying conclusion. It’s a bit clumsy, but I can’t say it’s not a fascinating experimental read. For that alone, I hope DC takes more chances on books like this.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
