Cavewoman – Journey 1 (Single Issue)
Amryl/Black Canvas Studios/Basement Studios
Created By: Budd Root
Writer: Rob Durham
Penciler: Rob Durham
Reviewer: Derrick Crow
Summary: Cavewoman is back with another adventure as she battle a large snake alongside her best friend Klyde the giant gorilla. And in the background an old flame of hers finds troubles of his own.
Review: So this is in fact my first time every reading anything about Cavewoman, but from what I see in the ads at the back of the book she has a pretty firm history as a small indie book. Complete with many risqué covers. I’m really not sure how far back her story goes, or even to where to begin if I wanted to read it all in order one day. But since this was a one-shot, or so it seemed, I figured I would give it a shot, and at $3, eh, why not.
As an introduction to this world it’s not very good. It SEEMS like this has been an ongoing series told through several one shots but I won’t swear to it, just that I jumped into this not knowing a thing (Despite doing a bit of research) and there seems to be some plot building here that would require knowledge of previous stories to understand. That’s the b-story, where Meriem’s (Cavewoman) old flame seems to be dealing with something that happened to him I guess last issue.
And as for the a-story, Meriem and Klyde spend 3/4ths of it fighting a giant snake in order to have dinner. It’s fun, and I can immediately pick up on their long history and friendship which is great but it doesn’t do much to further the story. In fact, mostly this issue as a whole is one big fight scene which for $3 just doesn’t cut the mustard. If weren’t interested in the possibilities of this world I’d probably stop here and never turn back. But I did like Klyde and Meriem’s dynamic and thought it was enjoyable to see.
I’m also not sure why this is called “Journey 1” as I don’t see anything resembling the beginning of a new story arc in this, but who knows if a Journey 2 will come out to prove me wrong. There is no page number on this so I can’t say where it fits in to the grander scheme of things.
The art in this is actually pretty gorgeous and reminds me of Arthur Adams. Everything is detailed and rounded. Meriem is beautiful and Klyde looks terrifying but like a big softie too. There is no color in this and I think it works to the art’s advantage really showing off the original work without all that sprucing up. In fact, I’d say the art is the best thing about this book and worth admission alone.
The book also tries to invoke some of that silver age feel with narration boxes that act to tell the reader exactly what they’re looking at. Which, to be frank, even for the 1960’s that was pretty weak sauce; I know it was meant to fill up page space give the reader more bang for their buck but I’ve never been a supporter of these kind of narrations. Either let us just look at the pretty panel or tell us something new. Never tell us what is happening directly on the panel we’re looking at, it’s lazy and out dated.
Overall, this book was pretty underwhelming. I still willing to give 1 more shot or 2, perhaps I’m just hopeful. But if any of the other issues are like this one, then things won’t be looking good. Art is great, but it should never be the only thing carrying the book. You gotta tell a good story too.
Final Score: 1.5 Giant Snakes out of 5
Editor's Note: To find out how you can acquire a copy of this to join in on all the fun, head here!
Amryl/Black Canvas Studios/Basement Studios
Created By: Budd Root
Writer: Rob Durham
Penciler: Rob Durham
Reviewer: Derrick Crow
Summary: Cavewoman is back with another adventure as she battle a large snake alongside her best friend Klyde the giant gorilla. And in the background an old flame of hers finds troubles of his own.
Review: So this is in fact my first time every reading anything about Cavewoman, but from what I see in the ads at the back of the book she has a pretty firm history as a small indie book. Complete with many risqué covers. I’m really not sure how far back her story goes, or even to where to begin if I wanted to read it all in order one day. But since this was a one-shot, or so it seemed, I figured I would give it a shot, and at $3, eh, why not.
As an introduction to this world it’s not very good. It SEEMS like this has been an ongoing series told through several one shots but I won’t swear to it, just that I jumped into this not knowing a thing (Despite doing a bit of research) and there seems to be some plot building here that would require knowledge of previous stories to understand. That’s the b-story, where Meriem’s (Cavewoman) old flame seems to be dealing with something that happened to him I guess last issue.
And as for the a-story, Meriem and Klyde spend 3/4ths of it fighting a giant snake in order to have dinner. It’s fun, and I can immediately pick up on their long history and friendship which is great but it doesn’t do much to further the story. In fact, mostly this issue as a whole is one big fight scene which for $3 just doesn’t cut the mustard. If weren’t interested in the possibilities of this world I’d probably stop here and never turn back. But I did like Klyde and Meriem’s dynamic and thought it was enjoyable to see.
I’m also not sure why this is called “Journey 1” as I don’t see anything resembling the beginning of a new story arc in this, but who knows if a Journey 2 will come out to prove me wrong. There is no page number on this so I can’t say where it fits in to the grander scheme of things.
The art in this is actually pretty gorgeous and reminds me of Arthur Adams. Everything is detailed and rounded. Meriem is beautiful and Klyde looks terrifying but like a big softie too. There is no color in this and I think it works to the art’s advantage really showing off the original work without all that sprucing up. In fact, I’d say the art is the best thing about this book and worth admission alone.
The book also tries to invoke some of that silver age feel with narration boxes that act to tell the reader exactly what they’re looking at. Which, to be frank, even for the 1960’s that was pretty weak sauce; I know it was meant to fill up page space give the reader more bang for their buck but I’ve never been a supporter of these kind of narrations. Either let us just look at the pretty panel or tell us something new. Never tell us what is happening directly on the panel we’re looking at, it’s lazy and out dated.
Overall, this book was pretty underwhelming. I still willing to give 1 more shot or 2, perhaps I’m just hopeful. But if any of the other issues are like this one, then things won’t be looking good. Art is great, but it should never be the only thing carrying the book. You gotta tell a good story too.
Final Score: 1.5 Giant Snakes out of 5
Editor's Note: To find out how you can acquire a copy of this to join in on all the fun, head here!