Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye #3 Review and **SPOILERS**

Hock Up Some Spiritual Phlegm

Writer: Jon Rivera 

Cover & Interior Artist: Michael Avon Oeming 

Colorist: Nick Filardi 

Back-Up Artist: Paul Maybury 

Letterer: Clem Robins 

Editor: Molly Mahan 

Executive Editor: Mark Doyle 

DC’s Young Animal Curated By: Gerard Way 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: May 16, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Looks like Cave Carson’s taken it upon himself to settle this mess between the Lazer Monks and the Nejire, so let’s not dally with nonsense and get right to finding out what happens in Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye #3, right now!

Explain It!

Admitting our inner faults is one thing, expunging them is another thing entirely. We spend tonnage quantities of money on medication, therapy, religion, and spa treatments to keep the perpetually-flaring rage within us at bay. It’s no wonder that scam organizations like Scientology make good on the promise to eradicate our anxieties and anger, often by normalizing it and indulging our narcissism. But what if our rude ‘tudes were due to some kind of ancient curse? What if there were actual foreign bodies in our bloodstreams that cause us to disrespect our neighbors?

That’s essentially the story in this issue of Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye, where Cave, with the aid of his magical eyeball and his brother from another dimension Marc Barstow, delve into the mind of Zot the Lazer Monk to ferret out the cause of their eternal conflict with the Nejire. Turns out that the Progenitor, a dude from long ago that looked like a much nerdier Cave Carson, stepped too far in his search for more power, and became infected by, uh, evil goo. His essence turned into…microscopic ghosts? And these ghosts feed on intense emotions, hence why they’ve made the Lazer Monks and Nejire war with each other since time immemorial.

Once this is figured out, the emotion ghosts congeal into a handy killable form, which is blasted to smithereens by the Mighty Mole. Once this happens, Nejire and Lazer Monks across the land regurgitate the emotion ghosts within—out of their nose, mouth and eyes, which seems appropriately gross—and peace spreads across the land. Uh, sort of. Marc Barstow gives Zot some of the solution in which the emotion ghosts were suspended, and suggests they give it a try since he’s been sipping it all day and he’s tripping balls. Zot and a Nejire have a baby together, though they still behave like frienemies in public. And all of this was made possible by Star the imploding star, in a way that I didn’t even reveal in this review. You’ll have to check out the book to know!

And you know what, I recommend that you do, because this comic book is a good time. Looks like this arc is over after two issues, and the next issue promises a new adventure, which is something I’m elated about. Much of this comic book is given over to Cave and Marc’s psychedelic trip through Zot’s mind, but it is detailed so expertly by Oeming that it’s a pleasure to sift through slowly. There’s a page or two that I think could have been taken right from Robert Crumb’s Zap! Comix. We recently learned that this series (along with the rest of the Young Animal line) is calling it quits after issue six, and I’m not glad to hear it. With short arcs and wacky, surreal adventures like this one, I think I could have tucked into this title for a long time.

Bits and Pieces:

Cave gets to the bottom of what's ailing the Lazer Monks and Nejire, clears their Thetans and has a real bug-out besides. Here's an issue perfectly suited to Michael Oeming's unique talents, and it's a pleasure to read. I'm glad there's a hero solving psychedelic problems out there, often with the use of psychedelics.

8.5/10