Reviews

Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye, Vol. 1: Going Underground, by Jon Rivera, Michael Avon Oeming, Gerard Way, Tom Scioli

pinteeth's review against another edition

3.0

Not their best, imo, but I honestly think a lot of that has to do with the art style (apologies, Michael Avon Oeming, just not my vibe) rather than the story. I felt like it was missing the lyricism often present in his work, which works well for the story but was surprising to me. Now I know what I dig about their writing I guess- couldn't get myself to read the second installment lol 0.o

barrybj's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

vernip's review against another edition

4.0

Not bad for a revitalization of a pulp-era adventurer that also ties it in with the "superhero" universe it merged with.

chrisfarnsworth's review against another edition

5.0

I was reluctant to get into this, because I was expecting some postmodern, post-heroic middle-aged ennui. I should have had more faith in Gerard Way. This was incredible. An explorer and adventure forced to go back to the site of his greatest discovery and reconcile with his past. And blow a lot of stuff up, and stop an evil cult from raising a decaying Elder God from its prison. Oh, and Mad Dog is in it, too. Who could ask for anything more?

andreapoulain's review against another edition

3.0

Uh, Cave Carson has a cybernetic eye! Do I care? No. Does this shit is entretaining? Yeah. Camp sci-fi. I just wanna read Milk Wars, really.

skydragxn's review

adventurous fast-paced

3.0

miamollekin's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

thecommonswings's review against another edition

4.0

There are several ways to revive old comic characters the general population don’t really know: laborious and full of historical lore; the lighthearted version of that which takes the lore and turns it into knowing jokes for the cognoscenti; the po-faced and serious rewrite; the postmodern rewrite; the larky rewrite - all these tend to have at their centre some sort of reaction to or against the original character history which tends to bog the whole thing down and result in inevitable cancellation

Thankfully Gerard Way and Jon Rivera are fans of the *other* way, the Grant Morrison way. A way which has the history within the DNA but tends to not bother stopping to allow you to soak it up. Oh no. Far more important is the story itself - and this is a dizzying, strange and exciting story which just happens to be apparently seeped in history

Unfortunately this also means it’s sometimes incredibly hard to follow, but the art and the story and the pacing almost completely make up for that. I’d rather be momentarily confused as to where the central character’s beard has gone on one page and then forget that because the story is going off into loads of different directions than any other route. Good fun and, yes, I want to find out what happens next so job’s a good ‘un

thestylishreader's review against another edition

3.0

Thus far, I have reviewed every single DC Young Animal volume one I have read (alebit I am reading them four years later than everyone else). Here, however, with Cave Carson Has a [wonderfully unexplained] Cybernetic Eye, I have found it tough to put a review together. It really does not have the wackiness in either story or art that the other Young Animal runs have had, and it fails to make up for that insufficiency in any of the book’s other aspects. It’s just kind of “there” for me. Nevertheless, I can still highlight some specific thing I loved and some things I…loved less.

Things I Loved:
- I love picking up a character off the forgotten list of DC Comics and treating him with the dignity and respect he deserves. I call that the Gerard Way way (haha get it?) Cave Carson, the Challengers of the Unknown, etc... have always been underused in my opinion. Let’s be honest: The reason we don’t know what the cybernetic eye does is that no one’s ever bothered to flesh it out.
- Wild Dog is the BEST thing about this series so far. He’s everything you could want from a bombastic, gun-toting, All-American sidekick for Cave, and honestly, without him, I probably would’ve given up on the story.

Things I Loved Less:
- *sigh* Here we go. I guess it must be said: Oeming’s artwork misses the mark. I cannot tell the minor characters apart because sometimes their features just aren’t stylized at all, and his attempts at depicting Carson’s psychedelic breakdowns (due to his malfunctioning eye) were just too confusing for me to wade through visually.
- For something that is advertised as a retired spelunker forced back into the underworld amidst his own personal demons, the latter half of that is barely touched upon in the story. A week after reading, I genuinely remember very little of Carson’s motivations for doing what he does. You could chalk that up to having two different writers on this one very simple, Sci-Fi-Camp story, or chalk that p to my bad memory. All I know is that it ends on a cliffhanger (uggghhh) and now my stubborn self will HAVE to read volume two.

TL:DR Overall, I give it a 3/5 stars. A largely forgettable plot with artwork ranging from joyfully wacky to incomprehensible is carried forward on the backs of a reinvented Cave Carson and Wild Dog. Tune in if you love modern takes on forgotten characters of yesteryear.

meghannf's review against another edition

4.0

I'll go with a small 4 stars, thanks to the artwork.

Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye is not a character I knew from before. This revival is appreciated. I have to say that I was not amazed by the plot which left me confused most of the time. Though, the art! The art took over the writing part. Why? Because first things first: it is artistically speaking really beautiful! Indeed, the pencil and ink works are gorgeous! The construction of the grid is well done and exploited as much as it can. In my opinion, this is the strongest part of comics. I am most sensitive about the colors and here it delivers!! I loved how the reader can experience the play of colors on every page layout. It portrays a wonderful perception of how we can see. It seems almost psychotic from Cave Carson's perspective. Overall, the lines are great, there is a play with the background of the page. The expressions on the face of the characters are simpler from what I am used to, still it is nice. Actually, I enjoyed them even more as I could concentrate on the other type of art displayed on the page.

Now, about the writing, it is the "weakest" part. Why? Simply because I got confused with the plot. It goes on different paths from time to time and left you with gaps where you expect to have some answers or details about the story or characters. There is a small character development. I recommend you to read the character's personal data at the end of the comics before reading the comics. I have to say, the end left me curious to know more about their adventures!

I received an Edelweiss copy in exchange of an honest review.